Skidsteer recommendation

draftx

Member
Don't have a lot of money to put into one. Around 4,000 Don't need a real big one 25 to 40 horse. Any advice.
 
in my opinion it isn't going to matter what model or brand you buy , 4000.00 is only going to buy you someone else's worn out junk.
 
Shop around. I keep a few of those running for a friend. He has a Bobcat 371 which is a 16HP little machine with a Kolor engine in it payed $800 for it.
He also has a Bobcat 730 with a 4 cylinder Wisconsin that he got for around $3000 and a Scat Track wit ha 4 cylinder Diesel. He payed around $3000 it. But yes unless owned by some one who does not work one hard $4000 can be on the cheap side so yes they may have been worked hard by people that did not care how hard they where worked
 
Well $4000 will really limit what you can buy that is useable. I would start watching auctions for older gas models in that they will have a lower resale and sell for less at auctions verse dealers lots. Older Owatonna, Mustangs, IH and some others lessor traded brands will be the cheapest. Any name brands like Bobcat will have to be pretty much junk to sell for $4000.

You did not say what you wanted to lift or do. So keep in mind most older skid steer loaders in the price range your looking at will be 1000-1300 LBS. machines. So they are fine for manure, dirt and gravel but not moving most round bales.
 
I sold my bobcat 610 for $2500 this spring. Was a long way from new, but still a good usable machine. Only real downside to it was the v4 Wisconsin engine was hard to start when it was hot. I think if you look around you will something decent that will work for you in your price range. think I bought the 610 in about 84. My wife spent 6 months walking around complaining that "you paid $4300 for this little thing". I finally said, "let me show you how to drive it". For our 29th wedding anniversary she wanted new tires for her bobcat.
 
Ya the Bobcat 730 I mess with is addicted to starting fluid. It will not start cold with out the stuff no matter what a guy does and it has that V-4 engine in it
 
About 10 years ago we bought a Gehl 4400 Skid steer and gave $3400 for it. It has a 4cyl Ford tractor gas engine in it and we really like it. Now that we have used it this long I don't think I could get by without it. 2 years ago it got a new bucket put on it and last year I made a set of pallet forks for it that are really handy to have. Look around there are older units out there that are in good shape and as well as wore out junk, You just have to look. Bandit
 
I got an LX 565 at auction for $4k. Rattled like hell when it started up, so most everybody ran. Fortunately, I looked at the engine before hand and saw it had a loose muffler bracket. Deals can be had, but you have to know what to look for.

1. Cracked lift arms. NH's like to crack around the pivots. Welds are OK, as long as they are good welds.

2.Worn drive chains. If you can, start it up and lift the front wheels with the bucket. Move the wheels back and forth by hand. If there's a lot of play, you'll probably need chains. Shake the wheel to check for loose bearings.

3. Put it up against a stump or big pile. If the motor dies when you try and push, the hydro's are good, but the motor is weak. If it spins the tires, motor and hydros are good.

4. Look for evidence of good mx. Clean oil, filters, oil change hours and dates written on an engine cover or something.

You're not going to find a machine for that money that won't need something. Most likely lift arm and bucket bushing and a close to timed out engine.
 

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