I am looking for advise purchasing a track skid steer. Main use in building construction moving dirt & rock multiple users. Looking at the 85 hp range. Any major problems to stay away from any brand? Have been looking at T300 and 289 Thanks.
skidsteer I think there is another thread going on about this. I really like the Takeuchi brand, they are hard to kill. Sounds like you might be looking for a 150 size. Even the 130 size are tough machines and they lift more than they are rated at Check your local Craigslist, sometimes you can find them at a good price, check eBay also
i have a New holland C185. i have had very good luck with new holland skid steers. the visibility and stability are better than any machine. if you demo them all you will see. i had a new cat 289 parked at my yard a couple weeks ago that i took a lil spin in and liked it a lot, but i am a short guy and couldnt see out of the back like my new holland. take into consideration what you will be doing most of. look at the balance of the machine if you are doing a lot of grading some machines weight is distributed differently. i build a lot of motocross tracks and no other machine will track up the face of jumps or hills like a newholland, but they are tipsy compared to other machines when loading material into high trucks. has anyone run a new komatsu?? thay look pretty nice
Excavator759 Have your track-frames started to lean in at all ?. I have a c190 , the frames have leant in over 30mm + out of level . Cheers
I will agree that the visibility to the rear of the cat is a horror show but new holland only has good rear visibilty other then that you cant even see the tracks on the new holland when the loaders arms are down. Also i dont think the visibiliy is good to the cutting edge either. Bobcat and case machines both have better visibility then the new holland and cat
wow i havent heard anything about that yet? as far i know they arent but i havent really looked, and it only has about 300 hours on it. how many hours do you have on your machine and what are your plans for resolving that?
We've ran all kinds of skid steers. I own and would highly reccomend a Case 450ct. The only disadvantage is the wide track width at 84" you need a deckover trailer for transport.
I have never run a 450CT but I hear a lot of how impressive they are in their ability to push. The biggest complaint is also the how wide they are. Massive looking machine.
i would go with the cat iv ran them all and love the cat great power reliable im short to and i just run it with the seat aired most of the way up and can see fine
What about ASV/TEREX? I'm leaning towards purchasing one of these machines. Any input would be appreciated.
ASV are terrible bobcats in my opinion because the undercarrige is way to expencive to run, thats why cat is shying away from using it as much. Also the biggest problem i have found with them is that the loader has limmited hight and reach, so you cant load a truck over 6 ft , they do make a great brush mower and attachment carryer but they are just to expencive to run and awkward to see out of for me. I run a ctl 80 made by gehl it is the same as a tak but i have noticed that they are built with poorer quality than a cat or a deere, they have solid u/c unlike cat or deere and because of this i have found it wears bolts off and cracks out welds everywhere. Good machines for the rite conditions but not long lasting, Also they push like a 8 and have the price of a toyota
I've got 2 case machines..and ill tell you that ill never own another 450CT again, I dont care if they give them to me. The machine is a great machine but I have to work on it every time I get done using it. The machine recieves every scheduled maintenance and then some, and it has not been abused. Constant hydraulic leaks, electrical safety switches malfunction regularly, both front idlers went bad at 500 hrs..Absolutely will never EVER buy another case machine. Ive had 2 300's and a 320 and loved those machines, the only problem I ever had on both of em was the water pump. Im thinking about buying a cat machine and try it out.
Thats too bad you have not had good luck with your 450CT. I have had over a dozen CASE machines and I wouldn't own anything else. I guess everyone makes "that machine" every now and then. Too bad you got one. You should talk to your CASE regional rep. you might get some help.
I have a new JD 329D. Fantastic machine. Well thought out. Ergonomics are perfect. Visibility, power,handling,features are all top shelf. I thoroughly tested Bobcat A300, JD 332, Case 445ct, Bobcat T300, and CAT 289C. Asking $ was 75K. Actual sale price $63 K. V radiator setup is very effective. Still new so no real issues yet. Can't say enough about how much I like it.
ASV is not designed for construction, not designed for any kind of abuse or mistreatment. I am sure there are people that swear by them and they work great for them. They are just not a muilti-porpous machine. Cat has the best undercarriage, and it is easy to service.
If your refering to the CAT MTL as having the best undercarriage, I think you are in the very small minority that believes that. The ASV and MTL are the same undercarriage. ASV seems to have better life than does CATs version, mostly due to reduced weight is the general thought.
The asv cat mtl is junk. I am talkin the new 9's. They are good machines.
I think its a little early to sing its praises yet, but I agree that it has to be better than the MTL. I was just in Billings this weekend. Looks like building is picking up for your guys. I noticed a fair amount of new building projects and a good bit of Iron on jobs. Hopefully that will spread West.
I tnink bobcat is better than case. I can easy to turn the cab of bobcat than case's. If the machine can't start, we can turn the bobcat cab,but the case 410/420/430/440's can't. what is your opinion?
I've had a couple of Bobcats and then used a concrete contractor's Tak 150 and ran away from Bobcat. Both Bobcats I had ended up with tweaked loader arms from me prying on stuff. The concrete contractor runs a pretty good sized operation and has about a half a dozen of the Takeuchi 150's and they've never twisted a loader on any of them and they abuse the heck out of them. At my place I saw them get one corner of the bucket under a slab and just jerk and pry and yank etc. until they broke a section loose. He said that's the way they run them all day every day with no problem. I followed suit and bought a few nasty ones, cleaned them up and sold for a profit until I found a really low hour Mustang MTL25, which is the same as the Tak 150. I really like the machine and found that it can be smooth and precise as well as just be a battering ram. I've dug, ripped out asphalt, concrete, trees and used it as a small dozer with my 4 in 1 bucket on it. It's impossible for me to claim it's the "best" since I clearly can't, I can just say that I'm very, very pleased with it and with regular maintenance I've never broken anything on it yet.
I have never run a Tak, or a mustang. I do like the new cat undercarriage out of all I have seen. I believe the company that makes bobcat tracks make them for Tak also. The company is Berco out of Italy but I could be wrong on that one. Bobcat has the digital display that is pretty neat.
Tak Has there own UC, they are the original manufacturer of CTL's. Tak's have more metal on metal than the others, makes for a rougher louder ride, but also the strongest. Tak's were designed from the ground up as CTL's unlike the others that take there wheel loaders and adapt Berco UC's on them.
Why Tak? Give me the low down on them, I am looking to buy one, most likely the 279c, but I am still open to a different brand.
I own a Cat 289 and it is a great machine! In fact, I had a meeting today with Reps from Mustang Cat in houston and Cat about there machines! Just expect the machine to get better!
The Bobcat has K-Mart over over it!
lol they are owned by the south Koreans now
How many hours do you have on your undercarriage? Any problems?
300hrs. The tracks are adjusting at the same rate on both sides. My quess, is that the track problems(with hight overhaul cost) that Cat had, with the ASV, is behind them!
well they are new enough they haven't had many problems yet. I talked to a friend that sells bobcat and he said they have replaced a couple drive motors but nothing serious on the undercarriage. After 300 hours what percent left would you say were left on them. I demoed t650 the other day (my first time on tracks) I was thoroughly impressed with the stability and the traction and ground pressure on the bucket.
Something to think about a rudder tire skid steer like a ls180 with over tire tracks out do any rubber track machine, without having to spend $3k on track every time they rip or 800hrs give or take conditions.
Yeah, I sure like what those over the tire steel tracks do to a customer's sidewalk, concrete driveway, asphalt driveway etc. If you want steel tracks and a front bucket, it's better and cheaper to just buy an older high lift dozer. I've had all the above. I'll stick with my CTL for my multipurpose tool thank you.
Been looking into CTL's myself here lately. I was between the BC T190, Cat 257b2 and the Tak 130. I had pretty much eliminated the BC and leaning mostly to the Tak until today. I have a friend that runs a Kubota dealership. He showed me the brochure and specs on the Kubota SVL75. WOW!!! 75 hp 66" track width, 6204 breakout force. These numbers are in line with the Tak but in a vertical lift boom and very nice spacious cab. He has on to arrive end of the month or first of June and has me first on the list to demo it. If everything looks as good as the specs and pics, I will probably be a Kubota owner soon. I got a copy of the specs for it and the SVL90 if anybody wants more infor on it. The dealers don't even have the brochures yet, he just has an early release one.
My only, and I do mean only, hesitation would be because it is a brand new model. You won't hear me bad mouth Kubota, but I did buy a first model year of an M class tractor many years ago and had a bunch of little issues. Kubota took care of me just fine, but it was a PIA. If I didn't have a Tak mini excavator I would have bought Kubota. I just got a better deal on a 600 hour Tak than I could find on a 'bota. Sometimes when you think two brands are about equal money makes the difference. JMHO. Can't see Kubota making a junk machine tho. Just too good of a reputation for too long. Good luck!
Yeah I am always a little nervous about being one of the first to test a machine, but given Kubotas reputation and the fact that I know this dealer will definately take care of me makes a big difference.