BillybobLockwood
Well-known member
where to start.
I’ve turned 22, tried to buy me a new digger, had to send it back( bloody powerful cat 321) got into some very large jobs, and grew the business more than I wanted to. I’m head over heels in love with my backhoe, working with engcon right now to add reverse drive.
I’ve turned 22, tried to buy me a new digger, had to send it back( bloody powerful cat 321) got into some very large jobs, and grew the business more than I wanted to. I’m head over heels in love with my backhoe, working with engcon right now to add reverse drive.
Attachments
Giles
Well-known member
Are all those cats yours then? How’s the adoption of tilt rotators going in America? Being seen more and more?
BillybobLockwood
Well-known member
I've got a 301.8, and older 314, and 321, both C models, and a newer Cat 420F2 backhoe. quite nice machines, and I'm loyal to the cat brand.
tilt rotator uptake is slow, despite social media, most contractors don't know about, or care when it come to tilt rotators. I'm the only one I've seen, but theres a couple hundred floating around washington state.
tilt rotator uptake is slow, despite social media, most contractors don't know about, or care when it come to tilt rotators. I'm the only one I've seen, but theres a couple hundred floating around washington state.
doobin
Well-known member
How much in dollars is a 301.8? They are around £21k with cab here.
BillybobLockwood
Well-known member
mine was 37 grand USD, that was 1 bucket, thumb, and Air Con,
K
Keif
Well-known member
Just curious will your 301.8 pick itself up into a trailer? I demoed a 302cr cab and it wouldn't which was a deal breaker. With the bucket on the ground it would but with the bucket at the height of my dump trailer it wasn't able(which is how I load my Tak into the trailer).
doobin
Well-known member
So at $1k a shift, 37 shifts to pay for itself.
Over here, a 301.8 might get £320 a day. So that's 65 days to pay for itself. Quite a differerence! Does the market vary in America (I mean, it's a big country!) or is a thousand bucks a day pretty standard?
M
Monkeybusiness
Well-known member
(The answer to this question will ultimately decide whether Doobin books a one-way plane ticket right now or not)…
doobin
Well-known member
Nah, if I could be there already I would be. So many places to choose from and so many guns.
BillybobLockwood
Well-known member
No problem! I never use Ramps on my trailers for the mini, lifts itself in just fine!
BillybobLockwood
Well-known member
Market is pretty standard on the coasts, it’s more competitive in the Midwest, but still close. The difference is it’s really hard to find a “shift” of work here, it’s more like 4 hours here and there, if your into that.
ours gets billed out with an operator at 160 an hour, on T&M, but is mostly just a support machine, that gets used 20
Hours a month or so
Hg2702
Well-known member
Absolutely love mine
Gunners
Well-known member
Having had a play on one of those new CAT's, they are without doubt the nicest cab and spec machine on the market. Didn't have enough of a play to really test how they drive but they have done well with these.
Hg2702
Well-known member
I was very keen on the jcb 19-c but the cat cab clinched it for me. New jcb minis are a good machine really enjoyed driving the electric one
BillybobLockwood
Well-known member
Quite an eventful week! spent the bulk of the week working on our wall job in port orchard. The Large cat I have is a 321, and is on an RPO. It needs a new undercarriage, so we thought we would try a few competitive machines before we buy the cat! First up is this hitachi 245. brilliant machine, very fast, and buttery smooth, but just did not give me the fizz.
Friday I hauled my backhoe up to Fall City to dig some holes for a farmer friend. Fall city is heaven! Had a lot of fun digging wells and installing some storm sewer
shame what has happened with backhoes, and I'd love to see more work done with them. I taught myself, but I'm no wiz on the thing! It's the most fun i have though, Especially working up here! love to see what others have done with one!
Friday I hauled my backhoe up to Fall City to dig some holes for a farmer friend. Fall city is heaven! Had a lot of fun digging wells and installing some storm sewer
shame what has happened with backhoes, and I'd love to see more work done with them. I taught myself, but I'm no wiz on the thing! It's the most fun i have though, Especially working up here! love to see what others have done with one!
Attachments
Furniss
Well-known member
Little Hitachi I drove the other week was fast and smooth ... are hitachi generally fast ? Last one I spent significant time on was a ex100 which I thought a good machine but too long ago to remember how it felt speed wise.
V8Druid
do it as well as you can,but learn to do it better
they've certainly a rep for being silky smooth ......
Last edited:
T whiting
Well-known member
Yes I tend to find them fast and maybe lacking a bit of precision compared to others
Furniss
Well-known member
That u26 I drove was seemed precise..... didnt like the digging envelope as much as the kx71 ... probably the short dipper.
But noticeably faster than the kx71 esp in slew .... Gunners gave them a thumbs down but not sure I agree.....although this was a canopy so couldn't grumble about cab.
Footer block 1