Reliable and 'cheap' telehandlers?

[mountfarm]

In the sub 20k bracket preferably even less is there a particular make/model that won't bite you? Wouldn't have a big workload by any means but reliability would be good. Something like a jcb 526s. Clearly from ad's I've seen I'm looking 20 is yr old machines.

Or is it totally pot luck

530/70 can be had for under £20k and is reliable and relatively easy to fix. I found a couple of them and very neatly bought but in the end we got a 541/70 for £25k and 7000 hours.

 

[bobk]

Just been speaking to the chinese , $15,000 delivered

 

[Rookie]

This Manitou doesn't look too bad for age and hours.
Not sure what they are like though?

 

[Oliveau]

Back in the early 90's I had the pleasure of using a newish Merlo to stack Hesston bales, and I found it a joy to use after comparable Manitou/Matbro/Sanderson/JCB telehandlers. I can't speak for long term reliability, but in its day it was superb machine.

 

[daveydiesel1]

Just been speaking to the chinese , $15,000 delivered

Who did u contact about buyin the machine?

 

[bobk]

Who did u contact about buyin the machine?

The manufacturers , and I'll have a go , giving me final quote tomorrow , 20% vat no customs duty .

This product is no longer available.

This product is no longer available.

www.alibaba.com

 

[daveydiesel1]

Yes , and I'll have a go , giving me final quote tomorrow , 20% vat no customs duty .

Yes but who did u actually contact about the machine? Did u just ring up the factory?

 

[bobk]

Yes but who did u actually contact about the machine? Did u just ring up the factory?

One of the reps online , my chinese isn't that good

 

[daveydiesel1]

One of the reps online , my chinese isn't that good

That only about 11k in our money. And do they sort all the paper work and basicly leave it to your yard?

 

[bobk]

That only about 11k in our money. And do they sort all the paper work and basicly leave it to your yard?

It's delivered to port , you have to sort HMRC , I'll probably get a freight forwarder to sort paperwork

 

[daveydiesel1]

U have any idea what all is to do with hmrc and taxes?

 

[marco]

The manufacturers , and I'll have a go , giving me final quote tomorrow , 20% vat no customs duty .

This product is no longer available.

This product is no longer available.

www.alibaba.com

Do they have a three or four tonne version?

 

[bobk]

Do they have a three or four tonne version?

Don't think so

 

[daveydiesel1]

They do larger but not in telescopic. Up to 6 ton lift iirc

 

[Fendtbro]

Yes BUT i think what Timbo is saying, a 7meter construction spec JCB has the tilt linkage the same as all the agri models, BUT the 9 meter JCBs all have the tilt ram connected direct to the headstock with no linkage both agri and construction spec.

Manitou MT and MLT machines do have different crowd and tip angles though.

And the newer bigger jcb's have a proper design where the ram extends as the bucket comes back. Like an ancient matbro! I can't stand the weak crowd with the main jcb setup..

 

[Wellytrack]

Neighbour had a daffy at importing and selling Chinese machines much the same as that 10 or 12 years back. 25 feet loaders..

 

[smcapstick]

I have poured over two new Chinese loaders at sales in the last few years. The quality was horrible.
The best example I can think of off the top of my head is the mechanical shuttle lever in one of them. It was a chromed die-cast lever that was pinch-bolted on to a vaguely splined shaft, disappearing in to the dash. It was floppy yet incredibly stiff to change, all at the same time. This lever had about five minutes operation in it before it broke, too.
Now, that might not sound like too much of a problem but this thing was riddled with similar flaws. Who wants a new machine that has to have all it’s levers and pins tack-welded in place after a few days of work? It was garbage.

There is no doubt in my mind that china makes some excellent, strong, reliable machinery. A lot of work goes on over there, and when you watch videos on YouTube of Chinese quarries and factories in operation, they use domestic plant machinery almost all of the time… and use it hard.
I bet the good stuff they make is more or less the same price as our good stuff, though, so nobody tries to import it.

 

[ACEngineering]

And the newer bigger jcb's have a proper design where the ram extends as the bucket comes back. Like an ancient matbro! I can't stand the weak crowd with the main jcb setup..

The TM's have always had that but your taking about the 550, 560 etc Manitou have always been that way too. The matbro all had far too much tare out on the crowd for the own good, that and the fact the stroke of the tilt rams was too great all results in every matbro model cracking booms around the tilt ram fixing points and or the swan necks. So many silly mistakes in the design with the matbro which would have made them so much better in there day.

 

[Wellytrack]

I have poured over two new Chinese loaders at sales in the last few years. The quality was horrible.
The best example I can think of off the top of my head is the mechanical shuttle lever in one of them. It was a chromed die-cast lever that was pinch-bolted on to a vaguely splined shaft, disappearing in to the dash. It was floppy yet incredibly stiff to change, all at the same time. This lever had about five minutes operation in it before it broke, too.
Now, that might not sound like too much of a problem but this thing was riddled with similar flaws. Who wants a new machine that has to have all it’s levers and pins tack-welded in place after a few days of work? It was garbage.

There is no doubt in my mind that china makes some excellent, strong, reliable machinery. A lot of work goes on over there, and when you watch videos on YouTube of Chinese quarries and factories in operation, they use domestic plant machinery almost all of the time… and use it hard.
I bet the good stuff they make is more or less the same price as our good stuff, though, so nobody tries to import it.

That’s what I meant when I called them 25 feet loaders. From 25 feet away they looked grand.

 

[Cmoran]

We had a 2002 jcb 520 70 I think it was and changed for a 2007 merlo 40.7 would never go back personally and I know they are like marmite you either love or hate them but we find it a cracking loader.