Skid steers.... advice?

[SuperBuickGuy]

My wife has decided that I'm a useless cuss, and I don't shovel the driveway like I should (remember, 1/8 mile long?).... and now I have a H3 which makes shoveling even less likely - so she's incentivizing me with a Bobcat or similar..... I've no idea about skidsteers except they're a blast to drive and they make large, square dents in the sides of tow trucks that are parked immediately behind them

so... what to look for, look out for?

[TC]

Forget the Bobcat, it's a toy.... Look into something like this..... Case or John Deer would be good manufacturers.....



This is a 500 series, you could go with a 400 series which would be a little smaller in size... You can also get them with a gannon(like in the pic) or with a backhoe attachment........

You should be able to find a good used one in the $5000-$10,000 range....

[SuperBuickGuy]

Forget the Bobcat, it's a toy.... Look into something like this..... Case or John Deer would be good manufacturers.....



This is a 500 series, you could go with a 400 series which would be a little smaller in size... You can also get them with a gannon(like in the pic) or with a backhoe attachment........

I'd love to get one, but they're outside of my price point.... also, I do not have squirrel type room to store stuff - there are trees in the way

[TC]

I'd love to get one, but they're outside of my price point.... also, I do not have squirrel type room to store stuff - there are trees in the way

That's the beauty of a tractor that big, it makes quick work at getting the pesky trees out of the way......

[Brian Lohnes]

Bobcat is the most well known name but Gehl and Mustang also make good machines along with Caterpillar.

Will this thing be spending more time on asphalt or in dirt/mud etc? Tracked machines are awesome and versatile but will probably cost you a few bucks more. The benefit is that they are far more workable in soft soil and stuff.

S-series are wheeled skid steers
T- series are tracked and are typically more robust.

I used a T-190 to spread 200 yards of loam and to grade my backyard when I renovated it several years ago. 4-cylinder diesel that makes about 66hp.

Having worked for guys using these and helping to maintain them, I would (a) NEVER buy one from a rental house. Those are the machines that someone has "accidentally" filled with gas and run for a while before half assed draining the tank and refilling it with diesel. (b) make sure it has service records. I worked for a landscaper that would literally run machines until they just quit working.

Common sense stuff, really. Treat it like you are buying a car. A car that you can dig stuff up with and plow snow with, too!

Brian

[BOOOGHAR]

brian pretty much hit the nail on the head, I work for CATERPILLAR and deal with that stuff all day long

BUT renting from someplace like CAT is gunna be pricey then theres all the b.s. you have to go thru to rent one from them

UNITED RENTALS / RSC carries Takeuchi which ive worked on in the past, easy to use but one thing on these is do you have a truck and trailer to haul one ? these arent exactly like hauling a corvette on a car trailer

[Loren]

Bobcats/skid-steers are bitchin' for turning on a dime, when the dirt's "here" and the place you want to put it is right behind you. Otherwise, they buck and bounce too much for my taste and it takes a pretty skilled guy to do straight work.

Our little Yanmar 4wd tractor (no choice but Japanese on a tractor that size) with a bucket and gannon has been saving my ass from having to do actual work for years...we love it. Easy to work with and has never gotten stuck. With these you are likely buying from retired homeowners, not rental yards which as Brian says is "buyer-beware" city.

[SSChevyManiac]

Lately I've been posing as a heavy equip operator, and over the years have had a significant amount of seat time in a JD 6675 skid steer and an old Ford 655 backhoe. Recently I've moved onto an 850 JD dozer and a CAT 973 track loader, however those aren't really relevant. That Deere skid steer is used and abused, parked outside, has had gas in it countless times, been upside down more than once, and been a trainer machine for many bafoons like me. That thing cranks up and runs like a new machine every time you ask it to. It's got about 4000 hours on it. Friday, I said to our mechanic, "whatever you did to that machine great work!" He replied, " I just greased it up and adjusted what needed it." To me that speaks volumes, and I'm not a green only type guy.

I prefer foot pedal controls for the loader arms and bucket. I also would love to have a machine with a transport gear. Our JD does not have one, and I was fortunate enough to run a New Holland machine with a transport speed, that was a God send having to travel any distance. In my current spoiling of "real" heavy equipment, enclosed cabs are pretty sweet. For occasional homeowner, ranch, farm, type use my humble ass would recommend something a local dealer will be able to assist with service, parts, and operation. Also, try out the different control types and see what you prefer. Skid steers are fantastic machines with endless attachments and possibilities. Post pictures so I can live vicariously through you.

[dieselgeek]

Skid Steers are NOT great on slippery surfaces, especially when there's any kind of slope involved.

My neighbor's 65hp diesel skidsteer is slower to clear our equal length driveways when compared to my 21hp diesel tractor with a simple 3-point blade. But his is better once the snow gets deeper than say 12" - our driveways have very minor slope.

Other thoughts, if you are only going to use it for clearing snow, that means short run times, I highly recommend getting a GAS ENGINE skid steer if you do buy one. Diesel engines in this kind of eqiupment likes to be run many hours each time you start it. Short hops only gum up injectors, ruin ring seal, and wear them out quickly (as my neighbor is finding out). Gas engine skids are a lot cheaper, a little lighter, but better choices for short run times.


Consider a small 4wd tractor if the goal is clearing snow from the driveway. They are a heluva lot cheaper than skid steers.

I got mine for $3500, then spent a few hundred on the plow.

[SSChevyManiac]

The small tractor crowd does make a good point here, in the slew of things I've been fortunate enough to play with I've also got some seat time on a compact JD tractor. A model 4410 to be exact. That thing has more power than it can use, and just flat out works wonders.

[68 Valiant]

The small tractor crowd does make a good point here, in the slew of things I've been fortunate enough to play with I've also got some seat time on a compact JD tractor. A model 4410 to be exact. That thing has more power than it can use, and just flat out works wonders.

I'd go with a garden tractor with a snow blower and/or loader. Serves a few more purposes.

[milner351]

I know several guys that have been down this road, and one guy that has a dump truck, and skidsteer has moved enormous amounts of earth with it.

Unless you have a single purpose (does anyone really?) the ultimate choice is a 4wd diesel tractor with 3 point and live hydraulics or PTO to run all the rental stuff you can imagine using in the next several decades. Bucket up front, which can double as a fork lift, blade or brush hog or finish mower out back.... let your imagination run wild - I've seen guys do amazing things with machines like this.

[TC]

Now this is what you should get yourself!!!!...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/541-CASE-tractor-loader-/170937489599?pt=Tractors&hash=item27ccab18bf

[Deaf Bob]

With a 3 point, you can build a boom to move motors..
I stupidly moved a 66 caddy fleetwood with motor and tranny still in it by lifting it at the front bumper.. 55 Ollies arent that heavy, ant the car bent the boom..
Tractor with 3 point, boom, mower, brush hog or finish mower work pretty good..
Front end loader/buckets are nice.. Some of the smaller ones will not pick up motors, much less motor/trans combos
Get large front tires... None of thar 12" crap!
I had a home owner load scrap cars for me with a 25 hp tiny Kubota... It did pretty good! 4X4 with a bucket and 3piint blade got his place pretty clean!

[Loren]

The 15-horse 4wd Yanmar (Lord what a dopey name), with it's 12" fronts, will pick up a full-dress SB or a 3/4 BB from off the front bucket (meaning you can make the reach to pull a motor out of a car), but no trans. Or...a 3/4 SB with a trans.

It will fit, barely, through a normal-width sidewalk gate, which is a big help. The downside of that is, I look ridiculous driving it. I did learn tractorin' on a Case, and would like to think I look pretty manly on a tractor. Well, I don't...not on the Yanmar. I can still imagine I'm on the Case but there has to be no one there to watch.

With all that disrespect toward the Yanmar, I'd like to say it cut the pad for our garage and has moved 10x that amount of dirt elsewhere in the yard. I am thinking of taking a cheapo engine hoist and fixing it to the rear 3-point, and then I could pull big-blocks, backing in.

Suck it up and get the Yanmar, dude. No one has to know. It will work better than anything else.