I'm totally new to skid steers and therefore know nothing about them. We bought 80 acres of partially reclaimed strip property that has a pit a couple acres and the rest in pasture and old strip god piles. I bought a 55 HP, 4 wheel drive tractor with a bucket and a brush hog but am now wondering if maybe a skid steer would have better served me. I am not going to mow all the pasture and have a neighbor that will do so and bail on shares. We will have new home built in the spring and have quite a long driveway to maintain. I also plan to cut paths in the woods and god piles as I have a barbed wire fence to maintain around the entire property perimeter. I have been looking at a couple Bobcats that are not too far from me. One is a 1996, 853h and the other doesn't list a year but is an 863. They are priced at $14,000 and $13,000 respectively with the 863 claiming to have a small hydraulic leak that shows up in the belly pan. The 853h shows under 200 hours on the hour meter and that is probably set at what the lister states the new tires have on them. What are the thoughts on these two machines and pricing. Thank you for any and all facts and opinions as if a skid steer would be better than or in addition to the tractor.
