We’ve run the K-008 for three years and it has been a fantastic little machine. Strong for its size, reliable and tough and fits through a garage door ! It is however, very limited in reach, attachments, loading height and as you say is hard to operate smoothly due to the very basic hydraulics. We’ve upgraded recently but I still look at these little machines fondly.
I owned the K008 for 3 years with no issues. I then upgraded to the U10 side lever (with servos).... If you are digging all day long the arm rest in front of the servo levers is a god send, you can sit further back so no hunching forward over the levers which is an issue for us taller users.No back ache. The side lever option was another grand on top of the list but I think worth it.
Nice, I've never seen one in the wild. Does it make it any smoother to operate? And what's it like getting on and off with the pods? They look a bit of an awkward retrofit design compared to the Bobcat?
@@Olliegunns Hi, They do smooth out the operation of the buckets as they're all actuated at the same level but it is a little difficult to get a good shake going for the stickier mud to slide off the bucket. Not a big issue. Once the lever pods are lifted it does actually make on and off the machine just as easy as the K008. But in winter you trap your coat when they descend. Lol Any of the machines have little niggles im sure. But i live near to a JCB sales outlet and before I bought the U10 I went to see their efforts and was very disappointed. Can I ask .... the Steelwrist part of your video.....are they prototype tilters or on the market? I can't get a live chat from Steelwrist? Dave
@@kanadabe458 Hi Dave, yes that little steelwrist tilt hitch is out on the market. No idea how much they cost though but they do look really cute on a machine that size. Nice low build height. They show them on the steelwrist website
Cracking feature with the roll bar dropping on the ram! That was my thoughts exactly when I first operated a hire one. Not be long before you've got a scored leaky ram to remedy... Better off with the doosan dx10z, same colour and same machine as bobcat, without the flaky white paint (servos so your not leaning over and doing your back in and greater stability at 1100mm (max) wide if needs be, which is always a bonus with these easily tipped machines). You can get immobiliser fob as an option for security, looks better too than the dated kubota!
I agree, the Doosan looks better in Orange too. Its probably the best micro out there, but I think the old Kubota still has the edge in a couple of areas. What I would spend my hard earned on though would be hard to say. Would have to know the price difference between them really to weigh up if I could live with sticks or if the Bobcat/Doosan wraps it all up nicely.
I have to agree with Matthew regarding the hitches, my two Whites quick hitches are both fine on my two Hitachi 19u's (they're both around 1500 and 1700hr mark). I've had full bulk bags (over the front of the blade with it down of course) dangling off the end of a chain wrapped around the bucket more times than I can remember at that, with no problems. I've always found the buckets to be loose on the kubota's anyway so maybe the issue is where the quick hitch is connected to the dipper and not the bucket to the hitch...
Great reviews, thanks for the effort. I've got a K008 and a U17 and love them both, hardly had any trouble with either. The old 008's used to have the roll bar at the back which stuck out a lot more and got in the way, roll bar at front is much better. I had a quick hitch on my 008 but took it off immediately as it would let you roll the bucket at full extension. Living /working in Hertfordshire most of my jobs are narrow access and the 008 will go down to 730mm wide which is much needed. Don't know how small the u10 would go down to? but if it was the same as the 008 I would consider buying one next time.
I think the one disadvantage of the U10 is it only goes down to 750mm, which the Bobcat beats in this by going down to 700. Shame as the new U10's which have been released since I filmed this, now have proper servos and will be killer machines - just a tad too wide for some!
@@Olliegunns I agree, as I said my 008 will get through a gap 730mm wide absolute minimum. Seems a bit foolish to make two machines so similar in width. Unfortunately though 750mm just doesnt cut it as even million pound houses round here have rubbish access
I'll say this for the roll bar on the front- we have a cat 300.1 which is very similar to this unit and the roll bar in the front allows for a screen when using a breaker. We absolutely love our little unit it's been a great investment for us. You just have to check your pride when climbing on an off :-) Love the videos!
Lol. I have a 300.9 Cat and have been laughed at. But once they see what it can do they shut up quick. It’s been a great investment for drainage and grade work for residential home construction.
Great vid 👍, Overall I think there really good machines, had one for 3 years, with the roll bar hitting the beam, with mine if you lower the beam down a bit it doesn’t hit
They are generally known as Track mats. I have the clips to join them too so you can make a big area, or a line of them or whatever and they dont move. Brilliant things, should last forever but arent cheap! I got fed up of moving wet, warped plywood around!
I'm between this and the bobcat e10, but as the Kubota u 10-3 dosent have side controls, only the Kubota u 10-3 sl {side levers) does, which is considerably more..
Indeed it is. Its a hard call because the bobcat is so close to being perfect with its servo controls. But it lets itself down in paint quality, long term reliability (plenty of owners with hoses going before 1000hrs) and its digging geometry, especially when loading dumpers. The Kubota's only downside is its leavers. Hard call to make and price will no doubt play a factor as well. I'd be interested to know what they price them both at this year.
Big let down with bobcat is the extended blade , total💩 . My personal favourite is yanmar , not many places you can’t go with ease , I got a b08 20 year old runs like a watch ..,. And a new sv08 excellent back up where I live but I’ve only ever needed filters and service .... never even had to change a hose on the old one yet !
I found the cage on a kubota is easier to get into thight places then a bobcat wich swings backward. When the cage forded down on the kubota,it is in your sight. The bobcats isnt.l
I don't deny the Bobcat is a nicer place to sit all day. But the digging end isn't as good as the Kubota. And at the end of the day - digging is what it needs to do best! I look forward to Kubota doing servo controls properly. I think they will be hard to beat when that happens.
JCB's steel quality is ok - its the paint/ prep that lets them down! Whereas the Whites spring hitch just isn't a hardwearing component - so many people have sent me videos of theirs with tons of play in the jaw on the back of my comments in this video! If you want a spring hitch then JCB surprisingly make a very good one that you can flick the bucket back on to connect - something you cant do with many. And they wear really well in my experience. The Harford ones are also very good.
These micro ones with the controls in front of you aren't great. They don't flow share particularly well and having the controls out in front of you doesn't help as you haven't got anywhere to support your wrists when it jerks around. Some new micros now have servo controls like a bigger excavator, and these are much better for this, but the reality is, with these small machines, they just don't have the oil flow to work as smoothly as the bigger machines, and lack the weight to keep them stable.
I don't think there is a perfect answer on a small machine. Hydraulic ones are great as they take out the slack but suffer from massive build height at this size and are serious money - plus the need to pipe it up - not a realistic option on a machine you already own. Harford do a couple of good quality hitches, the proloc and the safeloc. The Proloc is the one to look at for you as it uses your existing buckets and a wedge system to clamp the bucket tight in the hitch. The disadvantage of this system is it takes slightly longer to undo and subsequently wind back up again. but does solve the issue of play! Otherwise its another make of spring hitch like you have at the moment. The best Ive used is the JCB one, simple to use, good geometry, you can "flick" the bucket into place when reattaching and they often come up as new off of machines where people have fitted something different. Don't get the 801 hitch, you will need the one off the newer 15c,16c,18z,19c range as they run 30mm pins and same width as Kubota etc now Other options available are Klac/ Harford Safeloc both of which require special buckets to fit the hitch but are really good systems if you were spec'ing it new. The only disadvantage is you cant reverse the buckets with these systems - I told you there isn't a perfect solution!
Got a klak quick hich on my 2005 008 & on my 2005 kx 41 nice & tight never had a problem with it, don't know if they still make them but they are great bit of kit. Down side is you need a set of special buckets to go with it! Mine came as a package. Makes the buckets less attractive to the thieves though.
They were a great machine. And had really good offset too with that linkage to the kingpost. Shame the TB210 is too "fat" to be a true micro to replace the much loved TB108
Bobcat have the edge on design for sure. Its a nice machine, and the servos are very tempting, but I think the Kubota drives better and certainly has a better geometry on the digging end. As usual, its pros and cons with both. And some of the horror stories I'm hearing with very low hour'd Bobcats really make me think twice about buying one.
I haven't had a go on any of the Chinese makes in this class size but there are certainly ones to avoid from reading what others have said. The sub £10k "micros" that you can buy are not for contractors. Probably be alright for the weekend warrior but even then they dont have the power, expanding tracks or even offset boom ability! Id rather have an old Kubota than a new Rhino or whatever they call them. However the likes of Sunward and Sany are starting to bring decent looking micros and minis into the country and I would like to give one a go sometime. My only initial thoughts on buying one at the moment are the resale value wont be up there with the others yet so if you intend to sell it after a few years you are likely to loose more than the initial saving (which isn't a big as you think) over the more established brands. But if you keep it for 10+ years it wont show quite so much. I certainly wouldn't rule them out but personally Ill be giving it a few years before adding one to my fleet - see how they hold up over time.
@@Olliegunns Yeah i decided to buy a kubota kx018 open cab as a starting out machine for my new business it will do just fine i imagine. I'm use to running heavy equipment is what i do for a job . I looked into the chinses machines and the sany excavators and like yourself I'm not sure what to expect from them but they are gaining popularity here in Canada. I like well known name brands.
GBdigger hire based nr me run about 50 little kubota mini diggers and they all have them crap hitches and every one of them is flopping all over the place
The JCB 8008 micro isn't really a patch on the U10 in terms of power, reach and stability, its more on par with the smaller Kubota kx008. However it does go narrower than this U10 and that might be the difference between getting the machine in or not. And any machine is better than a shovel! The JCB actually isn't a bad micro, its just a bit outdated and there are better machines out there now. If you can find a JCB 8010 however - they are an awesome weapon, more of a 1.5t in terms of power and reach but with the ability to fit through a gate. And very rare to find.... Should they update it a bit and put servo levers on it like the Takeuchi TB210, Bobcat E10, and new Kubota U10 have, then it would give all those bigger micros a run for their money.
Its made by Regatta, think they call the range "tactical threads". Nice jacket but its quite confusing to put on and I often get my head stuck in an arm hole! Good once on though and has kept me dry this winter.
Nice Review! you should try and eurocomach 12zt or 14sr its with proportinal joysticks and biggest digging depth in the class, and check out compacttilts minitilt for under 1250 kg only 18cm wide!
You say the bobcat injection pump like its a bad thing well its a kabota d722 engine I've had a bobcat e10 for 5 years with no problem its the best out there the kabota isn't in the same league
Did I mention the injection pump? I know the Bobcat and Kubota have the same engine. Its hydraulically where the Bobcats suffer - especially hose routing, and from friends of mine who run the Bobcats - you are doing very well to have had one for 5 years with no issues. I've seen ones rub through hoses in under 500hrs
I get your point across the range in general, but the E10 is very well regarded as a Micro, credit where its due they have designed a great machine there and left Kubota well behind in terms of comfort. I see the new U10 now comes with proper designed servos so I expect the pendulum to swing the other way again shortly!
The 8010 is a very underrated machine and a bit of a dark horse in the JCB range. They take 1.5t buckets, and are narrow enough to still fit through a door. Bit of a weapon in my opinion - but the price of one new!!!! And they need an update really, its an old design now. Servo's please JCB if you're reading this!
@@Olliegunns After owning 3 u10s and trying them all I’ve got a u10-5 arriving shortly after a long wait. I had the bobcat and my u10 side by side on a site during lockdown and the only think the bobcat had going for it was the servo controls, it was a much newer machine but very rusty no reach and running flat out was a mess geometry wise, anything other than over the blade was not good. Barely load a high tip with one tbh.
They are a lovely machine, but I don't really think they are a true micro digger. They are much bigger than one of these when you put them side by side and some of the tight spots I've worked one of these, I think I would really struggle with that machine. Great if the only issue if width though, and they open up nice and wide for stability too. Bigger arm, more power, more weight all an advantage in a lot of situations. But also has its drawbacks.
@@Olliegunns thanks for replying, I found it. A very good review, always like to hear other views on JCB minis. They don’t have a great reputation in Northern Ireland. We bought a new 8027 in 2005, kept it for 5 years and got rid of it. An awful machine to drive. I would like to see a review of the Bobcat 27z and the Kubota u27-4 if you have done these or know of any?
I believe there are manufacturers who make a thumb to fit this machine. I would be careful with how big it is though as weight is a real concern on these little micros. I cant say I agree with you on the Takeuchi in this class. Their old TB108 was a brilliant digger and went down to 680mm - there's not many doorways that wont fit through! But sadly no longer sold here. The TB 210R is a lovely machine and no doubt more powerful than this Kubota or any other rivals, but that's because its bigger, and on a job that's tight, you don't always want bigger! I feel Takeuchi kinda missed the point in the sub 1t class. Which is a shame as they were bang on with the TB108. The Bobcat - really well designed ergonomically, let down by bad paint, poor digging geometry and hoses that seem designed to rub and fail in sub 500hrs. Shame because they are so nearly right on with the E10. Now Kubota have updated the U10 to have servo's I know where my money will be.