Which skidsteer should i buy

[blades]

I didn't see any one address the issue of steel tracks over tires. Nothing wrong with tracks just tend to chew up tires kinda quick. I do not know how the rubber sets for over the tires work out. Either type is pricey.

 

[time warp]

I have a 743-b bobcat with rubber tracks on it.It is very easy on lawns and excellant on snow. The only downfall would be in the woods with alot of stumps sticking up might be hard on the sides of them. My machine is a 1991 with alot of hrs. on it but it is very dependable.

 

[ken45]

Tracked machines are 1) a lot more expensive to buy and 2) a lot more expensive to maintain. The tracks need to be replaced and idlers, etc. need replacement.

A rubber tired machine with over the tire metal tracks is less cost, less maintenance and has much of the advantages of a tracked machine.

If you are looking for something in the 8K range, I would definitely stay away from a tracked machine. Anything in that price range will be expensive to operate.

Ken

 

[artbaldoni]

Ok here we go...

My recommendation is be certain to get a machine with vertical lift like a Bobcat 773, 7753 or a JD/New Holland. Most of the others lift in an arc, the higher you go the closer the bucket gets to the machine. Make it less stable and harder to load a truck.

Tracks are a great addition. The chain type "eel tracks" have served me well. I have foam filled tires beneath my eel tracks and have no problems at all. They had most of the tread worn off when I got the machine but it doesn't really matter under the tracks.

Auxiliary hydros are a definite plus. A myriad of attachments to buy or rent. I have a backhoe attachment for mine.

I speak from experience. Equipment operator for 20+ years, 10 self employed (gotta get bang for your buck). I have late 80s Bobcat 7753 with eel tracks and a backhoe attachment that I paid $8900 for. Well used, not beautiful but extremely functional.

View attachment 219716

 

[Farm Boy]

Over 20 yrs ago I spent a tour of duty at a grain elevator where we had a Bobcat 632 gas powered by a Ford industrial motor. It was supposed to be a Pinto motor on steroids...and it prooved itself. The only drawback about it was cold weather starting...the hydraulic system was live all the time, even when the starter cranked the motor. Aside from that it was the sole skid steer for our location. We ran it in flat storage grain bins (dust) loading semis, it had a very good air filter system. It had a lot of balls for a gasser.

 

[porta mill]

I was just looking through Craigs list and noticed a bobcat in your price range . bobcat 751 c series - $6000 (harding)it needs some work but if you have the ability to fit it might be a buy .


1900 hrs paint ok,comes with over the tire tracks cost 1500.00 about 800 hrs of life left on tracks, tires %90, tooth bar was 400.00,bucket in good shape,has new fuel tank with upgraded design, fan gearbox rebuilt.All gauges lights etc.. work correctly.The bad now.Head gasket leaks ,the seat is shot,Pin for dump cyl has play and the bucket creeps a little.Runs but smokes from head gasket.Comes with maint manual was 200.00 but is truely priceless.Also comes with engine removal fixtureI think to buy one is around 1000.00 but mine is homemade and quite cheezy but it worked !.Parts to fix the whole thing including timing belt job is around 750.00 Price is firm.Delivery is available.Sorry no pics
I am guessing it is about 2 hours north of you .

 

[waterguy]

My vote for NH

I use my New Holland LS 170 rubber tired skid loader to haul all my firewood out of my wooded property to my OWB. I have yet to get her stuck to a point where I needed another piece of equiptment to get going again. Yes I would love a tracked machine but that cost would eat up any savings of providing my own fuel for heat. I use my snow bucket and can get just shy of a half cord cut at 24" if I stack properly. Maintenence is a breeze and she has never left me down in any task I ask . I have considered over the tire tracks but that is $3 K more. If I need to get in a questionable area I simply wait till a morning when we have a bit of frost in the ground and I can manuver wherever I want. Hope this helps.

 

[William Balaska]

Just made an offer on a 763, should know today. Looks to be well kept.

 

[William Balaska]

Ok here we go...

My recommendation is be certain to get a machine with vertical lift like a Bobcat 773, 7753 or a JD/New Holland. Most of the others lift in an arc, the higher you go the closer the bucket gets to the machine. Make it less stable and harder to load a truck.

Tracks are a great addition. The chain type "eel tracks" have served me well. I have foam filled tires beneath my eel tracks and have no problems at all. They had most of the tread worn off when I got the machine but it doesn't really matter under the tracks.

Auxiliary hydros are a definite plus. A myriad of attachments to buy or rent. I have a backhoe attachment for mine.

I speak from experience. Equipment operator for 20+ years, 10 self employed (gotta get bang for your buck). I have late 80s Bobcat 7753 with eel tracks and a backhoe attachment that I paid $8900 for. Well used, not beautiful but extremely functional.

View attachment 219716

I didn't realize the lifts were differemt, what about the 763?

 

[ken45]

I use my New Holland LS 170 rubber tired skid loader to haul all my firewood out of my wooded property to my OWB. I have yet to get her stuck to a point where I needed another piece of equiptment to get going again. Yes I would love a tracked machine but that cost would eat up any savings of providing my own fuel for heat. I use my snow bucket and can get just shy of a half cord cut at 24" if I stack properly. Maintenence is a breeze and she has never left me down in any task I ask . I have considered over the tire tracks but that is $3 K more. If I need to get in a questionable area I simply wait till a morning when we have a bit of frost in the ground and I can manuver wherever I want. Hope this helps.

There are OTT tracks available for closer to $1300.

When we get frost on the ground, the mud underneath turns to grease very quickly. It's the absolute worst traction possible. Around here, we need a really hard freeze before traction is any good and hard freezes like that are rare for us.

Ken

 

[reaperman]

I didn't realize the lifts were differemt, what about the 763?

The 763 does not have the vertical lift like like the other poster was talking about. Its not a real big issue where it would matter to most operators. If I can remember correctly the only thing that separates the 763 from the 773 is the vertical lift feature. Otherwise I believe they have the exact same engine and specs. The engine in the 773 may have been turned sideways in the engine compartment to help stabilize the machine from tipping forward when lifting larger loads. Due to the bucket lifting more forward or away from the machine. Both the 763 and 773 (7753) are excellent machines. If you can snag a decent 763 in your price range you have done well.

A machine that size would easily handle a pair of tracks. But for homeowner use I would not recommend tracks. They are a great feature if you are using your machine to make you money. But they do come at a price in future wear and tear on the machine. Also ask if tracks were ever used on the machine. They tend to be hard on the chains that drive the wheels. When tracks first came out, Bobcat would not warrant a machine if tracks were being used if the front chains weren't disconnected from the front drive sprockets. In other words, only the rear wheels were being used to "drive" the machine. They claim with both front and rear chains driving tracks there is too much stress being put on both chains and sprockets. Years ago when tracks first came out we purchased them for out bobcats. We did break some drive chains from time to time on new machines. As tracks got more popular, Bobcat saw a pattern and it was then when they recommended removing the front chains.

 

[Rio_Grande]

Really it is all relative to your situation. When iras a kid we had a case 18 something. For farm use that thing was awesome. But in reality it only rated at 1500 lb. It was kept running w bailing twine and duct tape but we never had to replace a hard part. While a great machine it dosent hold a candle to the CTL 70 I have now.
Were I on a budget of 8k and going to use it around the house I would be thrilled to have it. Currently however I need to be able to move 5k loads across the lot and the little case just wouldn't do it.
I am not a big bobcat fan but that is because of parts replacement costs.

 

[ken45]

A machine that size would easily handle a pair of tracks. But for homeowner use I would not recommend tracks. They are a great feature if you are using your machine to make you money. But they do come at a price in future wear and tear on the machine. Also ask if tracks were ever used on the machine. They tend to be hard on the chains that drive the wheels. When tracks first came out, Bobcat would not warrant a machine if tracks were being used if the front chains weren't disconnected from the front drive sprockets. In other words, only the rear wheels were being used to "drive" the machine. They claim with both front and rear chains driving tracks there is too much stress being put on both chains and sprockets. Years ago when tracks first came out we purchased them for out bobcats. We did break some drive chains from time to time on new machines. As tracks got more popular, Bobcat saw a pattern and it was then when they recommended removing the front chains.

IF you keep the tracks loose enough, the wheels will spin inside the tracks. I would think that would reduce a lot of the stress.

I also hope (yeah, I know...) that today's skid steers are designed with enough robustness to do better with tracks than with the earlier machines.

Ken

 

[uglydukwling]

Another thing to consider is what other equipment do you already have.

Last summer I decided that I needed a skid-steer. I started out by looking at mid-sized machines, but there was always something a little bigger that would do so much more. I finally realized, though, that what I really needed was the smallest machine I could find. I already had a Cat 955 tracked loader (I think they call it a 2 cu. yd.) for heavy lifting and what I didn't have was something that would fit inside buildings, between trees and other cramped spaces.

What I ended up with was a Bobcat 543, not the smallest machine made, but the smallest one that happened to be for sale within a reasonable distance at the time I was looking. It's too small( 800 #) to handle a grapple and the hydraulic pump is probably too small (11 gpm) to run a mower, but it's fine for bucket work and running an inverted splitter. If I ever decide I can't live without a grapple or mower, I'll have an excuse to buy something to fill in the gap between the 543 and the Cat.

 

[Henry and Wanda]

Hello,
I have a New Holland L170 which works great for me. It has 52 HP and a 6 foot wide bucket !! It is great for pulling down trees that got hung up on the way falling down !!! Wanda and I always say that it's the world's most expensive wheelbarrow !!!!! My 6 foot wide bucket will hold a lot of wood in one trip !!!! However, as in all skid steers, the ground clearance is limited. I live on top a mountain and there are lots of rocks to travel around and to get over when out gathering wood. I am thinking of buying a 4-wheel drive tractor with a bucket....thinking that it will handle the rocky areas better !!!!




Henry and Wanda

 

[GeeVee]

Pedro is an RC 30. INDEPENDENT Suspension is treasured once you try it, wont go back. Rubber tracks, grapple....

I've owned Bobcat and Cat.

Steel tracks over ruber tires can chew up asphalt, for sure.

For 8 k you can prolly get an RC-30 with less than 750 hours on it.

Pedro climbs sand hills at steepr angles than any other, will walk through plastic mud if it isn't floating over the top. The CatiPerk diesle has been trouble free to 600 hours, tracks are still tight and free of any wear.

I used to be an environmental construction contractor. I built sand dunes out of fine sand that doesn't lock up, and restored Mangrove Islands on river silt that had no bottom, just mud.

ASV was the only thing that could do both. The track U/C was designed for "all season" and snow was half its design parameter.

Even at 4' wide like the RC 30, I use it every weekend grappling large green tree sections. I can carry two 24-36" D x 8' L logs at a time out of the Hammock in the grapple (Root Rake)

I've gotten rid of everyting else now, and i need a new piece of equioment- which ought to be a Min excavator like a Bobcat 338.

I have some pics in my webshots. Pedro with a 16'l x 28" red oak on some forks is only one

 

[wdchuck]

Tree guy I have worked with has a New Holland L170. It surprised me how much it can lift even with the root grapple on it and hardly an opportunity passes when the owner expresses his surprise at how often it out works, out lifts larger machines.

Tires have been the only thing he's had to put on it besides standard maintenance.

 

[gr8scott72]

Pedro is an RC 30. INDEPENDENT Suspension is treasured once you try it, wont go back. Rubber tracks, grapple....

I've owned Bobcat and Cat.

Steel tracks over ruber tires can chew up asphalt, for sure.

For 8 k you can prolly get an RC-30 with less than 750 hours on it.

Pedro climbs sand hills at steepr angles than any other, will walk through plastic mud if it isn't floating over the top. The CatiPerk diesle has been trouble free to 600 hours, tracks are still tight and free of any wear.

I used to be an environmental construction contractor. I built sand dunes out of fine sand that doesn't lock up, and restored Mangrove Islands on river silt that had no bottom, just mud.

ASV was the only thing that could do both. The track U/C was designed for "all season" and snow was half its design parameter.

Even at 4' wide like the RC 30, I use it every weekend grappling large green tree sections. I can carry two 24-36" D x 8' L logs at a time out of the Hammock in the grapple (Root Rake)

I've gotten rid of everyting else now, and i need a new piece of equioment- which ought to be a Min excavator like a Bobcat 338.

I have some pics in my webshots. Pedro with a 16'l x 28" red oak on some forks is only one

I'm thinking about getting rid of mine which makes me very sad. I LOVE my little skid steer. SO fun to drive. SO easy to drive. SO capable for its small size.

Not in the tree business any more and probably about to move and probably won't have room for it.

Fits on a 5x12 trailer perfect:

Only has 460 hours, is in good shape and could be darn close to what you're looking to spend with a bucket and a root grapple on it already.

 

[William Balaska]

I'm thinking about getting rid of mine which makes me very sad. I LOVE my little skid steer. SO fun to drive. SO easy to drive. SO capable for its small size.

Not in the tree business any more and probably about to move and probably won't have room for it.

Fits on a 5x12 trailer perfect:

Only has 460 hours, is in good shape and could be darn close to what you're looking to spend with a bucket and a root grapple on it already.

Never heard of an RC-30? I assume Pedro is a pet name?

 

[gr8scott72]

Never heard of an RC-30? I assume Pedro is a pet name?

Pedro is GeeVee's pet name that he calls his. I never named mine.

ASV is the brand.