What choices would make me happy for 10 years?

[Dan Watrous]

Thank you for all your help in my research for an excavator for a large alpine mountain private parcel surrounded by the Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Wilderness. We are 10 miles from the National Park that has the giant redwood trees. It is on the steep side of a mountain, and covered with logging roads not used for 60 years and a few flat areas which were landings. I want to turn those old overgrown roads into trails/roads for my grandchildren to ride horses/atvs/bikes. I also need to widen and improve a half mile driveway that climbs 500 feet from the road enough to get RV trailers to our first flat area.

Around here where ag dominates in the central valley of California, I could get a 10 ton machine with blade, hydraulic thumb and rubber tracks while the 15 ton machines are less common, no blade, steel tracks and unusual to get a progressive link thumb.

So, looking for an older machine ready for 10 years of useful life working 200-300 hours a year. Which are the most important luxuries worth spending more on?

15 ton vs 10 ton machine my time is not valuable but my life is
Steel instead of rubber tracks it is very rare to drive on rocks too heavy to pick up by hand
Less than 3000 hours instead of more than 5000 hours in these sizes of machines
Progressive link instead of hydraulic thumb
CAT vs others that have local dealers
Blade for help making roads vs needing a CTL for grading
Quick coupler for a frost/stump ripping tooth
Machine with no history of breaking concrete/rock based on owner's business type
Buying from local dealer to get preferential treatment with service later
Buying from another state with forestry equipped machines like Oregon or Washington, with an inspection

Something else I'm not thinking of

 

[Acoals]

Take your youngest grandchild with you and go excavator shopping. Buy the machine the kid likes the best, it is going to swallow buckets of cash either way . . .

 

[Dan Watrous]

We took 6 yo Grayson to the land 2 days ago. We climbed up into the bottom of the clouds sitting on the mountains with the valley below, and he is singing "I think I can fly, I think I can touch the sky..." Thank you for reminding me of the memory

 

[Lagwagon]

How big are the rocks sitting on the side of the logging roads?

 

[KSSS]

If I was in your situation, I would look at a 145 sized machine. CASE/Link Belt type or CAT 315, Deere 135 may be an option (having spent a bit of time in a 135 I don't like the balance as well as the others but its an option). I would for sure try and find a pro link thumb and hyd coupler. I don't really see a reason for rubber tracks, it doesn't look like you will be on anything but dirt.

 

[Dan Watrous]

A few places on the "driveway" there are exposed tree roots around rocks the size of car tires to dishwashers, usually under 2-3 foot diameter trees that the driveway goes around. I have not seen exposed rock on the shallower logging trails. When you dig in the dirt you get small rocks from baseballs to toasters in size. I'm sure there is ledge somewhere deep under the flat areas

 

[skyking1]

there's no magic in rubber tracks. They won't save your ass on solid rock. What they are good for is working on pavement without trashing it. That's it. They break and wear out faster than steel. If there is any rock involved they wear out multiple times faster.
You can find some bigger blade runners like @KSSS is talking about.

 

[Lagwagon]

A few places on the "driveway" there are exposed tree roots around rocks the size of car tires to dishwashers, usually under 2-3 foot diameter trees that the driveway goes around. I have not seen exposed rock on the shallower logging trails. When you dig in the dirt you get small rocks from baseballs to toasters in size. I'm sure there is ledge somewhere deep under the flat areas

A 12-14t machine with a blade sounds like the ticket, I would look for a standard tailswing over short or zero for the better balance as your in steep terrain, just have to be mindful of the counterweight connecting with the batter as your cutting in the roads. Quick-coupler mount hydraulic thumb as a minimum, pro-link desirable.