World's Most Advanced Mini Excavator

It’s been a long time coming but the BuildWitt crew finally made it out to Montana to shoot an episode with Dane Cotten!
Dane is somewhat of a Dirt World “Influencer” in the social media world because he shares a lot about what he does with his company, DC Excavation. His IG and TikTok handle is @dcexcavation if you want to check him out and give him a follow!
Dane started DC Excavation a few years ago because he was tired of working for other people and he thought he could do the whole dirt contractor thing better if he was in the driver’s seat. By the looks of it, he might be right. He’s always busy with many projects and has an awesome fleet of high-tech iron that Aaron and Eric get to show off to the world in this video.
Dane is a huge proponent of the Engcon Tilt Rotator system, and he equips his machines with Trimble GPS as well. He’s very tech heavy for such a small contractor, but it helps him and his crew to do more work faster. And more accurate.
Eric explains some of the advantages of the CAT D6XE dozer, while he pushes up a stockpile on Dane’s job site. Both Aaron and Eric get some seat time in the 310 with the Engcon, and Eric shows off Dane’s newest toy! A new John Deere 210L Skip Loader!
This might be the most controversial piece of equipment online. They are used a lot in some parts of the country, and some places have never even heard of them. (It’s also called a gannon box, or box grader).
Dane also took the guys out on his boat at the end of the day, but unfortunately that didn’t make it into the final cut of the video. Maybe next time.
To learn more about DC Excavation, visit here: www.dcexcavation.com/
FOLLOW AARON WITT:
Instagram: / aaronwitt
LinkedIn: / aaronwitt
Facebook: / aaronwitt
TikTok: / aaron_witt
FOLLOW AARON’S COMPANY: BUILDWITT
Website: buildwitt.com/
BuildWitt Training: www.buildwitt.com/software/co...
Podcast: buildwitt.com/dirt-talk/
Instagram: / buildwitt
LinkedIn: / buil. .
Facebook: / buildwitt
TikTok: / buildwitt
Video Chapters
0:00 - Intro
1:51 - Running the 310
7:03 - Aaron’s Photography Secret
7:42 - Ripper Attachment
8:36 - 210L Skip Loader
11:40 - The engcon
12:30 - Paying off our debts
13:27 - Electric D6
17:04 - 325 Next Gen Excavator
18:35 - Outro

[@TheGaggenau]

in sweden engcon or similar has been the standard config for 30 years on escavators gps system is also standard on most modern machines

[@volvtech7773]

always saw them in Sweden and Norway as long as I can remember

[@michaelmaas5544]

We’re way behind in our building industry here in the US.

[@outrun7455]

@@michaelmaas5544 lmao no. If a pisa with a skiploader can do what $50k-100k gps software can do then there is no need for it.

[@13eckerlosmuerte]

The US has a very big issue with getting on with new technology. It's always been a marketing sham having every company saying they are more tech savvy than the others when they in fact are stuck in the 80's. You have the old timers and company owners who are not getting the reward of educating their company with new stuff because they simply insist the old way works the best or I've tried GPS and it was always broken early (2000's) while they get rammed an outbid by foreign companies with all the tech and less labors for a fraction of the cost of having 50 guys on site to dig a hole. Hence why our nation's infrastructure is crumbling fast because the government continues to give contracts to shit contractors

[@TheGaggenau]

In Sweden we also rarely have dozers and skid steers.

[@slambert00]

I cant live without my engcon EC209 tiltrotator on my wheeled excavator. Sure, you loose some breakout force on a small excavator like mine, but the maneuverability in tight spaces and between cables makes up for it.

[@michaelbball2028]

The new comedy is hilarious, best video BY FAR. Loving the content brother, keep pushing dirt

[@AaronWitt]

Thank you so much I’m glad you enjoyed it

[@benrichards5069]

Great bit of gear the engcon. Had them for years on railway excavators in Australia

[@volvtech7773]

I loved always seeing in Europe the shovel dropping their attachment and using the tongs. here in Canada from always working in quarries and pits, I seldom ever even seen knuckle buckets like just the articulation attachment

[@lukewolsky641]

Glad you came to Montana to see what we can do out here

[@AaronWitt]

I love Montana

[@mittenequipment2443]

I never see skip loaders in the Midwest, but as a tractor nut I think they are badass

[@SanitizeR_OW]

Well done - had good details. I would love to see a video showing the software and how it comes into play on jobs like this. For someone not in this industry I can't picture it, but as someone in tech I want to learn. Keep these up. Past two blogs have been so great!

[@AaronWitt]

thank you so much Jeremy. We will see what we can do from a tech standpoint!

[@tyfast27]

Tilt rotator handiness is like going from a backhoe to a track hoe=track hoe to tilt rotator. Extremely versatile and handy. It’s annoying getting out of a tilt rotator and then back into a machine without one. It’s just not nearly as versatile! Hard to understand until you try it and get used to the tilt rotator. Been running shit since I was just a little guy. Awesome videos and agenda keep it up! 👍

[@ConstructionChannelLuxembourg]

Love the old-school Cat logo on the 310!

[@michaelroduner7724]

Great vlog, love seeing stuff from my home state! Would be cool to see the inside of the machines as your operating too just to show people what hooking up different attachments looks like etc.

[@AaronWitt]

good feedback we will see what we can do. Thanks for watching!

[@badumerabel3293]

Hi can I get one to work with?🥰🥰❤️

[@carterherne1738]

Very strange to all of the sudden see a video and then see me drive by in the background. Hope you enjoyed Bozeman

[@Joelontugs]

This dudes channel is fixing to take off watch I’d bet before the end of the year he’s close to a million

[@AaronWitt]

wouldn't that be neat. I'm glad you like what we're putting together!!

[@burtbrooks7731]

Finished up in the head office👍that’s what we call it

[@MBELtee]

You should take a look at komatsu intelligent machine, excavator and dozer are pretty impressive machinery!

[@pushnpow]

Rotatytilty hitches are the bestest hitches.

[@ernierundall1336]

Great video

[@AaronWitt]

Thanks for watching!

[@logancohen1548]

Ahhhh the best morning meetings

[@AaronWitt]

You know it

[@maxutilaje4065]

My opinion the best mini excavator is Mecalac 6mcr with tiltrotator.

[@dbcooper1509]

I immediately thought Engcon, wasn't wrong.

[@KKhhoorrnniittee]

Is that a Revision you are wearing?

[@nicholasbergvik2910]

You try to visit the Enconfactory in Strömsund Sweden I Have;)

[@3000gtalex]

Knew it was dc in the intro from the dozer 💪

[@AaronWitt]

Oh yeaaah!!!

[@xzavier4963]

I've seen a computerized excavator on youtube that digs like a robot by itself before it was pretty wicked too see

[@zukafurukito6957]

they should visit edwin eavers, he's building a 600 acre lake in his backyard!!!

[@DigbitsCoUk]

The better fleets here in the UK, certainly the construction firms with in-house excavator fleets have been kitting their drivers out with Tilt-Rotators for a while now. They are not cheap, but when space is confined (i.e. almost every job here in the UK) and productivity is important, they deliver valuable efficiency. We're building an increasing number of buckets and attachments to suit the Scandinavian style "S" pickup system.

[@brandonjones4666]

So wish I could acquire one of these for my tb285. Every attachment I want for my mini, and skid steer, is at least $20,000 unfortunately lol.

[@AaronWitt]

yeah they ain't cheap...

[@InnovativeBuildersmd]

try a mecalac 10mcr with an engcon.

[@BluefireRedlightning]

Want MORE? Get a tripple arm excavator that’s even more stuff to mess with 😋

[@OUKRH5]

i work in construction for more than 20 years but i ve never seen a skiploader like that john deere, there is no such thing in Austria. We have compact wheel loaders a lot. Does this machine have a pto? To power some Landscaping tools, or the pumps of a slurry tanker maybe for dust surpression? Many construction companies here use older farm trators for jobs like that. Is that tiltrotator and Gps so uncommon in the us? Here they are quite common. The Cat Dozer seems also nice, but when it comes to dozers i am more a Liebherr man.

[@ryanslipper7869]

Just wait until you do some research on Topcons MC Mobile! GPS is coming to the mini market HARD! Machine control and gps is almost a must these days

[@kennethney4260]

Pretty sure you could actually put the bucket through the cab with that setup 😆

[@AaronWitt]

yep but you can go into the computer and there's a setting to prevent that on newer machines. I'd without a doubt put the bucket through the cab

[@bradley3549]

Gosh I hope I'm never too old for a poop joke.

[@AaronWitt]

If you ever are you need to change something fast

[@bradley3549]

@@AaronWitt Probably my underwear.

[@avenheavner108]

Great video! I got a lot of information that I wouldn’t have known if I didn’t watch this video! It was also funny I had some good laughs! Great video and I’ll see you on the next one! I’m looking forward to a watch me work episode!

[@AaronWitt]

thank you so much glad you learned a thing or two!!

[@avenheavner108]

@@AaronWitt Yes I’m very happy to have learned something from this video!

[@Andersonjordan115]

Everytime I see one of those engcon attachments, I always think, why doesn’t every excavator have one of those on it in the states. Seems like it would speed up production & efficiency, which would speed up projects.

[@AaronWitt]

They’re amazing but $$$ which is why people don’t run with em

[@Andersonjordan115]

@@AaronWitt I don’t doubt that. At a business perspective, you would think it would pay for itself over time tho. Having an operator “move” the machine everytime he wants to change positions, vs just spinning the bucket. 5-10 mins here or there adds up to hrs over time.

[@outrun7455]

@@Andersonjordan115 It really doesn’t, you can’t just dig with the turn table lol, this kind of stuff is good for landscaping and small grading projects. They don’t use anything like this for digging, you could rip that shit apart very easily trying to dig in some fruity positions.

[@smoothlandin]

It's like 30k for an engcon for my little yanmar sv40. My plan is to purchase one to save from hiring a second laborer. 9 weeks of drought here finally ending so it slowed business enough that I will need to wait a little longer, but it really will be a game changer for my application.

[@OUKRH5]

They take away break out force and add weight to the machines arm, so you cannot use heavy hammers or so then. So to use it efficiently you have to buy one with two quick couplers so you can which make it quite expensive. So it always depends on the work you do. Here the excavators that often work arround houses and have tiltrotators, but for trenching jobs many people have just tilting hitches with ouilquick, which is cheaper and more rugged if you need to use a breaker.

[@maksz6204]

Mining shovel plies

[@anthonyalbillar-montez5946]

I love you.

[@erikjohansson4390]

Funny seeing Americans "wow" over RT, here in Sweden all machines have one, for the past like 30 years 😅 .. Maybe some old "farmmachine" is without and the really big in mines/sandpits, but every else it is a must 😎

[@AaronWitt]

we'll figure things out one day

[@newzealandearthmover4008]

It's the cost of them is the biggest factor. Here they are like $35,000 for a 3.5 to 5 tonne digger

[@xxxmikeyjock]

seems like the grab covers are missing...

[@Teo888N]

Aaron, use Norway and Sweden as example, not only Sweden are rototilr, oilquick, engcon lovers

[@petu4922]

Finland also.

[@adamgretzinger963]

The reason people don't understand the skip loader is because it works for the Arizona environment. How many track 963 or 973 loaders you got ripping around? Well here in the north east that's about a useless machine just like a track loader in Arizona.

[@tdolan500]

Cat is odd calling the 310 a mini digger, to me a mini is 8 tons and under with blade and slewing boom. Like all the excavators in Cats mini range below the 310.

[@Bigsoot7393]

Looks like a tractor with a box blade to me?

[@AaronWitt]

pretty much

[@AlexMcNZ]

Is the guy in the dozer Eric? Can we just have him doing all the talking from now on, or does he have a channel? That was without a doubt the most informant interesting part of any video I've seen on this channel. Need more of that!!

[@Josh-pm9ps]

I get how engcon is very useful. And not having to hook up hydraulics. A+ in my book for sure. I have been running excavator for almost 20yrs. I've done pipe,dirt,demo in all scales huge to small,also railroad putting in track,switches, and working derailments,ran bug crushers. Feeding with excavator. My point is laying pipe or moving dirt. I could keep up with his fancy excavator and if he didn't have gps and.i did. I would smoke him in the fancy excavator and.mw.in traditional excavator with gps. But I could keep up with the fancy one with me on mine being traditional excavator. I'll put money on it. Y'all set it up

[@bcarroll911]

I'll take an athey over a skip loader all day!

[@abangisa]

Semanga om

[@amnak4781]

May I work with your company sir?

[@FishFind3000]

First

[@joelarson3528]

You don’t go back

[@juanmanuelmartinezchavez431]

Tengo que cancelar la suscripción porque no está subtitulado en Español! Gracias

[@unvein1863]

might be out of your content spectrum, but you should for sure reach out to 'Letsdig18' for a episode. one of the best operators i've personally seen in a long time.

[@AaronWitt]

we're visiting him in September. We did a video with him a year ago too