Selecting a Manual Thumb for my Komatsu PC60-7

[Mark A Weiss]

I'm doing a lot of log work around the yard (just had 13 red oaks taken down) and I'm shopping for a manual thumb for my PC60-7.

I'm delighted to see that they can be had for under $2000. This model is the one I'm considering for my machine.

I assume this gets welded onto the stick. Does that make sense?

Before I proceed, I figured I'd bounce it off the experts here. Is this a good thumb for my machine?

excavator thumb mt1240 thumb in action. Installed on a Komatsu PC75-UU #mt1240

excavator backhoe thumb 31

www.excavatorthumb.com

 

[uffex]

Good day
The attached may help out, however it is not a recommendation on my part.
Kind regards
Uffex

 

[Mark A Weiss]

Those are hydraulic thumbs. I don't think I have auxiliary hydraulics on this machine, so I opted for the manual thumb.

Any reason why I shouldn't go with the one I linked to? I'm planning for the spring. Need to save up for it.

 

[uffex]

Good day
If you can manage with a fixed thumb to do your work, I would not suggest making it more complex or costly.
Kind regards
Uffex

 

[Mark A Weiss]

I can manage with a manual thumb. It would cost prohibitively to upgrade the hydraulics to have an aux hydraulic to drive a hydraulic thumb. This keeps it under $2000. I once enquired about a hydraulic thumb and the cost was about $30,000. So manual is all I can afford.

 

[uffex]

Good day Mark
Those figures seem a little on the high side, if you have a moment going to the excatech.org site> choose the "Library" key > "Adapted apps" you will find a lot of thumb information that may expand your thoughts on quick couplers .Its free and you can down load what you need.
Kind regards
Uffex

 

[uffex]

Opps quick couplers should read thumb old brain is dodging around.

 

[Mark A Weiss]

Well the dollar isn't what is used to be. Prices are rising every week now!
I visited that site, but it's mainly discussing hydraulic thumbs. Since I doubt my machine has aux hydraulics (I could be wrong about this), and because I don't have the $$$ for a hydraulic thumb and all the installation that involves, I've opted to go with the manual. If there's no obvious problems with the unit I linked to, I'll probably buy it in the spring.

 

[CM1995]

Solsbee's makes a decent skid steer bucket for the price but I don't have any experience with their thumbs. Bought a tooth bucket for our T250 yard machine that is nicely built for the price but it hasn't seen any real work to determine the longevity.

Worth a look.

Excavator Manual Thumbs » Solesbees

solesbees.com

 

[Welder Dave]

A manual thumb should be under $1000 for a PC60. I bought a new manual thumb a few years ago for $400cad. from Ritchie Bros. I would guess they went up a little but maybe $600 at the most. The next size up maybe $750.

 

[Mark A Weiss]

A manual thumb should be under $1000 for a PC60. I bought a new manual thumb a few years ago for $400cad. from Ritchie Bros. I would guess they went up a little but maybe $600 at the most. The next size up maybe $750.

Can you point me to a vendor that will sell it at that price?
After being told $30,000 for a hydraulic thumb, the $1800 price for a manual seemed almost too good to be true, but I'm not that familiar with the attachments market pricing trends, which is why I rely this community to guide me to getting the correct attachment at a reasonable price.
That Ritchie Bros site has auctions and many are thousands of miles away. Cost of shipping?
The $1800 price I saw includes "free" shipping, so the raw price of the thing itself may be half that.

 

[Welder Dave]

I bet a steel fabricator could make one for less than $1800. Somebody is rolling out the red carpet for you. $30,000 for a hyd. thumb on a PC60? I've seen new hyd. thumbs at auctions and equipment dealers listed from about $2500 and up. Do some looking on the internet. It shouldn't be hard to find a mechanical thumb for $1000 or less.

 

[Welder Dave]

Prices have gone up but depending on how HD you want Gentec has one for around $13××. There's a few others I think would be less than $1800 but you'd have call and get prices. Titan, Bedrock, Sec, etc. US Attachments has one round $1500 or a heavier for around your $1800. You'd have to compare specs.

 

[Mark A Weiss]

These things are heavy, and shipping is going to be a big factor in the cost. The $1800 one includes the shipping. I'd want something durable and not likely to break when I pick up logs with it.
I don't know of any metal fabricators around here and even so, they would need drafting plans for such a build and there's and unproven design unless built from tried and true diagrams.
The $30K figure was probably taking into account the hydraulics that would need to be updated /added to make it work. Both the valve and the foot pedal control inside the cab.

 

[Welder Dave]

It's always good to shop around and other dealers may offer free shipping as well. Buying from a local dealer, they may be able to mount a thumb as well. You want to follow the weld procedures and have someone qualified to weld it.

 

[Welder Dave]

Are you a dealer?

 

[uffex]

Good day
It is not a recommendation but it is appears to be what you are looking for and the only information that is in our records.
Kind regards
Uffex

 

[CM1995]

Are you a dealer?

No he was a spammer.

 

[Mark A Weiss]

That catalog doesn't list any prices. It's hard to comparison shop without knowing the cost of the unit and the shipping.

I was planning to do the welding myself. There aren't any dealers in my area that I know of. I have a budget limit of $2000 for this project.

 

[Welder Dave]

How much welding experience do you have and what do you have for a welder?