I have never owned a skidsteer and only spent a little time playing with one on a construction site once. However, I am considering buying one as I think a skidsteer may be more useful to me than a farm tractor. This is what I would need a skidsteer for: 1. I am building a new house on 10 acres and I was thinking I could work on the pond dam and move some materials around and use it for trash cleanup. The house will be more than 500' from the main road so I would also use it to keep this road in good shape. So, just kind of a landscaping and general light use application. 2. I have a 300 acre piece of property that has no improvements on it but I plan to put in some ponds. Is is reasonable to dig a pond with a skidsteer? Can I use a skidsteer with a bucket that has teeth to actually dig a pond? What size or Horsepower should I get? What options should I look for? I plan to get a used machine but I want one is really good shape since I am not a mechanic. I am thinking I can spend $15k or maybe a little higher. I want a good machine that I can keep for many years that will give me little trouble. I know next to nothing about skidsteers and I need to acquire one in the next couple of months so all opinions are appreciated. Thanks...
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What size ponds? Do you have any idea how much dirt you will need to move? You can dig a pond with a skidsteer, but typically you're going to want the biggest machines, ~100Hp, for those types of jobs. Take a look at the T320 in Bobcat or a Takeuchi TL150 to get an idea.
I really don't know how much dirt I will have to move. I want to build some ponds for wildlife and fishing and their are low places to take advantage of. I would like to build them as large as is reasonable with whatever machine I wind up with. Would a smaller horsepower machine not be up to digging a pond? Size and weight are also a factor because I will be using the Skidsteer on both places and they are an hour apart. I will be pulling it on a trailer with a Ford F150. I will look into the 753 and 763. I appreciate the info. Please keep it coming...
The 753 or 763 are nice machines and you should be find a very nice one with that budget. Maybe a good place to start would be to rent one for a weekend and find out how much you can do. Now a skid steer is great for trash and construction cleanup and maintaining your driveway with the proper attachment but for digging a pond you need to move a huge volume of dirt. This of course depends on the size, terrain and type of dirt or rock that you need to move. FYI I helped my brother in law dig on a 5 acre pond with a D9 Cat. We went 25' deep by the dam. We had to move a lot of dirt. It took a long time and we had a friend help with his D6 Cat. My point is digging deep into hard subsoil with a light rubber tired machine would be exoecting a lot.
siduramaxde
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My buddy dug his basement with the biggest skidsteer Case makes (not sure of the model). Personally, on the budget you mentioned and the work you want to do, I would look into the 8 series (853, 863, 873). I think the 763-773 are in the 46-56 hp range (depending if it has a turbo). The 863 and 873 both have 73 hp and will be able to lift much more. You should be able to find one in good shape for $15k. You also might even look into getting some over the tire tracks for it and then you'll have a good digging machine.
skidsteer.ca
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I concure with the others with the exception of the pond, if you need to move it with a f150 I'd stay in the 700 series.
As for the pond, I hired a excavator, a 320 cat to come do my basement, it took him 4 hours, It took me 2 days to pack the spoils 100 feet away with a 773g after he had lossened the material all up. It would have taken me 2 more days to do what he did.
A skidsteer will dig a pond, but unless you have nothing better to do, there are much more effective ways of completing the task. I think for all your yard and drive maintenance you will never regret a skidsteer purchase. A tractor is better at using rear drawn implements and traveling greater distances, a skidsteer will out pace them badly on loader work and short distance travel.
Ken
Honestly, your best bet is a skid steer with 60 or more horsepower. As for pond digging, that's as mentioned above, a matter of time and resources available. Few people want to spend hour after hour in a skidsteer moving dirt around. I have pulled 843 and bigger machines with an F150, but currently have an F250 diesel that is more than adequate for even the biggest skid loaders. The key determining factor to price is your lack of mechanical skills. You will want a low hour machine, preferably from an original owner who is selling due to lack of business. Besides Bobcat also consider Case, Cat and other machines if the price is right. If it was me and I had all that room to play with I would get a old track loader like a Cat 955 or Case, JD, etc but the mechanical issues can be complicated and expensive. Your best bet would be to have a local mechanic you can trust to check out machines you are interested in.
Guys I appreciate all of the posts. I have read them over several times and they have been very helpful. Pond building is not looking so feasible as time does mean something to me so I probably won't attempt to build the ponds on my farm. However, I plan to live on the 10 acres and I want to work on the pond that is already there, myself. So, I want to have the ability to also use a backhoe attachment with whatever machine I buy. Are the 7 series large enough to use a backhoe attachment? How would I calculate what machine is large enough?
skidsteer.ca
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The 753 and s130 and up will run the 709 series backhoes that dig 9' deep. Of course don't count out the competitor loaders in the 1300 to 2000 lb rated operating capacity (ROC)
They make hoes for the 553/s100 loaders but they are pretty small (seems to me @ 5' dig)
If You working around an existing pond where its wet and muddy a set of over the tire tracks will be high on you want list. My father has dug some ponds for cattle watering with his JD 350 crawler to but compared to the production of a excavator it pretty slow too. I not sying you cant dig a pond with a skid and many have dug swimming pools with them, but mainly because that was the biggest machine that could acces the area. I paid 125.00 a hour to get my basement dug with the 320, I would have only made 25.00 a hour digging it with the bobcat, just not good use of my time.
Ken
I have a hoe on my 7 series machine, you just need to ensure your machine will lift the attachment you decide to buy. They quite a few hundred KG, don't be concerned if its close to the capacity of the machine as the hoe does all the lifting, not your machine. As long as your machine can lift it and drive around its fine. Mine will try and tip forward when doing down hills, but its not too large for the machine as it does all the digging work.
I agree, for digging large ponds you would be better to get in a large machine, it will do it in a fraction of the time.
I am going to give up on the pond idea, $25 an hour just doesn't too sound good. I was at my 10 acres today and I think I will start off with a dozer to get the big dirt moved then I will adjust with the skidsteer as I go along. How much does a 709 backhoe cost new? And Tazza you suggested a 753 or 763 partly because of no electronics. How do these machines compare to the newer S130 and S150? How many hours should I stay under?
They do have electronics, but don't have a computer to worry about. The newer machines have options like pilot controls which are nice, but VERY expensive to work on. If you want to do your own repairs I'd stay away from the newer S machines and stick with a non G series 753 or 763. I'm sure others will have other ideas. This is just my opinion, others have their own ideas too.
siduramaxde
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In reference to my buddy digging his basement with his skid steer, it took him about 20 hours (give or take). I had an excavator come and dig my basement and it was done in 3 hours and cost me $400 USD. Our basements are similar size and layout. If you do the math my buddy basically ran his skid for $20/hr. I think my skid (T200) costs more than $20/hr to run. Just some thoughts.
