Needing a 1.5 -2 ton excavator

[Wildman]

Hello and thanks for having me ! I have been using excavators on and off for 25 years for my work as a walking track builder and stonemason so I am a steady operator and used to rough ground..... by no means am I a professional. Have been hiring all my life as that worked best but I now need / want to buy a machine. I live on a wild and remote property and now make my living by renting out cabins and accommodation. I have been delaying buying a machine but the jobs have been stockpiling...... my aim is to buy a machine with the aim of selling it in about 3 years but that may not happen ! My budget is 15k inc. VAT which I am not registered for.
I really need some advise about which machine to get as my heart was set on a Kubota KX018-4 but am really struggling to find one that both meets my expectations and budget........ do I need to rethink and start to look at something elts. Expanding tracks are desired as I have a network of trails at about 1m wide but would not be happy working on the rough with a really narrow track width. Max width is 1500 but I would need to make some alterations / widen existing trails.
Ok that’s my story ! Will try and post in relevant sections ! Thanks again.

[v8druid]

welcome Boyo ..... always seems to be the same story .... you set your budget .... then you gotta up it to get what you want
the VAT is a PITFA ... was reg. all me life and now I'm not, it grieves me adding that 20% to everything

[Wildman]

welcome Boyo ..... always seems to be the same story .... you set your budget .... then you gotta up it to get what you want
the VAT is a PITFA ... was reg. all me life and now I'm not, it grieves me adding that 20% to everything

budget is I am afraid capped at £15k there is just nowhere more can come from at the moment and I have some pressing jobs like the installation of a whole new water system along the length of the property. It’s grant aided but they want it done before April.... the reality is that I can’t find the machine at the top of my list within budget and will now need to rethink. ASAP

will have a look throuth d=some threads about 1.5-2 ton machines

[v8druid]

budget is I am afraid capped at £15k there is just nowhere more can come from at the moment and I have some pressing jobs like the installation of a whole new water system along the length of the property. It’s grant aided but they want it done before April.... the reality is that I can’t find the machine at the top of my list within budget and will now need to rethink. ASAP

will have a look throuth d=some threads about 1.5-2 ton machines

too big and too much?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KUBOTA-U2...torefresh=true

[Wildman]

Yup a bit to big. I guess the spec would be
Perfect track width 1.2m But could push it to 1.4 would need to look at my site in detail to go beyond this.

1.5 -2ton anything heavier will cause increased mess on a lot of the ground it’s needed on.
Would also like to to be able to fit it in my existing trailer.

Full cabin rather than cage, midges in the summer and rain most of the year....... but I am pretty robust and could cope with a cage if the right digger was available.

I would like to get something with aprox 1000 hrs as my thinking is that when and if I sell in 3 years time it’s not going to have increased a huge amount and will still be desirable.

Stability is importand due to the very uneven ground on my property that why I was looking at the kx range rather than the U range also easy access to service as I will be doing this myself.

£15000 is my max budget all in.

The qustion now is if the kx 18 is out of the picture what do I look at next. I am reluctant to go with the kx16 as a few folk have told me it will not be up to the job.

Do i I drop the Kubota brand and start looking at taki, cat, Volvo.......

[v8druid]

Yup a bit to big. I guess the spec would be
Perfect track width 1.2m But could push it to 1.4 would need to look at my site in detail to go beyond this.

1.5 -2ton anything heavier will cause increased mess on a lot of the ground it’s needed on.
Would also like to to be able to fit it in my existing trailer.

Full cabin rather than cage, midges in the summer and rain most of the year....... but I am pretty robust and could cope with a cage if the right digger was available.

I would like to get something with aprox 1000 hrs as my thinking is that when and if I sell in 3 years time it’s not going to have increased a huge amount and will still be desirable.

Stability is importand due to the very uneven ground on my property that why I was looking at the kx range rather than the U range also easy access to service as I will be doing this myself.

£15000 is my max budget all in.

The qustion now is if the kx 18 is out of the picture what do I look at next. I am reluctant to go with the kx16 as a few folk have told me it will not be up to the job.

Do i I drop the Kubota brand and start looking at taki, cat, Volvo.......

looks like you've no choice .... have you considered Neuson, 'Tachi or Doosan

[Muz]

I keep a KX18.4 in my fleet and try not to hire it out, but just use it for myself. Great wee machine. The advantage it has over the smaller ones is an extra counterweight in the tail end which fixes the balance issues that plagued the standard models with no track expansion. The were pretty shit, a fully out srtretched bucket across the tracks and you could sit on the bucket and the whole machine would coup over ... useless , how in gods name are you supposed to lift a bucket of type one at full reach ? Anyway, because of the expanding tracks, they were a good couple of grand dearer, and you will struggle to find one at your price point, most people will not be able to let them go at that age. Had a U-20 in the fleet and was a capable machine, adjustable tracks also, its the U25 that is fixed, they will be easier to come by, bit wider at 1310 than the 18.4 though, although you wont go wrong for residuals with Kubota