# Government Surplus for excavators



## oldtruckbbq (Aug 8, 2016)

I was watching a show about military vehicle collections a couple days ago and one of the ads was for a military surplus auction site called govplanet.com. Tonight I'm checking out the site looking at skid steers and mini-excavators when I come across a tantalizing vehicle. It is the Freightliner FLU419 Small Emplacement Excavator. It is based on a Unimog as modified by Freightliner. The thing has a cab, 4 wheel drive, a front end loader, and the back of it is a backhoe that stow neatly against the back of the machine. Starting bids are in the $6000-$7500 range. Not what I was looking for, but intriguing none the less. There are also mini-excavators in the $13K range and skid steers for under $4K. Certainly better prices than I've been seeing on Craigslist and the local trader papers. And the FLU419 is pretty tantalizing, I must say.


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

Those were around long before Freightliner started importing them. The WV National Guard had them. AFAIK, those were imported by Case. Some of them had 20 speed, three range transmissions with a road speed of about 45 mph. The lowest speed was so slow you could get out and walk around it. The Case units had 6 cyl. Mercedes diesels with an enclosed drive train that was pressurized by an onboard compressor. Axles had operable lockers so that no matter what, no wheel would stop turning.

Supposedly they could tram sideways on a 45 degree slope.


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## Ellendra (Jul 31, 2013)

oldtruckbbq said:


> one of the ads was for a military surplus auction site called govplanet.com.


I'd be VERY hesitant to trust a site like that. While most government agencies do auction off their surplus, the real government auction sites seldom end in .com. There are a handful of exceptions, but there are also a ton of sketchy sites claiming to be government that aren't.

Please do your own research before trusting that site with your money!


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## melli (May 7, 2016)

Those look pretty cool, but as far as using one for homesteading, I wouldn't for a number of reasons. Those military vehicles are for quick deployment. Don't need that on farm. 

I actually took a unimog training course through work...in Germany, at Unimog test facility. No idea why I did, as it was the first and last time I drove one. The gearing on these things is sick. Go as fast forward as reverse...climb almost any hill, and the side hill tracking scared the dickens out of me. One has to wonder about sourcing parts...very important! 

Initially, I wanted a FEL with backhoe, but one in good shape is a small fortune. And after chatting with a neighbor, he said my mini is the machine he should have gotten, as the FEL is limited in rough terrain. Plus, on the excavating side, one has to re-position constantly...takes time, as is not agile like a excavator. OK for hwy crews digging a trench across road, or digging a hole, but they bring out the excavator for most everything else. While I have seen Backhoes used for landscaping, site prep, land clearing, it is rare. The one plus for backhoes is the FEL. 

Really depends on terrain you are working on. If you are a flat lander, with few trees, large acreage, good dirt sources, a backhoe absolutely makes sense. If your in the mountains on steep slopes, and a lot of rock and trees, an excavator is the way to go. And in boggy areas, a tracked machine is a must. Anything wheeled will be severely limited. 

A unimog would be 'fun', but sourcing parts would be expensive. 

What would be fun, if they could be made street legal, and they had a tilt box in back. Be a great all purpose hauling vehicle. Hopefully, the FEL could be easily removed if need be...


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## kilgrosh (Apr 29, 2014)

I believe govplanet is the official federal auction house. Double check but I pretty confident you should be good with that site. Also, keep in mind these are former military or govt vehicles. Think "why be gentle, it's a rental" for its entire service life. 

A few people have recently picked up HUMVEEs from that site too.


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## JRHawaii (Oct 13, 2015)

Out here it use to be on http://www.govliquidation.com/ but most vehicles are now on http://www.ironplanet.com/


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## oldtruckbbq (Aug 8, 2016)

JRHawaii said:


> Out here it use to be on http://www.govliquidation.com/ but most vehicles are now on http://www.ironplanet.com/


Strictly surplus military stuff on govplanet. Ironplanet has a lot of civilian stuff on it. At least they tell you if the machine started or not, if the gauges work, and if the hydraulics work, as well as describing any leaks. There are also quite a few pictures of each offering as well. Biggest problem would be buying something 600 miles away and having to take a couple vacation days to bring it home.

There's a place an hour or so away from here that sells a lot of used skid steers and mini-excavators. A contractor we use has picked up a couple items from them. He told me the equipment that wasn't a trade-in all came from places like United Rental. They take them out of their rental fleet after a certain number of hours, just like the car rental companies.


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## Renegade6 (Jun 29, 2015)

They are pretty capable and most of the military equipment is in good shape. That being said, these probably sat in storage for quite a while, parts are really expensive and these are not the easiest machines to work on. If you are a good mechanic, I would say go for it..


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## oldtruckbbq (Aug 8, 2016)

Cheap mechanical equipment is often like a free puppy. I'm leaning more toward the used equipment dealership that gets most of its equipment from a couple national equipment rental companies that pull equipment out of their rental fleets after a certain number of hours of use. I know rental equipment sometimes gets abused, but I spent enough time in the Army to know how hard a life military equipment has.


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