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Excavators can be a great investment for your equipment rental business. Unfortunately, not all excavators are worth the cost. And not all of them will fit the needs of your local market.
When you&#;re ready to add an excavator to your rental equipment business, it&#;s important to know what to look for. This is especially true for used excavators.
Figuring out how to choose an excavator should start with asking some key questions. Consider these when you create an equipment purchasing checklist.
Ask for the maintenance logs for the machine. A well-kept machine will also have a documented history of servicing. Assess the details of the records and consider whether the service has been reasonable and performed at required intervals. Pinpoint any anomalies, such as long stretches without maintenance records.
Ask about any previous damage that the excavator experienced, as well as any major repairs that were needed. Additionally, inspect the equipment for major wear and tear, dents, and signs of past repairs.
If there was past damage and repairs, what types of repairs were needed? And did the equipment experience recurring issues? For major damage, you&#;ll have to assess whether the equipment&#;s useful life could be reduced due to it.
Figure out when the last service date was and whether there are any needed replacements due in the short term. Note that older excavators may be especially hard or expensive to repair due to hard-to-get parts. Make sure there&#;s enough manufacturer support for the parts for the excavator you&#;re considering.
If there are near-term repairs needed, will the seller cover them? If not, any upcoming repairs should be accounted for in the final sale price.
Ask the seller about potential warranties or guarantees about the equipment&#;s condition. If possible, get any warranties or guarantees in writing. Also, gauge whether the seller will be around to honor these guarantees and try to get references or reviews from prior customers.
Buying a used excavator requires special attention. You&#;ll want to do a more thorough inspection than you would when buying a new machine. For an excavator, you&#;ll want to assess the condition of items like the bucket, boom and stick, and slew ring. Here&#;s what to look for when buying an excavator.
First, inspect the bucket and attachments. You&#;ll want to look for excessive wear and tear, as well as any rust. Also, assess the integrity of the welding and look for any scalloping.
Scalloping is the wear between the teeth of the bucket. Half-moon shapes may indicate reduced cutting force of the bucket. Knowing what to look for &#; and where &#; will go a long way in helping you know how to buy an excavator.
With the boom and stick, look for any cracks in welds (or rewelds) at connection points between the stick and bucket and between the boom and stick. You want all the pins and bearings to be tight at the connection point. Loose connections in the boom and stick will reduce the excavator&#;s accuracy.
Hydraulics includes the hydraulic cylinder, pump, and lines. Look for any leaks and cleanliness. Leaks don&#;t necessarily mean a replacement is needed, but it may mean you need to repair it soon. You&#;ll also want to consider the hydraulics (and the flows) when it comes to the potential attachments you&#;ll use.
Damage to the slew ring can be very expensive to fix. Make sure that the slew ring is in good shape and that there are no signs of overloading or poor lubrication.
Engine
The engine is another major cost component of the excavator, so you&#;ll want to check for any leaks. Turn on the excavator and listen for knocking or rattling, and look for excessive smoke. Test the various speeds to see if smoke becomes an issue as it&#;s used. Continue to listen for abnormal noises after you turn the machine off.
Make sure to test the steering components and assess any play in the steering. Do all functions work? How is the rotation, and is the steering responsive in all directions?
Does the steering offer full rotation of the equipment?
Regardless of whether the excavator you&#;re looking at has tracks or wheels, you&#;ll want to make sure everything is intact and there&#;s no damage. If the excavator has tracks, how is the tension? If there are rubber tracks, are there any cracks in the rubber? Excavators with tires should have proper pressure and not have any visible damage.
Make sure the hour meter is operational. If the hour meter appears to be questionable, assess whether the control pedals and other cab elements have excessive wear. If so, this can indicate the machine has had more hours than the meter counts.
Ensure that the fluids, such as oil and hydraulic fluid, are at acceptable levels and aren&#;t running low. Look for any visible leaks. Some leaks are easy fixes, but others could be deal breakers.
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Ask to see all original paperwork on the equipment, as well as service records. You&#;ll want to get as much information as possible, including performance and usage history. What projects has the machine primarily been used for, and where?
Is buying an excavator a good investment? If you&#;re renting out heavy equipment, or even if you&#;re catering to smaller projects, an excavator is a great option. They&#;re versatile and can be used for grading or home projects. But you need to find an excavator in good condition to see a great return on your investment.
Growing your rental business is what the Quipli team focuses on. Find out how our rental business software can streamline inventory management &#; book a demo today.
Check out our list of best mini excavators to rent and our top skid steer brands to rent.
Learn About Quipli&#;s Construction Equipment rental SoftwareSelecting the right compact excavator for your landscaping company can be an overwhelming task when you have multiple manufacturers and specs to consider.
Compact excavators are excellent tools to have on the jobsite thanks to their versatility and ability to reduce the need for hand labor.
If you are considering adding one to your fleet, or if you&#;re shopping for a new one, here are the questions you should be asking and what really matters when trying to narrow down your options.
It may sound like a no-brainer, but machinery is a big investment, so it is important to not end up buying something your business doesn&#;t really need.
Compact excavators can be used for jobs such as digging trenches for irrigation systems, moving brush, grading, making holes for posts and trees and much more if the right attachment is used.
&#;When properly matched to the project; there really are no limitations to what these machines can do,&#; says Jeff Jacobsmeyer, Kubota product manager for excavators, wheel loaders and TLBs. &#;Advanced load sensing hydraulics with an adjustable auxiliary flow allows the operator to &#;dial&#; in the flow rate needed for any attachment.&#;
Bucket and thumb attachments are two of the most commonly used for compact excavators, as they enable the user to manipulate irregularly shaped objects, debris and rocks. Other popular attachments include augers, hammers and variously sized buckets.
If you&#;ve already been renting a compact excavator for the majority of your jobs, this is a good indicator it will be put to good use if you buy one, and it may even enable you to pick up more of these jobs after purchasing one for your business.
Once you&#;ve determined a compact excavator would fit well in your operations, there are a number of specs to evaluate.
The nature of your work will determine which specs you&#;ll really need to pay attention to, but the two main details you should focus on are the listed dig depth and lifting capacity.
According to Jacobsmeyer, it is not often that a landscaper will need to dig to the machine&#;s maximum depth. For the most part, a machine with a dig depth of +/- 10&#; will work within the range of 0-9&#; over 95 percent of the time.
&#;When considering the dig depth and lift capacity you need for the work you typically do, don&#;t forget your business will likely expand into larger, more complex jobs,&#; says Justin Steger, inside district manager, compact construction equipment, for John Deere. &#;Purchasing a compact excavator that is capable of lifting and digging 25 percent more than what you typically do today, will allow your business to grow without having to replace equipment as fast.&#;
As for the specs that can be deceiving, Steger says engine horsepower is one of those &#;look at me&#; specifications. It is important to note if the listed horsepower is gross or net. Net horsepower will be the more realistic number, taking into account inefficiencies.
&#;Arguably more important than engine horsepower is hydraulic horsepower &#; even though both are related,&#; Steger says. &#;Compact excavators are hydraulically operated, and a high engine horsepower machine with less efficient hydraulic pumps to transfer that power may not feel as powerful as a machine with slightly less horsepower and more efficient hydraulics.&#;
An excavator&#;s hydraulic system contributes to its performance more than any other feature, according to Jason Boerger, marketing manager for Bobcat Company.
&#;In other words, hydraulic horsepower, in working conditions, is key to measuring the machine&#;s overall hydraulic system performance,&#; Boerger said. &#;Hydraulic horsepower also plays a major role in cycle times and attachment performance.&#;
Lee Padgett, a product manager for Takeuchi, says that also flow rate and the amount of hydraulic oil in the system should be considered.
&#;Higher flow allows for a wider range of attachments to be utilized, and higher oil capacity should allow oil temperatures to remain lower, which would improve the durability of hydraulic components,&#; Padgett says.
Another key aspect to keep in mind is the size of the jobs you are working on, as this will help you determine what type of tail swing is best for your jobs. Between conventional, reduced and zero tail swing, there is no one perfect type. Everything has a tradeoff, Steger says.
The main difference comes down to how the machine&#;s upper structure rotates, how much the excavator housing extends past the tracks and the width of the tracks.
&#;Conventional tail swing machines typically have a narrower undercarriage, giving them better access than a zero tail swing machine that has a wider undercarriage to help stabilize it,&#; Padgett says. &#;Additional benefits of the conventional design are more spacious cabins and better maintenance access.&#;
Conventional tail swing excavators typically offer the greatest lift capacity and the rear of the house protrudes 6-20 inches during rotation.
A reduced or minimal tail swing excavator&#;s chassis extends no more than 6 inches beyond the tracks and is a good option for when there is not a lot of room to maneuver.
&#;Minimum tail swing machines may sacrifice a bit in side stability lifting, but the operator never has to worry about damaging the rear of the machine or other surroundings since the weight is tucked in closer to the center axis of the excavator,&#; Jacobsmeyer says.
Zero tail swing excavators can work in tightly cramped spaces, but it also results in a reduced reach, reduced dig depth and rated operating capacity. As for which tail swing works best for you will come down to the nature of your job sites.
When it comes to weight, compact excavators are classified anywhere from 0 to 6 metric tons, while the mid-sized excavators can weigh anywhere between 6 to 10 metric tons.
The most popular weight amongst landscapers is in the 3-4 metric ton size class.
&#;This size of machine is typically the largest compact excavator that can be hauled on a trailer without having to have a commercial driver&#;s license,&#; Jacobsmeyer says. &#;The compact size allows for close work in areas resulting in less collateral damage to the surroundings when performing underground repairs or remodels near existing landscapes or structures.&#;
While specs like digging depth, lift capacity and tail swing configuration are important, they are not the only factors you should take into consideration.
You may think the features in the operator cab are superfluous but after spending a long day running equipment, your crews will thank you for including those elements that improve the user experience.
&#;Some cab features such as A/C or a suspension seat could be viewed as unnecessary to digging functions but make the operator much more comfortable, causes less fatigue and in some cases more productive,&#; Padgett says.
Another facet you might not have considered in the buying process is the dealer support.
&#;Downtime costs a landscaper money, but even for basic maintenance, you want to choose a dealer that has parts on hand and is available for service and support should you need them,&#; Steger says.
Last, but definitely not least, do not forget to put your potential new compact excavator to the test. While you can determine a fair amount about the hydraulics of the machine from a spec sheet, some things you can only discover by running a demo.
&#;Hydraulic flow is important, auxiliary hydraulic flow is important depending on the attachments you plan to use, but I would argue the ability to multifunction is the most important &#; and doesn&#;t show up on a spec sheet or brochure,&#; Steger says. &#;How the hydraulic system functions as a whole while you are commanding the bucket, arm, boom and swing all together is something you can determine by demoing machines and seeing which one works best for you.&#;
Asking your local compact equipment dealer to bring an excavator to your landscaping site can help you put the machine through its paces by conducting real-life situations such as trenching or lifting boulders.
&#;While specs are very important to take into consideration when looking to purchase a compact excavator &#; and can help narrow down the choices &#; they shouldn&#;t be the only thing that is looked at,&#; Boerger says. &#;It&#;s very important to get into the machine and operate it to see how it feels and performs. Just like you wouldn&#;t buy a car without test driving it first, you shouldn&#;t buy a compact excavator without doing the same.&#;
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