Buying an excavator

[ricktak]

Buying an excavator from a private party the Blue Book has a different persons name than the seller what do I need to do to make sure this is legit and legal, I am in Tak my wife who is a Thai citizen will be making the purchase. Thanks

[NeverSure]

Do you know how to check out and excavator quickly to see if it has serious problems? I'll tell you if in case you don't. Repairs on one of those can be more than the machine is worth.

When you start it, just like any other diesel it shouldn't put out too much black smoke. Just a puff and then run clean. If it smokes under power the engine is shot. If it smokes all the time the injectors are shot.

Drive it straight ahead on level ground. It should go straight. If it turns at all the hydraulic planetary drive unit in back on the side it's turning to is worn. Do the same in reverse. It should take off with authority. When pushing dirt with the blade the tracks should slip before those rear hydraulic units do. If you can't slip the tracks either the hydraulic pump or the drive units are shot.

Make a circle sharply to the left and then to the right. The circles should be the same size if all the hydraulic drive units are good.

Rotate the house until the bucket is to the side. Keep the arms and bucket very low so if it tips it'll tip onto the bucket which can easily hold and lift the machine. Put the bucket on the ground and rapidly push up and down with it. If the house gives before the tracks do the turntable is worn. Run. The house and the lower unit with the tracks should move tightly together. The last thing you want to do is rebuild a loose turntable.

Bring the bucket back to front and push down until the front of the tracks lift off the ground. Shut off the engine, get off and take a good break. The unit shouldn't sit back down if the hydraulic motor and valves are tight. If it sits down run.

Start it back up and again lift the front off the ground by pushing down with the push blade. Again it should stay there and not bleed down. If tight the front will stay up all week.

Look at where the lower main digging arm attaches to the frame. Has it ever been welded back onto the frame? If it has it was broken when the machine rolled at one time and the welds won't hold long term. The whole unit is one piece of forged steel and it needs to be the strongest on the machine due to leverage on it. If it breaks that totals the machine for value.

Lift the bucket up and shake the arms back and forth and in and out. The pins should be tight. Replacing any of these things is very expensive.

Good luck.

[Ace of Pop]

Check the Engine hours, and that its dealer serviced, not some nig nog who runs the local hammer n spanner joint , ask for bills etc. Tak has some excellent CAT Authorized places, as do most of the Names.Good luck there's good money there if you keep a check on the Thai Family members.

[Ace of Pop]

As for the Book perhaps its a Company Plant Registered and the Boss selling it,but be carefull 99% of my sales were Leased/ Financed

[BSJ]

The guys that own them in my area are on the go constantly. Good business....but you need a 10 wheel truck to move em around.

[NeverSure]

The guys that own them in my area are on the go constantly. Good business....but you need a 10 wheel truck to move em around.

A small one like a Bobcat 320 or 325 weighs about 3,500 pounds. (1600 kg) That's about as much as many cars and can be pulled on a car trailer behind a full sized pickup. So can a smaller skid steer.

Often the reason guys have bigger trucks is so that they can have a dump truck and also pull a heavier bulldozer. These are guys who are seriously in the excavation biz.

I have a heavy duty Ford F 150 4x4 with the factory towing package and a car trailer. I pull my Bobcat excavator or my farm tractor with loader and an implement with no problem. I never had a use for a dump truck or cat because this is for my own use and as rarely as I need them its far cheaper to hire the work done.

Also it takes quite a few hours and some tips from some old hands to get really proficient on an excavator or skid steer, and far more so for a bulldozer. The excavator didn't become "part of me" until I had about 200 hours on the meter. Then I began to find it "reacting to what I was thinking."

An old hand told me that you didn't know the limits of a piece of heavy equipment until you'd tipped it over. I found that to be true with my excavator and I never get on a machine without a seat belt and roll cage.

Tractor rollover is the #1 killer on a farm in the US. Sometimes they go over backwards due to hitching something to them at a place higher than the drawbar, BTW.

[NeverSure]

Almost finished.

[cnx355]

As for the Blue book. The official owner is the name in the Blue Book. You need copy of the official owner s ID car and he normally should be the one at the LTO making the transaction with you. Like other members say on Thai Visa do not pay unless the transfer is done or is on the way at the LTO.

If you buy from an official dealer, then they may have already copy of the Blue book owner I D card and a power of attorney letter to make the transfer.

Have you wife check with the local LTO ( Land Transport Office ) to be sure what is needed.

[ricktak]

The seller refuses to go to the LTO to do the transfer so I think there may be a problem with ownership we may have to look elsewhere thanks for all the tips and replies I will keep looking

[Ace of Pop]

What are You looking for.?.A trencher Type or something bigger.Remember Dealers have second hand stock + there are many snatch backs by Finance Houses. Dont give up.

[NeverSure]

Those machines are good for 4 or 5 thousand hours when they'll start needing some serious work. Who knows if there's an honest hour meter around though. Steel tracks are good for about 4,000 hours if run in dirt and less if run on pavement or a lot of crushed rock. Rubber will go almost the same if not run in sharp rock and rubber tracks are cheaper than steel.

The pins in the tracks wear and are very numerous and expensive. With rubber tracks I'd just buy new tracks for about 150,000 baht depending on import duties. Rubber won't damage pavement but it gets cut by sharp rocks. It's fine in dirt. If the pads and pins were worn on steel track I'd replace the tracks. 200,000 baht?

The engine and main hydraulic pump would go about 10,000 hours if it was serviced regularly. The turntable would probably last that long but it has to be greased every.single.day. It's easy to grease with a grease gun as are the bushings in the digging arm and bucket. Every day it works it gets greased.

You don't ever want to have to replace the turntable assembly. It's expensive and the machine has to be split by lifting the house off. When they get to the point they need a new turntable assembly it's often time to total them to a parts yard. A lot has to do with greasing them because they are floating on a cushion of grease so the house can turn 360's around the frame and tracks.

[Ace of Pop]

Shouldn't say this Beng ex CAT,but the cheap pins n bushes made here last just as long and far cheaper than factory spares

[seedy]

Done lots of R and R on machines this size.

Rails and pads - no rollers or idlers - over 2M Baht

[ricktak]

We were looking at a cat 320 excavator, used but decent condition for our sand business

[Jitar]

As CNX said, if the seller has the documentation from the registered owner, the blue bool can be transferred. If not - no go.

However, the blue book does not guarantee no one has a claim on the machine. None of our equipment has blue books but that has not been a problem when selling.

If the previous owner used Metro for purchase, service or parts, Metro may have some history. If you do buy it, like most dealers Metro have an SOS service that will give some idea of the major component condition.

[Ace of Pop]

Those pics by Never Shure remind me of Oregon Style houses or points North from when i was a wandering Pup..Its the Gray i remember.... Anyway ,back to Tak..As i recall the sand came from the River , so no Ripper was needed or big power. A 320 with about 140 H.P will piss it.

[seedy]

One quick way to check play in the pins and bushings ...

Bucket cutting edge flat on ground, stick vertical. Boom down. When tracks 50cm off ground try and move machine forward and back.

Any play will be immediately apparent

[BSJ]

The guys that own them in my area are on the go constantly. Good business....but you need a 10 wheel truck to move em around.

A small one like a Bobcat 320 or 325 weighs about 3,500 pounds. (1600 kg) That's about as much as many cars and can be pulled on a car trailer behind a full sized pickup. So can a smaller skid steer.

Often the reason guys have bigger trucks is so that they can have a dump truck and also pull a heavier bulldozer. These are guys who are seriously in the excavation biz.

I have a heavy duty Ford F 150 4x4 with the factory towing package and a car trailer. I pull my Bobcat excavator or my farm tractor with loader and an implement with no problem. I never had a use for a dump truck or cat because this is for my own use and as rarely as I need them its far cheaper to hire the work done.

Also it takes quite a few hours and some tips from some old hands to get really proficient on an excavator or skid steer, and far more so for a bulldozer. The excavator didn't become "part of me" until I had about 200 hours on the meter. Then I began to find it "reacting to what I was thinking."

An old hand told me that you didn't know the limits of a piece of heavy equipment until you'd tipped it over. I found that to be true with my excavator and I never get on a machine without a seat belt and roll cage.

Tractor rollover is the #1 killer on a farm in the US. Sometimes they go over backwards due to hitching something to them at a place higher than the drawbar, BTW.

Back home the local plumber uses a little tiddler like your got! Out here in the sticks the Thai contractors are almost all using 20 ton machines and the 10 wheel trucks are close to their limit with an excavator that big. Nice house, nice view!