Buy my own Bobcat....

[Sergio]

Guys, I need your advice. I have 40,000 sq ft of land on lake, and need to do some work on land. Overall, my land is considered medium. From the Lake to the road, I have about 10 feet of elevation. It is a gradual elevation, and the biggest drop in 1 stop is 3 feet. Ok, I'm getting very high quotes to clean-up my terrain and level off my terrain. I was think, instead of paying the high bucks, last quote for clean-up and level was 15,000, I was wondering if I should purchase my own Bobcat, and order my own fill from local pit. I need about 20 truck loads of fill to level off my land. The machine I was looking at was the 2002 Bobcat B200. It would cost me about 15,000. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks.. Sergio

 

[bobcat_ron]

This has and is my experience.....all of the people I've come across that have bought their own machine due to wanting to save money on big projects like that all thought it was a good idea, but in the end if there was something that really wrong, they were screwed, sometimes it's better to have the professionals take care of something that big. In a case where you are adding fill, there is somethings you need to know like compaction rates and knowledge about the material being hauled in, something a good contractor will know right off hand. If you buy the TLB, you'll be stuck paying insurance, fuel and any busted items you manage to break, that adds up over time, if you let the pro's do it, get a set firm price and or a contract price, that way you just pay for the work and nothing else. But don't get me wrong, if I were in that situation, I'd do the same, but just rent myself a machine, but only because of my back ground and job as a heavy equipment operator.

 

[Tazza]

This has and is my experience.....all of the people I've come across that have bought their own machine due to wanting to save money on big projects like that all thought it was a good idea, but in the end if there was something that really wrong, they were screwed, sometimes it's better to have the professionals take care of something that big. In a case where you are adding fill, there is somethings you need to know like compaction rates and knowledge about the material being hauled in, something a good contractor will know right off hand. If you buy the TLB, you'll be stuck paying insurance, fuel and any busted items you manage to break, that adds up over time, if you let the pro's do it, get a set firm price and or a contract price, that way you just pay for the work and nothing else. But don't get me wrong, if I were in that situation, I'd do the same, but just rent myself a machine, but only because of my back ground and job as a heavy equipment operator.

I bought my first skid steer to maintain our driveway. I paid 5K for the machine and i believe it was the best money i ever spent. You find uses for it other than moving dirt.
I do agree that you will need to watch compaction, you will need to dump a bit of dirt then get a roller to flatten it down. If you are building a retaining wall to hold the dirt back its not as much of an issue.
I also agree that renting wouldn't be a bad idea. You will pay a little more but if anything breaks its not your problem! i doubt anything will go wrong, but the potential is always there.

 

[RonRock]

I bought my first skid steer to maintain our driveway. I paid 5K for the machine and i believe it was the best money i ever spent. You find uses for it other than moving dirt.
I do agree that you will need to watch compaction, you will need to dump a bit of dirt then get a roller to flatten it down. If you are building a retaining wall to hold the dirt back its not as much of an issue.
I also agree that renting wouldn't be a bad idea. You will pay a little more but if anything breaks its not your problem! i doubt anything will go wrong, but the potential is always there.

Bar none my skidloader has been the best investment, most used tool I have. If you are going to do any work on that land you will never regret owning one. Now I will also say that you need to consider the other replies and determine if you have the ability and desire to take on a job like the one you describe. Personally I would not hesitate to do it myself. But I don't know how much you will have to pay to have the fill hauled? How much you will save by DIY? If you buy the loader in the end you'll have a new machine (to you) and satisfaction. More things to ponder. Will you also need a truck, trailer? If you have a skidloader you'll eventually need those as well. KaChing. $$$$ JMHO Cheers