Owning a Tiltrotator 18 months on

I talk about my experience owning an Encgon EC02 tiltrotator on a JCB 8026 and how it has helped my business. I also run through the issues I have had with the unit and give my thoughts on the age old argument. Are they worth the money?
Machine: JCB 8026 with Engcon EC02 tiltrotator with DC2 control system.
Attachments: Rake bucket by Digbits. All others by Engcon
Location: Hampshire, UK
Instagram @olliegunns

[@thylacine1962]

just discovered this video. Glad I did. From what I see your doing every thing right. JCB excavator, perfect. Brain engaged and functioning, perfect. Awesome opperatior skills, perfect. Mind set to tackle this kind of work, perfect. Im subscribing, rock on Bro.

[@Olliegunns]

Thanks, I try my best to work smart not hard!

[@cyclesingsleep]

Thank you for sharing so clearly and thoroughly your thoughts...excellent video!!!

[@gnatisfaction]

Excellent review. Thanks for this:-)

[@joemarchant4846]

Hi Ollie, just had an ec204 fitted 2 weeks ago on my kubota kx101-3a3 after wanting one for years, and now had idig fitted after the fitter from nasco mentioned it while setting the engcon up, was looking at trimble but idig is just what we needed being transferable between our machines, both make the perfect set up and a real time / money saver for us, will be fitting an engcon to my 8 ton kubota next (as idig is now also hardwired to it and interchangeable). Must say after being an operator / groundworker for 25 years now its made my head spin as much as the engcon trying to get used to it!! The gripper on the EC204 has come in very handy, but as you say even though my machine weighs 3.5t you really notice the extra weight of the ec204 over your model, I would say a 3.5t machine should be the minimum needed for the EC204, anything less I think would really struggle to work properly due to attachment weight. Keep up the good work and informative videos.

[@Olliegunns]

Thanks Joe, I don’t think you will regret either purchase. And once you trust the Idig and learn it’s limitations, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner. Hope things are busy your end.

[@victor360excavatoroperator]

great video Ollie, you have another subscriber

[@Olliegunns]

Awesome, thank you!

[@iare19]

Owner of Volvo ECR58F 2021 here, equipped with Engcon and Topcon 2D system. Used to own Komatsu PC35 before without extras. I'm never going back. It costs a lot, wait time is 6 months but I will never go back.

[@oldredcoonhound2182]

Look forward to you using the IDIG more. I have a yanmar 35-6 and am really contemplating getting the IDIG. Currently have a 18inch trenching, and 12 inch trenching bucket, 30 inch clean up bucket, ripper, breaker, hoe pac( new used purchased haven't used yet) and a post auger.

[@Olliegunns]

Have you got anything in particular you would like me to demonstrate with the Idig? I use it nearly every day but don’t always think to record the verity of situations it helps me in

[@astro1218]

Thanks for sharing this info, not a lot of info like this out there !

[@Olliegunns]

Tim Jackman thanks, I try to make content that I would want to watch when deciding on purchasing these expensive toys!

[@astro1218]

Olliegunns yeah man ! Iv been considering a tiltrotaror for years. Are you mainly doing quoted contract work or hourly rate ?

[@Olliegunns]

@@astro1218 Its split about 50/50 price work and hourly rate. It pays for itself more directly on price work but make no mistake about it, you get longer hires with one on hourly rate. So whilst you cant charge a huge amount more, you can earn out of it, just takes a bit longer to show.

[@cazzaw86]

Great review, love your honesty. You have me curious about iDig now.

[@Olliegunns]

Its a great system and if you are looking to be more efficient, with less people - it will pay for itself very quickly.

[@ableminiexcavatorservice5748]

Yes very true we are running a EC02 on our TB225 with a sandwich setup we are the only contractor based in perth Australia #Engcon #1

[@Hadyn1]

Very informative channel and videos with the iDig and Engcon! Between the two systems, is there one that you would recommend having over the other when setting up a digger for the first time / return on investment cost is much quicker? Or is it a complimentary deal where both really are key to production and efficiency? Just not sure if I can afford both off the bat + machine. I'm sure the idea of going back to a digger without either would sound ridiculous, correct?

[@Olliegunns]

Hi, I'd say it obviously depends on your work, but for the cost of it, the Idig system stands to earn you money faster and on more variety of work. You can use it between several machines you might own and it takes a man straight off the ground. Tilty's are great but a big investment and it really depends on the kind of work you are doing as to how useful they are. What machine are you thinking of getting?

[@TheGrifferr]

Hi Ollie That's a nice vid with lots of good information. With the hitch ram did it actually break or did it strip the threads on one end? I think the ram does not like pulling the plate when the toe of the bucket is on the ground. I have had my ec02 over five years and around 5000 hrs. Not had many issues, the rollers play up a bit, quick hitch ram was leaking and a new pin and joint on the bottom of the tilt ram as it was wearing a bit. It would be interesting to compare the two machines ( Volvo ec27c with direct mount) do you use a grading beam?

[@Olliegunns]

It snapped right where the ram meets the plate. It seems to have a small amount of free play in it which might put some stress on the ram. I take my buckets off in the air so to speak so don’t think I give it unnecessary pressure. Hopefully I was just unlucky.

[@honestjason7854]

im considering buying a 2023 bobcat e50 (about a 12,000 machine) and the price on that is $97k. They quoted me a tilt rotator for it at $37k installed with a 4' bucket installed. so $134k total. Now given its a much larger machine but still just crazy expensive imo.

[@wogsinwork]

Hey Mate Greetings From Down under, awesome video and love your content i run a cat skidsteer and next gen cat 1.8 which i will be selling soon to possibly fund there new 306 next gen as it looks SWEET!. I'm wondering how you have gone with the tiltrotator after a few years of owning now?? how's maintenance cost and wear costs. Keep up the great work

[@Olliegunns]

Its a good question, I've had it over 3 years now and on the whole its been good. Last Autumn it messed me around a bit and I broke the bucket pin in the end of the dipper and then bucket release ram for the 2nd time (covered in my video "everything breaks") But since these issues have been fixed its been fine. I guess its done around 1500hrs of digging and taken some fair abuse in that time, I never take it off. Its starting to get a little play in the tilt ram and generally in the slew ring. I'm talking mm's here, certainly not sloppy and well within what I would call acceptable for the hours. I might treat it to a rebuild in another year, the cost of some new bushes is going to be well worth it considering the work its done for me and it looks a pretty easy job to do. To be fair the JCB could do with some love at 3200hrs now too. Only really the tipping links that have noticeable play but would be nice to tighten it up again - another winter job if the work ever quietens down! So overall I'm pretty pleased with it and wouldn't be without one in my life now for the work I do.

[@wogsinwork]

@@Olliegunns thats good to hear, all in all you are selling me on the idea and in that amount of hours that wear and damages sound pretty acceptable. like i said love the content its refreshing after a long day on the sticks to come home and watch someone else on the sticks haha, i must be broken....

[@SparkysGarage]

What is the grade light in the cab called?

[@Olliegunns]

It’s part of the Idig system which is a wireless 2D grade system. I have other videos about it on my channel

[@fraserallterraincontractor3260]

Hi Ollie Did you ever get the problem with the grab sorted ? I have been having the same issue . Thanks 👍

[@Olliegunns]

Not quite, mainly due to lack of time and the machine hasn't been back to the yard much to have a play! My current thinking is I have an issue with the grabs internal check valve as it grips but wont release. Even if I swap the hoses over, which in my mind, rules out it being a Tema connector or the tiltrotator itself as you would expect it to do the opposite when plumbed up backwards. But it doesn't change the issue. I've got Neil from Nasco out soon to have a look at it for me, he thinks it can be cleaned out easily enough which might solve it. Whats yours doing?

[@fraserallterraincontractor3260]

@@Olliegunns sounds very similar , my grab will open but won’t close , if I swap the pipes over it will then close but won’t open . Have check all the valves and fitting etc . Apparently it could be the aggregate module on the arm . But at £600 it’s an expensive trial and error .

[@Hohmies86]

I’m a B pattern operator too

[@rossinnz]

Cheers

[@johnkenney3966]

All that is needed is the tilting hitch that means you havent got to keep packing yourself up and moving about all the time. The rotating hitch is 3 times the price and you can never justify it. Im on housing and keep asking my company to get a tilting hitch but the dont seeit. Try one.

[@thigerns]

Isn't the EC02 a little bit small for your machine? I have a Volvo ECR28 ant the recommended Encon is the EC204 for it. Now I was thinking If I can get away with a EC02 instead.

[@Olliegunns]

So you are technically correct, however, Engcon have agreed to warranty the EC02 on up to 2.8t machines in the UK at least. There's so many reasons why the EC02 is really the only choice on a sub 3t machine, Towing weight, handling with full buckets, bucket profiles are more suited on S30, build height... I could go on. The only disadvantage really is we cant run a gripper which the EC204 can. Personally I would push them to let you go with the EC02, its a lot lighter and I've not broken mine yet running it on a larger machine!

[@sebastiandamm4323]

Do u also have the problem that the grease is swelling out everywhere? This is so bad. I must unscrew every two weeks the safty plates to clean everything. Yesterday i greased the Tilt an after that it doesent rotate. Its quiet nice to work with it but its not for heavy duty construction site.

[@Olliegunns]

How often do you grease it? And how many pumps do you put in at a time? I’ve heard you can over grease them and it stops them rotating

[@sebastiandamm4323]

@@Olliegunns i grease it every 8-10 hours. Between 3 and 4 pumps.

[@Olliegunns]

@@sebastiandamm4323 I put one pump in mine every full fuel tank (around 10hrs of operating) and it’s been fine. I do get a bit of excess grease come out from the slew ring on it but nothing serious. I wipe it off every few weeks as I do with the excess grease on the rest of the machine

[@sebastiandamm4323]

@@Olliegunns ok. Next week I will talk with engcon about this. It is not so handy that its possible to overgrease it. The Tilt sounds like the rotarymotor is broken. I was very afraid of this.

[@umpequenocomentario3137]

Olá amigo sou aqui do Brasil 🇧🇷 e melhor é essa sua ou a retroescavadeira com esse sistema?

[@wizard-469]

If you could speak english, it'd be great.

[@jeffreid3341]

350 quid is $466. You guys must have a low cost of living there. The going rate here in the states is $1200 a day for a similar size machine.

[@lr90lsv8defender8]

No the UK isn't cheap place to live the construction industry has had steady flow of wage suppression coming from Eastern Europe for the last 15 odd years having no borders between countries where the average wage is 30k a year to countries where the average wage is £25 per week causes problems.

[@jonathanbeam6898]

You only paid $14,000 for the system? I'm getting quotes for $45,000 for the Steel Wrist system, $50 to $60k for the AMI attachments system. And this is on an 8,500 pound machine.

[@Olliegunns]

Well this was a few years ago now (2018) and it was £14k which would have been $17,500 at the time. They are now quoting over £20k for my same setup I have and without the selector grab so prices have shot up a fair bit. One thing worth noting for those interested in tiltrotator prices is that every machine is different under the floor and some require more valves and work to fit than others. This can vary the price, as can having a top hitch, manual or hydraulic, gripper or not.... There's so many variables its impossible to give exact prices.

[@AlexKall]

Operating an excavator without a tiltrotator, are you nuts? I wouldn't even know where to start 😳

[@Olliegunns]

Its easy, you just have to get out the cab and use a shovel more🤪

[@Exclusive_Criminal]

There awesome. But what would I know. Haven’t even got to try one yet. I priced one and it was 22 to 30 thousand dollars. That’s the price of my mini excavator for fu$k sake!

[@Olliegunns]

It took me a long time to make the leap, but glad I did. It earns me money in ways I would never have thought and honestly I would rather be with it than without it. But they don't suit everyone's business. Great for finishing work which I do a lot of, not worth it if you are just muck shifting for example!

[@benthompson809]

Did anyone count the dipper arm ram knocking out multiple times ? Yeah call me “one of those commenters” but dude when you slap the last of your bucket/throw you are over extending the top ram. Maybe knock I’m hearing, but check your wear and grease it a lot 🤣 Nice job but bud 👌🏽

[@Olliegunns]

Hi Ben, you know it’s odd how I didn’t notice I did this when I’m operating but now watching the video back it’s obviously a bad habit I’ve gained somewhere!

[@benthompson809]

@@Olliegunns I’m incline to just think if it’s not hurting the machine, it’s not a bad habit. Been told so many times “back blading” is bad on a dozer, but I fail to see an issue having to gas axe bolts at service. It’s presents a better job doing it, and I haven’t seen damage or to many negatives. Mint job on the digger but champion you have them skills down pat.

[@stephenball8555]

Was that £14K including fitting ?

[@Olliegunns]

Yes, including fitting, buckets and the SK02 grab.... Prices were a lot cheaper back in 2018 than they are today for sure

[@stephenball8555]

@@Olliegunns yes, bit more expensive now , just got quote. Heres a question, at what price point would you recon the tiltrotator has to be to become a instant purchase?

[@Olliegunns]

@@stephenball8555 Its impossible to say really, depends on your work and how you run your business. If you work on your own a lot then the tilty will earn its money back faster as it basically acts as my 2nd man on the ground. It has severely reduced the amount of shovelling I need to do and therefore saves me having a 2nd man who would traditionally do that sort of role. But if you already have lads with you then they will be standing around more - great for them but not so profitable for you! There are several types of control systems you can run depending on your requirements - some much cheaper than others which might help justify the cost slightly, have you looked into them?

[@stephenball8555]

@@Olliegunns not looked into the other control system, can you send some links?

[@lr90lsv8defender8]

Hire someone elses machine when you want to use a breaker saves smashing up your own machine.

[@Olliegunns]

Can do but it all costs money and I dont do a lot of breaking when I do need to. The ripper saves me using the breaker a lot these days.