Seldom used farm machine.....I like that
I probably should have said small rural country home of a retired shipyard welder. I did not actually see any livestock. He did mention using the machine over the summer to help lift pallets of shingles (crazy high lift maybe 14' plus). 4n1 bucket had welded "teeth" inside to grab trees from blowdowns (heating with wood is not really a big thing down here on the Bay). Saw a few trees piled up 2 or 3... maybe a stump or two grubbed. Older retired fella, that did not use the machine much. Guess he picked up cheapish before retirement about 12-15 years ago and piddled with it some. If I had to guess 1k... maybe 3k hours at most over the past 12 or so years. Actual hours... not really known. Mechanics seemed tight.
Seller is skilled (had rebuilt the left hoe pistons a few years back... changed all the hoses himself as well (even the extentahoe). Knew and gave me the part number for the leaking pistol rebuild kit. Machine lives on a trickle charger. Custom designed fold away forks were an excellent job/build. Tires were a bit low on pressure, but only a bit.
His wife's car is washed and waxed and garage kept... so is his truck. House and property very well maintained. Little clues... he seems like the kind of guy that is damn diligent... he also seemed honest... pointing out the same things I would point out if I was selling something 37 years old.
This was a word of mouth find... he was not selling until a friend asked and he decided sure... OK if I can get $20k... my back and my wife are telling me I should.
I'll have my diesel guy give it a hard hook at... and will probably buy.
Rubber tracked equipment is a NO GO for West Virginia. Rock eat rubber/kevlar tracks alive. The newer Cat 299Ds are steel track machines (upgrade), but are big coin and pretty rare to find. Rubber tires seem OK, but I know I will be dealing with tires... everyone does.
