The Excavator Evolution

I am making a quick tractor slide show, but I can't find my good mic, to do the audio. I have to give the commentary.

I looked at that 20hp skid steer. Really basic machine, belt drive, and lots of room around the motor. Any motor under 30hp would have fit in there, pulleys, motor mounts throttle linkage, done. But I need to finish my truck before I start stuff like that. A skid steer will be my reward. My newly re enforced van trailer hitch is great, super stable, but the poor van prolly won't be happy towing around a 3000lb bobcat. I think one of my CV joints is going in the ol van, but I don't ever take a corner to know which one. Its always the one on the inside of the corner that makes the noise. I just go strait and the van shudders sometimes towing the trailer. I need a parking lot to do some figure eights, and I need to Wait for the truck to haul big equipment.

I looked at little tractors, they really hold their value, same as the skid steers. But everybody tells me that the tractor backhoe attachments are slow, they are clumsy, the controls are all wrong, and there is often too much play in the attachment to the tractor. Tho talking to the professionals, you should never need to "turn the seat around" to move the unit a little. With stabilizers down, the hoe has the power to lift the back end off the ground and walk the tractor forward or backwards, and even side to side.
I am going to leave these tractors to acreages, and farm use.

Some people have said negative stuff bout the tow able hoes. And they are just a little weak, at 5-8hp. I found some half price plans for one, which I ordered, and might build (upping the hp). The brand new $5-8000 units are NOT DOT approved, ready to tow on the street. So I would like to make a unit that is street ready, with suspension, lights, and dot tires, get it vin numbers and a plate. But that isn't going to give me the ability to bid on these 100+ homes in Lac Labiche, knowing I can do the trenching myself, and have 3 services done in 2 days.

So I looked at renting the simple walk behind trencher. First of all, they were all out, couldn't rent one if I wanted to. Second of all, understand, most of these homes, have the minimum $200 trench. Otherwise its $2.5 per foot over 80'. That is the cost to hire a reasonable guy to do it w his machine. Well they want $250 a day to rent just the machine, I still have to pick it up, return it, and do the work. That is well over a $50 loss for every service I dig. That sold me on a used unit.

I had been bartering with a guy on a 2002 ditch witch for days. He had everything for sale, so I knew it wasn't a broken and replaced unit. I gave him a reasonable low ball offer, stating the true fact, "thats whats in the budget, I'll have to get an older one if you won't take it" and he was happy too. Just south of Edmonton I thought he was, but he was an hour south. Well then we find a free washer drier set on the way to Edmonton, online, Just East of Edmonton. So we got home w a full trailer at 2am, 500km later.

The new Ditch Witch only weighs bout 1000 lb, so the van is happy to tow it with a little shudder now and then. This purchase was purely utilitarian, for work. I won't get much of any joy out of walking behind a trencher. But it will make me some money, and I can sell it for about what I paid for it years later.

When I got my masters, my wage, confidence, and work opportunities, all essentially doubled. I am hoping I can double most of that again with the trencher, or at least the confidence to get stuff done and opportunities. If I can do 3 services a day, with trenching, my wage is close to doubled.