School me up on buying a 4 to 6 ton excavator and mulching head

[WTFJohn]

Then you need a skid steer version not an excavator. If you won’t take a tractor down it I wouldn’t take an excavator down it and try and work. Tippy when your swinging a muncher head around at any type of a angle.

I take my excavator on way steeper terrain than I will a SS with mulcher head. Blade down and good steel tracks, I will go 25*+ on the excavator. No chance I would take a SS w/ mulcher on that stuff, just lifting the mulcher would make things get sporty. Excavators can also mulch terrain without having to drive on said terrain.

They work hand in hand, and neither is a good replacement for the other.

 

[npaden]

Here I am 2 years later and really not any closer to making a decision on this. They are having some really good sales on the mini excavators right now and up to 0% financing for 60 months so in some ways it would be like a hedge against any possible inflation on them although that seems a little unlikely right now.

I have found that Texas has a Class A non-commercial drivers license that I could get that would allow me to be over 26,000lbs. Actually thinking about pulling the trigger on a Takeuchi TB-250-2 but need to decide if it is going to be worth it. I seems like these min-excavators hold their value really well as looking at used ones just doesn't seem to justify buying a used one over a new one. New I'm looking in the low $70k range and used with 2,000 hours they are still in the $45k - $50k range.

I have switched my thinking to getting a gooseneck tilt trailer instead of a bumper pull from when I was making the original posts so that is a little heavier, but I think would be worth it if I'm going to be pulling it back and forth to Colorado. Since I've swapped places here in Texas I don't think I would be using an excavator on my new place here in Texas as much as I would have been on my old place so I'm thinking the excavator will spend most of it's time on my place in Colorado and won't be moving back and forth very frequently, probably less than once a year but the gooseneck is going to be way more comfortable to pull.

I really probably should rent an excavator and try it out first, but in some ways it seems like almost a no lose situation with the prices and the interest rates I'm seeing right now. If I buy one and after 4 or 5 years I decide to sell it, most likely I will have less than 1,000 hours on it and should be able to sell it for 80% or so of what I paid for it. Sometimes it seems like these things hold their value so well on a lightly used machine you can resell them for even 90% of what you paid for it if you ignore inflation and if I'm doing 0% interest then you really don't have inflation.

I still think I would end up with a mulching head to use with it at some point down the road but the first thing I need it for is to clean up some of my roads that have some erosion and get them back in shape. Then I need to knock some brush back along the roads and after that probably in 5 years or so when I'm retired I would like to really do some work to establish some really nice habitat improvement spots where I clear some big patches of pinon and juniper and put in a mixture of grass and forbs that will really attract elk and deer.

At some point I'm going to have to just give up on the idea or actually pull the trigger and make it happen. With the 0% interest rate for 60 months it would make pulling the trigger pretty darn easy. The property taxes on my place in Colorado just jumped up quite a bit and if I can get a forest management plan in place with the Colorado State Forestry Department and get it implemented I think the reduction in property taxes for being agriculture use would go a decent way toward paying the payments on the excavator.

Also been toying with the idea of just hiring a college kid getting a forestry degree to do all that for me and use the reduction in property taxes to pay them.

Need to get busy one way or the other because just letting it sit idle and paying big property tax bills isn't worth it to me even if I do get to hunt it occasionally.

 

[npaden]

This guy is doing a TON of work with a piddly little Kubota KX-040 with a mulching head. I could easily haul that around and be under the CDL limit.

 

[Nick87]

Here I am 2 years later and really not any closer to making a decision on this. They are having some really good sales on the mini excavators right now and up to 0% financing for 60 months so in some ways it would be like a hedge against any possible inflation on them although that seems a little unlikely right now.

I have found that Texas has a Class A non-commercial drivers license that I could get that would allow me to be over 26,000lbs. Actually thinking about pulling the trigger on a Takeuchi TB-250-2 but need to decide if it is going to be worth it. I seems like these min-excavators hold their value really well as looking at used ones just doesn't seem to justify buying a used one over a new one. New I'm looking in the low $70k range and used with 2,000 hours they are still in the $45k - $50k range.

I have switched my thinking to getting a gooseneck tilt trailer instead of a bumper pull from when I was making the original posts so that is a little heavier, but I think would be worth it if I'm going to be pulling it back and forth to Colorado. Since I've swapped places here in Texas I don't think I would be using an excavator on my new place here in Texas as much as I would have been on my old place so I'm thinking the excavator will spend most of it's time on my place in Colorado and won't be moving back and forth very frequently, probably less than once a year but the gooseneck is going to be way more comfortable to pull.

I really probably should rent an excavator and try it out first, but in some ways it seems like almost a no lose situation with the prices and the interest rates I'm seeing right now. If I buy one and after 4 or 5 years I decide to sell it, most likely I will have less than 1,000 hours on it and should be able to sell it for 80% or so of what I paid for it. Sometimes it seems like these things hold their value so well on a lightly used machine you can resell them for even 90% of what you paid for it if you ignore inflation and if I'm doing 0% interest then you really don't have inflation.

I still think I would end up with a mulching head to use with it at some point down the road but the first thing I need it for is to clean up some of my roads that have some erosion and get them back in shape. Then I need to knock some brush back along the roads and after that probably in 5 years or so when I'm retired I would like to really do some work to establish some really nice habitat improvement spots where I clear some big patches of pinon and juniper and put in a mixture of grass and forbs that will really attract elk and deer.

At some point I'm going to have to just give up on the idea or actually pull the trigger and make it happen. With the 0% interest rate for 60 months it would make pulling the trigger pretty darn easy. The property taxes on my place in Colorado just jumped up quite a bit and if I can get a forest management plan in place with the Colorado State Forestry Department and get it implemented I think the reduction in property taxes for being agriculture use would go a decent way toward paying the payments on the excavator.

Also been toying with the idea of just hiring a college kid getting a forestry degree to do all that for me and use the reduction in property taxes to pay them.

Need to get busy one way or the other because just letting it sit idle and paying big property tax bills isn't worth it to me even if I do get to hunt it occasionally.

If I were you with limited experience (no offense) renting a few. (Different brands and features) would be a real good place to start. If your serious about buying they shoukd let you demo one if not free than definitely a discount. Usually they will apply the rental money towards your purchase.

 

[Adamhuntingstuff]

Hey Boss,

I saw your post about you looking at buying a mini excavator and some attachments for it. I run a Mini Excavator Attachments company in Indiana called Mongo Attachments (www.mongoattachments.com). We sell attachments all over the country and I obviously would love to sell you some of our attachments. That said, I've also just been in the business for 10 years, so if you have any other questions about different machines/brands or different attachment types feel free to message me.

Here are my thoughts on a couple of the key points in your post.

1. Brand: Takeuchi is a great brand to be looking at. They are quality machines at a fair price. We have a TB235 TB250 TB370 and a TL8R2 from them and all are great machines and easy to work on.
2. Trailer: If you are going to be pulling a bunch and long distances I would definitely recommend the gooseneck trailer, it is a more comfortable ride, but that's just my preference not knowing what truck you are pulling with.
3. Machine Size: I find myself using our TB235 the most of all of our machines. It is light and small enough that trailering is not a big deal and requires a smaller trailer. Its much more nimble getting around in tight spaces and in the woods than the 250 or 370. It would still have enough ass that it could handle your erosion damage on roads using a normal digging bucket or a tilt bucket. It has enough aux flow that it can run mulching heads for brush cutting (small material up to 5"- 6").

I do a lot of hardwood timber stand improvement, brush clearing, and small grading jobs. I do not know what the common practice is for taking out pinion and juniper. Whenever I need to remove trees larger than 6" in diameter I usually just use a ripper to rip up their roots and push them down, it saves time compared to mulching up a big tree and saves $ compared to changing a bunch of mulcher teeth.

If you end up getting a machine and want some attachments I would love to earn your business, and would be happy to hook you up with a Hunttalk discount.

 

[buckbull]

Govplanet has a bunch of mulching attachments available. Most look brand new. Ran across them yesterday.

 

[Darkside]

Hey Boss,

I saw your post about you looking at buying a mini excavator and some attachments for it. I run a Mini Excavator Attachments company in Indiana called Mongo Attachments (www.mongoattachments.com). We sell attachments all over the country and I obviously would love to sell you some of our attachments. That said, I've also just been in the business for 10 years, so if you have any other questions about different machines/brands or different attachment types feel free to message me.

Here are my thoughts on a couple of the key points in your post.

1. Brand: Takeuchi is a great brand to be looking at. They are quality machines at a fair price. We have a TB235 TB250 TB370 and a TL8R2 from them and all are great machines and easy to work on.
2. Trailer: If you are going to be pulling a bunch and long distances I would definitely recommend the gooseneck trailer, it is a more comfortable ride, but that's just my preference not knowing what truck you are pulling with.
3. Machine Size: I find myself using our TB235 the most of all of our machines. It is light and small enough that trailering is not a big deal and requires a smaller trailer. Its much more nimble getting around in tight spaces and in the woods than the 250 or 370. It would still have enough ass that it could handle your erosion damage on roads using a normal digging bucket or a tilt bucket. It has enough aux flow that it can run mulching heads for brush cutting (small material up to 5"- 6").

I do a lot of hardwood timber stand improvement, brush clearing, and small grading jobs. I do not know what the common practice is for taking out pinion and juniper. Whenever I need to remove trees larger than 6" in diameter I usually just use a ripper to rip up their roots and push them down, it saves time compared to mulching up a big tree and saves $ compared to changing a bunch of mulcher teeth.

If you end up getting a machine and want some attachments I would love to earn your business, and would be happy to hook you up with a Hunttalk discount.

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^What he said. Once you get started and find it's limitation, I think you will be surprised.
Start small and work your way to the Big Toys if you think you need too. I used them on and off for 30years, I would rather use the small ones any time.

 

[npaden]

Hey Boss,

I saw your post about you looking at buying a mini excavator and some attachments for it. I run a Mini Excavator Attachments company in Indiana called Mongo Attachments (www.mongoattachments.com). We sell attachments all over the country and I obviously would love to sell you some of our attachments. That said, I've also just been in the business for 10 years, so if you have any other questions about different machines/brands or different attachment types feel free to message me.

Here are my thoughts on a couple of the key points in your post.

1. Brand: Takeuchi is a great brand to be looking at. They are quality machines at a fair price. We have a TB235 TB250 TB370 and a TL8R2 from them and all are great machines and easy to work on.
2. Trailer: If you are going to be pulling a bunch and long distances I would definitely recommend the gooseneck trailer, it is a more comfortable ride, but that's just my preference not knowing what truck you are pulling with.
3. Machine Size: I find myself using our TB235 the most of all of our machines. It is light and small enough that trailering is not a big deal and requires a smaller trailer. Its much more nimble getting around in tight spaces and in the woods than the 250 or 370. It would still have enough ass that it could handle your erosion damage on roads using a normal digging bucket or a tilt bucket. It has enough aux flow that it can run mulching heads for brush cutting (small material up to 5"- 6").

I do a lot of hardwood timber stand improvement, brush clearing, and small grading jobs. I do not know what the common practice is for taking out pinion and juniper. Whenever I need to remove trees larger than 6" in diameter I usually just use a ripper to rip up their roots and push them down, it saves time compared to mulching up a big tree and saves $ compared to changing a bunch of mulcher teeth.

If you end up getting a machine and want some attachments I would love to earn your business, and would be happy to hook you up with a Hunttalk discount.

Thanks. I’ve actually watched a few YouTube videos with your mulching attachments. They seem to be priced competitively and a little lighter than some of the other brands.

Your comments about the smaller excavator make me feel better about not being too short if I end up with a 4 ton machine. I think it would take a little longer but should get most things done. My place in Colorado is big but I wouldn’t be trying to tackle big pieces at a time. First priority would be to fix erosion damage on about 2 miles of roads / trails. The mulcher would work pretty good on oak brush I think. Really thinking about pulling the trigger with the zero interest deal going right now.

 

[Adamhuntingstuff]

Thanks. I’ve actually watched a few YouTube videos with your mulching attachments. They seem to be priced competitively and a little lighter than some of the other brands.

Your comments about the smaller excavator make me feel better about not being too short if I end up with a 4 ton machine. I think it would take a little longer but should get most things done. My place in Colorado is big but I wouldn’t be trying to tackle big pieces at a time. First priority would be to fix erosion damage on about 2 miles of roads / trails. The mulcher would work pretty good on oak brush I think. Really thinking about pulling the trigger with the zero interest deal going right now.

That is great to hear! Shoot me a message if you ever have any other questions. I am happy to help.

 

[npaden]

Actually got a couple quotes on some machines. Takeuchi TB240 with a cab, angle blade, bucket, thumb and manual quick connect.

Local place quoted $77k for a 2025 with 9 hours and a place in Colorado quoted $71k for the same machine except it is a 2024 with 2 hours on it. They would deliver it to my property there in Colorado for that price.

I found a 2023 with 260 hours on it listed for $55k that he said he would go $53k on it that is pretty much the same exact machine that is in Oklahoma.

Everything older than that just isn't worth the lower price for the number of hours that they have on them. To get under $40k it seems like machines have 2,000+ hours on them and look quite well used.

Running the numbers on a spreadsheet, total payments for 48 months for the 0% interest machine would be $71k of course, for a $53k machine at 8% (to me that is about the current time value of money) the payments would be $63k. So essentially $8k more for a brand new machine over a very lightly used machine.

Add that to the fact that I don't really even need one right now and it just leaves me trying to sort out where I would be in 4 years or so when I would have the time to actually use it on a fairly regular basis. Will inflation ratchet the prices up even more? Will there be a glut of nice lightly used machines available to pick up for cash?

Rental for a week would basically be $1k if I was able to pick it up and drop it back off. I don't have a trailer that would haul it right now but do intend on buying one as well, there's another $10kish but that would pay off pretty quick on the rental as they charge $750 for drop off and $750 for pickup.

This would end up being used for forestry and agriculture purposes so I would probably end up deducting it so I guess from that perspective that would save me quite a bit on taxes, hadn't really thought of that angle.

Who knows, I might actually pull the trigger on one of these.

 

[npaden]

Just reading back through all this and in July 2023 I got a quote of $67,250 for a TB250 with a cab, angle blade, bucket and thumb from the local place. That has gone up to $77k now for a slightly smaller machine. That's a 14.5% increase in price in 3 years. Pretty sure that was a cash price and the current quote is the with 0% financing but still a pretty big increase in 3 years. It might be worth locking in a price now with the 0% financing instead of waiting and buying an $85k machine in 4 years.

 

[802flyfish]

Sorry, don’t have any advice on minis, but excited to get back out in the woods this summer.

 

[Nick87]

Sorry, don’t have any advice on minis, but excited to get back out in the woods this summer. View attachment 402231View attachment 402232View attachment 402230

Learned something new. Totally different model numbers for forestry equipment.

 

[Adamhuntingstuff]

Actually got a couple quotes on some machines. Takeuchi TB240 with a cab, angle blade, bucket, thumb and manual quick connect.

Local place quoted $77k for a 2025 with 9 hours and a place in Colorado quoted $71k for the same machine except it is a 2024 with 2 hours on it. They would deliver it to my property there in Colorado for that price.

I found a 2023 with 260 hours on it listed for $55k that he said he would go $53k on it that is pretty much the same exact machine that is in Oklahoma.

Everything older than that just isn't worth the lower price for the number of hours that they have on them. To get under $40k it seems like machines have 2,000+ hours on them and look quite well used.

Running the numbers on a spreadsheet, total payments for 48 months for the 0% interest machine would be $71k of course, for a $53k machine at 8% (to me that is about the current time value of money) the payments would be $63k. So essentially $8k more for a brand new machine over a very lightly used machine.

Add that to the fact that I don't really even need one right now and it just leaves me trying to sort out where I would be in 4 years or so when I would have the time to actually use it on a fairly regular basis. Will inflation ratchet the prices up even more? Will there be a glut of nice lightly used machines available to pick up for cash?

Rental for a week would basically be $1k if I was able to pick it up and drop it back off. I don't have a trailer that would haul it right now but do intend on buying one as well, there's another $10kish but that would pay off pretty quick on the rental as they charge $750 for drop off and $750 for pickup.

This would end up being used for forestry and agriculture purposes so I would probably end up deducting it so I guess from that perspective that would save me quite a bit on taxes, hadn't really thought of that angle.

Who knows, I might actually pull the trigger on one of these.

If you are going to go down the new machine route, I would definitely suggest buying it from the dealership that will be closest to where the machine typically is in use, which in your case sounds like Colorado. New machines are great, but sh*t happens even with new equipment, and the biggest value in my opinion to buying a new machine is the warranty and service you get from the dealer. It would be a real kick in the pecker to trailer that thing all the way to Colorado, then blow a seal in the valve stack 4 hours into a job and have to trailer it back to the dealer of origin to get service done.

We tend to buy rental fleet machines that fall in between 100 - 300 hours. We have very few issues with them in this hours range. Anything can be a lemon, but at that hour range they have had normal service done at the dealership and have been in the fleet long enough that any major issues from the factory would have come to light. We are always outside the warranty window, but we fix our own stuff so the price benefit is a win for us.

The more I read about your situation the more I would suggest renting to start out. Even at $1000 a week for rental and $1500 for delivery/pickup, you are only out $2500 and you can get a lot done in one week if you are dedicated and focused on running it. This way you would not be making payments on a machine you are not using very much, and you would be able to get a feel for what type/size of machine best suits the work you are doing.

Most dealerships will also have language in their contract that allows some or all of that rental fee to go towards purchase of a machine, so if you do love it you could always just roll that into the purchase.

Just my .02

 

[npaden]

Yeah, I struggle to make the math work, but I really want to buy one. LOL.

The biggest and really the only benefit to buying one would be to have it available when I want it, even if that is only for a day. Once I'm retired I do think I could more likely make the math work, but for sure renting is the way to go from a math perspective until then. A larger machine would probably work better for what I want to use it for as well, and if I was renting it and paying to have it delivered then I could get a larger machine instead of one just under the CDL limit.

I told the salesman that I would have a hard time saying no if he could get it down to $70k and the 0% interest was for 60 months and I have a message saying that he has great news so I'm thinking he is going to get there so I'm going to have to make a decision pretty quickly.

For some reason I look at the rental as an expense and the purchase as an asset. If I pay $70,000 for it now and then in 5 years decide I want something different or end up selling that property or something I could probably sell it for $55,000 let's say. That's $15,000 out of my pocket. If I rented it once a year for a week I would be out $10,000. So would it be worth the extra $5,000 to have it available whenever I want? I guess I would have maintenance and probably insurance as well but $5,000 extra doesn't sound bad over a 5 year period.

I rarely spend a full week up there so I could see myself not renting one because I am only going to be up there 3 days. If I had my own machine sitting there I could use the heck out of it for 3 days and feel good about it. If I'm renting it for 3 days plus the hauling it back and forth that's getting up to nearly $1,000 a day and I doubt I would spring for it.

First world problems...