Hello all. Just found this site and figured it would be full of many enlightening posts. I am totally new to skid steers at the young age of 70 but just bought an 80-acre piece of ground. It is partially reclaimed mine ground that has a pit several acres and the rest being 50/50 pasture and wooded God piles. I purchased a 55 HP, 4-wheel drive tractor and a brush hog to do some mowing but have a guy going to mow and bail it after we get our new home built. I am a deer hunter and wanting to put in some trails in the God piles and am of the opinion I may be better off with a skid steer rather than a tractor. Having NEVER operated one much less owned one I'm looking for advice and opinions on what may be the best piece of all around equipment. We will have a pretty long driveway to access our new home, next spring so that is something else that will need to be maintained with something as well.
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my 2 cents here,
a smaller utility tractor will be OK for about the house, mowing, plowing snow, and light dirt work
for making trails on your property, odds are you will find a skid steer to be not the best tool at all my any means, they sort of suck on uneven ground, and worse on hills and off camber ground!
for this, IMO< you'd be way better off with a small excavator , yet money doesn't grow on trees and I know we all live on a budget
SO< what I would maybe suggest here would be, to rent , , one of each, a skid steer, mini excavator, and utility tractor(with a bucket)
plan ahead, though, try talking to your local rental center and explain to them, your looking to BUY some equipment, but are new to things and want to TRY things before buying the one you feel will be the most useful for you
ask if maybe they will work with you, allow you to rent one machine a day or two then drop off the next and repeat,
this way they will also be able to TEACH you how they work,
NONE OF them are that hard to operate, so don't be scared,
there all made to be rather simple, to be honest!
NOW there is a big difference in being able to operate and being highly skilled operating them, but that tends to come in time,, but there again NOT hard to work /use after some simple instructions
so, if it was me in your shoes, I would try and plan a bunch of projects, you want to DO< and like projects you will have more of in the future
then again RENT things, try and see what works best for your most common tasks(you can also maybe ask about your family and friends if they maybe OWN a machine you can TRY too, never know, could save you some $$$)
BUT renting a day or two will give you a much better idea what you like, want feel you need, and save you from buying and regretting what you bought and having to spend more to get something else
NO one machine will do it all, as stated before
and most will be honest and tell you, having two machines is worth the costs if your budget can handle it, over being unhappy with one machine sucking at it all
and on a LAST note, kind a known as a machine that does a lot of things, OK< but doesn't do anything great,
SO you can also look into a backhoe, over kill for close to house work, IMO< just due to weight of machine, but it can do most things I guessing you want, , it just won;'t be as user friendly as other things
as examples,
an excavators digs better with more comfort, and more options on implements,
skid steers move dirt faster, (and again way more options on adding implements)
and well smaller tractors, do light work better, less damage to grass/lawns, and fit in smaller storage places!
but food for though for you
a smaller utility tractor will be OK for about the house, mowing, plowing snow, and light dirt work
for making trails on your property, odds are you will find a skid steer to be not the best tool at all my any means, they sort of suck on uneven ground, and worse on hills and off camber ground!
for this, IMO< you'd be way better off with a small excavator , yet money doesn't grow on trees and I know we all live on a budget
SO< what I would maybe suggest here would be, to rent , , one of each, a skid steer, mini excavator, and utility tractor(with a bucket)
plan ahead, though, try talking to your local rental center and explain to them, your looking to BUY some equipment, but are new to things and want to TRY things before buying the one you feel will be the most useful for you
ask if maybe they will work with you, allow you to rent one machine a day or two then drop off the next and repeat,
this way they will also be able to TEACH you how they work,
NONE OF them are that hard to operate, so don't be scared,
there all made to be rather simple, to be honest!
NOW there is a big difference in being able to operate and being highly skilled operating them, but that tends to come in time,, but there again NOT hard to work /use after some simple instructions
so, if it was me in your shoes, I would try and plan a bunch of projects, you want to DO< and like projects you will have more of in the future
then again RENT things, try and see what works best for your most common tasks(you can also maybe ask about your family and friends if they maybe OWN a machine you can TRY too, never know, could save you some $$$)
BUT renting a day or two will give you a much better idea what you like, want feel you need, and save you from buying and regretting what you bought and having to spend more to get something else
NO one machine will do it all, as stated before
and most will be honest and tell you, having two machines is worth the costs if your budget can handle it, over being unhappy with one machine sucking at it all
and on a LAST note, kind a known as a machine that does a lot of things, OK< but doesn't do anything great,
SO you can also look into a backhoe, over kill for close to house work, IMO< just due to weight of machine, but it can do most things I guessing you want, , it just won;'t be as user friendly as other things
as examples,
an excavators digs better with more comfort, and more options on implements,
skid steers move dirt faster, (and again way more options on adding implements)
and well smaller tractors, do light work better, less damage to grass/lawns, and fit in smaller storage places!
but food for though for you
I agree rent before buying. I wanted a dump trailer for some time and had narrowed down my needs. Or so I thought. Rented one for Christmas weekend and had four days to see what it would and couldn't do. I am better prepared to make that next purchase. I rented wheeled skid steers for a variety of projects over the years. When I started looking, I was sure that is what I needed. Ended up with a tracked machine. Wouldn't consider going back, especially in Tennessee winter. I can put out hay in the mud with minimal rutting. Tractors would destroy the fields.
I have three tractors from subcompact to 150 hp. Each is good at certain things like bush hogging big fields. The tracked skid steer is like my battery powered drill and sawzall. It is used daily. The versatility with various attachments makes it a Swiss Army knife. It literally does the work of three people. The downside is it is expensive to repair. With low center of gravity and lift capacity, I can lift whole trees that fall and move them. Very rare I dig out the chainsaws. A good grapple is a must. I have a rotary mower for it that is a beast. It will cut through 8" trees like butter. I take it where I wouldn't take a tractor. I can mow with it, shred brush piles and trim overhead limbs. A demolition door is a must. A cab with heat and AC is very nice. Of course, it excels at dirt work.
I use the tractor with a hydraulic top link and land plane to maintain the gravel drives. In my opinion it is a nicer finish.
I really, really want an excavator. I just don't have the money for one. Like the skid steer it can be versatile and do so much more with the right accessories. It all starts with you decided what you need to do and then trying them out. For four generations we managed with tractors. Pond work was hired out. No investment and upkeep in equipment that would occasionally be used after the project.
I knew I could do so much more with the skid steer and it has proven itself. I also had to deal with many repairs issues caused by neglect before I bought it. They weren't obvious and as a result and this forum I now feel comfortable digging into the occasional repair. But, those lessons did not come cheap. I am budgetting for tracks and complete undercarriage this year. Estimates are $6-8,000. Do your homework and maybe have someone knowledgeable look at one before you buy. You will have a better idea of what you truly need a year or two after living there. What you need know, may not be what you will use for the next thirty years.
Good luck.
I have three tractors from subcompact to 150 hp. Each is good at certain things like bush hogging big fields. The tracked skid steer is like my battery powered drill and sawzall. It is used daily. The versatility with various attachments makes it a Swiss Army knife. It literally does the work of three people. The downside is it is expensive to repair. With low center of gravity and lift capacity, I can lift whole trees that fall and move them. Very rare I dig out the chainsaws. A good grapple is a must. I have a rotary mower for it that is a beast. It will cut through 8" trees like butter. I take it where I wouldn't take a tractor. I can mow with it, shred brush piles and trim overhead limbs. A demolition door is a must. A cab with heat and AC is very nice. Of course, it excels at dirt work.
I use the tractor with a hydraulic top link and land plane to maintain the gravel drives. In my opinion it is a nicer finish.
I really, really want an excavator. I just don't have the money for one. Like the skid steer it can be versatile and do so much more with the right accessories. It all starts with you decided what you need to do and then trying them out. For four generations we managed with tractors. Pond work was hired out. No investment and upkeep in equipment that would occasionally be used after the project.
I knew I could do so much more with the skid steer and it has proven itself. I also had to deal with many repairs issues caused by neglect before I bought it. They weren't obvious and as a result and this forum I now feel comfortable digging into the occasional repair. But, those lessons did not come cheap. I am budgetting for tracks and complete undercarriage this year. Estimates are $6-8,000. Do your homework and maybe have someone knowledgeable look at one before you buy. You will have a better idea of what you truly need a year or two after living there. What you need know, may not be what you will use for the next thirty years.
Good luck.
Thank you all for the replies. The 1996 Bobcat 853 I have been looking at comes with a bucket, a tooth bucket and Tracks for it. It is priced at $13,000. It also has newer tires with about 200 hours on them. The hour meter shows 200 but the son I've communicated with didn't know a lot about it. I haven't actually looked at it but merely corresponded about it via e-mail. Haven't called his dad yet as I figured I needed top know something about these to be able to ask an intelligent pertinent question. I see some with hours and no year of manufacturer and some with year but no hours as this one. What I am contemplating is being able to clear the perimeter fence line around all 80 acres. I would then mow some trails in the woods to be able to access deer stands as well as the perimeter to work on fence. There are a couple high water creeks that would need to be crossed but beings it has been so dry here they have not had much if any water standing in them. One of them is an overflow from a pit on the adjacent property. I am of the opinion that a tracked skid steer would be better in this overall condition than my 55HP, 4 wheel drive tractor with a front-end loader. I would also not want to tear up my shiny new tractor. Well, shiny new isn't exactly the truth but I got it at an auction at a reasonable price for a 2018 with ONLY 30 hours on it. YEP, did my research on this tractor and found the dealer that actually sold it to this guy. Come to find out his wife was related to the guy that bought it new and he personally knew all about the tractor.
just going to add a little more food for thought for you
first off skid steers and track loaders, do NOT have much ground clearance for water crossings,, I have seen a few get ruined by going thru deeper water, when they some how managed to suck in water from vent lines!
SO< if planning to use for water crossings , I'd maybe suggest raising vent lines !
next hours DO mater on motors, and odds are this Bobcat listed with 200 hours is WAY off, , hour meters are not the most accurate item on a machine and over the yrs get damaged, replaced and stop working
HOW The hours were added also make a huge difference, as in HOW the machine was both used/abused and or cared for,
when looking at used machines, always take with a grain of salt that the story being told at time of sale is, at least 50% bullcrap, and sadly these days might even be higher, even coming from folks you wouldn;t think would LIE< but today, folks say lots of things to make a sale, and don't care about there reputation after the sale at all, and many sellers today all learned that a good cleaning , makes buyers THINK things are in better shape care than they really are,
a power washer and some de greaser will make a machine look clean, newer and hide many leaks, add some new paint to cover rust and or ?? and things start to look even better , when all they are MAYBE doing is hiding issues
paint and water are cheap ways to polish a turd!
I bought my last machine off a guy in his 70's known my a close friend as HONEST, a man you would NOT think would be lying!,
The just had a man had a stroke, was half parallelized and why selling, could no longer use it,
or so the story went, along with all sorts of dis honest info about machine, (stating new motor was installed under warranty by local dealer, he was second owner bought off next door neighbor, all turned out to be lies)
SO< as I said, , the sellers today, even one's you feel are honest, many times end up telling stories to make a sale!
IMO< if you DON"T know a lot about used machines, , I'd PAY someone to go look with you that does if , if you have no one you know that does, some times you can hire local repair guys to do so, for you, be worth the money if they find things you miss that cost $$ to fix!, so can be money well spent if you follow!
things to looks for IMO< are signs that the machine was greased often, how do grease fittings look, covered in OLD crusty grease, or do they look like they been greased often,
NEW grease, might mean they just did it to look like they always do!
loose pins and likes, , do cylinders have slop in them, bucket pins, arms,
how about hoses, are they newer looking, or old and dry rotting, cracks, in them?
this Bobcat your looking at is a 20+ yr old machine(not meaning bad, some of the old ones are highly desirable)
BUT old things, wear out on age alone, not just wear and tear
SO< things older, might need replacing just cause?
and older parts are getting harder to come by, many older parts now are becoming discontinued production items
lastly
again, WHO will be doing repairs,?? you, or paying someone
as, every model, is NOT the same to work on,
HOW easy or NOT is it to tilt the cab to get to hoses under it?
some need a second machine to do this too, and well some are rather simple to do, so knowing this about "X" models might be worth learning, before buying one!
and last, I think you might find this video worth watching, it shows some what the difference between a tractor and a skid steer, just keep in mind the set up on the mower on the tractor is NOT a great fit and poorly set up on this one, a better mower set up would not have some of the issues it had,
but does give you a good idea on using BOTH for trail work and such
and as I stated in first reply, it will also show you the difference in driving over rocks and up hills even slight one, how the skid steer fails where the tractor doesn;'t even flinch (at the 15 min mark, and then same rocky road at the 24 min mark, its worth seeing IMO, and then, back to where a excavator comes intro, making roads on hunting grounds))
here is link to video, Andrew makes some good videos, with honest use and abuse on things to give real world no BS examples, but he is also highly skilled and able to fix what he breaks too and has the shop and tools to do so, which not every one can do
first off skid steers and track loaders, do NOT have much ground clearance for water crossings,, I have seen a few get ruined by going thru deeper water, when they some how managed to suck in water from vent lines!
SO< if planning to use for water crossings , I'd maybe suggest raising vent lines !
next hours DO mater on motors, and odds are this Bobcat listed with 200 hours is WAY off, , hour meters are not the most accurate item on a machine and over the yrs get damaged, replaced and stop working
HOW The hours were added also make a huge difference, as in HOW the machine was both used/abused and or cared for,
when looking at used machines, always take with a grain of salt that the story being told at time of sale is, at least 50% bullcrap, and sadly these days might even be higher, even coming from folks you wouldn;t think would LIE< but today, folks say lots of things to make a sale, and don't care about there reputation after the sale at all, and many sellers today all learned that a good cleaning , makes buyers THINK things are in better shape care than they really are,
a power washer and some de greaser will make a machine look clean, newer and hide many leaks, add some new paint to cover rust and or ?? and things start to look even better , when all they are MAYBE doing is hiding issues
paint and water are cheap ways to polish a turd!
I bought my last machine off a guy in his 70's known my a close friend as HONEST, a man you would NOT think would be lying!,
The just had a man had a stroke, was half parallelized and why selling, could no longer use it,
or so the story went, along with all sorts of dis honest info about machine, (stating new motor was installed under warranty by local dealer, he was second owner bought off next door neighbor, all turned out to be lies)
SO< as I said, , the sellers today, even one's you feel are honest, many times end up telling stories to make a sale!
IMO< if you DON"T know a lot about used machines, , I'd PAY someone to go look with you that does if , if you have no one you know that does, some times you can hire local repair guys to do so, for you, be worth the money if they find things you miss that cost $$ to fix!, so can be money well spent if you follow!
things to looks for IMO< are signs that the machine was greased often, how do grease fittings look, covered in OLD crusty grease, or do they look like they been greased often,
NEW grease, might mean they just did it to look like they always do!
loose pins and likes, , do cylinders have slop in them, bucket pins, arms,
how about hoses, are they newer looking, or old and dry rotting, cracks, in them?
this Bobcat your looking at is a 20+ yr old machine(not meaning bad, some of the old ones are highly desirable)
BUT old things, wear out on age alone, not just wear and tear
SO< things older, might need replacing just cause?
and older parts are getting harder to come by, many older parts now are becoming discontinued production items
lastly
again, WHO will be doing repairs,?? you, or paying someone
as, every model, is NOT the same to work on,
HOW easy or NOT is it to tilt the cab to get to hoses under it?
some need a second machine to do this too, and well some are rather simple to do, so knowing this about "X" models might be worth learning, before buying one!
and last, I think you might find this video worth watching, it shows some what the difference between a tractor and a skid steer, just keep in mind the set up on the mower on the tractor is NOT a great fit and poorly set up on this one, a better mower set up would not have some of the issues it had,
but does give you a good idea on using BOTH for trail work and such
and as I stated in first reply, it will also show you the difference in driving over rocks and up hills even slight one, how the skid steer fails where the tractor doesn;'t even flinch (at the 15 min mark, and then same rocky road at the 24 min mark, its worth seeing IMO, and then, back to where a excavator comes intro, making roads on hunting grounds))
here is link to video, Andrew makes some good videos, with honest use and abuse on things to give real world no BS examples, but he is also highly skilled and able to fix what he breaks too and has the shop and tools to do so, which not every one can do
just going to add a little more food for thought for you
first off skid steers and track loaders, do NOT have much ground clearance for water crossings,, I have seen a few get ruined by going thru deeper water, when they some how managed to suck in water from vent lines!
SO< if planning to use for water crossings , I'd maybe suggest raising vent lines !
next hours DO mater on motors, and odds are this Bobcat listed with 200 hours is WAY off, , hour meters are not the most accurate item on a machine and over the yrs get damaged, replaced and stop working
HOW The hours were added also make a huge difference, as in HOW the machine was both used/abused and or cared for,
when looking at used machines, always take with a grain of salt that the story being told at time of sale is, at least 50% bullcrap, and sadly these days might even be higher, even coming from folks you wouldn;t think would LIE< but today, folks say lots of things to make a sale, and don't care about there reputation after the sale at all, and many sellers today all learned that a good cleaning , makes buyers THINK things are in better shape care than they really are,
a power washer and some de greaser will make a machine look clean, newer and hide many leaks, add some new paint to cover rust and or ?? and things start to look even better , when all they are MAYBE doing is hiding issues
paint and water are cheap ways to polish a turd!
I bought my last machine off a guy in his 70's known my a close friend as HONEST, a man you would NOT think would be lying!,
The just had a man had a stroke, was half parallelized and why selling, could no longer use it,
or so the story went, along with all sorts of dis honest info about machine, (stating new motor was installed under warranty by local dealer, he was second owner bought off next door neighbor, all turned out to be lies)
SO< as I said, , the sellers today, even one's you feel are honest, many times end up telling stories to make a sale!
IMO< if you DON"T know a lot about used machines, , I'd PAY someone to go look with you that does if , if you have no one you know that does, some times you can hire local repair guys to do so, for you, be worth the money if they find things you miss that cost $$ to fix!, so can be money well spent if you follow!
things to looks for IMO< are signs that the machine was greased often, how do grease fittings look, covered in OLD crusty grease, or do they look like they been greased often,
NEW grease, might mean they just did it to look like they always do!
loose pins and likes, , do cylinders have slop in them, bucket pins, arms,
how about hoses, are they newer looking, or old and dry rotting, cracks, in them?
this Bobcat your looking at is a 20+ yr old machine(not meaning bad, some of the old ones are highly desirable)
BUT old things, wear out on age alone, not just wear and tear
SO< things older, might need replacing just cause?
and older parts are getting harder to come by, many older parts now are becoming discontinued production items
lastly
again, WHO will be doing repairs,?? you, or paying someone
as, every model, is NOT the same to work on,
HOW easy or NOT is it to tilt the cab to get to hoses under it?
some need a second machine to do this too, and well some are rather simple to do, so knowing this about "X" models might be worth learning, before buying one!
and last, I think you might find this video worth watching, it shows some what the difference between a tractor and a skid steer, just keep in mind the set up on the mower on the tractor is NOT a great fit and poorly set up on this one, a better mower set up would not have some of the issues it had,
but does give you a good idea on using BOTH for trail work and such
and as I stated in first reply, it will also show you the difference in driving over rocks and up hills even slight one, how the skid steer fails where the tractor doesn;'t even flinch (at the 15 min mark, and then same rocky road at the 24 min mark, its worth seeing IMO, and then, back to where a excavator comes intro, making roads on hunting grounds))
here is link to video, Andrew makes some good videos, with honest use and abuse on things to give real world no BS examples, but he is also highly skilled and able to fix what he breaks too and has the shop and tools to do so, which not every one can do
WOW, that video brings back some memories for me. I said I was new to skid steers BUT not new to ALL of this kind of work. We just moved from a 106-acre property that we had lived on for the past 35 years to this 80 an old MF 231, 38 HP 2-wheel drive tractor and an added-on backhoe. I also bought and operated a real old AC HD5 dozer that just wasn't much better than the tractor for taking out trees. My neighbors would watch and laugh at me at the stuff I would do with that tractor and told me it was a tractor NOT a dozer. LOL They also told my wife I was going to kill myself on it. The one neighbor was a professional heavy equipment business owner, operator and did ALL the really big stuff I needed done such as repairing the dams on our two ponds. When I got the HD 5 he commented one day to me that a skid steer could do everything and more than the tractor and the dozer could do with the attachments available for them. THAT is what led me now to think about a skid steer as a one piece of equipment. YES, after 35 years of tearing that tractor up doing things it actually wasn't intended for I did find out about fixing BROKEN stuff, including replacing the radiator from a limb of a tree I bulldozer over with the front-end loader. Hoses were a constant repair and are NOT cheap and I went through probably 3 or 4 brush hogs and who knows how many blades. Once I got the property figured out as to how to travel over it those things did NOT happen as often. The tractor I bought is smaller than this guy had but bigger than the one I had plus 4-wheel drive but in the couple of hours I have used it I seem to think it doesn't have the power the MF, 38HP 2-wheel drive had. One thing for sure you sure have gotten me back to really thinking about the entire situation. YES, you did exactly as you said and added more food for thought but at least I did get to watch what each type of machine could do while performing the very same type work. I think I'm now right back to where I started but now instead of a skid steer with attachments possibly the tractor with more attachments. The other thing is I am NOT as young as I used to be when I did all this with just that old MF! I suspect that age is a pretty important factor in the equipment as well as the operator and FIXER UPPER of it.
yeah, I hear you on doing things with machines not meant to be used for, been there done that, and have the scares to prove it, not to mention the repair bills to fix things
Andrew makes some good video's on equipment, and its uses, he is FAR from easy on his equipment, he tends to breaks things, as we once did, HAHA
he just picked up a cheap MINI excavator, for 4 grand, and did this video on it, , you might enjoy
but it really show cases how tipping things get, having smaller foot prints and well, lack of weight, the power of the hydraulics's on this mini seem to way over power the weight of the machine and its foot print, a novice operator, can really flip a machine like this IMO
But at the price he paid(at a recent auction), I can see a machine like this being worth the costs
but there really is NO one machine to do it all, backhoe's were i think designed to be such back in the day, but there lack of ability to use implements, is there killer and why so many drift to a skid steer or excavator, being able to swap implements so easy, and how much better they are at doing like jobs, , pretty much killed the backhoe IMO!
like I said, renting a few machine when you have a few projects planned, can really tell you more than words on a screen ever will
nothing beats using things yourself and seeing what YOU like best!, or fists your need most
Andrew makes some good video's on equipment, and its uses, he is FAR from easy on his equipment, he tends to breaks things, as we once did, HAHA
he just picked up a cheap MINI excavator, for 4 grand, and did this video on it, , you might enjoy
but it really show cases how tipping things get, having smaller foot prints and well, lack of weight, the power of the hydraulics's on this mini seem to way over power the weight of the machine and its foot print, a novice operator, can really flip a machine like this IMO
But at the price he paid(at a recent auction), I can see a machine like this being worth the costs
but there really is NO one machine to do it all, backhoe's were i think designed to be such back in the day, but there lack of ability to use implements, is there killer and why so many drift to a skid steer or excavator, being able to swap implements so easy, and how much better they are at doing like jobs, , pretty much killed the backhoe IMO!
like I said, renting a few machine when you have a few projects planned, can really tell you more than words on a screen ever will
nothing beats using things yourself and seeing what YOU like best!, or fists your need most
700wildcat
New member
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2024
- Messages
- 2
I grew up on a prairie farm but have lived in western Canada mountains since 81. Rural property since 88. Most versatile affordable machines for me have been a loader backhoe. I currently us a JD310A and am refurbishing a JD410. I did have a tractor with 3 point hitch backhoe, pita to use. I also have a 70hp 4wd tractor, old road grader bucket truck and recently acquired a couple skid steer projects. The backhoe is my most used equipment on our property. We have developed 10 acres of hobby farm, an acre for the house and yard.
Everything gets used but can't live without my backhoe lol
Everything gets used but can't live without my backhoe lol
