2-2.7 ton diggers?

[hiluxman]

The main reason being is that I intend to go more down theoperated hire only route as opposed to groundworks and my own jobs having built houses and employed many people over the years,fancy a bit less hassle going forward.I hardly ever get a call for the 180 nowadays ,its a shame,I still enjoy operating them and after thirty years can do a bit with one but demand just is’nt there ,sadly.will be wrench to sell the old girl though.

Is there much call for a 6t and driver your way.

I still get a good dribble of work for the 432 cant remember the last time i had a hire or job for a 6 or 8t machine, i think the last one was nearly 5 years ago. Just goes to show the difference in areas and the work about.

Would it not be cheaper to have a 6t transported when needed rather than a wagon sat doing nothing else in between.

 

[Simon edwards]

In my local area there are three of us left with 180’s that I know of,15 years ago probably 4 times that.This year I have’nt had one enquiry ,last year very similar,but I know I can get a 5-6 tonner out fairly regularly as to be fair a lot of jobs are getting tighter and tighter but are often just too big for my 2:5 tonner.
My view with the lorry is that I intend to get a tipper with ramps as I have some tipping contacts etc and can offer muck away and stone supply on a modest scale to cover the costs (hopefully).Also having been independent with transport for so long I hate the thought of being reliant on others,sort of goes against what I am trying to achieve really.
In an ideal world I would buy a new backhoe and 2.5 tonner,park them on my drive,no yard,no materials or labour supplied ,low overheads.But that ain’t going to keep me busy around here sadly so,I need to change the fleet set up in order to be able achieve my aim of a slightly easier existence before my body decides it’s really had enough abuse and I can start turning my brain off at night a bit,this is my plan,it’s going to be next year before I go for it as I have one last house to finish so I will make the most of the old jake untilthe new year.
What’s the bulk of your with the cat that keeps it busy?

 

[Smiffy]

In my local area there are three of us left with 180’s that I know of,15 years ago probably 4 times that.This year I have’nt had one enquiry ,last year very similar,but I know I can get a 5-6 tonner out fairly regularly as to be fair a lot of jobs are getting tighter and tighter but are often just too big for my 2:5 tonner.
My view with the lorry is that I intend to get a tipper with ramps as I have some tipping contacts etc and can offer muck away and stone supply on a modest scale to cover the costs (hopefully).Also having been independent with transport for so long I hate the thought of being reliant on others,sort of goes against what I am trying to achieve really.
In an ideal world I would buy a new backhoe and 2.5 tonner,park them on my drive,no yard,no materials or labour supplied ,low overheads.But that ain’t going to keep me busy around here sadly so,I need to change the fleet set up in order to be able achieve my aim of a slightly easier existence before my body decides it’s really had enough abuse and I can start turning my brain off at night a bit,this is my plan,it’s going to be next year before I go for it as I have one last house to finish so I will make the most of the old jake untilthe new year.
What’s the bulk of your with the cat that keeps it busy?

If you can up it to an 18t then with a heavy lift crane that can be folded behind the cab then you can be even more versatile with clamshell brick grab and can even lift a 2.5t machine over a wall
Or there are some 12-14t floating around with a drawbar hitch

 

[Simon edwards]

Thanks Smiffy,I have an open mind at the minute,have considered a hookloader also but I keep coming back to straight tipper as this was a very common setup when I worked in Australia a million years ago but it worked really well.I have seen a few ex authority 12 and 14 ton ivecos with a hiab that do look a tidy outfit ,got no problem with going to 18t but my license is class 2 and can’t really be bothered to take another course and test for class one.

 

[hiluxman]

In my local area there are three of us left with 180’s that I know of,15 years ago probably 4 times that.This year I have’nt had one enquiry ,last year very similar,but I know I can get a 5-6 tonner out fairly regularly as to be fair a lot of jobs are getting tighter and tighter but are often just too big for my 2:5 tonner.
My view with the lorry is that I intend to get a tipper with ramps as I have some tipping contacts etc and can offer muck away and stone supply on a modest scale to cover the costs (hopefully).Also having been independent with transport for so long I hate the thought of being reliant on others,sort of goes against what I am trying to achieve really.
In an ideal world I would buy a new backhoe and 2.5 tonner,park them on my drive,no yard,no materials or labour supplied ,low overheads.But that ain’t going to keep me busy around here sadly so,I need to change the fleet set up in order to be able achieve my aim of a slightly easier existence before my body decides it’s really had enough abuse and I can start turning my brain off at night a bit,this is my plan,it’s going to be next year before I go for it as I have one last house to finish so I will make the most of the old jake untilthe new year.
What’s the bulk of your with the cat that keeps it busy?

Believe it or not i get alot of domestic hire for the 432. Also the small builders like it. Id say its a 40/60 domestic/commercial i get for it.

It rarely leaves the yard with anything more than a 2ft and a ditcher.

 

[Simon edwards]

Nice,where about in the country are you located,like I said it used to be like that around here but just kind of dried up,saying that whenever I put the 180 on a job customers areusually blown away by its ability and output compared to the minis they are used too,a lot is down to ignorance even with commercial customers who have forgotten about them.

 

[hiluxman]

Yes, they do seem a forgotten thing somtimes. I had it this week where there was 8 loads to go off site and it was done for 12.30 but they thought it would take 2 days

Im in Sheffield.

 

[Smiffy]

Thanks Smiffy,I have an open mind at the minute,have considered a hookloader also but I keep coming back to straight tipper as this was a very common setup when I worked in Australia a million years ago but it worked really well.I have seen a few ex authority 12 and 14 ton ivecos with a hiab that do look a tidy outfit ,got no problem with going to 18t but my license is class 2 and can’t really be bothered to take another course and test for class one.

The 12 or 14 with a hiab probably won't take a 6 tonner but the hiab is unbelievably useful for groundworks
And is useful when you want to do something with no machine atall on site
Also class one is really useful
I have never even driven an arctic I passed my test in a 12t with a 5t drag and that is the only air brakes set up I have ever driven however it is endlessly usefull for towing a machine on an ifor
Can put type one shingle and pipe in the lorry and machine behind
My boss sometimes does LA work and I can be completely self contained

 

[craig]

If you can up it to an 18t then with a heavy lift crane that can be folded behind the cab then you can be even more versatile with clamshell brick grab and can even lift a 2.5t machine over a wall
Or there are some 12-14t floating around with a drawbar hitch

A proper grab crane v`s a heavy lift crane is like night and day difference in performance, saying that I would guess you could still lift a 1.5 tonner over a wall with a good grab crane.

Thanks Smiffy,I have an open mind at the minute,have considered a hookloader also but I keep coming back to straight tipper as this was a very common setup when I worked in Australia a million years ago but it worked really well.I have seen a few ex authority 12 and 14 ton ivecos with a hiab that do look a tidy outfit ,got no problem with going to 18t but my license is class 2 and can’t really be bothered to take another course and test for class one.

Ramps rated for a 6 tonner on to the tipper bed height would be a pain in the backside manually handling them.

 

[Smiffy]

A proper grab crane v`s a heavy lift crane is like night and day difference in performance, saying that I would guess you could still lift a 1.5 tonner over a wall with a good grab crane.

Ramps rated for a 6 tonner on to the tipper bed height would be a pain in the backside manually handling them.

I think you would struggle with a 1.5 over a wall with an epsilon but should be able to load it on
And ally ramps rated at 7.5t each are easy enough to handle when I was in NZ the telehandler went everywhere on a dropside 8 wheel tipper with ally ramps and loaded unloaded a couple times a day most days

 

[Simon edwards]

I do’nt think the ramps will be too heavy,have seen them at around 60 kg up to 5.5 t. May need to stay under 5.5 t machine size to make it all work.lot to think about.

 

[Danny]

Is there much call for a 6t and driver your way.

I still get a good dribble of work for the 432 cant remember the last time i had a hire or job for a 6 or 8t machine, i think the last one was nearly 5 years ago. Just goes to show the difference in areas and the work about.

Would it not be cheaper to have a 6t transported when needed rather than a wagon sat doing nothing else in between.

Sometimes youve got to take the gamble buy the machine and find the work afterwards.....

 

[Simon edwards]

Done that in enough areas of life already!might take a more considered approach on this.

 

[Gunners]

@Russell I completely understand why you would want to keep it around the 2.5t range for the machine. My 8026 is a heavy beast before the Engcon and with it, I'm right at the limit even with a lightweight trailer. That's without any buckets. Getting all the attachments to the job is becoming a 2 trip affair and if you are moving a lot, its a right faff. But the heavier machines do outperform the smaller ones obviously so its a fine line you want to draw. The two machines I've driven which I think would be close are;
Kubota U27 which comes in at 2590kg with a cab.
And the Volvo ECR25D which from memory is almost exactly 2500kg (youll have to watch my youtube review of it shameless plug!)

Both these machines have long arms, almost as long as my 8026, both have really good cabs and both will go down to 2.9m deep which is some depth for a 2.5t machine. You will struggle to lift a bulk bag about with one but that's more down to their zero tails and the long arms stop you lifting it close enough in - but they will do it if you get creative.

If you think you need a 2.5t machine then don't be tempted by a heavy 1.5t that seem to be taking the world by storm. Everything on the 2.5's are bigger, and they have much more power and stability.
Not to take any sales away from the Bobcat rep but the E26 comes in at 2600kg and is also worth a look at, they have become quite high specification machines now the Bobcats. Build quality long term is yet to be proven but if Doobin cant break it then its a very promising sign!

 

[Smiffy]

@Russell I completely understand why you would want to keep it around the 2.5t range for the machine. My 8026 is a heavy beast before the Engcon and with it, I'm right at the limit even with a lightweight trailer. That's without any buckets. Getting all the attachments to the job is becoming a 2 trip affair and if you are moving a lot, its a right faff. But the heavier machines do outperform the smaller ones obviously so its a fine line you want to draw. The two machines I've driven which I think would be close are;
Kubota U27 which comes in at 2590kg with a cab.
And the Volvo ECR25D which from memory is almost exactly 2500kg (youll have to watch my youtube review of it shameless plug!)

Both these machines have long arms, almost as long as my 8026, both have really good cabs and both will go down to 2.9m deep which is some depth for a 2.5t machine. You will struggle to lift a bulk bag about with one but that's more down to their zero tails and the long arms stop you lifting it close enough in - but they will do it if you get creative.

If you think you need a 2.5t machine then don't be tempted by a heavy 1.5t that seem to be taking the world by storm. Everything on the 2.5's are bigger, and they have much more power and stability.
Not to take any sales away from the Bobcat rep but the E26 comes in at 2600kg and is also worth a look at, they have become quite high specification machines now the Bobcats. Build quality long term is yet to be proven but if Doobin cant break it then its a very promising sign!

Tbf a 2.5 will easily pinch a bulk bag up between the boom and bucket
Just becomes a problem if you are trying to sand up inside blockwork formwork it might become a problem
I've spent more time on Hitachi's than anything else and with a bit of skill they will move some impressive weights
I've seen a 1.9t Hitachi drag a 3t concrete panel across a yard but didn't do it many favours

 

[craig]

If you think you need a 2.5t machine then don't be tempted by a heavy 1.5t that seem to be taking the world by storm. Everything on the 2.5's are bigger, and they have much more power and stability

By heavy 1.5ton do you mean the 1.8t machines? or am I missing something.

 

[Gunners]

By heavy 1.5ton do you mean the 1.8t machines? or am I missing something.

Exactly that.

 

[craig]

Exactly that.

Thanks.

 

[doobin]

@Russell
Not to take any sales away from the Bobcat rep but the E26 comes in at 2600kg and is also worth a look at, they have become quite high specification machines now the Bobcats. Build quality long term is yet to be proven but if Doobin cant break it then its a very promising sign!

That’s not fair

I just need a little more time!!


Seriously Russell try both sizes and see whether you really need larger and also think very hard about whether the larger one will mean more money or just more hassle on a lot of jobs.

The reason imho why the 1.9 class is so popular (for any make) is because they give you so much versatility and power for a reasonable price.

 

[Nick...]

Having a 1.9 ton machine will cost more but can’t really charge anymore than 1,5 ton machine.im not sure you will do much more either and I’m sure the main benefit is a bit more reach (maybe) and more stability with probably extending under carriage.i went from a 1.8 ton to 2.5 and reckon I can do twice as much work for probably 20% increase in rates.nice to have extra power and reach though.i used to run a 180 till about 6 years ago and due to very little work for it I chopped it in for a telehandler for farm work.since then I’ve only had one call in all that time for a backhoe.
nick...