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

[npaden]

It seems completely counter intuitive, but going from a diesel truck to a gas truck would solve my weight problems. Take 1,000lbs off the GVWR of the pickup and add that to the GVWR of the trailer and I'm good. Of course the diesel truck is going to pull way better and be safer but lets not worry about that.

If my son ends up deciding he wants to use the excavator to run a side business I guess we could get him a used gas 3/4 ton or even a single cab 1 ton that could keep things under the CDL without having to de-rate the trailer. Probably the cheapest option.

I've done a bunch more research and in Texas I can get a Class A non CDL license for over 26,000lbs that will work for farm and personal use so I will most likely go ahead and get that. Still a little tricky hauling it back and forth to Colorado from one farm to another farm but I think I would be okay with the Class A non CDL.

 

[buckbull]

There are several attachments that require high flow hydraulics. I know its not coming from my wallet but i would go bigger if you csn make it work. Glad the auction tip worked out.

 

[cbat]

Commenting on your truck post. I have ran diesel trucks for 40 years. I have a F250-F350 and a F450
At this moment I wish all three of them had gas motors. This DEF crap now makes a diesel pick up or newer diesel equipment not worth having. I am looking for a mini ex but I want a older pre DEF model.

 

[Addicting]

Commenting on your truck post. I have ran diesel trucks for 40 years. I have a F250-F350 and a F450
At this moment I wish all three of them had gas motors. This DEF crap now makes a diesel pick up or newer diesel equipment not worth having. I am looking for a mini ex but I want an older pre DEF model.

For my burb I built a 6.0 gasser. I figured it would be enough. It’s fun but no comparison to the duramax I got rid of.

But I’m in the same boat, I’m not dealing with DEF anymore. What I would spend on an older diesel I opted just to build a different gas motor with more stroke and displacement. The goal is 6.8l LS with 500ft lbs by 3500rpms vs a LB7 which had 520ft lbs at 1800.

That way I can get close without having the diesel cost of ownership.

 

[Adamhuntingstuff]

Thanks a bunch for the heads up on this. Looks like I've started my journey anyway. Won an auction for one of the 32" mulcher heads this morning for what seems like a VERY good price. I've been researching these and they are pretty light on support but there is a group on Facebook using them and helping each other out when they have issues and overall they are reporting that they are pretty decent units.

At $850 + a $127.50 auction fee I'm sure at a very low entry point. I won the auction in Colorado Springs and the place I'm buying the excavator from said they will go pick it up for me and deliver it with the excavator to my place in Trinidad.

Raytree REDM32 Excavator Mulcher - Unused

Used surplus Raytree REDM32 Mulcher Attachment in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States for sale, inspected and guaranteed. null

www.govplanet.com

I just need to decide between the TB240 that weighs 8,990lbs and has 17gpm of aux hydraulic flow and the TB250 that weighs 11,288lbs and has 24gpm of hydraulic flow.

The TB250 would be better to run the mulcher and not many times do you hear someone say they wished they had a smaller machine, but it would be right at the limit of transporting it without a CDL. To the point I wouldn't be able to haul it with the mulcher. But I don't think I would be needing the mulcher anywhere other than Colorado anyway.

I also might have to cut the top of the door on the sea container to get the TB250 inside it for storage to keep it protected from mice.

Plus there is about a $10,000 difference in the price. I waffle back and forth from the lighter easier to transport unit to the heavier better hydraulic flow that will run the mulcher unit on a day by day basis.

I agree with @Addicting that more flow and pressure is best. Might want to confirm if possible what flow and pressure that mulcher is setup to run at.
Depending on the motor type and displacement there will be a flow window that they run best within.
You can figure this out via trial and error, but tuning the machine to the head from the start can help avoid poor performance and potential blown motor seals.

 

[npaden]

I agree with @Addicting that more flow and pressure is best. Might want to confirm if possible what flow and pressure that mulcher is setup to run at.
Depending on the motor type and displacement there will be a flow window that they run best within.
You can figure this out via trial and error, but tuning the machine to the head from the start can help avoid poor performance and potential blown motor seals.

Sounds like they are using a motor that has a big variable (it shows from 12-35gpm) but from what other users are posting it sounds like it highly prefers being up near the top of that. One guy is running a TB260 with 27 gpm of flow and says that it is barely enough, another guy says that he is running 16 gpm of flow and it is okay but not great and another guy is running a Kubota KX-057 with 20 gpm of flow and he says it works good.

I've thought about swapping the hydraulic motor if it doesn't run it well but I'm hoping the TB250 with 24 gpm of flow will do the trick even if it robs speed off moving the arm around.

I'm 99% sure I'm going to lock in a deal on the TB250 this week with the 0% financing.

Also about to pull the trigger on a Kaufman Trailer - 17K gooseneck tilt - 24' long. I'm going to de-rate it to 14,650 I think, but it will be nice to have the 8k axles and the 17.5" wheels.

Thanks, Nathan