Considering a skid steer...thoughts

[DanielW]

I think this is the third 'looking to buy skid-steer' thread I've seen on here in the past week or so. Here was my reply to another not long ago:

We were in the same boat not that long ago. Looking for something to handle the manure in our main cattle barn (not a large herd), some gravel moving around the pit, to run a tree puller, and keep around the sawmill for log and sawdust loading. We were also looking for used units about the size you're discussing, and I'm guessing our budget was similar to yours. We were expecting/hoping to find an 1840/1845. Couldn't find one in decent shape. Ended up with a Case 60HX. Because it's a fairly new acquisition for us I can't comment on it's long-term reliability. But everyone seems to agree that any of the Cases with the 4BT in them were great units.

What I will say: Everyone you'll ask about their a skid-steer says the same thing (and we would too now that we have one): They wish they had bought one 20 years sooner. And you'll find a heck of a lot more uses for one than you would have expected prior to buying one. They're superbly handy for just about everything. Pretty much everyone who has one agrees that they'd never be without one again.

The reason I mention that: Everyone loves their skid-steer. And everyone who buys one soon says they'd never want to be without one again. Even folks who are retiring from farming and selling all their equipment often keep their skid-steer for odd jobs around the property. So when you find a used, older one for sale, you have to wonder why the heck they're selling it. About 80% of the time, they only reason it's for sale is because it's completely worn out and beat-to-heck, and the owner is upgrading to a newer, less beaten one. So just a warning: You have to be really cautious about what you buy. There are good, older skid-steers out there for good prices. But for every decent older unit out there, you'll find about 10 more that are completely worn out in every way.

I would add that, after having used a JCB one at a work site and seeing how well built, easy to use, and well laid out it was, I'd probably buy one of them if money was no option. But definitely out of our budget on the farm, which is why we were looking for (and bought) an older unit.

 

[Texasmark]

I am considering a skid steer. I have tractors with loaders but it might be time to get rid of one and get a skid loader. Things I would be using it for would be to light duties around the farm site, use an auger to plant trees and dig fenceposts, I already have a pallet fork for moving and hauling things, move a little snow in the winter, and eventually get a tree spade to dig out trees. I will need auxiliary hydraulics, 50hp+/-, and stay away from tracks. People tell me you will find more to do with it. I am looking for your thoughts on brands to seriously look at and brands not to spend time looking at, what to look for when testing a used skid steer, and any other things to consider when buying a used skid steer. Thank you in advance

I've seen them effectively move dirt, sand, gravel, level driveways, mow heavily grown fields with front mounted hydraulic powered rotary mower, and dig fence post holes with front hydraulically operated auger.....seem to be very efficient, hard working, excel at what they do and all that......the stumbling block for me is $$$$$$$$.

 

[300jk]

Since I was 17 I ran graders, up to the 14G, H and M models and did well thanks to 20/10 vision. Got into big excavators in the early 90's starting with a 235 and later a lot of time on 345's and Komatsu 400's, so the joystick deal was intuitive. I used to hate the old Bobcats with the foot controls, hardly ever ran them and they were just alien to me. First time I got on a newer skidder (CAT 289) with joysticks, just to move it, boy howdy this is pretty cool. I have since put a lot of time in on both CAT and Bobcat machines of all sizes (CAT 299 is a beast) and one can get going ridiculously fast on them and toss them around pretty good. Recently I had the charge of a T-650 Bobcat, a pretty nice machine with a cab and A/C and a 6-ft rotary mower to do cleanup and fire prevention mowing on a couple ranches. It was fine for a while, and then started locking up when it got hot- engine kept running, but driveline and hydraulics locked up. If you shut it off and let it set for about 10 minutes, it would come back to life and be good for another hour- repeat, repeat. Into the dealership shop, can't find anything. Back to work, SOS. Got the dealership "ace" wrench out so he could see what it was doing, and he very methodically tracked the hole system down, and finally pulled out the fusebox by your left foot, and found a loose connection on the back of one of the terminals, a factory defect. This whole deal was a good reminder that with an enclosed cab, when anything happens and the loader is elevated, you can't get out, unless the loader is very high, and then it is a long step down.

I’m an operator. Started in 97. Company I was with had all hand control skid steers. 2 Gehls and a Cat. Fast forward to the company where I’ve worked the last 10 years has mostly all New Holland. All foot controls. I think 12 or 14 of them. One or 2 big Cats with road saws on them. They have hand controls. Me personally am not very proficient on a hand control machine. Pretty good on a foot control machine. Run just about everything except grader. From paver to scraper in the past with a lot of excavator time. Yep. 225, 231dlc, 235, 365, 374. All the way down to a 301. Guess it’s what your used to !