Executive Hire News › Archives › September 2009 › Executive Report : Bobcat bucks trend
Executive Report : Bobcat bucks trend
A recent demonstration day staged in Essex by two Bobcat dealers allowed customers to try out a pair of new machines. EHN reports.
The global economic downturn has prompted several plant manufacturers to postpone launching new models originally planned for this year. Bobcat is not one of them - it recently revealed a number of new products, with more understood to be due in the autumn.
One machine that should interest small plant and equipment hirers is the T110 compact tracked loader. This is now Bobcat’s smallest ride-in tracked load and carry machine which, with a low operating weight of 2379kg, can be moved on a two-axle plant trailer towed by suitable vehicle. Although some similar machines are lighter, the T110 scores with its especially narrow width of 1199mm. It has a useful 505kg operating capacity and comes with a manual Bob-Tach quick coupler (the Power Bob-Tach is an option) to facilitate use with many different attachments.
Hands-on event
First unveiled in the UK at SED in May, the T110 was shown at a recent hands-on demonstration day organised on farmland in Essex by Bobcat of London Ltd (which sells the manufacturer’s excavators and telehandlers) and Versatile Equipment Ltd (the Kent-based Bobcat loader specialist). EHN joined customers in putting the T110 and other machines through their paces.
Powered by a 41.8hp Kubota diesel engine, the machine provided a surprising amount of digging power. During EHN’s test drive the machine proved well able to excavate a sizeable slot into hard ground using a 1270mm-wide, tooth-equipped loader bucket. The good power to weight ratio facilitated bringing fully loaded buckets back up the steep slope from the slot, and the loader’s speed and manoeuvrability allowed fast cycle times.
Standard features include a glazed front door, whilst a fully enclosed cab with heater is available as an option. A fully adjustable suspension seat is provided, along with traditional Bobcat controls, with foot pedals for loader arm raise/lower and attachment tilt, plus two levers for travel and steering. In addition, an audible reversing alarm is incorporated.
The instrumentation in the cab is arranged in two groups - one in the top left hand corner and the other in the top right. There is a choice of panels on the right hand side - a standard system, or an optional deluxe configuration with additional features, including a security system with a keyless ignition package. The latter makes it possible to lock out certain functions, which is a useful feature in hire applications.
The wide opening rear door is made of 6mm thick steel (rather than the glass reinforced plastic used by one competitor) and the transversely mounted engine facilitates servicing. There is an automatic tensioner on the transmission belt drive and the triple flange spring rollers on the tracks are sealed for life. With its 250mm wide rubber tracks, the machine has a low ground pressure of only 0.32kg/cm2. The obvious advantage of these tracks, over the rubber tyred wheels on a skid steer loader, is their better traction and flotation on soft and wet surfaces, and superior stability on slopes. Tracks also eliminate ‘bounce’ when operating on firm surfaces.
Given the load and carry characteristics of the compact tracked loader, its multiple attachment capability and ability to work on adverse terrain, the machine should find applications with a variety of users, including landscapers. In America, the compact tracked loader now accounts for around a third of sales in what has, traditionally, been a very large skid steer market.
New mini duo
The other new machine displayed was the E35 mini excavator, replacing the former 430. This is one of a pair of recently launched Bobcats. In its standard format, the E35 is a 3.5 tonne class zero tail swing excavator that slews around within its undercarriage width of 1750mm. This machine, with standard dipper arm, digs down to a maximum depth of 3117mm. It can be supplied with a long dipper arm that digs down to 3417mm but this configuration requires the addition of an extra 295kg rear counterweight that extends the tail radius to protrude 90mm beyond the outer edge of the tracks.
The other new mini is the 3.3 tonne conventional tail swing E32, superseding the 331. It has a 1520mm undercarriage and a tail radius of 1125mm, equating to a side overhang of 365mm (less than on the 331). Maximum digging depth is 3117mm with standard dipper arm but the E32 can also be supplied with the long arm package.
The E32 and E35 share many common components including a 33.3hp Kubota engine. Compared with their predecessors, they feature a new hydraulic system with a load-sensing piston pump and a closed centre valve, together with auto-idle. Another new feature is that boom swing (77° left / 55° right) is controlled by a thumb-operated switch on the left hand joystick, rather than by a foot pedal, freeing up space in the cab. Also new is an auto shift feature allowing automatic transition from low to high-speed range.
Produced in Bobcat’s factory in Bismarck, North Dakota, the E32 and E35 join the 1.1 tonne class E08 and 1.2 tonne zero tail swing E10 launched to acclaim in 2008. These smaller minis are made at Bobcat’s Dobris factory in the Czech Republic and it is suspected that more new E series models should appear from this location later this year. Having bought Bobcat in July 2007, the South Korean manufacturer Doosan is clearly intent in not only retaining this famous brand, but also investing heavily in product development. Interestingly, the Bobcat compact excavator line was recently augmented by Bobcat branded versions of Doosan’s 5.5 tonne wheeled excavator and its 6 tonne and 8.4 tonne tracked machines. This could be the precursor to the Bobcat name and livery being applied exclusively to all the Doosan Group’s lighter weight machines in the future. •
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