First Post. Looking @ getting an 863

[RS Coyote]

Hello all. You have a nice forum going here. I live in Western WA. near Tacoma I'm staring a handyman service, I do home repair, tree topping and welding. Right now I'm building a dump truck out of a 95 Ford F350 dually 4x4 460/5speed with a 14' steel bed. I have stretched the frame 5' and today I'm in the process of painting the cab. It's going to be a nice truck. I also have built a stout 20' slider custom car trailer with tandem 6200# axles that weighs 3k lbs. So I would like to expand and have about $15k cash to spend on a Skid steer and I'm looking for a good deal. I have been looking at the 863's that are 4-5 years old. I may have found a 2000 863 with about 1500hrs for $1400.00... Also I know of a JD 250 that a local dealer might be getting back off a lease with 800 hrs on it for $18000...I want something that will last me a long time without having lots of repairs. Big enough to load logs & branches on my truck but small enough to haul with a F350 with extra implements. I'm just not sure what to get or where to find a good deal. I have been reading to try to get educated here on the net. I will be building my own tracks connected with chains, brush hog, grapple bucket, dozer blade, stump grinder and may see if I can find a Back hoe attachment to adapt. How many Hrs do you generally get out of the average machine before the diesel or hydraulic motors/pumps give up and need replacing? Any suggestions would be grate. PS What does "Pinned post" mean when starting a new thread?

 

[Tigerotor77W]

A Deere 250 for $18,000 at 800 hours seems a bit overpriced. The 200 series didn't hold much value because their hystats (early production ones) failed quite a bit. 863 is a good machine, but what are you loking at doing? How much do you plan to lift?

 

[RS Coyote]

A Deere 250 for $18,000 at 800 hours seems a bit overpriced. The 200 series didn't hold much value because their hystats (early production ones) failed quite a bit. 863 is a good machine, but what are you loking at doing? How much do you plan to lift?

With tree topping most of the time I will cut the logs off in 5-6 foot sections as I come down. If thats not small enough I will cut the logs down to a size/WT that the Bobcat will pick up. Right now most of the tree jobs I get I talk the customer into cleaning up the mess, they save money, and I still make $75-100 an hour. I don't think I want a track machine like a T250. And whatever I get needs to be in the $15k range because I don't want the debt. I want to run a brush hog so do I need the Hi-Flow option? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Far as what I'm looking at doing? I'm hopping new opportunities will open up and I can expand what I do. Maybe some brush/berry bush clearing, stump grinding (once I get the $$ for it), property clean up & light excavating. I would like to get the right machine the first time around just not sure which one.

 

[Tigerotor77W]

With tree topping most of the time I will cut the logs off in 5-6 foot sections as I come down. If thats not small enough I will cut the logs down to a size/WT that the Bobcat will pick up. Right now most of the tree jobs I get I talk the customer into cleaning up the mess, they save money, and I still make $75-100 an hour. I don't think I want a track machine like a T250. And whatever I get needs to be in the $15k range because I don't want the debt. I want to run a brush hog so do I need the Hi-Flow option? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Far as what I'm looking at doing? I'm hopping new opportunities will open up and I can expand what I do. Maybe some brush/berry bush clearing, stump grinding (once I get the $$ for it), property clean up & light excavating. I would like to get the right machine the first time around just not sure which one.

The 863 will be able to suit your needs relatively well, but I won't lie: a S220 or S250 is far more suited for your needs. 5' ot 6' sections aren't too bad for the 863, but the 863, while a tremendous machine overall, lacked seriously lifting power. You may find yourself wanting more lift every so often; it's certainly best to have ample power than not have enough. If you're looking in the 15k price range, it might actually be worth your while to look at used New Hollands. Generally, they'll offer good enough lift capacity but at a highly reduced price (CNH's strategy: expensive Case, cheap NH). I hate to sound blasphemous, but the NH machines (specifically, Ls180 or Ls190; Lx865, Lx885, or Lx985) are probably more suited to your tree-moving, unfortunately. (I'm leaving out Deere because I'm still not sure whether all 200-series skids have had their trannies fixed.) As for High Flow, yes, you will want that. Brush clearing and strump grinding are both much more effictive with an HF machine. My choices (if these options are available to you): 1) Bobcat S250 2) NH Ls180 3) Bobcat S220

 

[RS Coyote]

The 863 will be able to suit your needs relatively well, but I won't lie: a S220 or S250 is far more suited for your needs. 5' ot 6' sections aren't too bad for the 863, but the 863, while a tremendous machine overall, lacked seriously lifting power. You may find yourself wanting more lift every so often; it's certainly best to have ample power than not have enough. If you're looking in the 15k price range, it might actually be worth your while to look at used New Hollands. Generally, they'll offer good enough lift capacity but at a highly reduced price (CNH's strategy: expensive Case, cheap NH). I hate to sound blasphemous, but the NH machines (specifically, Ls180 or Ls190; Lx865, Lx885, or Lx985) are probably more suited to your tree-moving, unfortunately. (I'm leaving out Deere because I'm still not sure whether all 200-series skids have had their trannies fixed.) As for High Flow, yes, you will want that. Brush clearing and strump grinding are both much more effictive with an HF machine. My choices (if these options are available to you): 1) Bobcat S250 2) NH Ls180 3) Bobcat S220

Thanks BobcatS250. I take it the 863 series does not come with High Flow? What does the letters "863H, 863G, 863F, 863C & no letter 863" stand for? I'm going to look around for/at a New Hollands. But does not look like they are nearly as big of a dealer as Bobcat. I have a dealer 5 miles form my house and looked at his wed site. It does not look like he carries much of a selection. The NH machines look like the have a longer wheel base and the engine sits further back which makes it more stable? What about the engines in the New Holland machines, are they just as good as Bobcat, and do they come with high flow?

 

[Tigerotor77W]

Thanks BobcatS250. I take it the 863 series does not come with High Flow? What does the letters "863H, 863G, 863F, 863C & no letter 863" stand for? I'm going to look around for/at a New Hollands. But does not look like they are nearly as big of a dealer as Bobcat. I have a dealer 5 miles form my house and looked at his wed site. It does not look like he carries much of a selection. The NH machines look like the have a longer wheel base and the engine sits further back which makes it more stable? What about the engines in the New Holland machines, are they just as good as Bobcat, and do they come with high flow?

The 863 can come with high flow as an option. Any Bobcat skid steer with an "H" in its model number means it has high flow. For example, your mention of the 863H would be an 863C series with High Flow. The 863FH would be the 863F-series with high flow. 863G, 863F, and 863C represent the generation of 863: C is first, F- is second, G-is third (and last). "863," by itself, means the machine platform itself; it's general (like "Ford Taurus" is general -- no engine or door style mentioned). 863 machines with high flow will list it somehow: if the machine you're looking at has vertical numbers (along the rear frame towers), you'll see something like 863H (in a vertical column); it it's an F-series (with horizontal model number lines and a flat cab top), it will read 863 and below that "High-Flow"; if it's a G-series (horizontal model number, curved cab), it will read the same. // As for NH machines: their wheelbases are generally longer, yes, but it's typically more of a up-down location of components that really matter. There are many reasons behind this that I can't go into right now, but NH machines are somewhat and generally better balanced than other makes out there. The engine does sit further back, but the main thing is that certain components are placed lower in the machine. Recently, Bobcat has been able to significatly improve their stability. NH engines are decent. I haven't heard of any problems with their design yet. If you want a NH with high flow, you'll need to request it... I believe the Lx885 and Ls180 do offer it. // Last note: if you can, definitely get a chance to run a Bobcat S220 or S250. I know you're on a budget, and I do believe a NH machine will [originally] offer a better price, but Bobcat machines are superior to NH machines in a few ways. I'm not trying to contradict myself; I just want you to know that you should never keep your options limited and try only one machine, even if you are on a budget. Shop around a bit, and definitely get to know both dealers. Good luck.