Case Excavator ??

[herk]

Hello I am looking for a good farm hoe cleaning ditches, fixing tile, removeing trees ect. I know of a 1080 , 2 980's and a 880c . My question is witch one would be the good pick for what I need? I have and still have a back hoe but it just isn't big enough, I belive the 880 is over 32000#, the 1080 I believe is over 40000#, the 980's I don't know , the 880 has a hydraulic table. Once it's here it will not need to be hauled . Thanks Bryan

 

[Tony in SD]

Since you already have a smaller hoe for the smaller jobs, I’d get the biggest one. You won’t regret it when you need the extra power. Of course I don’t know the condtion of any of the machines which would play a big part on my decision.

 

[Blackhole49]

Since you already have a smaller hoe for the smaller jobs, I’d get the biggest one. You won’t regret it when you need the extra power. Of course I don’t know the CONDITION of any of the machines which would play a big part on my decision.

Totally agree with Tony. Go big or go home. I will add; the hydraulic table would be nice for ditching and uneven ground but, if it is worn, would be another fairly large expense to repair.

 

[rrman61]

Totally agree with Tony. Go big or go home. I will add; the hydraulic table would be nice for ditching and uneven ground but, if it is worn, would be another fairly large expense to repair.

The 880 that I ran had a single foot lever to open and close the bucket.hard to get used to and tire your right foot /leg out moving your foot from the top to the bottom of the pedal to operate

 

[Steve in IL]

As a past owner of an early Cat 225, I suggest looking for a Cat HEX that fits your size and budget. New and used parts availability is excellent. Finding knowledgeable people to work on them is relatively easy.

When I was looking to buy, there were a few Case/Drott machines for sale. But I couldn’t find anyone that really knew much about how to take care of them. So they were priced accordingly.

Perhaps your local situation is different. Whatever HEX you consider, look carefully for boom and stick pin & bushing wear and structural issues (cracks). Hydraulic hose leaks are relatively easy fixes, but can also get expensive.

Good luck!

 

[bc]

The 880 that I ran had a single foot lever to open and close the bucket.hard to get used to and tire your right foot /leg out moving your foot from the top to the bottom of the pedal to operate

Reminds me of back in the day I was tired of sticking my left foot up to hit the headlight dimmer switch all the time. Flipping the dimmer on the turn signal switch was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Now my fingers get tired and I wish we had the foot dimmers again. I could even deal with sticking my left arm straight out to turn left or up for right. Go figure.

I apologize if there are any kids here who don't know about foot dimmer switches. And if you have never drove a 3 speed on the column or drove a car with a 4 speed Hurst shifter on the floor.

Your left leg used to have a purpose in life other than keeping you from falling over when standing up.

 

[Bob Bancroft]

Reminds me of back in the day I was tired of sticking my left foot up to hit the headlight dimmer switch all the time. Flipping the dimmer on the turn signal switch was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Now my fingers get tired and I wish we had the foot dimmers again. I could even deal with sticking my left arm straight out to turn left or up for right. Go figure.

I apologize if there are any kids here who don't know about foot dimmer switches. And if you have never drove a 3 speed on the column or drove a car with a 4 speed Hurst shifter on the floor.

Your left leg used to have a purpose in life other than keeping you from falling over when standing up.

The dimmer switch on my 1990 Navistar grain truck is still on the floor. When I take off early, in the dark, wearing my boots(where I dump can be messy) I have issues getting my big boot between the clutch pedal and the dimmer! I get lazy and leave my foot on the switch, but then hit it inadvertently! Darn.

 

[300jk]

Hello I am looking for a good farm hoe cleaning ditches, fixing tile, removeing trees ect. I know of a 1080 , 2 980's and a 880c . My question is witch one would be the good pick for what I need? I have and still have a back hoe but it just isn't big enough, I belive the 880 is over 32000#, the 1080 I believe is over 40000#, the 980's I don't know , the 880 has a hydraulic table. Once it's here it will not need to be hauled . Thanks Bryan

Company I used to work for had a 1080 with the hydraulic table. That was the best part of the whole machine. Very handy to have. The controls seemed ackward and clumsy. I used to hate running it for days at a time. For farm work I’m sure it would be just fine.

 

[used red MN]

It probably won’t make a flea spit of difference in my life if I know this or not, but what is a “hydraulic table”.. what does it do? The www is having a hard time providing an answer.

 

[DWF]

It probably won’t make a flea spit of difference in my life if I know this or not, but what is a “hydraulic table”.. what does it do? The www is having a hard time providing an answer.

When the excavator is on unven ground, the hydraulic table levels the house so it is easier to operate. Tracks stay the same. Drotts were the first to have that, I think they were the first.
DWF

 

[Scott Farm]

It probably won’t make a flea spit of difference in my life if I know this or not, but what is a “hydraulic table”.. what does it do? The www is having a hard time providing an answer.

I would compare it to a sidehill combine without the automatic leveling.
We have a 880b. It’s slow and clumsy compared to modern machines but it’s quite powerful and a great farm machine for the couple times a year that we use it. We paid about what it costs to rent a similar size Cat for two weeks.

 

[Keith True]

My logger friend bought an 880 about 25 years ago.It was not going to be used for production work,so the speed and the controls were no big deal.On some jobs a bank had to be removed for access,and then replaced.On some jobs the permit stated wetland crossings had to use a temporary culvert,removed after the job was done.I did repair work for him,and what we found about that machine was that it was mostly a component machine.All the hydraulics were off the shelf components from various manufacturers.Same thing with all the pistons and valves.Undercarriage was standard Case/Poclain/Drott.This one had the Case engine,but all could be had with different powerplants.The machine was powerful,predictable,and did anything it was meant to do without any problems.The hydraulic house tilt was real handy for cutting in landings and culverts in the woods.I put a big hydraulic thumb on it,he said he would never own a machine again without one.I did a couple of septics at his places with it,it worked nicely but the pedal bucket and swing did bother my knees.