# Tractor or Skid Steer - An age old debate



## TriCountyLawn (Apr 16, 2008)

I know the answer is BOTH, however im looking in the 13k -19k. Now this price range doesnt get ya as much skid steer as tractor however I know that with a skid steer I can do enough work to make the payment in that price range. Ive seen some T190's w/ 1700 -2300 hrs that have seemed like a tight machine. Also have seen some nice S175's but I would think tracks would be the way to go. 

More or less I want to be able to grab logs and throw them into a 14' dump trailer. This will also give me the option to mill some of these red oaks that ive been cutting up. Or at least get the wood to my shop where I would rather be cuttin and splittin anyways. 

What do ya guys think. Im going to drive myself nuts thinking this one over.


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## hydro2 (Apr 16, 2008)

I have a John Deere 240 and 300 acres. I use the skidloader to maintain my roads, but I don't often use it for cutting firewood. I would like to have a tractor to drag logs, but not enough that I would sell my skidloader. I can do too much dirt work with it. I may be wrong and perhaps a 4 wheel drive tractor would do dirt work and do it fast. I just think a tractor would be great for pulling a wood trailer and skidding logs.


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## grandpatractor (Apr 16, 2008)

It all depends on how you log. My opinion, rubber track would get tore up logging. We use a 260 deere with a grapple and steel tracks. The tracks will chew up and break most of the 3" and under sticks. I like the skid steer because then the logs stay cleaner that dragging on the ground. I log with my bro's and we use the 260 to pick up and drag trees out of other brush when needed. Or to pick up and hold the tree in the air while another cuts it up. A tractor will work better for dragging out longer logs tho. We cut most of our logs into 14 footers.


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## hydro2 (Apr 16, 2008)

I have steel tracks for mine. I do use it, but find it a pain to load and tie down and I don't like towing my trailer in the winter. The snow and ice rip the elec. brake wires loose on my trailer. If I had a 20 some hp tractor, I could haul it on my smaller trailer. I usually take it to my property (3 miles from home) a few weekends in the Fall and skid load to the access roads. If I could leave it on my prop. I would use it much more. If I would leave it, the kids on 4 wheelers would destroy it for sure.


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## grandpatractor (Apr 16, 2008)

hydro2 said:


> I have steel tracks for mine. I do use it, but find it a pain to load and tie down and I don't like towing my trailer in the winter. The snow and ice rip the elec. brake wires loose on my trailer. If I had a 20 some hp tractor, I could haul it on my smaller trailer. I usually take it to my property (3 miles from home) a few weekends in the Fall and skid load to the access roads. If I could leave it on my prop. I would use it much more. If I would leave it, the kids on 4 wheelers would destroy it for sure.



What brand of tracks do you have?


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## hydro2 (Apr 16, 2008)

Loegering I really like them. They make a big big difference. I sometimes run chains if it is not too wet when using it to log.


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## gink595 (Apr 16, 2008)

I'd go with Skidsteer and grapple bucket, I agree with grandpatractor, the logs stay cleaner and you don't have to move out of your seat to "hook" them up. Plus you can rent or buy anything imaginable, attachment wise if you ever want to do something other than logging with the SS. Plus the speed and agility of the SS, you can get a lot of work done fast.


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## kruege84 (Apr 17, 2008)

gink595 said:


> I'd go with Skidsteer and grapple bucket, I agree with grandpatractor, the logs stay cleaner and you don't have to move out of your seat to "hook" them up. Plus you can rent or buy anything imaginable, attachment wise if you ever want to do something other than logging with the SS. Plus the speed and agility of the SS, you can get a lot of work done fast.



You forgot the part about them being more fun too!!


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## gink595 (Apr 17, 2008)

kruege84 said:


> You forgot the part about them being more fun too!!



Your right!! I figured that was a given One thing more, buy a SS with the suspension seat, or buy a kidney belt!!


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## czar800 (Apr 17, 2008)

Get Both!! 

That's tough If I only had to pick one I would really look at what type of other work it would be doing. Do you have a need for a PTO or drive it far, You can put a grapple on a front loader... To me it all what type of work you need to do.


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## gink595 (Apr 17, 2008)

TriCountyLawn said:


> Now this price range doesnt get ya as much skid steer as tractor however I know that with a skid steer I can do enough work to make the payment in that price range. Ive seen some T190's w/ 1700 -2300 hrs that have seemed like a tight machine. Also have seen some nice S175's but I would think tracks would be the way to go.



I think you could find a real nice Skid for your projected $$ range. I bought mine a 773 Bobcat with 860hrs on it for around 14,500. That included a enclosed cab with heat no air and overall really clean machine. A guy down the raod from me has a S175 (773 brother, new model name) w/ 175 hrs for 17,000. czar has a point also with a grapple on the tractor, but you can also get a 3pt. attachment with a hydrallic motor driven PTO shaft, so......


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## sawinredneck (Apr 17, 2008)

This is like splitting hairs!! The SS is going to be faster and more compact, but a lot less stable. I wouldn't reccomend the rubber tracks for logging, they tear rather easy, and are VERY expensive to replace. If you can figure out how to jack it up and have another means of lifting the tracks you can do it a home, BUT.................
SS's are a LOT heavier as well. I am parial to Bobcats, as I used to work on them, but I think if I were to buy new I would go with the New Holland L120, they are selling them new around here for $24k.

Now a Compact Utility tractor (CUT) on the other hand, is larger and not as manuverable, but they are a lot easier to drive now days. Look at a hydro unit, it's a matter of choosing a gear then rocking the pedal foreward or backwards to move it. The implements will be less than half price for a CUT and three point setups are sold EVERYWHERE!!! Price a brushhog for a CUT then call around for one for a skidsteer! And with the prices of some of these new CUT's, you can get a lot for you're money, which means more implements/versatility. And you can easily get a grappe bucket for the CUT to do the same thing.

Which is better? I have no idea, for what you want I think a CUT is the way to go, you don't have the lift capacity of the SS, but a lot less weight to haul around.
The SS will be a LOT faster and more manuverable, but at the cost of stablity and loss of vision.
As for cost, you get a lot more bang for buck from a CUT, but a very fast, compact and agile workhorse from a SS. But if you are not going to be working in confined areas, the comactness of the SS really isn't needed.
I've tried to highlight the good and bad of both, I hope tha helps a bit.


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## TriCountyLawn (Apr 18, 2008)

Im starting to lean towards an S175 and getting some tracks for it so that I would have the option of using it for snow removal however, then I would need to look into somthing that is 2 speed (for snowplowing). Also I really want something with joystick controlls (ala cat,asv) I dont know what year bobcat started using them in there machines. Im really leaning against the tractor at this point. 



I just want to spend alot less time getting the wood on sites. And it seems like a skid steer is the way to do that with the lift cap. I would rather have a tractor for grading,mowing and that stuff. And I really like the roomy cab of tractor.


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## sawinredneck (Apr 18, 2008)

If you want something that is "like" Cat or ASV, get the Cat or ASV, I think the Bobcat joystick controls SUCK!


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## gink595 (Apr 18, 2008)

sawinredneck said:


> If you want something that is "like" Cat or ASV, get the Cat or ASV, I think the Bobcat joystick controls SUCK!



I think all joysticks suck, foot pedals baby!!!


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## gink595 (Apr 18, 2008)

With all my sarcasim I forgot to post what I intended, I think the joysticks arrived in the Bobcats in 01, 02.


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## HEAVY FUEL (Apr 18, 2008)

You mean we don't have a poll for this????????????:jawdrop:


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## Garfield (Apr 18, 2008)

*Bobcat issues*

I had an 1840 Case and had no work done on it but changing the oil etc. I got a T190 and spent a few thousand dollars over the course of a year. I sold it. My brother got an 873 and spent money hand over fist. I replaced the T190 with an 1845C Case and have fixed nothing. Be sure and run a track machine if you are going to get one. They are rough and will not plow snow nearly as well as any wheel machine. As far as two speed goes it'd be nice but most people out there plowing get along fine without it. Based on my experience I would recommend a used Wheel machine, anything but bobcat......whatever dealer is nearby and decent. As a side note the Bobcat dealer was truly excellent. To me it is great marketing. The Apple computer was better than the IBM and VHS is better than VCR....and the rest is history.


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## chrispy6822 (Apr 19, 2008)

Garfield said:


> VHS is better than VCR....



Think you meant Beta was better then VHS.


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## gink595 (Apr 19, 2008)

Garfield said:


> I had an 1840 Case and had no work done on it but changing the oil etc. I got a T190 and spent a few thousand dollars over the course of a year. I sold it. My brother got an 873 and spent money hand over fist. I replaced the T190 with an 1845C Case and have fixed nothing. Be sure and run a track machine if you are going to get one. They are rough and will not plow snow nearly as well as any wheel machine. As far as two speed goes it'd be nice but most people out there plowing get along fine without it. Based on my experience I would recommend a used Wheel machine, anything but bobcat......whatever dealer is nearby and decent. As a side note the Bobcat dealer was truly excellent. To me it is great marketing. The Apple computer was better than the IBM and VHS is better than VCR....and the rest is history.



What kind of problems did you have with your BCat's? Were they new machines or one's that had had the weenie stuck to em? I think alot of machines in general get bad rep's due to people buying well used equipment and then they are the ones having to foot the bill because the machine has a few thousand hours on it and never maintainenced? I'm not saying that in your case but just curious to the circumstances you had?


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## gr8scott72 (Apr 19, 2008)

chrispy6822 said:


> Think you meant Beta was better then VHS.




Yeah, VHS is played on a VCR.


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## sharkfin12us (Apr 19, 2008)

*Skidsteer*



Garfield said:


> I had an 1840 Case and had no work done on it but changing the oil etc. I got a T190 and spent a few thousand dollars over the course of a year. I sold it. My brother got an 873 and spent money hand over fist. I replaced the T190 with an 1845C Case and have fixed nothing. Be sure and run a track machine if you are going to get one. They are rough and will not plow snow nearly as well as any wheel machine. As far as two speed goes it'd be nice but most people out there plowing get along fine without it. Based on my experience I would recommend a used Wheel machine, anything but bobcat......whatever dealer is nearby and decent. As a side note the Bobcat dealer was truly excellent. To me it is great marketing. The Apple computer was better than the IBM and VHS is better than VCR....and the rest is history.



I have 2004 A300 bobcat and 120 hours on it i use it for lifting wood logs.I have over sized snow bucket 1 yard and turf tires on it.Great for snow plowing i have joy sticks.I learned hard way to slow down some because joy stick on my left controls forward and backward and if im going to fast moving started to hurt my shoulder so i slowed down and that worked out fine for my shoulder and machine too.Never had issue with my machine.Just my 2 cents


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## redprospector (Apr 20, 2008)

Garfield said:


> I had an 1840 Case and had no work done on it but changing the oil etc. I got a T190 and spent a few thousand dollars over the course of a year. I sold it. My brother got an 873 and spent money hand over fist. I replaced the T190 with an 1845C Case and have fixed nothing. Be sure and run a track machine if you are going to get one. They are rough and will not plow snow nearly as well as any wheel machine. As far as two speed goes it'd be nice but most people out there plowing get along fine without it. Based on my experience I would recommend a used Wheel machine, anything but bobcat......whatever dealer is nearby and decent. As a side note the Bobcat dealer was truly excellent. To me it is great marketing. The Apple computer was better than the IBM and VHS is better than VCR....and the rest is history.



That's odd, I guess there are lemmon's in every brand. A buddy of mine had a Case 1840 and had nothing but trouble, he worked on it more than with it.
I have a 1998 model 863 that I bought used in 2003, and the most costly thing I have done to it is put fuel in it. Well the hydraulic filter is pretty pricy, but that's really cheap insurance. I work the p!ss out of it moving logs & slash or what ever else I need to do. It has about 5500 hours on it and hasn't been run without track's in 4 1/2 years. 
Like I said, there are lemmon's in every brand but short of that maintenance is the key to longevity.

Andy


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## Garfield (Apr 20, 2008)

*Bobcat issues*

The T190 had wiring problems.....the dealer had a $1500 bill to figure it out and finally ended up running new wiring by zip tying it to the outside of the harness. A couple solenoids went bad....windshield wipers quit then more wiring problems. The quick tach plate on the front of the machine bent repeatedly on both machines. I assumed it was abuse from a former owner but even after spending about 900 bucks on a new plate and being careful to squarely put on the attachment etc. it bent just like the old one. Bobcat is just a stamped plate and Case is a piece of milled steel. Bobcat stocks the whole plate and the Case dealership said they didn't remember ever selling one. I am not generally very brand loyal etc. but have now decided there is a reason you don't see Bobcats on the road building fleets very often. Also to get the high flow to work you had to have a Bobcat brand attachment. T190 had about 2000 hrs on it when i got it and I think we ran it 3-400 hours. 873 I don't know it 's my brothers. He literally carries an O ring set with him. It has probably blown 10 o rings. 1 bent cylinder, starter. Linkage was aluminum in the back and it stripped where it goes into the hydrostatic drive motors.


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## hydro2 (Jul 29, 2011)

hydro2 said:


> I have steel tracks for mine. I do use it, but find it a pain to load and tie down and I don't like towing my trailer in the winter. The snow and ice rip the elec. brake wires loose on my trailer. If I had a 20 some hp tractor, I could haul it on my smaller trailer. I usually take it to my property (3 miles from home) a few weekends in the Fall and skid load to the access roads. If I could leave it on my prop. I would use it much more. If I would leave it, the kids on 4 wheelers would destroy it for sure.


 Well I guess I have my tractor now. It was funny reading my post. I had no idea back in april I would be rid of my skidloader and have a tractor. I never looked back. 


Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk


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## lxt (Jul 30, 2011)

Garfield said:


> I had an 1840 Case and had no work done on it but changing the oil etc. I got a T190 and spent a few thousand dollars over the course of a year. I sold it. My brother got an 873 and spent money hand over fist. I replaced the T190 with an 1845C Case and have fixed nothing. Be sure and run a track machine if you are going to get one. They are rough and will not plow snow nearly as well as any wheel machine. As far as two speed goes it'd be nice but most people out there plowing get along fine without it. Based on my experience I would recommend a used Wheel machine, anything but bobcat......whatever dealer is nearby and decent. As a side note the Bobcat dealer was truly excellent. To me it is great marketing. The Apple computer was better than the IBM and VHS is better than VCR....and the rest is history.


 
I dont even know where to start with this post!!!!! 

you musta bought some real "winner" equipment without a clue as to what mechanically needs done!! & your comment about "Track" machines & not being able to plow snow as good as wheeled machines..............WTF??? nothing could be further from the truth!!!

A track machine will outperform any skidsteer out there...........it wont be as fast, they are a rough ride.... but as far as moving dirt, plowing snow, climbing hills, digging foundations & whatever else................wheels suck & tracks are the way to go!!

bobcat 773............had one, good used machine, no problems.....fast & good at what it is needed for Vs JD440 crawler, this was a relic, 1956 or 57 2 cylinder gas, great shape & ran strong............this machine did anything!! the bobcat was much faster, but that old JD would drag that BC around like a toy if I wanted too!! & as far as snow...........that "wheeled bobcat was a joke" JD crawler would not only plow the snow but would pull out the stuck vehicles in the ditch at road side!! see if your wheeled skidsteer will do that in a PA winter with 2ft of snow??

Bobcat.....was nickel & diming me so it was sold & the new owner made aware of what was needed, the JD crawler finally after more than 50 years had enough, steering clutches/brake bands needed replaced & the output drive shaft gear needed replaced......so sold it for parts!

Now for the rest of your post...............its as bad if not worse!! WOULDNT TAKE ANY OF YOUR ADVICE!!!!



LXT................Btw: got me a gooood used track machine c`mon this fall! I cant wait............!


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## fearofpavement (Jul 31, 2011)

In my opinion, although there are overlaps in capabilities, a skid steer and a tractor are two very different machines. Having both I am not sure that just one would be an option. A skid steer will do things a tractor won't and vice versa. I will say that a tractor can be acquired at considerably less cost, is easier to transport and does a lot less "tearing up" of whatever you're operating on. A skid steer will lift more, maneuver in small spaces and has a plethora of attachments (although at prohibitive costs). Another thing to keep in mind is that skid steers are very complex machines and are expensive to repair. Their compactness compounds repairing difficulties. If I were without either machine, I would start with a used tractor. They are plentiful and if you buy it right you should be able to later sell it for close to what you paid. A decent tractor with a loader can be had for well under 10K. That amount won't get much of a skid steer (although I have seen some pretty good deals over the last couple years) If you have a specific task to accomplish and only that type of task, then one machine will likely prevail as the most suitable option.


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## thomaswbdswim (Aug 26, 2011)

one way of getting the decreased ground disturbance is to use a bobcat that has an all wheel steer package they are more pricey and you cant run tracks with the all wheel steer but they are harder to get stuck don't rip up turf and don't bounce to high heaven when turning 
if you are moving a trailer they make attachments for skid steers that is just a plate with a hitch on it that could be used to drag larger logs with or move a trailer.
good luck in your choice


this is a video showing the turning ability 
Bobcat A300 All Wheel Drive - YouTube


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## Yellowdog (Aug 28, 2011)

Garfield said:


> I had an 1840 Case and had no work done on it but changing the oil etc. I got a T190 and spent a few thousand dollars over the course of a year. I sold it. My brother got an 873 and spent money hand over fist. I replaced the T190 with an 1845C Case and have fixed nothing. Be sure and run a track machine if you are going to get one. They are rough and will not plow snow nearly as well as any wheel machine. As far as two speed goes it'd be nice but most people out there plowing get along fine without it. Based on my experience I would recommend a used Wheel machine, anything but bobcat......whatever dealer is nearby and decent. As a side note the Bobcat dealer was truly excellent. To me it is great marketing. The Apple computer was better than the IBM and VHS is better than VCR....and the rest is history.


 
to each his own.

Get what works for your situation. All brands have issues. I've owned 13 Bobcats and one C series CAT. All have their pros and cons. 
For this thread, though, I wouldn't be without a skid or CTL for moving trees, dirt work (4wd tractor not even in the same class), or general use as a tool carrier. The more hp the better if you want to run attachments (high flow is a good option as well as a two speed machine). 

As someone else pointed out, you can drag logs with a chain on a tractor (or maybe a grapple in place of the loader bucket) but a skid is the way to go and your wood will stay cleaner. You will be safer, too, with a skid working in the woods. 

Tracks are a good compliment but not necessary unless you are working in soft conditions. I work in very rocky, steep country and use only "hulk" type rubber tires and can go anywhere. Sand and mud are a different story and A CTL or OTT tracks would be a better option.

Tractors for the most part have a lot less maintenance but in my opinion are not as durable and you generally have a lot less hydraulic output and are left with PTO attachments which are clumsy and more hassle to transport/set up.


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