Buying my first ever machine.

[MaxC]

Hey everyone, I'm about to buy my first machine after over a year of researching and learning as much as I can about everything I can and reading more then a few posts on here which have been very helpful

Based on my ability to transport it and the work I do I have settled on a 2 - 2.7ton mini-ex and have narrowed it down to mainly either a Yanmar vio25 or a Cat 302-302.7 (not locked into anything yet) but I wanted to throw the question out there, If you had a blank slate and a nice bit of change what machine of this size would you buy?

I also potentially might look to get a tiltrotator for it as for my work it would be insanely useful from everything I have read and watched about them but both dealers I have talked to have been very adamant that a machine of this size is way to small for one, this seems to be a trend in AUS as tiltrotators are extremely rare still and not talked about in a positive light for some reason even though I have seen hundreds of machines of similar sizes doing awesome work with them.

Anyway any advise you have for a new owner would be awesome to hear, Max.

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[6feetdown]

Hey everyone, I'm about to buy my first machine after over a year of researching and learning as much as I can about everything I can and reading more then a few posts on here which have been very helpful

Based on my ability to transport it and the work I do I have settled on a 2 - 2.7ton mini-ex and have narrowed it down to mainly either a Yanmar vio25 or a Cat 302-302.7 (not locked into anything yet) but I wanted to throw the question out there, If you had a blank slate and a nice bit of change what machine of this size would you buy?

I also potentially might look to get a tiltrotator for it as for my work it would be insanely useful from everything I have read and watched about them but both dealers I have talked to have been very adamant that a machine of this size is way to small for one, this seems to be a trend in AUS as tiltrotators are extremely rare still and not talked about in a positive light for some reason even though I have seen hundreds of machines of similar sizes doing awesome work with them.

Anyway any advise you have for a new owner would be awesome to hear, Max.

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If you want to future proof for a tilty get 1 with an arse end

 

[doobin]

Big difference between a 2 and a 2.7t machine. I run both, and share a tilty between them. The 2.7t is far superior for most work. Not saying the 2t isn’t useful, it is, but only for narrow access or tight jobs.

 

[Simon edwards]

If I had one machine it would be a 2.7 ,but it obviously depends on your core work.
I constantly ponder a tilty but have yet to be convinced it will earn me more than a base machine.

 

[Storrsy]

If I had one machine it would be a 2.7 ,but it obviously depends on your core work.
I constantly ponder a tilty but have yet to be convinced it will earn me more than a base machine.

Same. I wouldnt mind a decent powertilt hitch setup though- think far more suitable for much of my line of work, not sure if that could be incorporated with S30 pick to reduce height plus a decent thumb setup- not much that can't be tackled with that and not too silly monies involved, spend the change saved on a set of steel tracks. Think with a base machine such as Kubota KX027-4 that could all be done within towing limits

 

[V8Druid]

Hey everyone, I'm about to buy my first machine after over a year of researching and learning as much as I can about everything I can and reading more then a few posts on here which have been very helpful

Based on my ability to transport it and the work I do I have settled on a 2 - 2.7ton mini-ex and have narrowed it down to mainly either a Yanmar vio25 or a Cat 302-302.7 (not locked into anything yet) but I wanted to throw the question out there, If you had a blank slate and a nice bit of change what machine of this size would you buy?

I also potentially might look to get a tiltrotator for it as for my work it would be insanely useful from everything I have read and watched about them but both dealers I have talked to have been very adamant that a machine of this size is way to small for one, this seems to be a trend in AUS as tiltrotators are extremely rare still and not talked about in a positive light for some reason even though I have seen hundreds of machines of similar sizes doing awesome work with them.

Anyway any advise you have for a new owner would be awesome to hear, Max.

​

​

surely you're not subject to the insane towing restrictions, weight-wise, that we are in the UK, out there in Oz? .... the 2.7t 'limit' that is so often discussed here, is totally down to our 3.5t max tow capacity

 

[MaxC]

If you want to future proof for a tilty get 1 with an arse end

I'm guessing that because of the added weight a tilty will have? So a 2.7ton machine that is no tail swing vs one that has a back end will make big difference in the balance of the machine with a tilty on it?

 

[MaxC]

surely you're not subject to the insane towing restrictions, weight-wise, that we are in the UK, out there in Oz? .... the 2.7t 'limit' that is so often discussed here, is totally down to our 3.5t max tow capacity

So most our vehicles that have a GVM of 4.5kg have a 3.5t tow capacity, I'm gonna be using a Fuso canter 515 tipper to pull the machine on a trailer and the tow capacity on it is 4000kg with 400kg on the ball which is actually 500kg more then most but still means going up to for example and vio30 which comes in at around 3.3ton would be really pushing the limit. I would in my ideal would get a 3+ton machine as I know it would obviously handle a tilty better but im not sure i can pull that off.

 

[MaxC]

Big difference between a 2 and a 2.7t machine. I run both, and share a tilty between them. The 2.7t is far superior for most work. Not saying the 2t isn’t useful, it is, but only for narrow access or tight jobs.

Yeah I'm heavily leaning towards a 2.7ton over something smaller, Do you have any problems with a tilty on machines these size other then a bit more tipping when fully extended ? because all the dealers i have talked to make out sound like a 2.7ton machine simply can not handle a tilty.

 

[MaxC]

Same. I wouldnt mind a decent powertilt hitch setup though- think far more suitable for much of my line of work, not sure if that could be incorporated with S30 pick to reduce height plus a decent thumb setup- not much that can't be tackled with that and not too silly monies involved, spend the change saved on a set of steel tracks. Think with a base machine such as Kubota KX027-4 that could all be done within towing limits

Yeah I have looked at tilt hitches a lot but with most of my work it is digging footings along fences and existing buildings in residential areas that mean with your standard machine there is always a lot of manual shovel work still needing to be done and in most cases just entire footings that a machine without a tilty can not even begin to dig even a small amount of.

 

[doobin]

Yeah I'm heavily leaning towards a 2.7ton over all the dealers i have talked to make out sound like a 2.7ton machine simply can not handle a tilty.

That’s just bollocks.

This is my e27 (not e27z) Not short dipper either, although that is an option on some (I have it on the e19, there’s not many short dipper options on the 2.7t market but I know the new Develon can be specced with it)

It’s ’reduced Tailswing’. Not zero but certainly nothing like a Yanmar sy26 or a Kubota kx27. It handles that tilty even under a top hitch just fine, and it throws big lumps of timber around brilliantly.

It’s not the best machine for grading but I do mainly tree work. Point is, so long as you start with a sensible carrier, a tilty is fine on that size machine.

Also a pic of it on the 2t machine, again under a quick hitch

 

[MaxC]

That’s just bollocks.

haha I'm glad to here that because for both Cat and Yanmar dealers I spoke with in person they all but laughed in my face when I mentioned wanting to get a Tilty in the future but everything I have seen over a year of research showed me that a engcon ec02 system would work perfectly on a 2.7ton machine.

The cost Is pretty insane for the DC2 control and 2 hitch setup, I could be wrong but it looks like in the first picture you don't have either of those so what setup would you recommend?

 

[doobin]

haha I'm glad to here that because for both Cat and Yanmar dealers I spoke with in person they all but laughed in my face when I mentioned wanting to get a Tilty in the future but everything I have seen over a year of research showed me that a engcon ec02 system would work perfectly on a 2.7ton machine.

The cost Is pretty insane for the DC2 control and 2 hitch setup, I could be wrong but it looks like in the first picture you don't have either of those so what setup would you recommend?

Plenty of Cat and tilty setups over here- owners usually add the extra counterwight though. A very very nice machine to grade with, I rules it out as it wouldn't really do any other movements whilst tracking (which I need all the time for timber work) but I'd say it would be a superb groundworkers machine. If I was groundworkds

Two hitch setup is nice for small machines IMHO, lets you drop it off for ripping, bulking, pecker work etc.

I would recommend buying your base machine with twin aux lines, that's all I did. I was lucky that my secondhand tilty had both hydraulic hitch and aux pipes through the centre- I use the hydraulic hitch (which is the third set of smaller pipes) but the flow through the swivel is too slow for anything decent so I don't use that.

DC2 is all well and good on a large machine with tree shears, flails etc, but its a huge extra cost thats simply not warranted on a small machine when all you want to do is tilt and rotate. You can control the aux flows from the cab on all the base machines I've seen with twin aux anyhow.

Cheapest option for you is a 'four pipe' tilty with a manual hitch underneath. I seem to recall that Engcon recently started offering a deal on these again- sales must be slowing.

 

[MaxC]

Cheapest option for you is a 'four pipe' tilty with a manual hitch underneath. I seem to recall that Engcon recently started offering a deal on these again- sales must be slowing.

Thanks for all that info, its a huge help too decide what the best setup would be for me. When you say a manual hitch underneath do you mean I would still be having to wack a pin in and out to change buckets or would that be to take the tilty off to hook up a hammer or auger when needed?

 

[6feetdown]

I'm guessing that because of the added weight a tilty will have? So a 2.7ton machine that is no tail swing vs one that has a back end will make big difference in the balance of the machine with a tilty on it?

Yes extra weights on mine

 

[6feetdown]

Thanks for all that info, its a huge help too decide what the best setup would be for me. When you say a manual hitch underneath do you mean I would still be having to wack a pin in and out to change buckets or would that be to take the tilty off to hook up a hammer or auger when needed?

No a manual QH not pins

 

[doobin]

Thanks for all that info, its a huge help too decide what the best setup would be for me. When you say a manual hitch underneath do you mean I would still be having to wack a pin in and out to change buckets or would that be to take the tilty off to hook up a hammer or auger when needed?

Manual s30 hitch. Just one visit needed to open it with a bar, crowd it towards you to close it I think.

I prefer to drop the tilty off to run a hammer or auger, or even to bulk out or trench.

 

[Mick-the-fitter]

surely you're not subject to the insane towing restrictions, weight-wise, that we are in the UK, out there in Oz? .... the 2.7t 'limit' that is so often discussed here, is totally down to our 3.5t max tow capacity

Did the do a tow bar kit for a mini moke

 

[MaxC]

Did the do a tow bar kit for a mini moke

From what I can tell because it is a 4.5/5.5kg GVM rated truck and it was used by the council before they sold it, they must have done a 500kg tow bar upgrade for some reason but I'm not sure why. Either way it works out for me because I now get an extra 500kg to play with without needed to do anything to the truck.

 

[MaxC]

Manual s30 hitch. Just one visit needed to open it with a bar, crowd it towards you to close it I think.

I prefer to drop the tilty off to run a hammer or auger, or even to bulk out or trench.

ahh gotcha, here in Aus I have not seen that system on any machine I have run so I wasn't even sure what it was before I googled it just now. I'm guessing because of this type of setup there is no way to run a hydraulic quick hitch on the bottom hitch instead of a manual one?