Need Bobcat setup for a particular job

Help Support SkidSteer Forum:

Matt7

New member
Joined
Jul 5, 2016
Messages
3
Hello, So, I have been tasked to find a Bobcat skid steer (only), to do a very specific job, and was wondering if you guys would help me put together the kind of rig I would need? Here is what the company needs: 1. A Bobcat that can drill a hole 12 inches wide and 14 feet deep (it doesn't have to go straight down and will mostly be used to drill at an angle). 2. All 14 feet of the drill part must stay attached to the Bobcat, at all times, going in and coming out (no assembling and disassembling going in and out). 3. It will be drilling into Hardpan soil. 4. It must be used and have tracks (tracks; ideally). The company used to hire a guy with a setup that did exactly all that, but he passed away a while ago, and I have no idea what his setup looked like. What I really need to know is how powerful a machine I will need. I see all the model numbers, but they are a bit confusing. Which ones should I concentrate on finding and which should I totally forget about? Do I need Hi-flow? Do auger drives have different levels of power? Do I need that orange drill bit? Anything you can tell me will be appreciated. The most important thing is the actually Bobcat by itself, and getting one that will absolutely be able to do the job (without breaking the bank). Thank you, Matt P.S. Sorry, can't for the life of me figure out how to make a paragraph break in this post.
 

dfb4408

Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2016
Messages
12
Sure you don't need an excavator instead of skid steer? Since skid steers don't lift 14 feet high.
 

1ofU

Well-known member
Joined
May 19, 2012
Messages
180
you should bypass the bobcat and purchase a power company truck that they use to auger the holes for power poles , my son in law is a lineman and we used his truck to drill / auger and set my power poles for the the building i built last year , it was very easy /quick to auger the holes and set the poles . a bobcat or skid steer would need to be a 9-12K class machine and up to 80 - 100 HP to have enough hp & weight to do the job . 1 of u
 

830Scott

Active member
Joined
Apr 22, 2011
Messages
44
you should bypass the bobcat and purchase a power company truck that they use to auger the holes for power poles , my son in law is a lineman and we used his truck to drill / auger and set my power poles for the the building i built last year , it was very easy /quick to auger the holes and set the poles . a bobcat or skid steer would need to be a 9-12K class machine and up to 80 - 100 HP to have enough hp & weight to do the job . 1 of u
So what you described sounds pretty much impossible. If the auger could be drilled in X amount, then stop and attach another segment of bit, and drill another X amount, rinse-&-repeat...I would say you'd need one of the biggest frame machines with big HP and max hydraulic flow. BUT, without having segments for the auger, I cannot see how any SSL is going to handle a 14' auger. Maybe you can explain what this thing is supposed to do?? What is the actual job? 12" hole at an angle, 14' deep...plenty intriguing.
 
OP
OP
M

Matt7

New member
Joined
Jul 5, 2016
Messages
3
The company is pretty insistent on getting a Bobcat only. I think they will be using it for other things later on and don't want to buy two pieces of equipment. There is a way to put it together, they know because they used to have another guy (who died) do it for them. One guy, 14 feet into the ground at an angle. He could pull the whole thing out and move onto digging the next hole. No disassembling of the attachments necessary. I am guessing he had the auger drive, 3 4 foot extension poles, and then the drill bit. He never had to go straight down though. I'll have to find out later what it's exactly for, but for right now, they are going to use it on a pistachio farm. So, you think 80hp minimum then? Nothing less than a T750/S750? A "9-12K class machine"? Is that money or something else? Matt
 

1ofU

Well-known member
Joined
May 19, 2012
Messages
180
The company is pretty insistent on getting a Bobcat only. I think they will be using it for other things later on and don't want to buy two pieces of equipment. There is a way to put it together, they know because they used to have another guy (who died) do it for them. One guy, 14 feet into the ground at an angle. He could pull the whole thing out and move onto digging the next hole. No disassembling of the attachments necessary. I am guessing he had the auger drive, 3 4 foot extension poles, and then the drill bit. He never had to go straight down though. I'll have to find out later what it's exactly for, but for right now, they are going to use it on a pistachio farm. So, you think 80hp minimum then? Nothing less than a T750/S750? A "9-12K class machine"? Is that money or something else? Matt
Hello, that 9-12 K if for the weight of the machine , there no doubt that a unit can be fabbed to do the job , it would be similar to a drilling rig that they use for drilling water wells , i still think the cost of a auger truck would be cheaper and a better way to go , a used truck and a used skid steer should come in around 35 to 50 K compared to a skidsteer / bobcat unit that when fabbed out to do the job should be in the 50 up to 100 K . you should lay out just what the job is , is get a better understanding of the process of just augering out holes 14 ft deep be it weather conditions and conditions of the ground being work flat , hilly etc.. ! of U
 

Tazza

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Dec 7, 2004
Messages
16,829
Hello, that 9-12 K if for the weight of the machine , there no doubt that a unit can be fabbed to do the job , it would be similar to a drilling rig that they use for drilling water wells , i still think the cost of a auger truck would be cheaper and a better way to go , a used truck and a used skid steer should come in around 35 to 50 K compared to a skidsteer / bobcat unit that when fabbed out to do the job should be in the 50 up to 100 K . you should lay out just what the job is , is get a better understanding of the process of just augering out holes 14 ft deep be it weather conditions and conditions of the ground being work flat , hilly etc.. ! of U
You said you want a bobcat, nothing there said it had to be a skid steer. 14' of auger is pretty long, even at an angle, you need to be able to lift it all the way up to get the nose on the dirt to start.
I don't know what the largest mini excivator bobcat does, but you will be pushing it.
A dedicated drilling rig would be ideal, my dad arranged for a guy to come around and put in new power poles, this machine made light work of the holes, even in hard shale. I don't know what a truck like this would run you though.
I know it's ideal to have one machine to do the lot, but if your requirements are bobcat alone, you may have a hard time doing that. If you look at other brands, get a suitable sized excivator and auger/auger drive and you can drill holes that deep.
It is always possible, yet unlikely that his machine was branded bobcat, but wasn't really a bobcat machine. Decals can be stuck to anything.....
 

830Scott

Active member
Joined
Apr 22, 2011
Messages
44
The company is pretty insistent on getting a Bobcat only. I think they will be using it for other things later on and don't want to buy two pieces of equipment. There is a way to put it together, they know because they used to have another guy (who died) do it for them. One guy, 14 feet into the ground at an angle. He could pull the whole thing out and move onto digging the next hole. No disassembling of the attachments necessary. I am guessing he had the auger drive, 3 4 foot extension poles, and then the drill bit. He never had to go straight down though. I'll have to find out later what it's exactly for, but for right now, they are going to use it on a pistachio farm. So, you think 80hp minimum then? Nothing less than a T750/S750? A "9-12K class machine"? Is that money or something else? Matt
Sorry the boss isn't giving you all the details. Really hard to complete a puzzle when you don't have all the pieces. Knowing almost NOTHING of the job, I'd say you need a large hi-flow machine with a purpose-built, custom attachment. Hydraulic motor turning a screw or worm gear set up. Depending on the digging conditions, it may be possible to gear the system to cut/drill at the speed it is penetrating. You said it will drill at an angle...depending on THAT angle, and if it is always the same, the attachment could be built to hold all 14' of auger, at the required angle. For someone to fabricate this special equipment would likely cost between $10-20k (attachment only). Seems to me that a LOT more effort should be put into trying to locate the equipment of the dead guy. No sense in reinventing the wheel (unless you have tons of extra money laying around).
 

Hotrod1830

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 14, 2010
Messages
513
Sorry the boss isn't giving you all the details. Really hard to complete a puzzle when you don't have all the pieces. Knowing almost NOTHING of the job, I'd say you need a large hi-flow machine with a purpose-built, custom attachment. Hydraulic motor turning a screw or worm gear set up. Depending on the digging conditions, it may be possible to gear the system to cut/drill at the speed it is penetrating. You said it will drill at an angle...depending on THAT angle, and if it is always the same, the attachment could be built to hold all 14' of auger, at the required angle. For someone to fabricate this special equipment would likely cost between $10-20k (attachment only). Seems to me that a LOT more effort should be put into trying to locate the equipment of the dead guy. No sense in reinventing the wheel (unless you have tons of extra money laying around).
Usually "Odd" equipment like that doesnt sell very good. With enough homework and phone calls, you can track down the assets of deceased people and buy them. Families dont want the stuff sitting around, and it sounds like something few would need. Find out who has the stuff you need and make an offer, while Keeping the cost of engineering and building something like this in mind. Make a fair offer and I bet you will own it..
 

Bobcatdan

Well-known member
Joined
May 3, 2012
Messages
1,684
Usually "Odd" equipment like that doesnt sell very good. With enough homework and phone calls, you can track down the assets of deceased people and buy them. Families dont want the stuff sitting around, and it sounds like something few would need. Find out who has the stuff you need and make an offer, while Keeping the cost of engineering and building something like this in mind. Make a fair offer and I bet you will own it..
The highest a skids there can lift is 12', that's a T870., add the auger drive and at best you may have 10' with bit and extensionsee. An E50 excavator with an auger head could probably do it but it would be very unwieldy. Also normal auger heads are designed to go straight down. Running at an angle would be very hard on say a 30c auger. Are you doing under ground work, or putting poles of some sorts in? If underground, I'd go talk to ditch witch or vermeer.
 

Latest posts

Top