Three cheers for skid steers! I agonized for a year over which to get - a compact tractor or a skid steer. Read all the pros and cons. As luck would have it, an old gasoline Bobcat turned up locally, with two buckets, a set of forks and a backhoe attachment. A little rusty and dusty, but solid. Went for it and never looked back. Hmm, it is probably the one you first drove 30 years ago, I figure it is about a 1980! I haven't put more than filters, plugs and points in in, and i've had if for nearly 10 years.
Of course, it has gotten me into trouble:
1. cleared more land to mow
2. cut down lots of the punky, junky aspen trees around here and use the forks to carry them into the woods - that is pretty much a yearly clean up job
3. dug a few ditches for gas line, water line, new sewer line
4. use the bigger bucket for a snow bucket (no teeth), added a screened in top to haul limbs and leaves (increased the volume)
5. cleared and leveled more land for a shed
6. unloaded delivery trucks in 30 seconds, the drivers will love you!
7. haul the firewood out of the woods, and the splits to the wood pile - the forks also make dandy saw bucks!
8. pull the wife out of the snow bank (er, I mean her car)
9. move the picnic table where??? No problem!
10. carry the new washer and dryer to the back deck for a straight shot into the house
well, you get the idea - you will find a thousand uses for it Hedge - but watch out for those attachments, they are pricey. I would love to add a snow blower, but those prices.... I think I will adapt an old pick up plow.
I think I get involved in some big jobs, or long winters, yet my average works out to about 25 hours a year on the machine. The year I put the shed up it was more like 60, what with all the clearing, digging, gravel, etc.
Downside? you have to be careful in the yard, they will tear up. I don't have tracks though, they might be different. But when I can spin around in a circle by the main road clearing snow... priceless!