Skid steer

[Dinkbuster]

Looking for a skid steer for our small acreage, primarily for loading horse manure, moving snow and gravel occasionally. That’s it, no mower on front or anything. Are there brands or models to stay away from? Looking at older , cheaper machines, older jd or nh, or case 1840 for example

 

[m16ty]

If looking for an older machine, overall condition is going to matter much more than the brand.
I will say, I’ve got an older NH and while it’s a great machine, the “Super Boom” on them has a lot of wear points. When it gets a lot of hours on it the boom gets awfully sloppy.

Ease of service is also something to look at. On my 160 NH it’s pretty easy to tilt the cab and everything completely forward, making it very easy to work on should a problem arise. A buddy of mine had an older Bobcat (don’t recall the model), that thing was a chore to just do an oil change. The engine was mounted sideways and I don’t know how you’d even get to the front side of the engine if you needed to. He finally sold it because he had started having some minor problems and it was just too hard to work on.

You’ll want a track machine if you plan on trying to travel in snow or mud. Tires do ok on fairly dry ground, but won’t hardly move at all on snow or mud.

 

[hoghollow]

have had good luck New Holland lx565s and ls170s but electronic brain boxes are a problem no longer available new rebuilts are few and far between and are a REAL pain to wire around them

 

[m16ty]

have had good luck New Holland lx565s and ls170s but electronic brain boxes are a problem no longer available new rebuilts are few and far between and are a REAL pain to wire around them

I’ve got a NH 160 and the “brain box” has never given me any problems. I wouldn’t think it would be too hard to bypass though if you didn’t mind loosing the safety lockout. Engine is analog and only requires a power wire for fuel shutoff and the starter wires. Of course you might want to rig up some sort of gauges to keep track of engine temp and oil pressure.

 

[Tony in SD]

Things I would consider looking at used machines:
Safety; some of the way older machines had little safety built in to them, they can be considerably dangerous to some operators
Comfort; you mentioned snow, believe me when I tell you that a cab with a heater is a necessity.
Also the cab door will keep the snow and manure off of you and out of the cab area.
Condition; Id look for a machine that has been used by a single owner/operator.
Id stay away from machines that have been used by multiple operators in a construction environment
Parts; Consider how far you have to travel to get parts and service

You will want 2 loader buckets; one with a grapple and one without a grapple. Manure/straw/hay/wood chips are more efficiently handled with a grapple. Straight loader buckets allow you to get right up to doors and buildings without the grapple punching holes in the buildings when you are moving snow and spreading gravel. I expect that after you have had a skid steer for a while, you will reconsider purchasing other attachments that will make your life easier in the future.

I have a Bobcat 763H that I bought new nearly 30 years ago, Still can get parts and it still works fine but only my family has operated it since new and I have been the only one to work on it besides a Bobcat dealer.

 

[urbancase]

I have a 1845c case, good machine bigger than what you posted. I know there good support for machine yet.

 

[Destroked 450]

Looking for a skid steer for our small acreage, primarily for loading horse manure, moving snow and gravel occasionally. That’s it, no mower on front or anything. Are there brands or models to stay away from? Looking at older , cheaper machines, older jd or nh, or case 1840 for example

I’ve had a skid steer for years and love it, but the things you’ve mentioned can be done with a small tractor and loader
On snow a 4x4 tractor gives one a bucket on the front and blade on the rear, toss on a set of chains and it will out do any skid steer
My rubber track machine becomes an uncontrollable bob sled once it starts sliding on snow.

 

[jon f mn]

The Case of that vintage were considered top of the pack at the time. Those older deeres and new Hollands with that level lift boom can get sloppy when they get some wear on them. If you look at any with that type boom check that out carefully

 

[GermantownGreen]

I’ve got a NH 160 and the “brain box” has never given me any problems. I wouldn’t think it would be too hard to bypass though if you didn’t mind loosing the safety lockout. Engine is analog and only requires a power wire for fuel shutoff and the starter wires. Of course you might want to rig up some sort of gauges to keep track of engine temp and oil pressure.

NH 175 LS here.
Nh 375 old with Wisconsin gas motor also.
Both good machines. GG Wes

 

[flmeredith]

The 1840 is a good machine, lots of power at half throttle, but a used kubota with a loader is also a good machine

 

[deere4040]

What’s your version of cheap?

Bought a S185 bobcat and wouldn’t know what I would do without. Wasn’t really looking when I got it

 

[560Dennis]

Good video on how to fix a cheap skid steer after you buy it.

 

[DanielW]

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.

 

[deere4040]

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.

That’s how mine came about. From my butcher that was buying a new one with tracks. I’m the 3rd owner. Original owner used it in tanning hides so you can imagine how rusty it was. Owner offered us financing. I took the opportunity to demo it and almost returned it because of the rust and how I felt the 2nd owner took care of it. Basically did not put money into it as things went bad. Only reason I kept it was a customer of mine works in construction and I had him load his bales with it and give me his opinion. After running it and looking it over he said buy it. Paid $15,000 for it 6 years ago? And they still bring $20-25,000 with more hours than mine has. It’s about to turn over 3000 hours.

 

[Bob Bancroft]

Looking for a skid steer for our small acreage, primarily for loading horse manure, moving snow and gravel occasionally. That’s it, no mower on front or anything. Are there brands or models to stay away from? Looking at older , cheaper machines, older jd or nh, or case 1840 for example

It may not fit your criteria. I have a JD 317G compact track loader which I like. It's the only diesel I own which has pollution equipment on it. So I've had to deal with that. As another poster indicates, the rubber tracks can get slick in certain conditions. But I wouldn't even consider a skid steer for the field work I do.

 

[Ultradog MN]

As my post about skid steers below suggests I'm kinda hankering for one myself.
I'd like to do some excavating - open a new road up, clean up all the extraneous piles and big rocks in the mined out gravel pit where I own plus the usual snow removal driveway grading, etc. Of course I would like to find a low houred, one owner machine but those get sold to John's neighbor's nephew in law and rarely hit the market. I know I can't afford a tracked model and I hear replacing tracks is pretty expensive.
I guess I don't know enough to describe what I want but maybe in the 60 hp range and under 8500 lbs so I can trailer it with a 3/4 ton. Has to have a cab with heat.
I'm just starting to look.

 

[moresmoke]

My 2 cents from somebody that doesn't own a skid steer, but spent many hours on probably the 8th Bobcat built.

I don't know how old OP's older is, but make sure parts are still available. There are a few orphans out there.

It needs to have standard skid steer quick attach and aux hydraulics. May not need high flow for your particular use, but there are many attachments that can be a lifesaver. If you have a rental yard within any reasonable distance, you don't need to own specialty attachments.

For my needs I went with a loader backhoe. Deciding factor on which brand came down to parts availability. Local Cat dealer doesn't stock many parts for my machine, but one of their other stores appears to have anything short of the frame. And they have overnight part transfer.

 

[m16ty]

That’s how mine came about. From my butcher that was buying a new one with tracks. I’m the 3rd owner. Original owner used it in tanning hides so you can imagine how rusty it was. Owner offered us financing. I took the opportunity to demo it and almost returned it because of the rust and how I felt the 2nd owner took care of it. Basically did not put money into it as things went bad. Only reason I kept it was a customer of mine works in construction and I had him load his bales with it and give me his opinion. After running it and looking it over he said buy it. Paid $15,000 for it 6 years ago? And they still bring $20-25,000 with more hours than mine has. It’s about to turn over 3000 hours.

We got a New Holland 160 for scrap price. It had been abused, had a hole in the block and one side of the boom was broken half in to.

Found a good engine from a 170 (same engine as the 160 but has a turbo), welded the boom back together, and replaced all the pins and bushings on it. It’s been a good machine, not something I’d want to go out and start doing commercial work with, but fine for what we do with it here at the farm.

 

[Welding man]

Most of the New Holland skid steers today are either going to have a Iveco or Shibaura engine. Stay away from anything that has an Iveco ( New Holland L180) for one. It took me 2 months to get a head gasket for one. Shibaura parts a terribly expensive. The LS 180 had a Ford #3 cylinder in them and were good machines. Bobcat uses a lot of Kubota engines and the older Bobcats used a little bit of everything. I have worked on a lot of skid steers, I hate them and personally wouldn't own one, but if I ever bought one it would likely be a Kubota or a Takeuchi. My nephew works for CAT and he says they have some issues also.

 

[Bob Bancroft]

Most of the New Holland skid steers today are either going to have a Iveco or Shibaura engine. Stay away from anything that has an Iveco ( New Holland L180) for one. It took me 2 months to get a head gasket for one. Shibaura parts a terribly expensive. The LS 180 had a Ford #3 cylinder in them and were good machines. Bobcat uses a lot of Kubota engines and the older Bobcats used a little bit of everything. I have worked on a lot of skid steers, I hate them and personally wouldn't own one, but if I ever bought one it would likely be a Kubota or a Takeuchi. My nephew works for CAT and he says they have some issues also.

My first compact track loader was an ASV. I liked the machine, but it was tiny. It was basically a proof of concept for me. It did the job so I got a bigger machine. The engine in it had three names on it! Cat/Perkins/Shibaura. The same basic engine Ferris put in their biggest zero turn mower with the "Cat" engine in it. I acquired a Ferris/Cat which had serious engine issues. Getting it straightened out was a nightmare. So even though it was a good running engine, I agree that repair issues led me away from it. My current JD compact track loader has a Yanmar engine. The only issue with that has been pollution equipment. I can't blame that on the engine. I have it remedied now.