Best Mini Skid Steer for tree work

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Southerntreeman

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I'd like to hear anyone's advice concerning the best mini skid steer and attachments to purchase from those who own, rent or are considering purchasing one. It would be nice if this thread could stay focused on helping business owners make the right purchasing decision before they purchase (like me).

This thread is NOT to argue the merit of using mini's vs other types of equipment like regular ride-in skid steers. Almost every tree service I know owns at least one of them and I own 2 myself with grapples etc. PLEASE, LET'S KEEP THE DISCUSSION TO MINI'S and let's keep it positive. I read the other post/thread on minis and I think we should start over with a new post.

To get the discussion going I'd like to start out by saying that I'm wanting to purchase a mini to access yards with limited access or yards where heavier equipment is prohibited. I need the mini for dragging brush and loading firewood/small logs into the back of a truck to help my employee's efficiency (and save their backs). I have only considered purchasing one of the larger minis since lifting height into the back of a truck as well as lifting capacity is an issue for me. I have demo'd the Ditch Witch SK 650 and Toro Dingo TX 525 wide track and they worked fine but handle very differently (the DW SK 650 has much larger specs). I want to demo the Boxer 532 DX also which is more similar to the DW. I've looked at the Bobcats and Vermeers also. I love the smoothness of the Dingo but the lifting height and weight is its biggest downfall. I would purchase a grapple bucket as well as a log/brush grapple like what The Branch Manager offer. Please give advice on attachments also. I have a friend in Ohio that loves his Dingo 525 but swears by the narrow track so that he can fit through a 36" gate. Most gates I go through are at least 40" and so I'd rather have the wide track with lower ground pressure and not tear up soft turf as much. We have beautiful lawns in the South don't want to tear them up after a rain. I realize that tracks can be harder on turf than wheels but not on real soft/wet surfaces and I wont let my guys make tight turns.

Any advice on which mini and attachments you would purchase and why would be greatly appreciated! What say you?
 
http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=165007&d=1266620885
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Love it wouldn't leave without it , I am now looking at 950T track machine ..
 
i had a dingo wide track, worked great in the summer time, in the winter the drive wheels packed with snow and pushed the tracks off
 
Gehl Al20DX

Researched this topic for years before pulling the trigger on the Gehl AL20DX.
It's a small articulating machine, approx 40'' wideView attachment 201444, re-post of this picture from a post of Dave's at TNT
Here is a list of pros/cons strictly for tree work;

Pros:
Zero turf damage from turning, even in the hands of a first time operator
Great lift capacity and height
Fast ground speed
Cons:
Wider than most minis
Higher purchase price

I demoed the ditch witch sk650, vermeer tx600, and a boxer 427W. Hands down the gehl blew them all away for our needs. Although not a fair apples to apples match up as the others all skid.

Outfitted with a BMG from Dave and it's on every job with us now, total game changer.
 
yeah, those little gehls are nice, thats what were running now
to cons id add its a lot bigger then the dingo and the dingo would lift better
theres a plastic gear at the coupler from the engine to the pump, thats no small chore to replace
it also tends to creep
 
Thanks for taking time to reply. You're making me wonder if I should be looking at a wheeled machine too and not just a track machine.

some have the option of removable tracks (tracks over wheels). this is a great topic, I've been considering a mini for a while now
 
Toro Dingo 425

Just bought a used Dingo 425 and grapple bucket. Probably the single best piece of equipment I have bought. It is rated at only lifting around 500 lbs, but I would say we have easily lifted 900+ lbs. The tracks do not disturb even wet lawns. I have rented both a Gehl CTL85 full size tracked skid steer and a Kubota 75horse tracked skid steer. Both were great machines capable of moving huge, 3000+ logs. They are a bit more rough on lawns no matter how hard you try to avoid it. That is what convinced me to buy the mini (dingo), because we will use that everyday. For the big stuff, it is much cheaper to just rent a full size skid steer. Just my opinion and what I have found that works best for us.
 
Just bought a used Dingo 425 and grapple bucket. Probably the single best piece of equipment I have bought. It is rated at only lifting around 500 lbs, but I would say we have easily lifted 900+ lbs. The tracks do not disturb even wet lawns. I have rented both a Gehl CTL85 full size tracked skid steer and a Kubota 75horse tracked skid steer. Both were great machines capable of moving huge, 3000+ logs. They are a bit more rough on lawns no matter how hard you try to avoid it. That is what convinced me to buy the mini (dingo), because we will use that everyday. For the big stuff, it is much cheaper to just rent a full size skid steer. Just my opinion and what I have found that works best for us.

gets cold in NY not? keep it warm in the winter, it wont start cold, it wont turn over both pumps fast enough
also, if the snow is sticky watch your drive wheels, theyll pack with snow and push your tracks off
we had one, it was pretty high maintenance, but we worked the #### out of it
 
mini

A lot of goood info on pros and cons. Have you rented a wheeled or a tracked mini? Know how each reacts to your work enviroment? I use a wheeled 25G Thomas. Loads trailer by ramps into back. Can be loaded onto flat bed one-ton next to stump grinder. The size is key. Small gates, under low trees, small backyard and smalll space to haul it home. Look a the old threads here and other arb-sites. Ill try to find some pics..
 
I have one complaint about the few minis I have operated, they move too slow. About equal to a slow walk. Are there any minis that will move at a fast walk with a load? You have to jog to keep up with my 753 and run to keep up with a T300. The T50 was so slow I felt I could move the pile faster by hand, and the Boxer had no guts in high range.
Rick
 
mini

Yes there are slow. Keeps the shiny side up and driver from ejecting off platform. For faster and lift higher skip the mini.
 

gets cold in NY not? keep it warm in the winter, it wont start cold, it wont turn over both pumps fast enough
also, if the snow is sticky watch your drive wheels, theyll pack with snow and push your tracks off
we had one, it was pretty high maintenance, but we worked the #### out of it

Thanks Troy. It does get pretty snowy around here but I have a heated shop to keep it in most of the time. I guess we'll see how it goes. Anyone have any good info on attachments? I bought a steeltek grapple bucket that I am not very impressed with. It doesn't seem as if the grapple wants to keep pressure down on the logs/load. I'm almost thinking its an issue with the machine, not the bucket. Any ideas?
 
Not trying to thread hijack but I really like the Gehl al20 loader and was wondering about parts availability, if I understand correctly they were imported and now they are not and Gehl makes their own small loader. I think one of these would be a great addition to our operation. Also, there is the ditch witch zahn. The lifting capacity isn't amazing but should be zero turf damage.
 
Are there any minis that will move at a fast walk with a load?

That's my biggest complaint. Wish my Thomas 25g had faster ground speed. A buddy of mine bought a Kanga and the thing moves pretty quick. Sometimes a little too quick. Cod be something I'm just not used to though.
 
I run a Vermeer s800tx and love this machine! With the grapple bucket it will pick-up a 35 foot spuce limbs and all and carry it to my chipper with no problems at all (2400lbmax lift). It's width (41") can easliy get through most gates into the yards. I'm not sure what the other machines are priced at but my Vermeer is worth every penny I spent on it! If you do look into Vermeer stay away from the 600, not even close to the same performance.
 

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