Skid steer advice

[stihlman0123]

im looking to start up a side business doing some hardscaping and some tree removal/stump grinding work. I currently have a 30 horse compact tractor for plowing and my firewood needs. I have recently found its under powered for some of the things I use it for around the house. I’m looking to upgrade it to a skid steer in the near future probably about a year from now. (Need to pay off some loans first) I’m currently looking at the bobcat T595 and the cat 259D. I want something that’ll lift about 1 ton and has a high flow capability for snow and stumps. I know bobcat has attachment rental options so I wouldn’t need to buy a grinder right away. Anyone on here have any experience with either of these machines. Or something different that works well for them. Definitely looking at a skid steer in the future though.

 

[Ted Jenkins]

I have owned Bobcat for more than thirty years. They are more numerous than most other brands making parts available and cheaper. Moving wood or snow they move fast and efficient. The only thing that I do not like is the ground gets more chewed up than a articulating loader. If you are working one spot much you have to go back and level the ground to continue. Having a turbo charger here in the mountains makes up for some of the lost performance due to thin air. Thanks

 

[catbuster]

I’m a Cat guy for skid steers at the moment. The suspended undercarriage is much nicer on the Cat machines, the controls seem to be smoother, and the can is much nicer. They ride better and do less damage to lawns. The lighting on the Cat is in a better spot, the rear lights are way better protected

No, I’m not talking about the ASV undercarriage on the 2x7 series, the new Cat carriage is pretty good too. The Cat will do better plowing snow too. Not as good as a rubber tire machine, but better than the other competitors.

You will pay more up front, and in parts, but I think it’s a better investment.

 

[FlyingDutchman]

Drive some machines at a dealership you trust and is near you. Service and uptime is critical.

The tree service I worked with had a Deere 329e skid steer with tracks and a grapple on a smooth bucket. I hated driving it because im used to operating loaders or Gehl T-handles, always looked like and idiot in the seat and did damage sometimes too. EH Machines with switchable controls can help employees who are familiar with other controls be more effective. It seemed to be a good machine otherwise.

The grapple and the smooth bucket with a was very effective. Was a dust pan for brush and chips and a log grabber. I know we only switched buckets once to go to a back up when we broke a fitting off the grapple cylinder.

Sounds like you will be switching implements a lot. Hopefully the dealership will let you switch some on your own to see how difficult it is. Not all are created equal. Get in and out, start it, run it, try to have a conversation at idle etc.

 

[Ted Jenkins]

I bought a well used IH crawler with extra cleats and a 4 in 1 bucket. It worked wonders in deep snow and did not even slow down in more than 4' but bringing logs to my landing over rocky terrain a different matter. Several times with a load of logs it started sliding and nearly got me killed. Then I bought a skid steer Bobcat and then latter a set of tracks for it. It will not move large logs like my IH, but is far faster with smaller loads. Thanks

 

[Alu]

Why not something like this ?

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