Bobcat limits – how much can it handle?
I a neighbor with the Bobcat who would be happy to do my excavation. Great guy and I’d much rather give the money to him than to someone I don’t know.
I know this can work given the right conditions, because the house I helped my dad on when I was a kid had a full walkout basement that was dug in about a day by a friend with a Bobcat. Nevertheless, I’m leery that he’ll get stuck and won’t be able to follow through.
– how big a stump or piece of granite could the Bobcat handle?
– what other limitations?
– what are the factors that make you think that a job is just too much for a small piece of equipment like that?
– I know some guys use heavy equipment to just do wheel compaction with their excavators, for example. I assume that with the Bobcat option, we would need to bring in some compaction device right? (maybe with the other option too, I don’t know).
Tom
Replies
I know a guy who has a bobcat. He's so big, and it's so small that he doesn't so much drive the thing as he wears it. It'll take smaller bites and make more trips, so it'll take longer. But for any reasonable size single family house, it shouldn't be so slow as to eliminate it from consideration.
-- J.S.
It really depends on the model, but most (Like the 700 series) have approx 1500lb payload rated. They will lift more if you are careful and know what you are doing. A Bobcat is a very powerful machine for its size. It is as, or more powerful than most tractors.
Can't I go 1 day without spilling my coffee?
My dirt guy uses skid steers (mostly Tachiuchi track machines anymore) for moving dirt, but in concert with an excavator (smaller Kaboda or a 225 Cat for bigger stuff) for the actual digging and removing stumps.
I love skidsteers myself, but, like any other tool, they have their limits. If it's a wheeled machine, it's even more limited, and, unless the stumps are small, and the ground is not too mucky, I, like you, would be skeptical.
I've had basements dug by everything from a skid loader to a Cat 973 loader. It takes a huge amount of time for the skid loader compared to the 973. I mean its almost days to hrs.
If you must get the Bobcat, a large one with tracks is the best bet. If you have tree stumps and large rocks, save the Bobcat for backfill and grading and get a loader or hoe that can handle the job.
k
I don't think that the machine is the limiting factor. My footing contractor was amazing to watch on his bobcat excavating my footing (basement was mostly dug by a big (I mean big) CAT). I think the Bobcat can do it, but to my way of thinking, the operator makes all the difference. I once tried to do some back filling with a bobcat and it took me 12 hours; I cold have done it by hand in less than that (but i wouldn't have had so much fun). If you have your friend do it, do your self a favor and get a fixed price and compare it with someone elses fixed price.
Roger <><
I have 3 an old 510 (gas burner) that is not alot more than a motorized wheel barrow i've had it 15 yrs and it was old when i got it but i still use it a few times a week... and old ford 440 which is about the same deal.. and a new (to me) 2001 753.. i have the 909 backhoe set up for it ( a real bear to use) and i have smooth and toothed buckets I rent a jack hammer attachment for it a few times a year ( at $600 a week) but that alone is worth 10x the cost... i love my toys but I'd never even think about dig'n a basement with what i have (unless i had a ton of time and no one else to do it) there are too many guys with backhoes (plumbers ect... or just retired guys who like to play who for $50 to $100 an hour can do more in 3 hours on their own machine than you could do in 3 weeks with a bobcat... thats something where SIZE and opperator do matter
pony
i own a bobcat, i let it sit and watch a large backhoe dig my basement in about 5 hrs. i probably could of remove enough dirt in that time to have the ramp built going down into the basement. as far as i'm concerned between time and wear and tear on the machine i wouldn't even think about it unless it was pure sand, and that would present it's own problems with needing to over dig the sides. hire a backhoe, grab a chair and watch how much fun it is to spend thousand dollars and fantise about playing with tonka trucks. larry
hand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
Thanks for the input. I've driven a Bobcat but once and it was great for spreading topsoil prior sodding, but it didn't overwhelm with its power.I'm not sure what lays under the soil and I am a bit afraid that it couldn't handle it, though he dug a house and a rental property for himself just 200' from where I am. There's another guy up the street with a good sized dozer and loader/backhoe who's also willing to do it. I just don't know him as well.
You get what you pay for. This sounds like a real horror show. A lot of different things can go wrong but me, I'd bet on the guy with the backhoe. Forget the bobcat for basements; that guy will come in handy for backfilling, landscaping, maybe concrete work or lifting lumber or ply. Besides stumps and granite, what type of soil?I've dug basements with backhoes without formal training, but you've got to outthink dirt, and rocks, and keep safety and your levels in mind, as well as managing the various piles of topsoil, fill, etc.If you're not contracting this, be careful. What's going to happen if someone gets hurt?Good luck to you.
From personal experience, both on my own basement and on a lot of larger commercial/industrial sites:
Get the guy with the biggest machine to do the digging. The Bobcat is great for backfill, for working in tight spaces, for doing smaller stuff, but not a match for a house basement of any size, in any soil. The guys who dug my basement brought in a 20-ton machine (metric tons, about a 50,000 pound machine), and spent three days at it. It was easy to go through the topsoil and subsoil, but the several 5- and 8-ton rocks and ledge took a bit more work. We finally had to bring in a Komatsu PC400 with a hammer to get all the rock out.
You may not have the same problem, but even if it's sand, the time spent will really offset the cost. The only way I can see justifying it is if you own the Bobcat and you have a lot of time on your hands.
My first tendency was to go with the most expensive guy, because he has everything he could need (5000# hammer, water truck), but then I started thinking "Is it worth it?" It's sounding like everyone here thinks the answer is yes.The one wrinkle is that I may have lots of time between grading permit and building permit, so I'm not sure there will necessarily be an advantage to speed.