Kubota Mini Excavator
Kubota make a wide range of construction equipment, a large part of which they describe as compact excavators, commonly referred to as mini excavators.
Although described as mini, the excavator are anything but in many ways. They combine Kubota’s legendary ability for small-scale adaptability, with a combination of powerful engines and load capacity.
The kubota mini excavator ranges from the K008, through to the U55. There are differences in terms of horsepower, engine, size and bucket capacity.
The important thing when considering which excavator to buy is the type of job it is be used for, the type of land to be used on, and how often is to be used.
Buying any type of construction equipmentis an important investment, whether it is new or used, and consideration should be given to a rental option instead.
Kubota Mini Excavator Price / For Sale
All prices come with a warning, they are a guide price only.
Any list price for any excavator should be negotiable with a dealership, and different dealerships will have different levels of discounts. Things such as attachments, servicing and maintenance plans, trade-ins, credit history etc can have an effect on the final price paid.
The current guide price of a Kubota K008 is between US$22/23,000 through to a Kubota KX080 which was an MSRP of approx US$ 114000, according to a main US Kubota dealership.
The variation in prices reflects the different power and versatility of the excavator involved, and there is also a huge range of used mini excavators available.
These can be purchased through a number of online websites, many of them auction type, through Kubota dealerships and through private sale.
When buying a used Kubota mini excavator, the same care should be taken as when buying any used vehicle or truck.
Check the age, the hours used, the type of work that has been used for, the type of land it has been used on and its general condition. If it is possible to obtain servicing and maintenance history, that obviously helps.
Kubota Mini Excavator Rental
There is a large Kubota mini excavator rental market, available from dealerships, and also from stores such as Home Depot. A large part of the reason for this is that many excavators are used either for one-off jobs, or on an occasional or seasonal basis.
While the rental market can be ideal for some people, there are normally quite strict restrictions on usage, condition and liabilities while the excavator is in the care of the user. Just make sure to read the small print.
Kubota Mini Excavator Models
Kubota K008
Kubota KX018
Kubota KX030
Kubota KX71
Kubota KX91
Kubota KX033
Kubota KX040
Kubota KX057
Kubota KX080
Kubota KX121
Kubota U10
Kubota U17
Kubota U25
Kubota U27
Kubota U35
Kubota U48
Kubota U55
Kubota KX61
Kubota KX121-3 parts
Kubota KX41-2 Parts
Kubota KX41-3 Parts
Kubota Mini Excavator Craigslist
Many people like to use craigslist, in part because it offers services very easily by specific location this is the ideal for rentals, and can be useful as well for sales.
The only downside for sales is that this limits the number of excavators available, unless the purchaser is willing to go out of state. If this is the case, just make sure there is clarity about delivery and shipping costs.
Remember that craigslist is a completely open market, and treat it with a degree of caution as such.
Kubota Mini Excavator Specs
There is a huge variance in the range of Kubota mini excavators, and when deciding which one is most appropriate to buy or rent, study of its specifications is crucial. These involve the following areas:
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Engine – output and displacement
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Dimensions – overall length, height, width and ground clearance
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Hydraulic system – pump capacity and auxiliary hydraulic flow
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Drive system – travel speed, traction force, caller length etc
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Swing system – swing speed, boom swing angle
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Blade – dimensions, lift above and below ground
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Lifting capacity
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Working range
Kubota Mini Excavator Sizes
The physical size of the excavator itself can often be an important consideration, despite the specific work is intended to be used for.
The K008 is ideally small enough to be used for some internal building work as well as external, and can fit through most standard doorways (sometimes with a bit of a push) and has a foldable ROPS to help you do this.
Apart from the physical size of the mini excavator, its size in terms of horsepower and lifting capacity are also factors that need to be taken into account and judged depending upon the type of work that will be used for.
Kubota Mini Excavator Attachments
Kubota make a wide range of different excavator attachments, most of which are listed below. Quick couplesr are ideal for attaching and detaching implements, using either a two hole quick coupler, a three hole quick coupler or an hydraulic quick coupler.
These can generally be broken down into the following general areas, with a more detailed list below :
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Blades
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Booms
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Breakers
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Brooms
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Buckets
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Carriers
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Cutters
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Forks
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Graders
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Grapples
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Grinders
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Hitches
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Landscape rakes
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Planers
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Posthole digger’s
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Pullers
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Rippers
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Seeders
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Silage defacers
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Snowblowers
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Snow pushers
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Tillers
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Trenchers
and a more detailed list below
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Hydraulic thumb kit
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Hydraulic breakers
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Flail brush shredder
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24 inch frost ripper
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Grading blade
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Solid trinr grapple
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Excavating rake
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Vibratory Compactor
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Compaction wheel
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Hydraulic auger
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Travel alarms
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Canopy light kits
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Strobe light kit
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Mirror kit for cabins
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Block heater kits
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Steel track kits
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Wide steel tracks/dozer blade extension kit
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Additional counterweight kit
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Brush guard kit
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Two-way service support kit
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Seat Belt kits
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Travel pedal kit
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Radios
Kubota Mini Excavator Buckets
Buckets are a crucial element of all excavator work. Kubota mini excavator buckets come in different sizes, depending upon the excavator being used.
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Trenching buckets – two types :
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Pin on trenching bucket 8 inches/36 inches
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Quick attach trenching bucket 9 inch/36 inch
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Ditch cleaning/Grading buckets -pin on and quick attach, 36 inch/60 inch
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Tilt grading buckets, quick attach – 36 inch/54 inch
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Cemetery bucket – 36 inch
Kubota Mini Excavator Weight
How much a mini excavator weighs is an important consideration in a couple of main respects.
Firstly, transportation. The weight of the excavator may not determine which one is bought or rented, but should be a consideration of how the excavator is transported to and from any workplace where it is to be used.
Obviously, the heavier the machine, the stronger the trailer or truck loader carrier that will be needed. Using any traler or carrier that is not specifically designed to carry such weights is likely to result in significant damage to the excavator, the trailer, and possible injury to anyone driving such a load.
As a guide, Kubota list the operating weight of an excavator in its specifications chart, as a guide only, and including an estimate operators weight. This should give some indication of the type of transportation needed.
The other consideration is the type of land used on. Any heavy excavator needs to be used on land that is sufficiently hard that provide a reliable and safe surface is. Also if the land is not flat and has significant slopes or hills, then there is specific guidance of angle it is safe to use the excavator on such land
Bear in mind that the risk of turning over an excavator can be quite high, and this risk increases significantly when it is used on land that is not flat.
Kubota Mini Excavator Controls
If not familiar with a Kubota mini excavator, then it’s important to spend time familiarising oneself with the different controls that are available to any operative when using the machine.
It is best to consult the operating manual which gives detailed information on all the different types of controls and what they do.
Kubota make a point of putting all the important controls within easy reach of the operative, making them clear and easy to understand, and building in important types of safety features .
The controls may give a choice between ISO and SAE control patterns. They are likely to show a coolant temperature gauge, and possibly other technical information the operative requires
There will be controls allowing for changes in speed of travel, and controls allowing for adjustable track width and control of the blade.
There will be controls, normally pedal operated that allows for operating the boom and its swing.
Kubota Mini Excavator Parts
Below are listed some of the main parts that are often needed for a Kubota mini excavator, some of which can be aftermarket parts, depending upon the warranty, and others will need to be manufacturer made parts :
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Sprocket
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Roller aftermarket final drive
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Case Idler
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Tension idler
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Undercarriage with tracks
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Rubber tracks
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Track and sprocket combo
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Bottom track roller
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Steel tracks and rubber pads
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Steel track group with rubber pads
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Loader rubber tracks
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Bottom track roller
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Upper roller
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Aftermarket drive motor
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Replacement tension idler
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Front idler
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Other carrier roller
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Lower roller
Kubota Mini Excavator Reviews
There are lots of reviews of Kubota mini excavators available online, but it is a good idea to have a sense of which one person is most interested in before getting into detailed reviews.
You Tube is often quite a good place to start, as there is a mix of dealership and personal videos available.
Dealership videos are good in a show the excavator at his best, and personal videos are also good because they give someone to individual experience, both good and bad.
Equally there are a number of discussion forums online as tractor by net, and other tractor sites, which have sections on construction equipment.
These are normally carry detailed discussions relating to all types of construction and excavator equipment. If there are likely to be any significant issues with an excavator, they are likely to be flagged up here.
When looking at reviews, it is important to distinguish between real and actual problems with the excavator itself, comparisons between the Kubota mini excavator and other models, and problems that an individual may have had because they chose to buy or rent the wrong model.
It can also be helpful as a given insight into how helpful a particular dealership was or is, although they are not normally named.
