School me on skid steers

[shelby27604]

I am thinking about adding a skid steer to my empire of dirt. It will be used (likely well used). I would like to be able to add a bush hog to the front, other uses would be general loader work.

Key concerns are:
-Serviceability (how readily available are parts AND how hard is it to service).
-Reliability....i.e.did it start with a good design. I know old equipment reliability is only as good as it's maintenance, but if I fix it do I get another 2000 or 2 hours out of a proper repair.

I have heard bobcat does a good job at maintaining parts availability for older machines. I am also seeing a lot of lower prices Case, JD, Thomas, Mustang, new Holland, and Gehl units.

What would you recommend to look for and to look out for? Better models than others? Features to get and avoid?

 

[WARRIORWELDING]

Forestry mulchers are great til they aren't. High maintenance and incredibly expensive to fix. Mostly because users think its the end all process for anything in its path. If that is an Idea mark off many aged bargains, not enough flow at the front to run them. I have inherited a wheeled New Holland with a turbo diesel. Bout all I know at this point other then it is pedal control bucket, easily bellied up, and nearly every hose is on the way out. We got it running and within 15 feet blew a hose to the loader bucket......it had to be one of the longest on the unit. I will replace them in pairs til they are weeded out. All it takes is money and time and I am short on both.

Having said that most seems to be serviceable within reason. I have a fork lift that seems harder to reach certain maintenance features.


Subbed to learn....

 

[shelby27604]

This would ultimately replace my forklift as well.

Forestry mulching probably isn't on the list, but a standard, rotary bush hog will probably end up attached to the front so I can maintain the edges of my property in VA.....backing the tractor into the woods and repositioning every 5' gets old QUICK!

 

[Croatan_Kid]

What's the closest equipment dealer to you?

There's a Bobcat dealer about 4 miles up the highway from me and thus, I generally go with Bobcat stuff. I also like how they're built and how they operate.

CAT is probably an hour and a half away, Kubota is an hour away, JD...too pricey for my blood, but there is a dealer about 20 miles away. None of the ching chong brands nearby me. Mostly out towards Raleigh from what I remember.

I have definitely looked at a CAT skid steer though, but I'd be looking at a 299D2 or 299D3. Maybe. I'll likely end up with a Bobcat when time comes for reasons listed above.

You shouldn't need high flow hydraulics for a regular brush cutter, but it never hurts to have it! Definitely look at how the cab raises up for serviceability. Hell, I'd even go as far as checking the price of undercarriage parts. Mostly though, if you start with a well maintained machine in good shape, you'll probably have better luck with it in the long run.

 

[jeepinmatt]

I've owned quite a few and ran a few more. Personally, based on my experience with a T190, I dislike Bobcat because they are a pain in the butt to work on and I think the reason they have parts available is because you're gonna need a lot of em

I'm not brand loyal, but I'm feature loyal, and after owning a machine with a flip up door instead of a swing out door, I'll never own anything else. Which immediately narrows it down to Takeuchi, Kubota, and older ASV/Terex machines. Beyond that you really just need to know what size you need/want, and how much you want to spend. If you're going to be doing much dirt work with it, I'd HIGHLY recommend a track machine instead of a wheeled machine. They are more stable, more powerful, get stuck less, and can carry and handle more.

As far as the brush cutter, its certainly less annoying to maneuver a skidsteer back and forth compared to a tractor, but a ditch bank mower on a tractor will beat either one. If grading and bulk material movement are not high on your list, consider an excavator with a couple buckets and a brush cutter. Way better for mowing along roadsides, and also super handy for digging and picking stuff up and taking down trees and loading fires. Plus anything under about 15k pounds comes with a blade on the front, and you can even get 4 way blades (Yanmar, Kubota, Takeuchi, JD, Cat, Bobcat, and maybe others), and Kubota even offers a 6 way blade.

I have an ASV SR80 skidsteer, and the only reason I would ever sell it is to replace it with a Terex PT80 because its the exact same machine, just newer. It has wide tracks, and a long track frame (better hillclimbing/flipover stability), full suspension (both the track frames and the individual rollers), 15" of ground clearance, 12mph top speed, and a flip up door. There isn't another machine with this combo. The undercarriage on mine was pretty worn out when I got it (priced accordingly ), but now that all of that is sorted through and replaced, it's a fantastic machine, and does everything I need. It also has a cab with heat/AC and a 1/2" lexan door, so when I'm running the brush cutter, I come out alive. If you even think you might want a brushcutter, enclosed cab is a must. If you read online, you'll read a lot of negative about ASV's, and 99% of the complaints about ASV's are from people who have never run or owned one. But the majority of people who have actually owned one absolutely love them, and I am one of them.

I'll warn you of this: Buying a skidsteer is really just buying in to an attachment addiction program.

 

[shawn]

a ditch bank mower on a tractor

this

 

[StretchASU]

this

X2.

Ditch bank mower of ours cleans up 90% of the places I need it to. However you have to have a tractor big enough to hang that heavy SOB off of. Our 7610 4wd with a loader gets that duty and that’s about the smallest machine I would put ours on.

I have some stuff on slopes that the other 5% will get done with a skid steer with a bush hog eventually. Need to sell/trade the LS190 New Holland for something with tracks first. That final 5% will be handled with a cousins Cat 315 with a mulching head every other year.

 

[Futbalfantic]

Depending on the use. A skid steer does not replace a forklifts for material movement.

 

[Tacoma747]

From what have owned:

Lx865, great machine, high hours, would lift anything. Tires suck. Loud, old, not great for mulching/mowing since it didn't have an enclosed cab.

T190 bobcat, tracks were nice, but the capacity was horrible compared to the lx865 I was used to,so it didn't last long

T650 bobcat, again, great because it had tracks, but the hand/foot controls KILLED my knees, not sure why as I was used to them in the 865 and never had issues.

SVL90-2 Kubota, enclosed cab with a/c, AWESOME for mowing or brush cutting (or anything really), door slides up above your head so you can operate the unit with the door open (90% of my use is door open). This has been a great machine but it runs weak so I need to figure it out. It has never seemed to have lot of power. (I still have this machine)

Ls180 with cab, basically identical to the lx865. Great machines, this one had an enclosed cab, a/c didn't work which I didn't care, but the door HAS to be closed to operate the machine which sucked, I just removed the door.

I go SOOOOO many places with tracks that I know either of the new Holland's I have owned would not have a chance of making. Tires have their place, much better for grading gravel as the rocks don't grind the tracks. But for woods or field (especially a field you don't want ruts in) tracks are best.

 

[jeepinmatt]

Forgot to

T650 bobcat, again, great because it had tracks, but the hand/foot controls KILLED my knees, not sure why as I was used to them in the 865 and never had issues.

Forgot to mention that. My old New Holland L555 was mechanical hand and foot controls. Between the bouncing and beating from the short wheelbase and smaller tires, and the stiff hand and foot controls, it would wear you out. It was a great machine otherwise. My Bobcat T190 was the same, and the hand levers for the drives weren't as bad, but the foot controls were worse. My knees would be exhausted at the end of the day. My ASV (and most newer machines) have a drive joystick and a bucket controls joystick, which is much more pleasant after a couple hours. I do miss the precision and speed of the separate controls for each drive motor, but the tradeoff is well worth it and doesn't matter 95% of the time.

 

[braxton357]

Don't buy a bobcat.

 

[LT1JEEP]

I bought a 2012 tracked jd 333d about 5 months ago to replace my 2000 jd 260 i have and love it. I going to sell my jd 260 wheel machine the only reason i am selling the jd 260 is because i live on a mountain side and it doesn't like going in the mountains i have owned this machine for 10 plus years. The 260 is probably a better machine than the 333d. Also the jd dealer is about 10 minutes from my house

 

[shelby27604]

Don't buy a bobcat.

Any particular reason? Outsider looking in, I thought they were at least the worst of the best.

Unfortunately finances mean I will probably do what I always do, buy something well used and cheap....Fix it until it is reliable and sell it, to buy a better, bigger piece of worn out equipment, and start the cycle over again.

 

[Croatan_Kid]

Even a crappy Bobcat skidsteer would be better than no skidsteer at all...right?

 

[jeepinmatt]

A lot of people like Bobcat stuff and have had really good experiences with them. I have not, and apparently @braxton357 hasn't either. My experience is based off of my one machine, and firsthand feedback from my cousin who runs the crews for a hardscape contractor and has been through a few.

 

[braxton357]

If I were going to buy something old and used it would be a case or new holland with a kubota engine.

That being said, a brand new ssv kubota can be financed "relatively" cheaply, buy some steel over tire tracks for it and have best of both worlds and not have to use hand foot controls.

Get one with a cab while you're at it.

 

[Junkyard Dog]

I have owned two CAT machines, an older 246 and currently a 289c. They are high new or used. Resell seems higher too. Parts availability is awesome in my area. They have never not had a part in stock when I needed it. The 246 never gave me a minutes trouble. I bought it with a bad pump and fixed it, ran about 3-4 yrs and bought the 289. The 289 has given good service with the exception of the head gasket. But it was an easy swap and Poole even had it in stock along with head bolts. My next one will more than likely be a CAT. The only thing I don't care for is the front door, but I'll trade that for the reliability I've had from it. I run a 72 lolflin bush hog on pretty often.