your reviews on skid loaders

jeremy in NE · Jan 22, 2011

I am looking at buying a used skid steer that can lift at least 1800 pounds. I have john deere, new holland, bobcat and case dealers within 20 miles. It will run a tree shear in the summer and move snow and bales in the winter. Give me the good and bad and what to look for. Thanks

Ray · Jan 22, 2011

It would take a big skid loader to pick up at least 1800 pounds.I've got a 753 bocat and it's only rated at 1300 pounds.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 22, 2011

Look at asv 100 track loader 100 hp cummins will handle 1800 lb load with ease. Bought one two yrs ago put couple thousnd hard hrs in escavating work no problems at all. They were a little over 32000 dollar machine but a real work horse. With rubber tracks will go almost anyplace not tear things up like rubber tired machine.

j meyer · Jan 22, 2011

Of the 4 dealers you list nearby, I would be looking towards a New Holland. How far is your nearest Gehl/Mustang dealer? They make a heck of a skidder too. I just picked up a 2054 Mustang this past fall, and it does a very good job for a good, fair price. Gehls are very similar to the Mustang, but do have a few differences. If your sticking to your list, I would find that New Holland is my first choice, followed by Case. I am purely going on power and operator comfort. I cant stand the hard to move foot pedals in the Bobcats. The absolute last I'd go with would be the Deere. The operator comfort and sight lines are terrible in them. Throw on a cab inclosure, its worse yet.

Welding man · Jan 22, 2011

I personally like Case skid steers because of the cummins engine and the are easy to work on, but we a have a lot of New Holland in our area. I know of one in particular. A 2004 LS170 Turbo that has 14,000 hours on it and has had nothing done to it but routine service. No breakdowns at all. It runs 7 days a week on a dairy farm.

rrlund · Jan 22, 2011

Hand controls would be the biggest factor for me. Those Bobcat foot controls are something you can get used to,but still just not the same as hand controls.

jeremy in NE · Jan 22, 2011

I do not know where the nearest gehl/mustang dealer is, but I have looked at that size skid steer, but I knew nothing about them.

Pat-CT · Jan 22, 2011

Bobcat or NH IMHO. I like the bobcat because i have trained on them at school, I would look for one that has electro hydraulics very precise control wise. I have however used both foot and hand controls and prefer foot. I would look for one with those run flat tires that are like hollow tubes though. Tracks would not be my choice

Anonymous-0 · Jan 22, 2011

Ding ding ding ding, we have a winner. All Surface Vehicles are the best for wintertime use. Hand controls, and available from 30 to 150? HP. I use my little RC30 for almost everything, from feeding, to landscape work. I have 15 attachments including snow blower, harley rake, bush hog, snow plow, flail mower, tree cutter, big weed eater, for under fences. Some are home-made, some I bought during good times under the hated Bush! Been using it more, on the farm, since the current occupant of 1600 pa avenue moved in!

just another old geezer · Jan 22, 2011

1 out of every 2 skidsteer loaders sold is a Bobcat. there has to be a reason for that.

VicS · Jan 22, 2011

In our area there is mostly Case,hand levers, Bob Cat foot controls are hard to get usted to. Alao Cummins engine is the best.

John - OH · Jan 22, 2011

Out of your 4 choices, I would suggest to stay clear of a Deere.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 22, 2011

773=1750 lbs, 773T=1850 lbs

Jim Plunkett · Jan 22, 2011

Are you sure 1800 is enough my tree shear weighs 2000 & i run it on a t320 bobcat that has 3200 lb safe load cap. Most of the time when using it the ground is no where flat, you get a machine that is all ready at its cap on rough ground & you are asking for trouble. I hate foot controls also mine has hand controls.

JDseller · Jan 22, 2011

My friends tell me that I would buy green under ware if I could find them. That being said I would chose a Bobcat skid steer. I have owned three different models. The 743 I had lasted for over seventeen thousand hours, I did over haul the motor once. I currently have a S330 with an enclosed cab, love it. I have trouble with my wrist so the hand control machines are out for me. I never liked them even when I did not have problems. Also I don"t know how big of a guy you are but the newer Case 440s and such have a narrow cab. So when you use the hand controls you have to hold your knees together or the controls hit your legs. The Case 1845s with the Cummins motor are pretty good though. I get to drive several different machines when hauling hay. I don"t like the NH nor Gehl machines. The New John Deere are good but I did not like the 240-250 series. Plus JD older cab door was terrible!!! The new black booms machines are good. Mustangs are a good machine if you have a dealer near you.

Make sure you get a new enough one to have the universal mounting plate. That way you can find and use a much wider range of attachments.

RodinNS · Jan 22, 2011

NH is my preference. Have an LS170. It's had some problems with finals and wheel bearings but it takes an incredible amount of abuse compared to what most are accostomed to... so overall it's perhaps not so serious.
Mine is also foot controled, which I prefer and will use until my legs don't move anymore or I simply can't buy them. It's mostly about coordination... but I find with hand controls my hands are too busy. With foot controls each appendage has a job. When you learn to make a machine dance with foot controls you won't want hand controls or joysticks... but if you get into a joystick machine with no experience on any of them... you will probably prefer that. You just need to take time to learn foot controls... and don't work in close quarters or get in a hurry for the first while. It took me probably 40 hours before I got reasonably proficient with this machine.

Rod

Anonymous-0 · Jan 22, 2011

1700 rated capacity is a popular size for skid steers. The rated capacity is half of the tipping capacity but you have to consider how far out front the attachment is. A bucket full of dirt is the closest to the machine. Get one with good all around visibility. I'd probably look at a Bobcat or a Case since that's what you see the most of on construction sites. Newer Bobcats(actually most makes) can be ordered with hand controls if you prefer, so it's entirely possible a used Bobcat could have hand controls. It's a little hard to answer your question without knowing what kind of budget you have. Longer wheelbase machies will lift more for their size than a shorter wheelbase machine but will also dig up the ground more when you turn. Dave

Anonymous-0 · Jan 22, 2011

All the engines in skid steers are good engines with only a couple exceptions. The Cummins are good but also use more fuel. There's nothing wrong with foot pedals. For certain applications like slowly sprinkling sand from a raised bucket, hand controls are easier to shake back and forth. I have foot pedals but when you get good with any skid steer, it's just like an extension of your body. I do agree that the flip up doors on the JD 200 series has to be one of the worst ideas ever put on any machine ever made! Another thing to consider with a cab is the front window. A lot of newer machines have a curved windshield. The curve can distort your vision but worse is if it ever breaks you'll be without unless the dealer has one in stock. Expect to lose your right arm when they tell you the price. Also a lot of newer machines have a longer roomier cab. This isn't always the best for visibilty. I looked at a brand new JD and you can't see squat when you look over your shoulders. Dave

Jeff in TX · Jan 22, 2011

Gehl or Case. No others.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 22, 2011

There's a lot of good skid steers available that aren't Case or Gehl. Dave

in-too-deep · Jan 22, 2011

865 New Holland has very jerky controls and it starts very hard when its colder than 50 degrees F. Also very hard to climb into and you sit very low to the ground.

John Deere is easy to get in and out of. I've heard parts can be very expensive.

Bobcat has smoothest control and best visibilty. My choice if I was to buy one.

Sorry, don't know about the Case and I haven't spent a ton of time in any brand, just passing along my thoughts.

kyhayman · Jan 23, 2011

My neighbor had a Gehl, I've got a Case, and the boy that works for me has a Cat. Put any of us in our own machine and we can peel onions with it. Switch us around and we'd be lucky to load them on a trailer. The controls on any of them are such that they become like an extension of you. Once you learn one set its hard to change. From the beginning the Case seemed natural to me, all hand controls except for the aux hydraulics.

The Gehls seem to have more frame repairs, and random breakage. I use mine a lot harder than my neighbor does and I've never cracked a main frame or attachment point. He's never had a hydraulic leak on his Gehl and its rare that I dont have one on my Case. O rings in particular. I dont think they are made of tough enough stuff coming off the main pump. But, they didnt ask me. That, and I had to make some tools to work on them. The Cat seems to be a really incredible machine but the undercarriage wear runs better than 10 bucks and hour of use.

JBMac · Jan 23, 2011

Stay away from CATS, we have two burned ones in the boneyard. I know for a fact that they were blown out daily and pressure washed once a week. The d*mn thing almost trapped me inside of it (bucket was elevated) and burned me alive! Cuase of both fires was oil or hydrualic line split spraying on hot engine.

your reviews on skid loaders

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