Jason's Story — Tennessee Utility & Site Contractor
A three-truck utility contractor needed a 5-ton excavator that could handle water line installation and site prep without the weight and cost of a full-size machine. Found a 2021 Kubota U55-4 with 720 hours for $48,900—about $22,000 less than new and exactly the capacity the work required.
"I was stuck between renting a bigger machine or buying something too small. This U55 split the difference perfectly."
Jason runs utility and site prep work around Knoxville—water line installs, storm drainage, building pads. Most jobs need trenches 4-6 feet deep, sometimes 8 feet for commercial work. He'd been making do with a borrowed 3-ton excavator and renting bigger iron when the job demanded it.
The 3-ton was maxed out on anything deeper than five feet. Renting a full-size excavator cost $2,200 a week, plus you're dealing with a 35,000-pound machine that tears up yards and needs a tilt-bed trailer to move around.
"I needed something in between," Jason says. "Strong enough for real utility work, light enough I'm not destroying driveways every time I unload."
New Kubota U55-4 with cab and thumb ran about $71,000. That's doable, but you're paying for zero hours and watching $8,000 evaporate in first-year depreciation. Plus it's a six-month wait for factory delivery.
Jason looked at Cat and John Deere equivalents—similar pricing, similar wait times. He considered going bigger to a 7-ton machine, but that's $90,000+ new and you're back to needing a heavy trailer and CDL in some states.
The 5-ton class made sense: 11,177 pounds of bucket breakout force, 12-foot dig depth, but only 12,000 pounds operating weight. Still trailerable behind a one-ton without special permits.
We sourced a 2021 U55-4 from a Tennessee municipal contractor who'd spec'd it for a specific project and was downsizing their fleet. Enclosed cab with heat and AC, hydraulic thumb, angle blade, two-speed travel. 720 hours total, full maintenance records, stored indoors between jobs.
Machine looked nearly new. Tracks at 90%, no hydraulic leaks, boom pins tight. The Kubota V2607 diesel is a workhorse—simple, reliable, no DEF or DPF complications on this model year. Tight tail swing meant Jason could work close to structures without the back end swinging into fences or buildings.
"I ran it through a full test—dug a trench, lifted pipe, cycled the hydraulics for twenty minutes. Everything responded exactly like it should."
Listed at $49,500. Negotiated down to $48,900 based on Jason bringing cash and not needing financing paperwork. That's $22,100 less than new for a machine that had barely seen its first oil change interval.
We delivered it on Jason's schedule—showed up on a Wednesday morning, unloaded in his yard. Spent an hour going over controls, hydraulic adjustments, maintenance points. He was running pipe by Thursday afternoon.
Jason's U55 now shows 1,480 hours. That's 760 hours of water line trenches, storm drain installs, and site grading that would've cost him $30,000+ in rental fees if he'd kept the old routine.
The machine handles 8-foot trenches without breaking a sweat. Bucket breakout force is strong enough to dig through Tennessee clay and shale without stalling out. The 47.6 HP Kubota engine sips fuel compared to the full-size machines Jason used to rent—about 3 gallons per hour under normal load.
"Best part is I can trailer it myself behind my F-550," Jason says. "No waiting on heavy haul, no $400 transport fees, no CDL hassles. Load it Friday evening, work Saturday morning, done."
Only maintenance: oil and filter changes every 250 hours, fuel filters, greasing. One hydraulic hose replacement at 1,200 hours ($180). No downtime, no expensive repairs, no regrets about not buying new.
"Don't overbuy," Jason says. "A lot of guys think they need a full-size excavator when a 5-ton does 90% of their work for half the cost and twice the versatility."
His advice: match the machine to the actual work, not what you might need once a year. The U55-4 handles most residential and light commercial utility work. If you need bigger once in a while, rent it. Don't own a 15-ton machine that sits idle three weeks a month.
For low-hour used units, look for municipal or commercial contractors who maintain equipment religiously. Avoid rental fleet machines—they get beat on by different operators every week. Check hour meters against maintenance records to make sure they match.
Would Recommend: "Already told two other utility guys about it. One of them bought a U55 three months ago and called to thank me for the tip."
Tell us what you're digging—we'll find the right capacity without the new-machine premium.