Your JCB 86C-2

Common jobs for the JCB 86C

The JCB 86C is an 8.6-tonne machine Swedish firms put on groundwork, foundations and lighter demolition. It is a midi with good reach for its weight, which means you reach further without moving up in size. On Swedish jobs it runs foundation work, drainage and groundwork for small and medium contractors.

On a foundation the 86C digs out for the slab and backfills, on a plot it digs drainage trenches and lays services. On lighter demolition it pulls apart a smaller structure with the right attachment. The good reach means you stand still longer and still reach around, which saves time on foundation and groundwork jobs.

With the S45 hitch you run a digging bucket, a sorting grapple, an auger drive and a medium breaker, and it carries most contracting attachments with margin. At 8.6 tonnes it holds balance even with heavier attachments a fair way out from the tracks.

Buckets and attachments that fit the 86C

For an 8.6-tonne machine you choose a toothed bucket for excavation and foundation, a wide grading bucket for levelling and slopes, and a narrow cable bucket for drainage and services. On foundation and groundwork jobs you mostly swap between the toothed bucket and grading bucket, with the cable bucket out for pipe and cable.

A sorting grapple belongs on the 86C in demolition and material handling. It loads stone, pulls apart and sorts spoil. At 8.6 tonnes the machine carries the grapple steadily even a fair way out, and the good reach lets you load further away without moving the machine.

All attachments run on the S45 hitch, the standard for the midi class. With the same hitch you swap quickly between bucket, grapple, breaker and auger drive and get more out of the machine day on a foundation or groundwork job.

Hydraulic breaker and heavy attachments for the 86C

An 8.6-tonne machine drives a medium hydraulic breaker for rock, concrete and frost. On foundation and groundwork jobs the breaker is often the attachment that gets you through rock in the excavation or lets you break out an old concrete slab without hiring in a bigger machine.

Check the oil flow against the breaker spec before you buy. The 86C has the flow for a medium breaker, but it has to be matched to your machine hydraulics to hit right and last over time.

An auger drive is useful on the 86C for post holes, footing piles and planting pits. The drive rotates and the auger bit is the part that sits in it, and you choose the size by the hole. On a midi machine with good reach it takes coarser holes without trouble.

S45 quick hitch and fit

The JCB 86C runs an S45 hitch, the standard coupler for the midi class. Check the attachments are listed for S45 before you buy. With a common hitch you build a set of attachments that all fit and that you swap quickly between tasks.

A tiltrotator can be fitted to the 86C and gives the bucket more movement, which is worth it on mixed groundwork where you work near services, edge and facade. On pure trenching the money may do more on extra buckets and a good breaker.