Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/548484
August 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com 38 SERVICEABILITY Rating Access to daily service points 9.2 Access to scheduled service points 9.0 Fuel capacity 9.6 Ease of radiator clean out 8.7 TOTAL 9.1 PERFORMANCE Rating Hydraulic horsepower 9.3 Swing speed, torque 9.3 Travel speed 9.0 Bucket breakout force 8.8 Dig depth 9.1 Dump height 9.2 Reach 9.1 Lift over side 9.0 Lift over end 9.4 Stability 9.3 Cycle times/productivity 9.4 Emissions system/regens 9.2 Nighttime lighting 8.9 Coupler, work tool changes 9.1 Fuel efficiency 9.5 Power modes 9.3 TOTAL 9.2 TELEMATICS Rating Komtrax telematics system 8.9 cess to scheduled service points could be improved. reader reviews | continued Performance 9.2 out of 10 Our experts were in agreement that the PC210LC-10 is a hard package for its competitors to beat, saying the ma- chine is powerful, quick, fuel efficient and maneuverable. "The responsiveness is what my operators claim the most," says Tim Cederlund of Union, Illinois-based excavation firm Team REIL. "And it has very fast cycle times for a machine with such a small footprint. We've been renting Cat 336s along with Komatsu PC330s. And this machine, for the size and weight, it just seems to do it all faster." Jared Solsma, of Hospers, Iowa-based excavation contractor Solsma Bros. agrees on the machine's respon- siveness saying the hydraulics feel quicker to previous machine's he's operated. "I don't use it for loading trucks. I do more pipe laying and digging basements," he explained. "I upgraded to this Dash-10 from a Dash-7, and the biggest difference with this machine is it's a little heavier and it's got a little more reach and horsepower. But the hydraulics feel quicker too." All of our reviewers were impressed with the machine's fuel efficiency, giving the machine a 9.5 in that area. In terms of power, perhaps Rowe summed up the feel- ings of the panel best. "The 210 along with its predecessor have been the true workhorses of our fleet," he says. "You can use them for a myriad of tasks both being big enough to get the job done and small enough to be maneuverable. Telematics 8.9 out of 10 All of our reviewers see the benefit and possibility of Komatsu's Komtrax telematics offering, with a couple voicing particular advantages thanks to the technology they didn't have before. However, most of them agree they need more training from their dealers on how to use the service while others, like Rowe, noted they simply don't have the time for such training. Two of the reviewers opted to not score this cat- egory for these reasons. Charlie Nelson, owner of Charlie Nelson Trucking & Excavating in Benton, Kentucky, raves about Kom- trax, saying he can always depend on service alerts and quick assistance from his dealer when trouble arises. "You just don't worry about the machine. If some- thing happens they alert you," he explains. "As soon as I call they're out in 45 minutes to fix it. That means a whole lot." DEALER Rating Support after sale 9.0 Parts availability 9.0 Warranty 8.7 Dealer representative/salesperson 9.0 TOTAL 8.9 Dealer 8.9 out of 10 Matching telematics for the lowest score among all cat- egories, dealer support was primarily dinged by two of our reviewers. A Fort Worth, Texas, excavating contrac- tor gave the machine's warranty a low score of 4, while Solsma assigned a score of 6 to his dealer's service, support after sale and parts availability. However, other reviewers had nothing but glowing reviews for their dealers. Machine Options 9.3 out of 10 This category received the highest score from our panel