Great feed back, thanks. I will be looking forward to hearing others experiences on whatever they have.
I use to be all Bobcat , but times and the machines have changed , the new Bobcats have too much electronics onboard , too many wires and sensors too many controllers and software and too many problems which require laptop plug in with software not available to the end users , Bobcat is not the reliable machine it once was , lucky the dealer in our area is as good as I think they could be , but there is no support from the factory as Bobcat will not talk to you or me , and the service manuels are incomplete and don't give you the info you really need to troubleshot the new systems the machine run on ------------I think Takeuchi is the best machine out there right now , the Geil and Mustang are Takeuchi's with paint and decals , I think the only reason they are not the leader in the industry is joy stick controlls as it is hard to get use to operating it , as far as break downs it very seldom happens , but when it does and it gets involved the factory techs will talk to me on the phone and are very knowledgeable and talk me right thru the problem , Takeuchi was the first to build a tracked loader and I think it shows as the tracking system is much more superior, the travel motors and rollers never go out and the tracks last so much longer --------to me it boils down to down time from break downs and how much is it going to cost to fix , a lot of my friends are service managers and sales men for rental houses and they all say the same thing " Bobcat skidsteer loaders are a losing rental business because of cost of maintance but you have to have them as that is what everyone wants " , I was talking to Takeuchi the other day and told them if they would produce a machine with foot controlls I think they would do alot more sales ---------the new Bobcats will eat your lunch money
Where I am, I pretty much have to provide my own"dealer support" I'd recomend visiting tradebit.com and purchasing service manual for the units that interest you. ($20 to $40 each) then looking through them to see how the machine is made and what it takes to service it. How many special tools are required??
Thank you very much for the input, you are providing a very valuable service, because I have very little experience with these, and need all the help I can get!
I own a Bobcat but its old school, I bought a new 743 with a back hoe in 85 or so and the 743 although it has been kept up well by the new owner, still is wearing the original paint and looks good, mechanically it is very good. a company doing some land clearing at the school I teach at has a Cat, the newest version track machine, the foreman said they have 6 Cats and 1 bobcat tire skid steer, when the bobcat is done they will replace it with Cat, he has tried a lot of machines and has settled on the cat, they use grapple buckets to transport limb and debris, pretty impressive and smooth machine, pricey!! Don't hear too many complaints on the ASV or Cat but if maintained properly most any machine will perform well, key is maintenance I think. Jeffco
Thanks, I have only heard good things on the Cat, any idea where it is made, and how about the Gehl, where is it made.
Gehl and Mustang tracked loaders come off the Takeuchi factory line with different decals and paint , I think that was stated up above in a previous post ---------- Cat is owned by Mitsubuzi , which means 3 diamonds , they are the people who built the Zero engines that dive bombed Pearl Harbor , the engines they use are fragile and unforgiving , Perkins to me is not a good motor , seen quite a few engine and turbo failures on the Cat , they are hard to work on , everything is clutter up and packed in , changing a drive motor hose is a nightmare job , the snow mobile under carriage with it's squirrel cage and boogie rollers is trash around here , the drive lugs break off the track , and if you run it in the wet clay mud and park it and the mud dries out the next day I have seen where it won't even move till you clean out the dirt with a fire hose or pressure washer
OK, That post is going to save me a great deal of time and headache! Thanks for the input!
I totally agree with Fish above as I do not care for Cat at all when it comes to their skids for all the reasons he stated. Takeuchi builds a great machine in the tracked form but the dealer support in our area is only so so. I have run Deere, Cat, New Holland, Case, Kubota, Bobact, and the Mustang-Gehl-Takuechi track machines all on a very limited basis mostly around the shop after various services. I personally liked the controls and the overall feel of the Takuechi. Also as stated above the all electric hand controls of Bobcat are very tempermental. My advise is dont buy a Cat based on their outstanding reputation for their heavy tracked equipment the skids dont live up to the CAT name.
I inquired about a price on a TL 120 Takeuchi today. Standard bucket machine is $28,500. I have no idea if that is a good price or not. I have a Mustang dealer and a Gehl dealer closer to me, So if you guys feel they are the same machine, I will give them a call. Any ideas on the price?
Ill be the only one in this post not to be a cat hater. Ive had a 262c for 2 1/2 years now and i have to say i realy like it. Mind you at the time of this post it is in the shop wanting a fuel pump. But its got 6250 hours and up till this time shes done well. As far as working on it, the way the cab tilts and the back opens up i have no complaints. They are all fly by wire nowadays but havent had any trouble. I do take maintiance very serious and keep up on it. Also have 3 newholland 185 and i like them. But talk about limited acess always crawling over something or got your head jammed under the seat standing on your head. The takeuchi from what i have heard is a good machine but i dont think they offer a wheeled machine. For my work we just cant have a tracked machine. Thats a good point made in a earlier post a track machine will eat you alive if you put her in the wrong conditions. And I have always thought the pumps and drive motors dont hold up near as well. But dont hate cat to much.
Thanks for your reply, that is very helpful. I will look at Cat, but I doubt I will go that route. I will know more after I research it and get an idea of the price. I will say, it sounds like you have had excellent results with yours!
Mustang and Gehl "Track" machines are rebadged Takeuchi machines they will be as good as the dealer who sells them.
So where are they actually built? I assume they are Japanese design, but I can find much else.
Do these things have a hitch of any kind on the back? I like to pull something along on occasion. I hope you don't kick me off the forum, but anyone ever seen one with a PTO?
Look on utube saw a thing that you could trailer with had a pto think it work off your aux line. Quicktrac quickattach something along those lines. they where towing a dump trailer had brush hog attachment for a 3point hitch. post a link if i can find it again
I will look for it, but I wont have time tonight. I might get my son to help me find it as I don't think I know how to look.
