skid steers

[sharkfin12us]

skidsteer

is this your first skid steer? if so, do you use it more than you thought you would before you bought it? the only thing i don't like about the bobcats is the hand foot controls.

Yes this is my first skidsteer.I did alot of research on the computer and checked forums and reviews about different skidsteers.As far as use.I use it for snow plowing i financed 28,000 for it for 5 years cost a year is 7200 and last snow i made 5400 and did not snow much so that paid for its self.Like i said i use it for big job if i have 3 trees that are big and wood has to go or if it is a huge tree and wood goes.Even if wood stays i can move it around.I picked up an oak about 14 foot long and 3 food diameter with forks about 3 feet off the ground to move it picking up not problem curling it up was little bit.Its just worth it for humping wood.I have not had a problem with all wheel steer.I make sure i grease it good.As far as problems i think if a person beats it and doesnt grease it i think you will have problems.I keep mine in garage untill i need it.Its my second wife.

 

[SLlandscape]

Personally I avoid using a skid steer as much as I can for the exact reason of damaging the lawn. tracks are defenitely turf friendly, but it depends on which tracks you get. Some companies offer turf frienfly tracks or a more aggresive ag track with deeper tread. either way as long as you don't get in a hurry and take your time you won't do that much damage to the lawn. I can tell you though, when a lawn has an irrigation system it friggin sucks because it turns the lawn into an obstacle course. If you hit a sprinkler head and it breaks off you also run the risk of snapping the lateral line its attached to, and the older the system the more pipe that breaks. I prefer compact tractors such as a John Deere 770 or a 4200. They have a sharp turning radius and they have individual rear wheel brakes to make it pivot on the left or right wheel. And as with skid steers you can get turf tires or ag tires. most compact tractors on the market also have the option of a skid steer mount for the front loader to change from a bucket to pallet forks. sorry for going on and on and on, but I hope this info helps you in the choice you make.

 

[BRCCArborist]

Personally I avoid using a skid steer as much as I can for the exact reason of damaging the lawn. tracks are defenitely turf friendly, but it depends on which tracks you get. Some companies offer turf frienfly tracks or a more aggresive ag track with deeper tread. either way as long as you don't get in a hurry and take your time you won't do that much damage to the lawn. I can tell you though, when a lawn has an irrigation system it friggin sucks because it turns the lawn into an obstacle course. If you hit a sprinkler head and it breaks off you also run the risk of snapping the lateral line its attached to, and the older the system the more pipe that breaks. I prefer compact tractors such as a John Deere 770 or a 4200. They have a sharp turning radius and they have individual rear wheel brakes to make it pivot on the left or right wheel. And as with skid steers you can get turf tires or ag tires. most compact tractors on the market also have the option of a skid steer mount for the front loader to change from a bucket to pallet forks. sorry for going on and on and on, but I hope this info helps you in the choice you make.

I agree, skid steers cannot be beat on renovations, in the woods, or in the dirt, or really any place where tearing up turf isnt a big deal. On an existing lawn though, you are guaranteed to rip up turf. Even tracks will tear up the lawn when you turn to some extent. You may want to look into those rubber mats or even some sheets of plywood if you are going to be using this kind of equipment a lot.

 

[tree MDS]

A good compact utility tractor is a cheaper alternative. I have a JD 4600, I think its like 42 or 46 hp, at any rate it works slick for treework. Trees are not that heavy and the worn R4 (industrial tires) dont leave many marks at all really. As far as feeding the chipper, the fork attachment works sweet. I put the backhoe on with those and its in planting mode. I put the Farmi winch on and I got a mini skidder/one hell of a strong pull for smacking trees and logs down.

 

[BRCCArborist]

By the way, whatever you decide to get, remember that horsepower is one thing, hydraulics are another. You want to make sure you get the beefiest hydraulics you can, so you don't blow lines when you lift some heavy loads. It can and will happen, and it sucks.

 

[gink595]

thinking about buying a skid steer to aid in large tree remoals, lot clearing,firewood handling, and maybe start getting into heavy brush mowing. if you have a skid steer, do you use it enough to justify owning it. is the damage to the turff worth bringing it out to a residential setting? tracks or tires? there are a lot of rocks around here, and it seems that the tracks might not hold up.any recomendations? thanks for any feed back.

Buy it, you won't regret it, I couldn't live without mine, they make working so much easier and they are so versatile, there is hardley anything you cannot accomplish with one. I personally like the tires better, My experience with tracks on lawns has been worse than the tire(d) machines I think tracks are harder on a lawn when turning, but it sounds as though you are using it more on surfaces that aren't that critical. Find a High flow, that is the one thing I thought that I wouldn't need when I bought mine, now I wish I would had bought one, the other thing being is the hydraulic quick-tach, if you are going to swap attachments a bit get that, it wears you out climbing in and out of those buggers, Also I suggest a grapple bucket at some point, trying to move brush or tops will just tear your machine up and you if it isn't a enclosed cab.

 

[HolmenTree]

Yes a skid steer in the company fleet would tell your customers and the competition that things are going good for you. I one day when the time is right will own one.
But the other day my groundie and I were piecing down a big ol canker filled poplar.When I was about 60 feet up my groundie got the bull rope caught in the pile of brush he was dragging by hand. The rope was attached to the pulley up where I was. If he didn't hear me yelling to stop he probably would have pulled that tree right over with me in it! I spent a moment or two thinking how serious this could have been if he was cleaning up with a noisy skid steer. Sometimes bigger and faster is not always better.

 

[Garfield]

Bobcat

If you buy a bobcat the Hi flow option will not work unless you buy a Bob cat brand attachment. So this basically sucks. I would own anything but a bobcat.

 

[BRCCArborist]

If you buy a bobcat the Hi flow option will not work unless you buy a Bob cat brand attachment. So this basically sucks. I would own anything but a bobcat.

I think you can actually adjust for this somehow, but yeah, I agree, there are better options than Bobcat in my opinion. I've been on the Gehl 6635 pretty heavy this past week and it's performing excellent as usual.

 

[Garfield]

Dealer said no

I am guessing you are right but the dealer said no way no how. They finally said I could fool it with a main brain from a bobcat grinder but it was $800 and no promises and nonreturnable. The dealer network is the best thing about Bobcat.

 

[pdqdl]

If you buy a bobcat the Hi flow option will not work unless you buy a Bob cat brand attachment. So this basically sucks. I would own anything but a bobcat.

I am a bit confused by this comment. The only dealer in town for bobcat that I am aware of is KC Bobcat. They regularly sell NON-bobcat attachments that use high flow, like pavement grinders and stump grinders. For a while, they tried to sell me a Seppi brush mower that they had in their "demo" fleet, and it clearly was a high flow required device that was not "bobcat".

The more sophisticated functions of their machines definately require the little brain-box: they use about 10 operator controled switches to control multiple hydraulic circuits on the implements with only one set of hydraulic lines. Pretty hard to do without some higher electronic functioning.

 

[BRCCArborist]

Nah I'm probably wrong, I just thought I remember my old boss buying a Bobcat brand snow plow from a guy who had it set up for Case hydraulics, and he had to set it for his Bobcat once he got it . Who knows though. All we've ever owned on the farm has been Case and Gehl. I really like the looks of the Takehuechi and the Thomas/Kenco track loaders, but they are too tall to fit in a poultry house, so they are a no go. I'd also be interested in a Cat, but I don't want to take the time to learn that goofy joystick deal. Lazy I know.

 

[STLfirewood]

Nah I'm probably wrong, I just thought I remember my old boss buying a Bobcat brand snow plow from a guy who had it set up for Case hydraulics, and he had to set it for his Bobcat once he got it .

The flat face coupler are different for a Case then for Bobcat. My friend has a Case. When he borrows one of my attachments he has to change the couplers so it will work on his machine.

Scott

 

[pdqdl]

... so they are a no go. I'd also be interested in a Cat, but I don't want to take the time to learn that goofy joystick deal. Lazy I know.

I do a lot of work for the local Caterpillar dealer, and they REFUSE to allow any machines on site except caterpillar. So we rent them all the time.

I don't particularly like the extra hydraulic circuit controls, and we had some problems with making attachments work properly. As I recall, they use the same steering & loader control system as Case & John Deere.

The newer joystick controls are much more intuitive for the bobcat. Point one hand in the direction you want to go, and it does it just that way. I can take an inexperienced person and put them on our bobcat, and they can use it right away [Bobcat abandoned those stupid foot pedals a long time ago!].

The Case/John Deere/Caterpillar system works fine for people that have experience, but training a new person takes a little bit of time, especially for someone not familiar with running a "hydraulic" machine. It is confusing for most people to think about steering and bucket control for each hand separately.

 

[gink595]

I do a lot of work for the local Caterpillar dealer, and they REFUSE to allow any machines on site except caterpillar. So we rent them all the time.

I don't particularly like the extra hydraulic circuit controls, and we had some problems with making attachments work properly. As I recall, they use the same steering & loader control system as Case & John Deere.

The newer joystick controls are much more intuitive for the bobcat. Point one hand in the direction you want to go, and it does it just that way. I can take an inexperienced person and put them on our bobcat, and they can use it right away [Bobcat abandoned those stupid foot pedals a long time ago!].

The Case/John Deere/Caterpillar system works fine for people that have experience, but training a new person takes a little bit of time, especially for someone not familiar with running a "hydraulic" machine. It is confusing for most people to think about steering and bucket control for each hand separately.

Stupid foot pedals???? . You can get machines with foot pedal still brand new, I can't run a machine without them, I tested a Cat with the joysticks and found myself all confused, I really perfer the footpedals, I have 1000 hrs of use in a Bobcat and quite a few in the Gehl and Cases, Out of all of them I perfer the Bobcat controls with sticks and pedals, I do understand why they are going to the joysticks, to prevent operator fatigue which if you ever spend 8hr's in a bobcat running pedal I must say you feel it, the next day your shoulders, butt and calves are a little sore. As for the Bobcat attachments, I've never had a problem running any other type of attachment, I just rented a JD trencher for mine and I had to reverse the couplers because my switch made it run backwards and I got tired of holding the thumb switch over to make it run. Bobcats are low on power and it really shows at least the 175-185 series with the 46-56 hp motors, that alone will be the reason I look at another brand when it comes time.

 

[SLlandscape]

If you buy a bobcat the Hi flow option will not work unless you buy a Bob cat brand attachment. So this basically sucks. I would own anything but a bobcat.

The only reason why they do that is so you HAVE TO buy one of their attachments, so they can take even more of your money because of the isane price for the attachment. In my opinion at least.

 

[Curbside]

The only reason why they do that is so you HAVE TO buy one of their attachments, so they can take even more of your money because of the isane price for the attachment. In my opinion at least.

What are you guys talking about????? You can use other attachments on Bobcat high flow machines. If some of the attachments require electronic activation it is just a matter of custom wiring the attachment to fit the bobcat wiring. Its not very difficult.

 

[pdqdl]

... it is just a matter of custom wiring the attachment to fit the bobcat wiring. Its not very difficult.

Well, thats what I thought too. But I just rent the double fancy multi-circuit attachents.

 

[John464]

Here's mine

 

[John464]

Get an A300 Bobcat. It has four wheel steering, and does not tear up the grass AT ALL. Should you decide that you need skid steering, flip a switch, and it acts exactly like the more common S300. Short of the track units, it is the largest capacity Bobcat made when I bought it.

We put the extra wide flotation tires on our unit, so that we could go into back yards and carry out 4 foot diameter sections of trees without tearing up any grass. It works very well for that purpose. Furthermore, it has a 12 mile-per-hour top speed, and is much faster than any other skid-steer machine while transporting from location to location. No crabbing, no hopping, no turf damage, and I still have the same tires after two years of use.

Obviously, this machine will operate all of the other Bobcat attachments you should choose to own.

I love it, but I wish someone made a miniature version for smaller jobs.

I disagree with this. The A300 definitely tears up grass. I had one for two weeks. Bobcat left it here hoping I'd buy a few. Wet lawn, it does NOT float like a tracked machine and 75% of my customers irrigate their lawns on a daily basis. I put about 50hrs on the A300 and returned it to them along with unsigned paperwork. ASV turf edition is the only skid loader designed to leave no trace on nice lawns.