Cat 420 D Vs Case 590 L................

[mjstef]

A few observations after digging 150' of 6' deep trench today with our new (700 hour) 420 D Cat loader backhoe, Very comfortable machine, Excavator controls are great! Loader for backfilling is among the most powerful i've seen!! It will spin all 4 tires loading dirt in second gear!!! The backhoe end of the machine is marginal at best compared to our wore out Case with almost 8000 hours on it although it is a bit faster! The reach is about 4' shorter than our Case even with the extend a hoe all the way out, This means resetting more often which sucks. Part of that is the curved main boom which won't let it lay all the way down. The only thing i've found the curved boom useful for so far is loading trucks. It also will not give very much down pressure with the boom extended for digging in hard ground. This means with our decomposed granite soil here you have to scrape and scrape and scrape some more to get a bucket full!! The outriggers are not wide enough and the machine feels unstable on slopes compared to the Case. Cat needs to go back to the drawing board on the hoe end of the machine as Case has it all over Cat there. I estimate i could have saved an hour digging if i would have had the Case on the job but i saved a half hour backfilling due to Cats WONDERFUL transmission and loader! So all in all i was 1/2 hour behind today.

 

[kwazyca]

I have all Cats now, but.........

I really prefer a 4 stick Case for digging around utilities.

I love a 590 with the 10" wider stance on the stabilizers.

I know with the new Komatsus they come from the factory turned down to "rental speed". You have to ask them to turn them up to "contractor speed". Big difference

Don't know about the Cats.

Tom

 

[Duke]

I sold my Ford 555 4x4 about 3 years ago and really miss it. I've rented a bunch of case 590's and thought they were great on the backhoe part, too. I had one lose the entire glass windshield on me to the amusement of my workers. They fell on the ground laughing after I stood up and about 10,000 pieces of safety glass fell of me . That's the only problem I ever had with one.

A guy down the street from me bought a CAT hoe and sold it in one year. Said he didn't like it.

Ever rent a Deere hoe? I thought the hydraulics were incredibly powerful. Just ate the Wissahickon Schist rock we have here for lunch!

 

[mjstef]

I sold my Ford 555 4x4 about 3 years ago and really miss it. I've rented a bunch of case 590's and thought they were great on the backhoe part, too. I had one lose the entire glass windshield on me to the amusement of my workers. They fell on the ground laughing after I stood up and about 10,000 pieces of safety glass fell of me . That's the only problem I ever had with one.

A guy down the street from me bought a CAT hoe and sold it in one year. Said he didn't like it.

Ever rent a Deere hoe? I thought the hydraulics were incredibly powerful. Just ate the Wissahickon Schist rock we have here for lunch!

Deere are very overpriced and don't hold up very well. We rented a 310D a few weeks ago and it was looser than a 2$ ***** with only 2500 hours on the clock. Also the trans sucks as they have no power for backfilling. Didn't like the cabs either. Cat has the cab down to a science.

We woulda had another Case but the servicing dealer is 100 miles away and never stocks nuttin!! Always waiting on parts where Cat 30 miles away stocks what is needed.............

 

[Pacific]

Nothing beats Case in rubber tired backhoes they build the best. I have been running a 214 JCB with the 4 equal sized tires and 4 wheel steering. The backhoe itself I'am not too impressed with it is wild to run because its hard to feather the hydraulics, 2 levers with the ISO controls. I run excavator too and I can be smooth with them but the backhoe I have a hell of a time and I'am not the only one.

The loader part isn't too bad its got decent power you are dealing with a 1.5 yard bucket or so its scooping alot of material. In first gear it will spin all 4 tires to shreds gotta becarefull about that in 2nd gear they will spin not as bad thou. As for stability I have had it on some off camber situations. It is more stable than my dads old 1980 John Deere 310 2wd which is really tippy the same with the same vintage 410 I was running. I have had a few pucker moments where the machine is sliding sideways or teetering on two wheels where I had to pull the seat out of my ass crack
I find about the JCB is its like a bull in a china shop it seems too big and clumsy to do fine work if it didn't have 4wheel steering it wouldn't go anywhere.

I have ran 590 Case 4x4 its one of the nicest machines I have ever ran I did run a old 580 Case 2wd with the old style backhoe controls with the 3 sticks and swing pedals. I never had problems with the old style controls I know some people can't use them because all they have ran is 2 stick. I have ran forklift for 10 years so I can feather hydraulics and use my fingers to move the levers.

I did run a 416 Cat it was a 2000 model with the curved rear backhoe boom I wasn't impressed either I actually wasn't really impressed with the whole machine itself.

To sum it up if I was in the market for a new or used rubber tired hoe it would be a 590 4x4 with extenda hoe and hydraulic thumb.

 

[Whit]

I have an old 72 Case 2 wheel unit, its a 680 so its a bit bigger than most, I have been around alot of hoes before and nothing is comparable to the hydrolics on this one . If ya run it all day long you feel like ya been run over, a new Case 4x4 extenda hoe would be too cool but if I were to trade for anything right now it would be a Case 950 skidsteer with all the attachment possible..........course this is for home owner use only, wouldnt want to dig a foundation/ basement with it I have had the hoe for about 15 years and it is very dependable.

 

[camara]

I have 710B John Deere. Don't need an exhoe. I use it mostly for a crane or for pulling stumps and boulders. It is tail heavy so it is hard grade with. But other than that it has good response to the backhoe for fine work. I think when I buy an new machine next year I will buy a 410G.

 

[Pacific]

A 710 is a big machine I seen one it was like a excavator on wheels. Nothing can beat a excavator (track hoe) for general digging etc. I know mini excavators have replaced the backhoe for utility work in tight areas or places that are too tough for a backhoe to work on.

In my mind the 580-590 Case is about the biggest you want to go for general use. The bigger machines like the JCB 214 I have been running is a good loader but its just too big for anything else I think it weighs around 17,000-18,000lbs. I know she sinks in mud pretty quick from experience on one of the jobsites.

The old 310 my dad has isn't the easiest machine to use because it has a clutch pedal its easy to get the front wheels to lift its not like the newer machines with powershift.

 

[mjstef]

Cat 420D we have weighs 20K with a 3' bucket and pin grabber AND the 1200# counter weight that is absolutly necissary.

 

[Duke]

Gawd that's heavy...my 555 4x4 weighed maybe 16K!!!

 

[Pacific]

Most 590 Case 4x4s are 19,000lbs which is plenty weight anymore than that you have sinking problems. The only time I can see you wanting more weight is if you are lifting things up high with the loader and you want the machine to be stable.

 

[chris]

I agree with everyone on the case 590. I operate a super L and my boss has a brand new super M. The super M is the cadillac of backhoes, air seat and the cab is so roomy that it feels like an office. The super M seems to have faster hydraulics than mine does and the in cab bucket removal system is great especially when the weather is bad. We do alot of septic systems and perc tests here in sierras and most of the time were operating on slopes greater than 25%,sometimes even 45% and the case is tractor i like for stability. I just wish they had 2 gear ranges because some of the time first is just to high for creeping or getting going from a stop on steep slope.

 

[mjstef]

I just wish they had 2 gear ranges because some of the time first is just to high for creeping or getting going from a stop on steep slope.

Yup!! If it wasn't for there lousy trans and dealer service here we would have another one!!

 

[Pacific]

One of the local contractors I know has been running backhoes since he was about 17 or so man he can take a rubber tired hoe where I wouldn't dream of going. He can do alot of work with the 590 Case he owns there isn't many other guys around that have 30 years plus on a backhoe. Most operators now run nothing but excavator (trackhoe) and don't have the finess to run a rubber tired hoe to its max capability.

Some of the older guys that learned and used nothing but backhoes could walk the machine on the stabs,front bucket and backhoe bucket to get into the tougher spots where newer operators would only use a excavator. This was back in the early 80s when 90% of the backhoes were 2wd.

 

[mjstef]

One of the local contractors I know has been running backhoes since he was about 17 or so man he can take a rubber tired hoe where I wouldn't dream of going. He can do alot of work with the 590 Case he owns there isn't many other guys around that have 30 years plus on a backhoe. Most operators now run nothing but excavator (trackhoe) and don't have the finess to run a rubber tired hoe to its max capability.

Some of the older guys that learned and used nothing but backhoes could walk the machine on the stabs,front bucket and backhoe bucket to get into the tougher spots where newer operators would only use a excavator. This was back in the early 80s when 90% of the backhoes were 2wd.

Yup!! I walk mine into tight spots. The Cat won't do it like the Case though!