To upgrade or not ?

[Directional]

Hey guys, been lurking a long time, figured i'd register finally. Anyways, i have a 743 w/enclosed cab and heat, a must in my neck of the woods, and it runs like a top. But i've got it in my head that i need something a little bigger. I've recently aquired 50 acres of bush, i had 5 or so cleared with a cat and hoe, and had a big driveway built. Anyways, the machine will be 100% acreage machine, with a lot of landscaping brush clearing for a while. The trees are all poplar's, maybe 7 or 8 inches in diameter at the biggest. Would upgrading to a 773 or 863 get me to the point where i could just push them over ? The way it stands now, i'd have cut them down and then dig out the stump. However, i can't really justify spending more than 20k on a machine that will be only be used on the acreage. I figure i can get around the $10k mark for mine, and get a 773 for ~14-15, which is acceptable. A 5 or 6g upgrade i can handle, but would it be that much more machine than what i have?

 

[OldMachinist]

I think you would be better off buying a stump grinder with you 5-6 grand and when your done with it resell it.

 

[Iowa Dave]

In the midwest at least, a 743 won't fetch ten grand. It might have a year ago, but certainly not now. There is a guy in Wisconsin--I think his website is discountbobcatequipment.com or close to that. Go there and get a realistic Number of what machines are worth now.

 

[muddybuddy]

In the midwest at least, a 743 won't fetch ten grand. It might have a year ago, but certainly not now. There is a guy in Wisconsin--I think his website is discountbobcatequipment.com or close to that. Go there and get a realistic Number of what machines are worth now.

I have an s-185 and what I do is use my stump bucket to tear up the roots on one side of the tree and then push them over, works real slick. Then I take my backhoe attachment with the thumb on it and grab the trees and move em into a pile or on to the dump trailer. My backhoe attachment is homemade and is the straight stick style, and with the thumb it is one handy attachment.