My Top 10 Reasons To Have a Mini Excavator

Man - this is the machine I wish I'd bought a decade earlier!
Hey! If you have a small acreage, you just gotta have yourself one of these. I’ve owned 4 different small acreages in the area that I live and finally last year found this sweet little 2002 Cat 302.5.
It needed a little TLC, but for not a lot of money I solved a lot of issues - not the least of which were related to landscaping the property and moving logs around for my little Norwood HD36.
All good reasons - but stay tuned to the end for the best reason ever!

[@scottmann9208]

I agree, I can't imagine being without one. I even have it set up for splitting firewood.

[@howardkettner]

Oh man - splitting firewood? Now I'm totally intrigued!

[@karensamscaldwell9149]

Ok i don't think it's to much ask for one for Xmas!!!! The stuff you can accomplish is amazing with that guy!!

[@howardkettner]

I just cannot believe what it can do to make life easy around a small acreage. Just had a tree come down across my drying shed and removed it - with minimal damage and no risk to self . . .

[@valterbembic2249]

I liked all. The most, that it can be brought around by trailer

[@howardkettner]

Thank you for commenting and being part of my journey!

[@timpottenburgh5407]

I 100% agree with number 10......lol my grand daughters love the tractor and side by side 👍

[@howardkettner]

Right on. There's just something magical about kids and equipment. Thanks for being part of my journey.

[@irelandssons]

way to spoil it lol

[@Ants_Pants]

Nice, gratz on ur mini, i also got one and rly like how it makes my life a lot easier

[@howardkettner]

Good to hear - and thanks for tuning in. More episodes coming soon!

[@gregsdroneservices]

Great video , I just purchased a mini myself.

[@howardkettner]

Enjoy - what make and model did you select . . .

[@gregsdroneservices]

@@howardkettner yanmar vio35

[@davidianero5528]

Great video

[@howardkettner]

Thanks for the visit and being part of what makes me smile!

[@TF856]

Check out a theme park called Diggerland. Kids and adults get to run all kinds of construction equipment in a controlled environment. Last time I checked they had three locations.

[@howardkettner]

www.diggerlandusa.com/ Whoa - thanks for the info Kerry. Super awesome. Had not heard of Diggerland previously. Sounds like they're well set-up for kids of all ages. Again, thank you.

[@Johnrider1234]

Ok. Have to tell you. You do all your driving. And alignment with the tractor loader close to the ground.

[@howardkettner]

Thanks for the tip

[@irelandssons]

subscribed

[@howardkettner]

Huge thanks for the subscribe and for being part of my journey!

[@irelandssons]

@@howardkettner i’m about to buy my first mini today, i wanted a cat but takeuchi was 15 k cheaper

[@howardkettner]

@@irelandssons I could only justify my Cat because it had been sitting for over two years and no one wanted to touch it. Got it for an awesome price - even all in with the immediate $4k spend to get it into working order. All the best with your purchase. Hard to be the versatility of a mini-ex.

[@irelandssons]

@@howardkettner i paid 14k for my takeuchi tb035 running operating

[@DieselRamcharger]

I dont know how you find a mini for a good price. They are so expensive down here in the states.

[@howardkettner]

Yeah - it's really interesting. The equipment that is advertised is equally expensive here in Canada. My best buys (and I just purchased a tractor - a JD 5103 for anyone who is interested) are via word of mouth. At the time that I purchased the mini-ex, the going price for a 2001 Cat 302.5, no enclosed cab, and +/- 3,000 hours - according to a number of online resources was about $21,000 USD or +/- $25,000 CDN. I just put out the word with friends, relatives and countrymen about what I was looking for in terms of size - while being prepared to compromise a little (I'd actually have preferred the 305 model and maybe 5 years newer). Scored this one 'as is where is' for $12k. Spent $600 on a dealer field inspection. No big issues. Lots of little ones. Spent $3k on repairs/full service lube and about the same on a new custom built thumb. So - all in - including initial inspection and transportation (700 miles) I'm into it for about $18k or about 75% of anything else I could locate through a dealer. Nearly identical story for the JD 5103. Patient perseverance + grapevine has nearly always been a winning formula so far. :) All the best!

[@Johnrider1234]

We paid 100 k for ours.

[@Johnrider1234]

We have a 26 g. Now getting a 50 g.

[@howardkettner]

A 50G is a really nice size/horsepower - wish mine was a bit bigger in retrospect.

[@TF856]

I could not hear your reasons. The main purpose of watching a video instead of reading text on a website is so you don't have to read the dialogue. That's like pointing where you want somebody to go while they are driving instead of telling them. They cannot hear where you're pointing. This is especially true when somebody's listening to videos while they're driving. They cannot read the text while they are driving.

[@howardkettner]

Huge thanks for viewing and commenting. Sorry - the videos are not intended for folks that are driving. I'm a big believer in the 'picture worth 1000 words'. . and to your point about the text - I'll admit that I've shaped my content around my preferences - which are that I appreciate text titles for any list of longer than 3 items. :)

[@TF856]

Actually only two of the four controls are backwards from John Deere.

[@howardkettner]

Yeah - agreed - but at my vintage that's all it takes to throw me off. And I can't actually even use that as an excuse. Decades ago I was used to Cat 966 grapple controls, and then they rolled a Fiat Allis into the yard for a demo and my reflexes really struggled adapting to that one control being reversed. Was really annoying when the reflex released a log instead of gripping it tighter . . . [Which explains in part why I go through life assuming I'm the slow kid in class . . . :)]

[@TF856]

@@howardkettner pretty much all machines now have a lever you can select the control pattern you want to use. 😁

[@howardkettner]

@@TF856 Sadly this one does not. Even had the mechanic that rebuilt my track tensioners check it out. I think this little 2001 vintage unit missed out by two years as close as I can tell. Have not gotten rid of my smaller John Deere hoe and now my old brain and muscles have coordinated efforts to create new muscle memory and my wife Coral, seeing my new found digging speed is creating more projects. hahaha