Hi. If there is one thing that I could change about myself, it would be to be less indecisive. However I also like to think it's a result of being thorough... or what I tell myself. For the last 6 months or so, I've toyed with the idea of getting a machine to make my life easier at my house. Not too long ago I moved to WNC and with that decision left a lot of friends and family behind. Before the move, when I needed some extra help, a few phone calls got me the manpower I needed to get some stuff done. I don't have that luxury anymore - now when I need help, I muscle through it myself. It takes me longer than it would otherwise and I yell at the clouds more. A lot more. My neighbor has a nice Kubota tractor. He's an older gentleman (maybe in his 60s) and he is way more productive in his yard than I am (I am 35) in mine. Seeing the perks of his tractor is what initially got me looking for equipment. My search went on and off since it wasn't a dire need for me early on. Not to mention, I could not believe my eyes when I started seeing the cost of tractors. $20k-$30k was the going rate for the machines I was looking at. Bit of a sticker shock to me as I was expecting the machine I was looking for to be in the mid teens. Every time I went looking for some tractors, I lost motivation since the tractors in my price range looked more like mowers than tractors. Fast forward a few months to Sept 2024 and hurricane Helene. I had over 20 trees uprooted on my property. This is in addition to the 10-15 trees we tagged to get cleared around the house and in the backyard. I'm not cheap, but also like to make sure my money is going in the right places. Rather than spending $11k-$13k to have a tree removal service clear my property from the fallen trees, I figured it was the right time to try and rent some equipment to get a better feel for what I would like to own myself. I rented a Vermeer BC1000XL wood chipper and a Hitachi ZX26U5 (6,000lb mini-ex). Figured with the thumb, I'd have the versatility I needed to move and stage all the logs, and the bucket would allow me to remove some roots. I. LOVED. IT. I was hooked on the fact that having a machine took my productivity to a whole different level. In two days time, me and my brothers took care of almost all of it. After that rental, I have been all over the classifieds, doing research, and trying to make sense of what equipment is best suited for me. For a little more context, some work that is at the top of my list (in order of importance)... - Still have (3) trees down: two pines and one red oak. - About 10 or so root balls that need to be picked up and moved from the front yard. - Need (4) trenches dug (15ft-25ft long) to address all the crushed corrugated piping that diverts water from gutters. - Have ~40 4x4 posts to pull out of the ground from an old fence. - Have a front patio to install, including installing a retaining wall roughly 30ft long, 2-3ft high. Being that I had a great time with the excavator I rented, my search naturally started there. The 6,000lb machine, though very efficient was a smidge smaller than needed (after all, I initially put in for an 8,000lb machine but it wasn't available). In my area, a decent running mini-ex goes for $17k-$20k in the 8,000lb range. I have seen a few come up in $14k range, but those sell FAST. There were a few I inquired about that were listed just a few hours prior and they were marked sold before I got an answer. Regularly I see machines in the $10k-$14k range too, but they're beat to **** and come with a lot of "buts"... no service history, "worked great when it ran", etc. Truth be told, I feel like a skid steer with a bucket and grapple would get me 60% of the way there with what is currently on my plate. I see some really nice Bobcat 743Bs on the market for $12k. Some with the attachments I'd need. Maybe getting a skid steer and just renting a mini-ex for the jobs that really need it? I've recently even delved into the market of backhoes too. Those poor things get no love. I see tractors sell for 2-3 times the price of a backhoes, and I feel like a good portion of people that buy tractors just get them for the front loader and backhoe attachment? Backhoes are cheap (compared to tractors). $12k-$18k (depending on the age of the machine) will get you a 12,000-15,000lb machine that provides a tremendous amount of power and utility. I can do with a bigger machine as I have the space to do my work, so naturally the tractor fell out of contention with this discovery. Going full circle to my opening statement, I am quickly learning the benefits of each type of equipment. Excavators, backhoes, and skid steers are at the top of my list. Deep down I want a 8,000lb excavator, but my ceiling is $16k. Not a penny over for the initial purchase. A backhoe, which to me seems just as utilitarian as a mini-ex, can be had for cheaper and has more earth moving ability. Ideally I'd like to rent a backhoe to experience the shortcomings of it, maybe size is an issue. But spending the additional coin on rentals just takes away from me getting what I want sooner. Having written all that, I guess I've lost the initial intent of my post. I think I am just looking for some feedback from fellow members that were in my spot before. I know there are a lot of people here that just homestead and have the machines to do it more efficiently. Any other shortcomings of a backhoe that would veer me back to where I started, getting a mini-ex? I've done a lot of reading here, but any other feedback I can get would only help. PS - If it wasn't obvious from my post, I am shopping used only. Most of the machines I look at are 15-30 years old.
Best all around machine for your situation would be a backhoe. They aren't as nice to run or as 'cool' as a mini ex but for all around versatility and value they can't be beat. There are two routes you can go, both have pluses an minuses: First is a 30-40yr old full size backhoe, should be able to find something in your price range that still has some life left. Plenty of muscle for any job, far more than even an 8000lb mini ex. Get all your heavy work done, then sell it and buy a small tractor. Second option is a compact backhoe such as a B21, B26, L35 Kubota or the like. You'll be looking at machines that are 20-30yrs old and likely you'll still have to shop around to find one in your price range. These wont have the muscle of the larger machines, big projects are going to take longer, but most of what you listed is still doable. These will also have a 3pt hitch and pto to run a wide variety of tractor attachments. You can take the backhoe off and run a mower, tiller, log splitter, etc.
Skid steer is the way to go. you can move dirt, carry pallets and stones, rent a trencher for the drain lines, rent an auger to set post, pull up post, carry trees do it all. Best machine hands down. Not sure if you can find a good one for your budget. So if not maybe a backhoe. They are hard to grade with.
Welcome to the Forums HSP! Glad to have you. 743B's were some of the best machines the real/original Bobcat company ever made. Absolutely bullet proof. Not saying that's what you need just giving some history on those machines.
Holy wall of text, Mr. Houseprojects. Welcome to the HEF. I’m going to have to clock in and invoice you to read all of that. Definitely get a skid steer and some rabbits.
But then what? 3.5 acres is not a lot of ground. Unless you have a farm, how can you justify it? Are you going to sell it for what you paid when you are done, or just park it until you need it. Owning equipment is expensive if it's not making you money. If you were shocked at the price of a new Tractor, some of the parts for equipment can be in the tens of thousands of dollars, and if you buy too old, parts can be like hens teeth. I mean if you have money to burn, then by all means. If your property has hard ground, a backhoe can cover a lot of ground faster. A lot of travel can wear out the under carriage on an excavator. A backhoe has longer reach, some have extend a booms. You can move a backhoe on the road. Say if you were to put it to work, you could drive it there,. No trailering
I bought a backhoe for my situation. 19 acres. I built a pond with it and rented a dozer. I’ve dug up probably 200-300 trees including stumps. My dad added a manual thumb to it so I can stack and move trees. It has done anything I’ve ever wanted. The only other combo that would have worked for me is a medium sized excavator and off road truck. We are talking about 10x of what I paid for my 555e at that point.
That is a short list. I know that having your own machine is so very sexy and special, but renting nice new equipment and giving it back is far more empowering. You tried it and liked it a lot. Try it again. Make a plan, rent a 35 or 50 excavator, knock out that list and live the high life of fast, efficient, tight new equipment. That looks like a long weekend of work, but for the fact that you would be dinking around with the downspout piping a whole day because it just takes time. So now you are at 3 days. That is the break point for a week rental. I can get a 50 or 55 for 1400 or so a week. The alternative is buy a piece of iron old enough to vote, and hope you don't get a big breakdown on it. 16K wrapped up in hopes and dreams. Even IF it never broke, you could rent something nice every year for a week, for 12 years and still be money way ahead on opportunity cost. That is the money you shelled out to start with, that would otherwise be making money.
I dunno I was thinking D11T.
great tool for finessing out that 6" rock that is bothering you. Just have to get the right cutter against it, or is it the left? Aww heck back up to it and use the left ripper, it has the best visibility.
$12K seems high for a 743B. I think a tractor with a 3pt. hitch and loader is the best bet for a small acreage. Very versatile. Rent a mini-ex for the little bit of trenching you need to do. You could get an older tractor with a loader and a few implements for under $16K. 3.5 acres isn't a large area that will need constant work. If you go with a skid steer see if you can rent a backhoe from a local dealer. They aren't the best but will do what you need.
That's too sensible, no homeowner wants to hear that lol. Whats he going to do with the $16K burning a hole in his pocket?
Not if it was in good shape. I'd take a decent shape 743B over any newer Bobcat retired out of a rental fleet. Friend of mine ran many of those in a landscaping business years ago. He said recently if he'd known how dependable they were he'd bought a couple of extra and put them in the barn.
You only live once. Why not?
I'm not calling the OP out on wanting to buy a machine. I would love to have a backhoe or tractor sometimes, especially in winter, but my driveway is only 60 feet long. But it's an expensive thing to sit in your yard, and not be bringing in any money. I have a neighbour with a little John Deere tractor. Bucket, blower, factory cab. Plows his driveway, no one else. In a big storm, it might take him 30 mins. Sits behind his house all year when it's not snowing. This fall, something happened to his pto. Cost him almost ten grand to fix it. No hours on it, but no warranty. Co worker has a case backhoe. He has a wood lot, so he gets some personal use out of it, but it sits a lot. Couple years ago he replaced both back tires as they were rotted from sitting in the sun. He has since had covers made for them. I look a a machine like a tenant living in your basement. They need to earn a living, and pay you rent.
In all seriousness, renting isn't a bad option. I have a full fleet of equipment for a one man operation and still rent various things every year. The OP would probably be best served by buying a small cheap tractor to use around his place and rent a mini ex, skid steer, etc as needed. That said, in my experience its less than 25% of the time a rental is a nice new, fully operational piece of equipment. Usually its run in to the ground, never maintained, every joint st sloppy as all hell, anything electrical is a disaster, and those are the good ones. Maybe our rental houses around here are just awful, IDK. I just rented an offroad scissor lift from one of the major rental companies for a large pole barn we were building. First one the 4wd didn't work, out riggers didn't work, and to start it you had to manually choke the engine because the choke solenoid was also shot. Struggled through with that for a couple days a took it back. Second one sprung a hyd leak as we were loading it on the trailer. Third one the fuel gelled up and they couldn't get it running. Fourth one they found at some distant branch and trucked it in and it finally worked. I appreciate the fact that they will get you the equipment you need, in working order, but all that fiasco cost us a week of work. Now we've had multiple snow storms, ice storm, and soon we'll be going on nearly a month where the temps haven't gotten above freezing. We should have been completely done with the building before Christmas, but now who knows when it will get done. That extra lost week is all we needed.
Some people have boats, others play golf and some have sports cars. Why not have a piece of scrap iron to piddle around the property if you can afford it? Don't look in my gun safe..
That sucks. We rarely rent as I hate rental unless it's something like the scissor lift like you rented or a boom lift for some odd ball demo. When I do rent it's from the Cat Rental store. The dealer usually has good operating equipment, mostly 1-2 years old. Did rent a smooth drum roller from IR a couple of months ago because our 84" pad was being used for fill and DGB was going down at the same time. It was a Bomag and we weren't impressed but it was new and had a cab with A/C. The kicker is IR was $1500 a month cheaper than Cat for the same size. Bomag it is. Come to think it we need a dedicated smooth drum roller.
A Cat rental store just opened here a few weeks ago. I will definitely be checking them out next time I need to rent something. The one I do business most with is United because its the only game in town. There are some mom & pop type rental stores in the area that are decent, but they are geared more towards homeowners and handymen.
I think that's the dilemma you're dealing with. On one hand, you know how fast and efficient you can be with the right, fully functioning equipment for the job at hand. On the other hand, you know how much fun it can be having your own equipment to go play anytime you want. Trying to satisfy both of those will cost too much so you need to focus on one or the other. If you just want the job done, rental is probably better (and hiring it out is probably best). If you want to play a bit getting your hands dirty by turning diesel into smoke and noise, then wait until the right machine comes available. May be a long wait but don't get too antsy and buy someone else's problems. A few years ago I was researching smaller used excavators in my area and I noticed the real smaller ones carried a premium. My only guess was because smaller contractors could easily move these from job site to job site with pickups and decent trailers. Once you got over a 15k-20k pound machine, prices were a bit lower in the sense you got a lot more machine, or bang for your buck, because transport costs would go up for the contractors. But that was all before covid so no idea if this logic still holds true. On the extreme side of this, someone here a while back bought a massive shovel just to move big rocks on his small property because the shovel was pennies on the dollar at auction. I wish I knew whatever happened in the end to that story...
Rule of thumb is the bigger the excavator the cheaper per LB it is to buy used. A 315 will keep it's value better than a 320 since you can haul it on a tag behind a dump truck.
I'm just going by the fact they are 30 years old. Finding one in good shape that isn't beat to death might be difficult. I think 743B's were only made a couple of years likely because Bobcat didn't know how customers would respond to the new 753's with belt drive pumps and other changes from the 740 series. Maybe the B's should have been labeled 743T for transition. 743's are the most popular skid steers ever made. If I recall over 30,000 were built. I may have bought a 743B if the salesman wasn't so busy knocking every other machine on the market.
The 843's were rock solid, 853's were still a decent machine but not as reliable at the 843's. First machine I cut my teeth on was a 1986 843. My father bought it new for his home building business. As soon as I realized I could run it to backfill and grade around the homes I didn't have to sweep floors and burn trash as much.
Yes, 843's were another good machine. Later ones were a little better because the early ones had a not too common Perkins 4-154 engine. Not a bad engine just not real common. Hard to find some parts for now. The Isuzu is a great engine though. 975's were also a very well built long life machine. 943's were apparently quite problematic.
Most of what was on your list, drainage trenching, pulling post, excavating a wall footing and patio base can be done with a 2 ton mini excavator. There are plenty in your price range from Deere, Takeuchi, Kubota etc. That size machine with a thumb and a few buckets will have plenty ability to get a lot done. You can also dig out pretty big stumps, but a good question is how big are the stumps? The problem with stumps is they can easily weigh over a few thousand pounds. So even a 5 ton mini excavator isn't going to lift a loose stump more than a foot off the ground and then what do you do with them? They may also be near utilities. You may be better to have the stumps grinded, or dig around them, and cut off the tops below grade, or dig a bigger hole and bury them. A 2 TON mini won't ruin the lawn, damage the driveway, and be hard to store. For a Bobcat, the 743 is fine.
One of my mentors growing up ran a set of 3 843's behind single axle dumps with a backhoe attachment, 2 buckets and forks for years trading them out every 3-4 years. The little Perkins engines were very dependable. The Izuzu's were fantastic as well. This was the '80's and he pioneered the skid steer and mini-ex (with the backhoe attachment) service here. Made a killing. If one of his trucks didn't have anything to do that day he would tell them to go ride through a large residential development and 9 times out of 10 a builder would flag them down to do some sort of grading or haul off some trash. Bill was a rather large but short fellow and the joke was he didn't trade the 843 he ran because it was time but rather the sides of the ROPS was wore out from him getting in and out of it. We could all take jokes in the '80's.
Post number 08, Well said Sky King!!
I'm not really calling the OP out either. It is just, that list is too short, too nebulous to warrant your own iron vs renting something shiny new and giving it back. If he said "clear out 2 acres of trees, grade and put in pasture blah blah" then yeah, a backhoe would be dang handy.
I had a welder with a 4-154 Perkins. It was a good engine but not as common as the std. 5 inch stroke series Perkins engines. Not sure but think the Isuzu may have had a few more HP. Have seen a couple posts where people were having trouble getting parts for a 4-154.
I see no reason why the OP can‘t buy a piece of equipment and be in the club. Especially the part where he has to explain to his wife the cost of yet another 1k part or why the CC bill has risen exponentially because of that big yellow thing sitting out back that hasn’t been used in 3 months. There is no reason not to buy something that helps you do the things you love. Around here a 30 to 50 HP Kubota or such with some implementation can be 25k, where you can buy a 30 year old full size backhoe for 15k. So the OP gets to move dirt and learn how to work on some big iron. Could be worse, he may want to take up golf, or build his own pistol and rifle range. I bought a backhoe to build my retirement house and it owes me nothing, I just bought a ScatTrak 1300c with a Kubota v2203 in pieces. Good winter work.
I'm with SkyKing on this one. Rent a reliable good size machine for a week and knock out that short list and even other projects quickly. Even a large backhoe will probably work but a excavator is probably best. This will only use about 10-20% of your budget and all your tasks are done. And it still leaves you good chunk of $$ to scratch that itch of buying some used iron. Plus it gives you some knowledge on how to inspect and test a used piece of iron when you do find it. From personal experience, it's not the best feeling to walk up to a large chunk of used iron and not know what to even look at, or even use it, when you're trying to decide if you want to buy it. Leaves lots of opportunity to getting into a bad deal from shady sellers....
What is the intended use of the 3.5 acres after the trenching and other work is done? Is it going to be a big lawn, big garden or left to grow back to nature, etc.? If a big lawn and/or a big garden a tractor with a 3pt. hitch would be very versatile.
There is some really good advice on here already. I don't make a living with my equipment, but at some point in my life I will probably make that jump. Right now, we are more than a hobby farm, but not yet a full commercial ranch. Lots of equipment around here. The Bobcat S250 is by far the most productive, but very hard to dig with in my dirt, we have a backhoe for that. As great as having the big equipment is, I think my favorite piece of equipment is an old Massey Ferguson 30B. Pretty sure it is older than me, starts every time, has a top speed that is just terrifying, and grades better than anything on the property with the hydraulic tilt & trim of the box blade. From what you are describing, I'd get an older, moderate sized ag tractor and then rent a CTL and/or mini-ex when the project list starts getting long. I don't mean any offense by this, but you are also not too old and probably need to be able to appreciate sitting in an open cab tractor in August eating dust and trying not to spill your iced tea all over your lap as you go
I would say go with a skid steer. I was in your situation when I bought my 14 acre property. Family was far enough away it was hard to get help when needed. I had looked into tractors but the price is crazy for a good size front loader tractor. Then I found a John Deere 317 skid steer for $10,000 needed a little work but nothing i couldn’t handle. Now I couldn’t imagine not having one they will do way more than a tractor for that price and a lot quicker. Get a set of forks and a grapple and never look back. I eventually got a used backhoe attachment for mine. So now it’s my mini ex when I need to dig a hole.
Anyone mention a herd of goats, yet? They will clear an acre fast.
When I was the OP age may be a year or two older I bought a pair of machines, small dozer and a track loader with back hoe. I have maybe a acre more land than he has and these two machines have been worth their weight in gold to me! I had stumps to deal with and a LOT of them and they were big. graded out my house seat, put in my septic you get the idea. and I didn't have to worry about a time limit with a rental or the weather turning to crap while I had something rented. I am 51 now and don't use them much anymore but it sure made quick work of clearing the driveway with this last foot of snow we had. The loader sure is handy picking stuff up that didn't use to be that heavy! But no more than I use them I am considering it may be time to let them go. If they go there will be something here with a loader. I just can't do without one anymore. Edit: both of these machines combined were less than $20K and can be towed with a 3/4 ton pickup. About all I would put behind a 3/4 ton but it handles it well.
Holy moly! Great feedback here. Being concise is not my thing. I am who I am. But maybe I do have an issue as this was generated for my second post : I think one of the reasons I recently veered towards the backhoe option is because tree/stump clearing will be the brunt of my work at the beginning. Having something that has the force to pull stumps and carry trees quicker would be good. When I had the excavator rental, it was slow . I knew it would be when I rented it, but cost/availability etc. is what played into my decision. It's never black and white when you factor in ALL the variables of renting one machine for a job. Ideally a skid steer with a grapple and a mini ex would've been perfect. But then I would have had one machine just sitting there at all times at an increased cost to me. Question for you, after pulling stumps out, how did your machine fair with actually moving them? I imagine the max weight on the bucket is substantially less compared to when you're actually anchored to the ground. I might've miss spoke in my OP. 1995 743B for $10,500 and a 1999 773 for $12,750. Both machines appear to be well cared for and in great shape. "One owner farm use" type machines. I think I can address all your comments with another wall of text (and some pictures). I had to cut my list short to try and be concise(er). But I think now a more elaborate explanation is warranted. Both on work I had and need done, and the quotes I received to get work done. I've been at my property for over 3 years. I do almost everything myself because I can NEVER get past the sticker shock. Before I get into more details about work I had quoted, my property: Lot is almost entirely wooded. That is in red. "Grass" (more like moss) areas are in green. The two big black rectangles are fenced in areas. The tiny square is a large two car garage. Not shown in the drawing, even the "grassy" area has about 8 oak trees. Point is, we have A LOT of trees on our property. Before hurricane Helene, we got a quote to get about 70% of the land in the fenced in areas cleared. Intent was to get more sunlight in the yard to actually grow some grass, and also to open up the yard. Quote was to knock down about 15-20 trees, remove the stumps, grade it so there are any remaining holes from the stumps, and stack the trees for me to manage later. $4,000. In hindsight, that was a good rate. That quote would probably be closer to $5.5k-6k now considering it was about 2 years ago. Then the storm hits. We had 20+ trees come down on our property. 85% of them were at the front of the house so a real eye sore. Ok, let's get it quoted. How much to have it all cleared? Quote 1: $10,000 - that was on the assumption the county would pick up all the logs at the street. Quote 2: $13,000 - that was to have it all cleared and hauled away. I worked at it myself like a dog for 6 weekends piling brush. Rented the mini-ex and chipper for $3,500 and took care of it in a 3 day weekend. Well, most of it. Trees are gone, but I have about 15 stumps remaining in my front yard. Keep in mind, I don't care about "using" the area in front of the house, just need it to look presentable. Even with the mini ex in hand, I didn't put any time into pulling the stumps from the front yard. No need - I figured later on I can stand the stumps up and either have them ground down, or just make a cut really close to the ground. There is about 6" of leaves there year round so it wouldn't be discernable. Financially speaking, since I only spent $3,500 to do 80% of the work, I know I will not come close to spending $8,500 to address the stumps (my break-even when compared to just paying to have it all done). So what did I do with the remaining time I had with the mini-ex? I started tackling the trees behind our house since I already had the machine and actually needed the stumps removed there. In an afternoon, we pushed over another 10 trees or so. Pulling the stumps is a breeze if the trees tip. Even the 6,000 mini ex had no issues pushing over a 10" red oaks. Today, I still have 3 uprooted trees that are down from the storm and another 15 or so that need to be felled and de-stumped (for the lack of a better word) in the back yard so we have more sun and a larger usable space in general. Last weekend, I had another giant pine come down. Once trees lose their cover, it doesn't take much for the weaker ones to follow. I will ALWAYS have trees to deal with. I am not paying a contractor $4,000 per year to keep my property presentable, and paying $2,000 per year on rentals doesn't make much sense to me either. Especially since I have many other uses for one. I don't want to generalize but I think we all know - especially folks that are handy (which I presume a very large portion of the members here are) - that there is always work that needs to be done around a house. I think the abundance of trees I have just exacerbates the needs since I always have something of size to deal with. Last year I also had two giant red oaks milled on site so I can make use of some really nice lumber. Carrying each one of the boards was a feat - green wood is HEAVY. Wish I had a machine to do it. One last thing to mention without getting too deep into it - the area with the retaining wall I said I need addressed... It a small ******** wall. I got quoted $36,000 to address that wall + replace the grass in front of our door with a 30ftx15ft flagstone patio. GTFO.
You're probably right, but tractors are the most costly compared to others. That's why the 3 machines keep coming up over and over. Tractors were the first thing I looked at. If they weren't so unattainable in my price range then I probably would have purchased one in the beginning and not even cared to look at a skid steer or mini ex. I think you're close to the mark. While the initial purpose is to make an investment in myself by having a machine do the grunt work, I do find a lot of joy in digging holes. My wife probably put it best. When I told her I am going to get a machine to do work on our property her response was "great, so I'll never see you again?". She was joking of course, but... was she? You don't kid about smaller machines carrying a premium. I see a lot of 30 ton machines on sale for $25k. Unfortunately there comes a point where size becomes impractical for me. This is one of those cases. I elaborated a lot more in my long-winded replay above, but some stumps I have to have removed. I agree other can be ground down or cut closer to the ground itself. In terms of size, I have 3-4 stumps that are big. I'd say 6ft-7ft+ ft in diameter (when laying on their side). Fortunately they're all in the front yard so standing them back up is my best bet... No need to actually haul them off. I understand the costs associated with older equipment (err, older anything for that matter). That's a risk I can live with. Even if I had to budget $1k/ year on parts and maintenance to keep my machine moving, a depreciated machine still appears to be cheaper to own in the long run than renting in the long term. I see almost useless mini excavators (8,000-10,000lb) selling on FB for $10k+... Leaks all over, loose pins, worn undercarriage, damaged tracks, no power, mini-ex doesn't swing, etc. But somehow everyone still commands a $10k+ price tag? I know what you're think too - asking $10k for a machine doesn't mean selling for $10k... but these machines do sell. Maybe not at the listing price, but close enough to it I would think. Here's my dirty secret. I told my wife that the cost of buying, doing the work, and selling the machine would be a fraction of the cost of renting. The depreciation on a 20yo machine is baked in and nearly negligible for another 5 years. I see 30yo mini-ex Yanmars sell for $15k+ all day long. The added cost would be negligible too. Assuming I don't buy a machine with damaged tracks that immediately needs me to fork out $2,000 for a new set... what else am I out? Some leaks? Some cylinders that need to be repacked? A pin or two? Some engine parts? I call it my dirty little secret because I told my wife we buy and sell when the work is done, but I think in the long run I'd own it forever. If the first machine was a mini-ex I can see that traded for a tractor or skid steer down the road, but in the end I will have a machine.
There was another post that mentioned something similar about renting for a week and knocking the work out, I must've missed quoting it. But I work a 9-5 so it isn't ideal for me to just take weeks offs to complete my work - I have limited PTO... Not to mention my wife HATES when I take PTO to work around the house. In her eyes, PTO is for vacations and "fun". If I could take the time off it'd be great since I get the best bang for my buck with the rental, but reality is I don't have that luxury. A "week" of work for me is more like a month since I am limited to weekends. I can't rent 3-4 times in a month, and even weekdays I only have an hour or so to work with. In my situation, having a machine sit during the week and work on the weekends does start to make more sense. I think I am going to break it down for the 3 machines and really weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each... get a Pugh Matrix going to help visualize the benefits of each. In my heart, I feel a skid steer would lend itself to being the best workhorse. You hit it right on the nose - bucket, grapple, and forks and my back will thanks my 10 times over. In my head, an excavator makes more sense because I know exactly what to expect with one, and I know that I'll get most if not all of the work done on my property with it. But it is less useful in the long run (for example, it would not have been useful to stack lumber in my yard). The backhoe, it's just a more utilitarian for my use case, and almost half the cost. It's a contender almost organically.
Unless those goat have a beaver strapped to their back, I don't think oak trees are going anywhere. I think it is really hard for me to quantify all the work I could use a machine for, but I swear the work is there. I mean, even from all the wood I chipped I have about 5-6 yards of chips randomly piled up in the front yard (woods). Am I supposed to rake those piles flat for a month? Put them in ye ole Kobalt wheel barrow and make 700 trips up my 200ft long driveway to mulch all the landscaping islands on my property to make use of it? Even last spring I had to unload a 400lb tool box from my truck bed. My wife is 130lb soaking wet and pregnant, she going to help me? Fortunately I had a cherry picker that was able to make it happen, but without that it would've been a pretty elaborate event. A machine with forks would have made it a 5 minute job.
One other thing worth mentioning, I understand the economics of having something sit idle. Truth is, not all of us are in the business of moving dirt and the cost of convenience is priceless. Dollars per hour are not everything. I have tools in my tool box that come out once every year. Sometimes once every two years. But when they DO come out, boy am I glad to have them. I have a bearing puller and bearing race seating set. They don't get used regularly, but when they do, it feels like an angel takes over the motion of arms and makes me weightless. The way the bearings fall into their final resting place. That feeling alone makes it ok that they go untouched for months on end. A bearing puller isn't a $16,000 machine, but a bearing puller also can't accomplish what a machine can so sitting 2-3 months out of the year untouched is the least of my concern.
Nice plot map/property plan. No outhouse? Where do you poop?
Whatever you get make sure it has a loader. I still stand by my recommendation of a backhoe, but a decent wheeled skid steer would get a lot of the miscellaneous work done over the years. Mini ex, while they are great, is not what I would buy in your situation. Buy something with a loader, rent the hoe as needed.
A 30B is a great tractor with the 3-152 Perkins diesel. Very good loader and 3pt. hitch. Only thing that's an issue is the PTO if it has one. With the instant reverse transmission (very rare to have a PTO) the PTO will run backwards when in reverse. Can't remember if manual shuttle trans. was an option. I think the PTO may run backwards in reverse as well. It's OK as long as you remember to let the PTO stop or disengage it when reversing. Manual shuttle is much better for PTO work because you can keep a constant RPM and ground speed much easier. Instant reverse uses a torque converter so the travel speed and RPM is harder to keep consistent. A decent older industrial tractor loader or even a backhoe could be had for under $16K. Some could have a removable backhoe and a 3 pt. hitch. A skid steer is very nice but can be expensive to fix if a drive motor or something hydraulic needs replacing. I think you might even be able to get a couple decent older machines for $16K. An Ag tractor and a skid steer.
Into the holes left behind from the uprooted stumps. Will take me and my family 100 years to fill them all. I like the idea of a skid steer if I ever needed to take it somewhere. The the old 2500 will have no issue towing it from A to B... Can't do that with an 8 ton hoe.
No issues pulling stumps this size and digging holes this big to get them out. Just takes a bit of finesse.
Loader bucket on the front pushes them no problem. Rolls it like a dozer would. Just maybe a little harder due to it being a bucket and not a blade.
I'm guessing you used the manual thumb/hoe to relocate the stumps?
A thumb is a luxury on a backhoe, we got by fine for decades without them. You can 'grab' stumps, logs, brush etc by clamping it between the bucket and the dipper stick and/or boom. If all else fails get off, throw a chain around it and lift it with the hoe or loader. Also, just an FYI the loader on most fullsize TLBs lifts a lot more than the hoe, most will lift 5000lb+ to full height.
Skid steers are not made for pushing up big stumps. You are describing a job that is hard for smaller machines. You can break your machines messing with lots of big stumps. A backhoe is a great for having a scoop and a digger. But an excavator beats it hands down digging stumps just for the ease on its mobility. Backhoes are hard to finesse. The are super hard to grade with quickly. Just ask all my customers that hire me to come fix their yards after the septic installer left with his backhoe. You can easily do a few small jobs with the skid steer to make some cash with your truck. Wheeled machines do not work in wet conditions, so tracks are most desired. I have every machine you have spoke of with lots of seat time in each.. i can get up 36" tree stumps but only if I have both my excavator and tracked skid steer. 12,000 lb class machines. Typical involves digging 5 or so feet down all the way around the stump and then pushing with skid while some else pulls with the excavator. you don't really have the budget for a good excavator or good tracked skid steer. And you really need both. So based on your budget and the stump issue buy a backhoe typically a 1' bucket gives you the most power. Use it to push the timber tops and limbs into burn piles and pop up the stumps. Put the stumps on the piles and burn them up. After you have stumped all get rid of it and buy a skid steer. I would loosening all the trees stumps up with the tree still on the stump get them leaning in the right direction or push them completely over, then buck the logs. For the ones that were cut off already you screwed yourself and will need to fight those.
I have a few machines I came across locally. I am still a bit scatter brained but figured I would share what I've been snooping at since my wife is starting to get sick of me talking about it. Takeuchi TB135 2900hrs 7,600lb $17,500 Don't know how I missed it, but just realized it doesn't have a thumb. I'm also least excited about this one came in on a trade through a dealer to the price tag will also carry sales tax of 7%. A bit out of budget, through would be a nice fit. There are also three Takeuchi dealers within an hour of me so would sure make getting parts easy. IHI 35N 7,800lb $16,000 Been reading a lot about the IHIs. Seems like a lot of folks have a lot of good things to say about them. Downside of this one is it's 6hrs away so I would need to arrange delivery. 2500 is due for a trans rebuild and I can roll the dice that far away from the house. Another 35N sold locally for $17,000 - sold within 24hrs. 1995 743B 800hrs? 4,700lb $10,500 Seems like a good little machine. I worry a little about it's ability beyond moving logs and the odd and end stuff. This won't do anything for the stumps that need to be pulled. Even with a grapple, 1,300lb lifting capacity isn't that much. Looks clean though and the condition is tempting. 1999 773 3,800hrs 5,800lb $12,750 Same as the 773, just a little more to it. Also has high flow hydraulics for the attachments that would command it *cough* mulcher *cough*. 1,850lb lifting capacity. The Bobcats (and many other skid steers) are close to impossible to find under $10k. If I keep it maintained, it would almost be free to own for a few years. First owner used it as a site fork lift, current owner uses it to distribute hay bales. Seems like a machine that lived a good life with little to no abuse.
JCB 1400b 15,000lbs $10,500 I mean, what's there not to love? Front loaded, forks, manual thumb on the hoe. Seems like a tree clearing machine. New tires all around... Finding someone to transport it to my house would be the most annoying bit. While the 7.5 ton weight it something to get an giggidy about, there are places in the yard I couldn't take it. Especially after we get some nice grass put in. 1979 Case 580C 14,000lb? $11,500 An old pig, but still very capable. Extendahoe. "Could use a seal here or there" according to the owner. I would worry about getting parts for such an old machine, but maybe that's not an issue? Something to consider.
So I've seen with the thumb. Wouldn't the lines be an issue if you're relying on pinching the stump against the boom? The JCB1400b are built well for that since the lines are not exposed (they are installed inside the boom and dipper). Don't think that can be done with all the backhoes. I have entertained the idea of getting a backhoe for my tree work, and then doing away with it for a small more versatile machine once the tree work is done. A skid steer w/ grapple would do a lot to handle the trees. Maybe the stumps in the back would warrant a rental? Uggh.
Nope. Too heavy. Pull them out with the backhoe. Turn it around and push them with the loader. Works like a charm.
No offense but I would not buy any of those machines you listed. The excavators are too small to dig stumps. The skid steers need to be track loaders or you will get stuck at the first sight of mud. I can’t speak for the JCB as I don’t have any experience but looks a bit older and I don’t know if you can get parts. The guy saying it needs a seal here or there turns into multiple thousands here and there and headaches, down time, etc. If you are in a rush, rent a machine. If you aren’t, keep your eyes peeled. It took me almost a year to find mine. It took my dad longer. I am a person who wants to own his own equipment. Yes I might have a few headaches but I can do whatever I want. Over the past 6 years at my property I’ve rented a track loader multiple times, mini excavator, and d4 dozer. But when push comes to shove and I have 2 extra hours on a Saturday, guess what I’m pulling trees out with. My 555E I bought in 2019.
Don't think the mini ex is too small. The one I rented was 6,000lb and I pulled many stumps out. I think the key to what I did was to push the trees over to uproot the stumps. I'm also not dealing with 36" oaks. Most trees are ~10".
I love it.... I'll catch up to this thread when I've got some more time but I read the first paragraph or two and I always love to see how pleased people are when they see how much machinery can help get things done. I say that because I'm always terribly pleased too!
Couple of things. Your dirty little secret, is not a secret to anyone who is on here, or their wives, wives friends and so on, Most of us home owners that own machines used this same nagging subterfuge, to convince our wives that we NEEDED these machines and get this m they all are going to be sold for as much or MORE than they were bought for. You are xzactly right about older equipment never going down in value, as long as it’s RUNNING. You NEED a backhoe first and when the trees are gone and it may take years, then you can get a skid steer or mini-ex. You need 4 wheel drive or you will regret it. Have done and am doing exactly what you’re doing and first bought the backhoe and in 1 hr my skid steer is being delivered. Of course the Kubota V2203 came in pieces in the back of my truck, so there is that. It would be great to have a mini-ex and a skid steer at the same time but hands down the backhoe has to be your choice as you will need to traverse the property and the trees are your priority. Make sure it’s 4 wheel drive or you will regret it. Need to be able to work in wet conditions.
As long as you are careful you can grab/carry a lot of different things with the hoe. It isn't easy and it doesn't work 100% of the time, but an experienced operator can do a lot. 10-18" dia tree stumps are the easiest, especially if you leave a 2-3' section of trunk. Once it is loose from the ground put the bucket over the trunk section, curl it in, and it will wedge the trunk in the bucket and lift it right up. Stumps bigger than that are probably going to be too heavy and should either be pushed or carried with the loader. Logs you can pick up by finding the center/balance point and skimming the bucket teeth under them while rolling back. You might have to use the terrain or a fixed object if it wants to roll. You can also bring it over to the side and use your stabilizer to wedge against or help roll it on the bucket. Once you've grabbed the log you can swing it to the side and carry it parallel to the machine if need be to fit through narrow spaces, provided its not too heavy. Some of these are fairly advanced techniques, but before the days of excavators, hydraulic thumbs, etc that this is what we did. Bottom line, if you only want ONE machine and aren't willing to rent, a full size backhoe is about your only option. If you are ok with renting from time to time, the skid steer is fine and rent an appropriate sized excavator as needed. I have both wheeled and tracked skid steers and for what you want a wheeled unit is fine. You won't be able to work if its real wet/muddy, but they are a lot cheaper to own and operate and they don't tear up the ground near as bad as a CTL.
I'm pretty much in the same situation as you in that my better half doesn't like me taking time off from work to "play" on big toys on our land. But the point I was trying to make is that a "week" rental is not necessarily a week of PTO for you. When I was looking at renting a hoe/dozer from the local Cat rental place, a "week' of rental was 40 hours on the machine (8 hours per day x 5 days) over the course of a seven day rental. I could burn up those 40 hours in the first two days or over the course of seven days. Either way, renting a decent size machine for me was a combination of days and Hobbs meter. Not sure if it's different in your neck of the woods or from different rental houses but I think you could easily burn up 40hrs of machine time over a week of good weather over the summer when there is ample daylight and not take anytime off.
One other thing I might add, not sure I have a choice on that. A tracked skid steer is $25k money. I don't have $25k to **** away on a machine. I'm already using husbandomics to get my wife to spend $17k. Even with the 8 tons of weight? I can see how a skid steer would slip on the wrong surface, but would that be that much of an issue with such a heavy machine? I know weight distribution is key to that so if I have 5,000lb on the front loader and I am going up an incline it could slip, but on flat terrain that's dry? As time goes on, this is what it looks like it's coming down to. Backhoe or skidsteer+occasional mini-ex rental. I also like the idea of buying a backhoe to get through all my tree/stump work and drainage issues, and then parting with it, like Harley Happy did. Then I can pick up an old Bobcat or New Holland skid steer and have that be my all-rounder. If I have an unexpected tree or two come down after the back hoe is gone, I can still handle the tree with a grapple and stand the stump up with my neighbors help and my truck. Some ingenuity and chains should make it work. If I have another 20 trees come down then let's just say it's an unplanned event we need to fork out a little more money for. I hear ya. My last rental was from Sunbelt. I don't know how they charge (if they have the 8hr/day limit), but looking back on my picture I only had 18hrs on it with a weeks rental. Maybe a weekend rental is all I would need if I maximized seat time. A lot of renters on FB are usually very explicit with the 8hr/day requirement.
One other thing I didn't mention is that I met a gentleman a few months back that quoted some driveway work for me. He has an 8 ton ex and his rate is $1000/day. As a skilled operator and on a machine that size, I can always pay him to take care of my trees and then I can get my skid steer. Kind of fast-forward past the backhoe-ownership. Kind of forgot about that guy... certainly plays into my options. This would still leave me with needing another rentals to trench for drainage, but at that point I can get away with the smallest machine which would be very cheap. Probably no more than $500 for a weekend. Man I'm all over the place lol.
That's part of the problem you're dealing with: you may need multiple machines to cover that many different tasks. Maybe start with a rental to dig trenches which seems like a necessity. Any left over time/effort with that rental can go against the stumps/trees/etc. At least you get that knocked out for a few nickels and somewhat scratch the itch to get yourself dirty. And yeah, renting a machine for a week but putting 18hrs on it hurts a bit. Small lessoned learned but you did learn which is good. That learning will pay dividends down the road.
Make no mistake. Every time I mention selling the backhoe and in, I get smacked in the head. Even the wife is on board with keeping that till we die. Making a mount and plumbing in front hydraulics for a power angle plow, made the backhoe much more valuable to us. Right now, we are cutting down about 30 good size pines to get rid of the pine needles and pine cones. Cutting the pines to 20’ and turning them sideways and using a stabilizer to brace and driving them halfway down the driveway to make a pile, that a logger will pick up later. New to me Scat Trak 1300c is just a winter project that will ultimately become my wife’s wheelbarrow, lol.
Well based on your budget and for a big "do all" machine, get the 580C and then meet us on the backhoe forum to get it running ok. But if you can push down the trees with a 6000 lb min, those are not big dia trees. I still like the idea of a newer lower hour 2 ton min ex like a Takeuchi TB216 or Deere 17G with thumb for around the home. I owned a TB135, but the engine went bad. I also own a TB016 (2 ton), TB240 (4.5 ton), and TB153FR (6.5 ton). Also consider a mini skidsteer, or just a dump trailer to move stuff around. I don't like the wheeled skidsteer to get stumps out. A full size CTL with pallet forks can pop out some bigger stumps though and not get stuck. I had a CTL with grapple and it always seemed like the grapple hose was getting snagged on something and bursting. That's when I started to use the pallet forks. An excavator is much better. I move the machine around the stump if need be and sawzall the roots. If that won't work rent a 9 ton excavator or bigger.
I agree that a 4wd backhoe is ideal and I'd highly recommend one, might be tough to find in your budget though. Some of it depends on your property as well. How steep is the ground? Fairly well drained or marshy? Plan to use the machine in the snow? When you say western NC I think of anywhere from Sparta down to Murphy, but mostly all steep mountainous terrain. Or are you talking western pediment, Hickory, Statesville, etc where its more gently rolling terrain? A 4wd machine makes a lot better use of the loader, you can really push, dig and grade with it much more so than a 2wd. 2wd works fine if you are on fairly flat dry terrain and mostly use the loader for lifting, carrying and loading tasks.
"Make sure it’s 4 wheel drive or you will regret it. Need to be able to work in wet conditions." "Even with the 8 tons of weight? I can see how a skid steer would slip on the wrong surface, but would that be that much of an issue with such a heavy machine?..." I just wanted to say: I started out 30 odd years ago with a JCB 3C 2wd, it was ok in good ground conditions using the backhoe, it was ok in a gravel farmyard using the front loader, and it was ok in the wet dragging itself around backwards with the hoe while sliding on the front loader's bucket. But it was crap in soft conditions trying to drive it around, easy to bog, and no way to use front loader. I've been all excavators ever since then (love 360 degree and steel tracks), but have hired a 4wd backhoe loader on occasion: the 4wd is able to get about better in semi soft conditions and when you put something in the front loader bucket you can still move around. The 2wd would just spin it's rear wheels and not go anywhere, 8 ton heavy & stuck in the mud Best of luck to you.
All I know is my first backhoe was a Case 580 C that I brought to Tennessee to build my retirement home 20 years ago. The first day it rained and the 2 wheel drive dump truck wouldn’t even move with the dump bed up and the backhoe slid down an incline and had to wait a week for it to dry up enough for me to get back to the site. Don’t get me wrong, a 2 wheel drive backhoe can do a lot of work but a 4 wheel drive is necessary half the time do to weather conditions.
Not steep. I am in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains. Hendersonville area. So rolling hills for sure, but not substantial grade. Well drained and dry. It snows once every two years or twice a year depending on the year if that makes sense. Bummer. When I picked up ye ole Silverado I got 4WD for those off chance situations where the wheels can't grip. An 8ft bed with no load will do that. It's happened to me a few times now where I needed some 4WD to get me going. I think the old adage applies here where it's good to have what you don't need than to need what you don't have. An immobile machine is useless to me.
A lot of really good advice here… My thoughts: Although a mini excavator & skid steer is a really useful combo; given your budget a good used backhoe may be a very good solution (will have to look hard & act fast if you find a ‘good’ one) A lot of ‘muscle’ with a backhoe; stumps are difficult/hard on small machines… Rubber tire skid steer in bad mud will just turn sideways & get stuck..(our Deere 270, >8000lb/82 hp, remained deep in the bush this winter due to this disadvantage). Fully chained; not even close to climbing clay slicked hills..very poor-useless in any kind of mud. Thoughts on previous comments regarding older small/medium frame Bobcats: Having owned both a Bobcat 743b & 773; huge difference in capabilities/stability between these two machines. The 743 would try and tip over backwards just going up our driveway & 36hp is limiting… (really do respect the simplicity and reliability of the 743 though…). Good luck!
I do have a hurdle though... When it comes to acting fast, I'm handicapped by my ability to transport it. I don't have the ability to quickly jump on a sale since after that happens I still have to follow up with "can you deliver?" Towing an 8 ton machine is a different category. Not something a 3/4 ton can do. I talked to an acquaintance that hauls for a living too but I didn't hear anything back. Something I need to look into further if go down the backhoe path. I have a tentative plan that I'll share in a bit... Just need to cross my T's and dot my I's.
If you find something 50mi or less away just drive it home, they have a 20-25mph road gear. There are some models that you could 'maybe' tow with the right 3/4 ton truck and 14-15K trailer, if you are careful. Case 480 series or Deere 210 series were around 10000lbs in standard configuration, and still give pretty decent performance. Below is my Case 480E 4wd, digs 14' deep, lifts 3000lbs on the loader, weighs about 11,000lbs:
That would be quite the drive. Good to know actually I didn't think of them being that mobile. Would sure makes things easier if I found one within range. Wonder what AAA would say if I had a breakdown. The 3/4 ton is a 2000 Silverado 2500. Tow rating caps at 11,000lb or so. Not like today's 2500s that can pulled 20,000lb.
Oh you can pull that kind of weight, BUT! Can you stop it!? I doubt the newer ones are any better at stopping that kind of weight myself.
Alright, caught up! Man how time flies. I was in a similar predicament like 5 or 6 years ago. In 2016 we bought 6 acres with about 3 acres of grass yard, a fair amount of trees, and a 2 acre prairie area, with a creek and pond. I rented a backhoe a couple years in to handle a couple big projects we wanted to take care of. From what I recall it was some tree work like you, but we have big dead ash trees, fixing the "bridge" to the back field, over the creek, and I don't remember what else. When we started pulling trees (preferably cutting them off as high as possible to use the standing trunk as a lever to pop out the trunks) I was amazed at the work that could be done. We rented a New Holland lb95b, if I recall, and I got stuck with the same bug you've got. The work that can be done is insane. About a year later my dad died and left me some money, which made owning my own chunk of big metal possible. I went backhoe and didn't even consider other options. It's not perfect at much bit it's really good at all. I got a 2003 New Holland lb75b, with around 4100 hours, I think, 4wd (yes you can still get stuck with 4wd but it seems much, much better in my opinion, I use 4wd 1 out 10 times but it's, basically, a must), extendahoe, closed cab with theoretical heat and a/c, and it was $24k plus about 900 bucks to deliver (which they did with a similar sized truck to what you have, not sure if I'da done it but it made it from around 350 flat miles away). After buying the backhoe it's quite lovely to go hop in it whenever you have the time and inclination to do something. I've rebuilt the bridge a few times now (attempting to manage a yearly flood that will cover about an acre of my back yard, so far I think I did it!), I've dug the pond out a bit (but will end up, hopefully, renting a decent sized excavator or bulldozer to do it right then lining it), knocked over and cleaned up countless trees and honeysuckle patches, prepped a patio area for my wife and delivered all the heavy stuff, plowed snow, the list goes on and on. The amount of work you can get done with a backhoe is bonkers. Then, there's the other side... $$$. I didn't have a good place to store it, so after a few years I decided it was time to build a barn. Granted, I've got other stuff to store but we built a 40x48x16high barn at the low, low cost of like 46 thousand effing dollars. I also wanted the priceless fork option (seriously, the loader mounted forks, with the bar that you drive the loader up to and hook on is one of the best thing a backhoe can do, makes getting almost any big delivery a treat, not to mention picking up and/or bucking logs), around 1200 bucks on the cheap side and if you can weld. Then the cost of ownership... So far, for me, relatively cheap. I'm probably in 2k for repairs and junk over 5 or so years. Wait, that's not true, I paid a guy way too much to help redo cylinders and still did over half the work myself. Let's call it 5k. I expect to keep it forever but there are a few downsides. Again, it doesn't do anything perfectly. I bought a small Massey Ferguson tractor, from the mid 1980s, to help clean up some of my backhoe's messes. Add another 4k, plus another thousand for a blade. I can cut grass with it (came with a 6' mower deck), drag logs with it, move trailers, etc. On my property, which get soggy, the backhoe can/will create a lot of ruts that are a pain(literally) to mow over. If you don't want ruts you wait until it's dry dry, and even then you may damage tree roots for trees you like, you'll inevitably ruin your yard to some extent. All in all, I love my backhoe. I giggle like a little girl every time I use it effectively. The brute force of it is incredible and hard to match. If I were cost conscious I'd likely rent to get what you want done, then you don't have to worry about maintenance and all that but if you want something to help take care of your land go backhoe. Expect your neighbors to ask you for help, which is both rewarding and annoying. Edit- I've edited this for spelling or missing words a few times now. I don't like mobile forum posting.
gearing up to move it yourself is impractical to unsafe. You cannot do it all. Just hire it done.
I would agree with you skyking. Granted, I don't move things but the delivery fee for someone else to handle that is pretty inexpensive. The place I got my hoe was a used heavy equipment seller who had a transport broker that I used, so it wasn't a big deal to find someone. I'm sure the internet could help without much issue.
Yea I don't plan on it... as feasible as others might make it out to be. I got in touch with someone and got a good rate. Within a 100mi radius of me, transporting a 16,000lb machine wouldn't crest $600. Which I think is a great rate all things considered. The closer the cheaper, which most equipment I am seeing is within 50mi or so. Great feedback, thanks for shedding some light on your situation. Definitely relatable. In the coming days I'll have a little more insight into my situation. The gentleman I mentioned with the larger ex will come and quote some work for me. Depending on his quote and what he says we can get done, it might eliminate the need I have for a larger piece of equipment like a backhoe (or large excavator rental for that matter). It'll allow me to get a something more manageable like a skid steer. Added bonus, I will actually be able to store it inside my shop since I'll have the space for it. A bucket, grapple, and forks will lend me enough versatility to get stuff done around the house. Even if I have another tree come down I can manage the stump as needed, and then I'll still have the skid steer grapple to stage the logs how I deem fit. For the trenching, I see mini exs on FB for 200$/day which is touch to beat... Don't really need a big machine for that. It's all coming together finally. I hope to have made a decision by this weekend. And full disclaimer if I come back with something that is a complete 180 from the last paragraph... I do have a really solid lead for a backhoe too LOL. Honestly I hope it sells so it's one less thing to muddy my decision making.
I've never run a skid steer but with my experience with forks my suggestion would be to get the forks before the grapple. The forks may suit your needs. Grapples look quite handy but to me see to be more for if you are moving lots of logs at a time (you can get a few on forks if the weight is appropriate) or big brush removal. May save you a bunch of money... Good luck on your hunt!
I don't own a skid steer or similar machine but I do agree with aighead on forks being a pretty good first choice. Grapples seem to be best for grabbing and collapsing loose stuff (brush, branches, etc.) that are just a PITA to move otherwise. When it comes to heavy stuff (big logs, stumps, etc.), forks may actually be easier to get under the load and leverage it up a bit to roll back on the forks. Once it's balanced back, you either take your chances of trying to balance the load when moving or simply chaining/strapping the load tight to mimic the grapple capability. Sure the grapple is easier, sexier, and more comfortable but how many times do you really need a grapple as opposed to a heavy lift capability? That should help you decide which way you want to go. Oh, and forks are wonderful items for loading/unloading trailers and trucks with pallets of construction stuff. Grapples not so much...
I'll also brag about my only instance of ingenuity on HEF, though it'd be unnecessary on a skid steer. Flip over forks on the loader bucket are very difficult to see. I came up with (though I'm sure someone else really thought of it) getting a rear view camera for cars and mounting it to a magnetic monopod camera mount, then sticking it inside the loader bucket and using the monitor to see where your forks are. I find mounting it low works pretty well, like on the inside bottom of the bucket, but anywhere in the bucket, or on top, is much better than nothing. I may upgrade to a second camera at some point that would help see over a forked load. That's the only issue with my camera setup is you have to have a big clear space to set something down because you can't see where it goes. You could, conceivably, leave some space between the load and the loader bucket so you could see through the forks, with the camera, to a mark you have on the floor or something, but that hasn't been an issue for me.
I would never spend the money on a grapple, I would build one, if I wanted one. A 4in 1 bucket would do as well and has quadruple duty for anything else. That I am considering for my clapped out skid steer as the bucket that came with it is, essentially junk. Since I need a bucket anyway, considering going with a 4 in 1. We always take down some trees and cleaning up the tops, requires a lot of labor and burn piles. Matter of fact, I believe we are dropping a few today, in the expectation of a coming storm.
Here's my backhoe for the day. Seriously doubt your budget gets this but it is kick ass.
I would if I was retired or jobless. No time to build my own. Plus they don't coat that much. Plenty of used ones on FB. It def looks like it kicks ass. It def looks like it's out of my budget.
Ok, so if he's going to go with a backhoe, we now know it must be 4WD, have useable tires, and probably best to come with at least a clam bucket, and be located close to NC. With a clam bucket he has at least a grapple way of picking up logs. Also, if he can get one with pallet forks, that's even better. So with a Budget of 18K, what are best models and their years in that price range? Something like MG84's Case 1990's 480 might be an option? I'm for still the mini excavator with a thumb and a bunch of buckets, the best sized one for the 18K.
Found you the perfect machine....whatever it is. Currently on govdeals.com
This one of the reasons backhoes suck as do skid steers with air tires. Just when your ready to get some work done Trees and wood stobs are hell on rims and tires.
That's a big boi. Can definitely do some work with that thing! What am I looking at here?
Zoom on in. If you zoom in, you will see a metal concrete stake stuck in that nice newer tire. Tire is ruined.
i just registered here and would like to start a new thread about a question on a Caterpillar 304C CR ... How do i start a new thread? Thanks for your time
Welcome Nipmuck, Do this to post: -Top left, click on Forums. -Scroll down until you see Excavators -Start typing your thread title in the box that says Thread title. You should see a drop down of the typical thread tools once you start typing. You'll quickly get used to this board. Very easy and the folks are great for input.
That really sucks. Hopefully there's a tire shop near you who is willing to tackle it with a good repair. Have you seen the Pakistan tire repair folks do what they do?!?!
Truth be told, I posted that pic of a JD 450 backhoe as a joke thinking it was a Frankenstein merge of two machines by someone with a bold imagination. But I ran across this pic of another one. I'm guessing these are real machines!
Yes and I don't have any worry about it all. One of their hired hands did it and it's their rental, not mine. That 800 tire is on them. I am glad I don't have to answer for it. I can't even count how many ruined tires I have seen on these large building pads. I would bet the metal column supports have claimed 1000s across the country. I watched a dump truck destroy his new tire, sliced right through the sidewall. He barely touched it and that's all it took. The column supports dont move or give most of the time. I saw a concrete truck hit one it busted both tires and bent the column support bolts. Concrete company did not like the repair bill according to the GC. That cat 420 is well designed machine. It is perfectly balanced the way it is setup. You can pickup dirt and what not in third gear. It takes off and reverses pretty fast in 3rd. It carries a full bucket no problems. Plenty of power with fast hydraulics. I had both the John deere and the cat on the same day and jumped in and out of both. I was trying to decide which was better. Both would be nice to own.
Being in the tread that tire isn't ruined. Large plug and thick heavy patch on the inside with a tube and it's good to go. If the sidewall is punctured is usually the death of a tire. If punctures are a big concern there's always foam filling but it's pricey.
Backhoes on tracked machines aren't real common but they aren't rare either. Your earlier pic. of one on a dozer is the least common especially on a small dozer like a JD350. It would practically being doing a wheelie any time you're driving forward. Pretty sketchy if there are hills to navigate.
I think 4 in 1 buckets are overrated and I have one. For brush and tree's a grapple will pick up more and get under it easier. For digging and loading a 4 in 1 isn't as efficient either. On a longer push a 4 in 1 won't have the boiling/rolling action of a std. curved back bucket.
I have never used a 4 in 1 but I have seen them used and they look to be good for regular work and I saw an operator go over to a small brush pile and basically pick up 90% of it and drive off. Granted, this was on a 580 SE and then he went over to a stump I had just dug out and picked it up by the trunk and drove off with it. It looks like you could do a fair job of grading 3/4” crush on a driveway layout. Certainly not as much push as with a dozer but it’s right in front of you. Maybe a 4 in 1 is not as usable as I thought.
Those are not that uncommon around here. JD, Case and Cat all offered backhoes for their smaller dozers and track loaders in the 70s-80s. The dozer versions were available and usually had a large counterweight under the front, but the track loader versions were far more common. Lots of small one man operations, home builders, etc bought them as their one and only piece of earth moving equipment. Very versatile machine.
Well, I learned something new from this discussion- thanks. Looks like backhoes got bigger/better/stronger overtime and the need for a tracked version faded by the 90's. And to emphasize the wheelie/counterweight comments, take a look at the little dozer's blade in my first pic. You can see a lot of weights stacked up on it. Here's a pic from the front-
I have one on a loader, the loader has more steel in it up front so it is fairly well balanced. And if you need more weight up front just get a bucket full of dirt / rock etc and carry on. And the hoe makes for one hell of a counterweight when using the loader.
I saw a tracked backhoe for sale near me recently. Way too big. I think it was 18k-20k lbs.
I feel like this type of machine is making a come back though (or trying to). Some new skid steer-mini ex-front loader thing. Not sure if JCB is the only one trying to sell them now, but ran into some videos of these recently.
I think JCB is it's own worst enemy with oddball fittings and other differences. Cab must be pretty cramped for a bigger or taller operator. Looks neat but might not work that well. I imagine there is an ugly maze of hyd. lines all stuffed into a very small space and repairs could be a nightmare. Counterweights are usually bolted onto the back of the blade on dozers with hoes. I have a 4 in 1 bucket on my 931B track loader and it is still light on the front end for grading. It has weights on the sprockets for when the hoe is removed but feels a little tippy with a heaped bucket of moist clay. Without the hoe option there would be plate counterweights on the back that work better than just the sprocket weights. I think mini-excavators killed the backhoe attachments for (steel) track loaders and dozers. I heard that back in the mid 80's when my backhoe attachment was new it was a $17,000 option. Jump ahead even 10 years and it's probably at least a $25K option. They got to be too cost prohibitive and there were much better options available. The hoe's can be found used for peanuts now so could be worth adapting to fit a different machine than they were originally intended. I will say the hoe I have is pretty powerful with over 10,000lbs. of bucket force. It can pull the machine around too in some conditions.
I gotta ask why that is too big? With only 3.5 acres, you wouldn't be moving it around too much and I've rarely heard anyone on HEF say "Man, if I only had a smaller machine." It's true bigger is usually more expensive and harder to maintain and repair but it's also probably more capable. Not trying to make you get a bigger machine but you only have to move it once to your place and maybe twice if you put it up for auction.
here this is well within your budget Facebook www.facebook.com or this is nice slightly over Facebook www.facebook.com or for more serious tree work Log into Facebook Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know. www.facebook.com
The Bobcat looks the best out of the 3 above. One small hyd. leak is better than several hyd. leaks on the NH backhoe. Chasing hyd. leaks can be an exercise in frustration. The previous Ford backhoes were a much better machine. The tracks on the JD crawler are as tight as piano wire and there's not much left for adjustment. Can't tell what shape the undercarriage is in. Sprockets look OK but rear rollers could be shot as they rock guards are pretty close to the pads. It might be an OK machine but will cost a lot more to maintain than a skid steer or backhoe. A shiny new paint job can be covering up problems too. Be patient and have someone experienced look at machines you're considering even if you have to pay them. It could save you thousands and prevent you buying somebody's else's problem child.
Best advice I heard yet for you, @houseprojects
So I have officially settled on a machine. I left the deposit yesterday and am waiting for the banks to open up so I can pay the balance. It should be delivered to my house this Saturday. Decided to go with the Bobcat 773 I posted earlier. I thought it was the G-Series 773 at first, but it is the F-Series (which is still ok - just no high flow Aux hydraulics). I got a lot of really good opinions from folks here, but there are a few things that ultimately led me to my decision. First one being the seller himself. Stand up gentleman that's just honest. When I initially reached out about it he mentioned it sprung a leak behind one of the wheels over the weekend so he wanted to address it so that he had peace of mind selling a machine in good shape with no leaks. He told me everything he's fixed on it, and some issues he's had in the past (very minor ones to say the least). He let me run it on his property, push some dirt around, and really told me everything I needed to know. Everyone here has dealt with sellers and their inability to provide details worthwhile to the buyer. I've messaged a lot of folks over the months, and this fellow plus one or two others were the only ones that fell into the camp of "helpful sellers". Secondly was the Bobcat brand itself. I was doing quite a bit of digging and research on various machines and the information on Bobcats was beyond plentiful. From the owner's manual, to information randomly scattered across the internet, to full rebuild videos of the Kubota V2203 engine, it was tough to pass up on something that had such strong support for a DIYer like me. A lot of information out there about these machines. Lastly, truth be told, A LOT my work for the coming months will be moving trees/logs around, so this machine + a grapple (that I will also be getting) will really get me the work horse I need. Not to mention it is also small enough to store in my shop so it isn't sitting out in the elements. All things considered it was hard to justify not getting a skid steer. Only downsides I had were a) risk of not having traction in certain situations and b) still needing to rent equipment for some work. Well, I don't need to work in the rain and my property is well drained and dry, and it seemed like regardless of what machine I got, I still would have needed to rent something to get all my work done.
Very good point and wish I had that luxury, but considering I was already handicapped by coordinating availability for delivery, also coordinating someone to come with me to see the machine is unrealistic. Good machines move fast, many within a day or two. Even with all the research I did, I will say that I was a bit intimidated when I first saw the machine. They look like go-karts in pictures and videos but in person they are what they actually are... 6,000lb of steel on wheels. I am sure there were things I could have looked at and didn't (either by choice or just lacking the awareness to), but it's a risk I knew I was going to take considering this was going to be a first for me. In the end, I think I made out well without an "expert" on site because the seller was very forthcoming in telling me what I needed to hear.
We owned that exact vintage of 773 for 6 or 7 years (home acreage use, mainly). It was an excellent, well balanced machine. The longer wheelbase was important for us as we have some very steep slopes... The V2203 started really well in the winter and ran smooth/'quiet'. Never spent any money in repairs at all (with the exception of an internally corroded battery cable). We also had a grapple and found it very useful for tree work/brush cleanup. A good set of high quality tire chains on rear tires will result in an excellent snow removal unit (if you get much snow....) Good luck with your new machine!
Awesome ! Good luck, treat it well and it should treat you well. Love the digging bucket. Thinking about setting up one for mine. Might ever look into a homemade grappler for it.
Great to hear. Hope I have the same good fortune. Can't wait to do some work with it!
Congratulations houseprojects! Be sure to show it to us when you get it dirty around the house!
Looks like it should serve you well, a good set of tires and a tooth bucket really make a machine perform. I've never run a 773 but have spent plenty of time running 753s and 763s back in the day. They were pretty decent machines back then, better than what Bobcat offers today IMO. One thing to be careful of, those early vertical lift machines (7753, 773, 873 etc) didn't have as robust of a loader arm/linkage setup as modern machines. If you do any real digging with it be sure the lift arms are all the way down against the frame to transfer the force into the chassis of the machine and not the loader arms/linkage. Also only dig/push in a straight line if possible and be careful 'prying' on things off center. Otherwise you can tweak the loader frame. With the loader all the way down just use the bucket tilt to bring the grade up and down. As for attachments, a set of forks is almost mandatory and not too expensive. I like the step through design which makes getting in and out easier. Get a grapple that is heavy duty enough not to turn into a pretzel (some of those cheap Chinese ones) but not so heavy that it reduces you machine lift capacity. Maybe someone with a similar machine can chime in on what size/weight grapple they are running. If you want something decent but not too expensive look at Midstate Attachments in Denton: https://www.msattachments.com/ They are decent for a 'cheap' attachment, I've bought a few things there over the years. If you want something pretty nice, CID Attachments are a lot heavier duty and better quality, but not cheap. They too are in Denton, https://cidattachments.com/ I'd be sure to go over the machine and do a full service, filters, fluids, grease etc. Only use the hydraulic oil that Bobcat recommends, never the cheap off brand stuff. Good luck, post some pics when you put it to work,
Congrats on the purchase OP. 753,763 and 773 series Bobcats were good machines. Good advice on the loader arms.
Thanks for the pointers. There are a load of CID dealers in my area, some only 20-30min from me. I scoured online for used units to save a few bucks but it's either $1,300 used or $1,500 new? Even the off brand no-name ones come in around the same price point. Might be worth just getting a new one so I don't have to worry about the abuse a used one had. Right now I am looking at the CID standard duty ones - they have a 63" and a 66" wide unit. Only a 25lb difference between the two so might just go with the 66". New it's $1,475. Feels like a once and done purchase. The forks I'll be able to get on FB, I see quite a bunch to pick from and there isn't much difference between a new and used fork. Grapple will be first though. While I see the additional utility in having forks, I have enough wood to move to make it the extra $$ for a grapple worth it. I feel like I'd be dropping the wood constantly while moving it from one place to another with a set of forks.
I never had a grapple, just run forks. You might be surprised how much you can haul with them.
I pile whatever I can on my forks but I can certainly see the usefulness of a grapple. It's great you can park it inside!
Congratulations! A good grapple is indispensable for tree work. They are not so good with something like setting landscaping stones. The forks work much better for that. Bradco makes really good attachments. It also seems like any attachment you can find that is branded by the manufacturer (Cat, Bobcat, etc) is high quality. Reread what MG84 said about the loader arms, that is very good advice especially when moving heavy tree trunks around.
First of all glad you got a good machine. You can do more than you ever thought with a skid steer. You were very very fortunate the seller was forthcoming with the history of the machine and repairs/issues it's had. A decent seller would take a small deposit and give you time to bring someone with you to inspect a machine. It sounds like this seller would have. A common tactic from shady sellers is they have someone coming to take a look so you better act fast. If that's the case why isn't it sold already?? If you're there first you could at least offer a small deposit for a day or 2 to have someone inspect it. It's no different than buying a used car. Did the seller determine what the leak was and fix it properly? A few minor repairs is normal with used machines. If you've been on the forum for a while you'd have read many horror stories of people buying what they thought was a good machine or told by the seller it was a great machine only to end up with a machine needing expensive repairs.
The leaks were from the axle seals. One started leaking recently, just after he listed it, and he said one other one was on and off for a little while. So he just replaced both of them. Pretty cheap and straight forward fix. Since there is no expensive undercarriage I think my risk is a bit lower than a tracked machine. I've looked at parts for undercarriages and they can add up quick. There was a tracked JCB that I was looking at for cheap that had a leaking driver motor so I spec'd out some parts for the fix and I was at $6k. Sure I assumed some rollers and other parts might have needed replacing, but it was a worst case scenario. Not much of a deal at that point. I think I'll be fine. Don't want to jynx myself but the engine is solid, and it's likely the most costly repair *if* something did go wrong. I've heard nothing but good things about the Kubota engine too. Lines and other oddball things are tough to plan for so they'll get addressed as time goes on. The machine was pretty tight from what I was able to gather from the seat too. No risk of egged bores where the bushings/pins seat. I think I'll make another thread once the machine is at my house. I'm sure there'll be some repairs to discuss along the way. We're in this together at this point lol.
Make sure the axles aren't leaking because the drive motors are leaking fluid into the chain cases. You can tell because the hyd. oil level would go down and the chain case oil level would rise. That's how I discovered the drive motors needed fixing or replacing on my skid steer. The first motor needed replacing and I replaced the 2nd one because in most cases if they leak it's due to an internal problem with the motor. All motors are different though and have read of just the seals needing to be replaced. Best case scenario is just leaking axle seals. I put a speedy sleeve on one axle. I think you were smart to pass on the JCB. They are a bit odd and I've heard not the best for support. The pins and bushing on the bucket are the highest wear point and it's common to replace them. Daily greasing helps but they are in the dirt and rotate the most so eventually need replacing. Kubota is a great engine! Never use starting fluid though and always keep the rad. full. Have heard of cracked heads due to overheating. Kubota engines in Lincoln welders are advertised for 10,000 hours before needing the 1st basic overhaul. Many in light plants and reefer units have gone thousands of hours past that. Have fun with your new skid steer!
Stupid question... maybe. The CID grapples (and others for that matter) that have two cylinders that "operate independently to adjust for uneven loads", is there a T-fitting or something on them that equalizes the pressure between the two grapples to allow for this?
Yes they just Tee the cylinders together. Unless each side has a seperate control they operate on the principle that what ever side requires the lightest force will close first until the force for both is equal. It could alternate between each side. Some grapples don't have 2 independent pivoting sides. Those type operate like the lift cylinders on the loader boom that are joined together.
Ok that's what I thought.
Man this has been a long week. Ever since I committed to buy the Bobcat the days have been dragginnnnnnng. I feel like a 12yo a week before Christmas. I made a decision on a grapple too. The seller has a grapple that he purchased a couple months ago (to do some cleanup after Helene) and it's too small for his tracked loader so he's parting with it to upgrade. It probably only has a few hrs on it at best. It's the 66" CID Standard Duty Root Grapple. Nice and beefy, but still leaves a good amount of room to do some lifting of all the logs/brush.
Thats great be sure to load the grapple evenly. Long logs off balanced to one side will rip those light duty claws off, if your machine has good clamping hold pressure.
I'll get some good updates in the next week or two. I'm trying to divy up my work a little bit to get the property back in order. It's run amuck the last couple years and I feel like I am in a good spot to bring it back. Sometime between this weekend and next Wednesday I have an individual coming over with an 18k lb excavator - he'll push about 13 or so trees over for me and haul the stumps away. Being that I have (err, will have) a skid-steer I can buck the logs myself and clean them up no prob! Maybe I can make some money back from the trees... I don't have a use for them. They're all oaks so would make some nice firewood for someone.
Be very cautious with the grapple. It's not built for heavy duty use. Std. duty equates to light duty. Like was mentioned could twist with uneven loading. Should be OK for light brush and smaller tree's. Try not to put too much pressure on the outside corners when pushing into piles or lifting heavy loads.
How big are the oaks you are taking down? You could likely get way more for them for lumber. The longer and straighter the better. I can ask around on the Forestry Forum and see if anyone wants to make a deal with you, if they are nearby.
Meh, small stuff, amounts aren’t worth the fuel, usually.
At this point, not big. The two larger ones - which are about 18" in diameter - are red oaks which are a little less desirable than white oaks. I also spoke to a neighbor yesterday and told him that he can have all the hardwoods that we're taking down. They'll be perfect for splitting so he wants them. Better for me, less wood to deal with in the yard. Wish he asked for all my stumps lol.
Stump sale!
Around here with all the building going on, tree stumps are sought after as a few of the bigger outfits have tub grinders and green stump chips are bringing a premium for erosion control. I looked into buying a few loads for erosion control around the river and you would of thought I was asking for screened loam for what they wanted per ton. If you can truck them, we have a place less than a half mile away that will take them for free. Of course they want 800 for a tri axle load, after they are chipped.
I would find a way to do that if that were the case. I am constantly trying to find the best way of dealing with them. Pay someone to grind them? Pay someone to remove them? After they're removed, burn them? Pay someone to haul them? Load them on my 8ft truck bed and make 10 trips to the dump? Rent a debris container and just fill it to the brim? Anyways, one day at a time! On a positive note, I did some work this weekend. Machine was dropped off early in the morning on Saturday and by noon I was out doing some work. Already feeling the perks of having a machine. Got some logs moved, cleared my giant chip piles with the bucket. Slowly developing the mind-muscle connection for the controls. The grapple is awesome! I think I will need to source a straight blade for the bucket come time to grade the yard after all the trees are removed. All in all happy with the machine. I am starting to see some things that didn't stand out to me before the purchase - the cab is a bit rusty under the seat, the seatbelt is seized so I can't use it... small things. I'll do what I can to keep things tip top so she lasts me.
Those are some good looking logs! Congratulations on having and using the machine! Looks to be perfect weather for it!
Burn the stumps. Get a good hot fire going with all the debris, brush, tops etc from the trees and throw the stumps on it. Be sure to get all the dirt off that you can. It will take some time and you'll have to tend it often by re-stacking them, maybe adding more dry fuel, but you can completely burn them up if you are diligent enough. One thing to note, be sure you clean the machine well before using it to tend fires (especially the belly pan.) Lots of leaves, sticks, hay and other debris end up in the belly of skid steers, gets soaked with oil etc and is ripe for a machine fire if you aren't careful.
That’s just how we do them…if done carefully will burn everything without excessive smoke. Get as much dirt off as possible…
Only thing I'll add is I like to dig a pit to burn in with the pit spoils used as a berm on the back side. The berm helps creates a "turbo" effect for lack of better term with the heat and air flow. A pit like that will burn very well, a pit like that with an air curtain blower is an incinerator that will damn near burn anything once it get's going.
Your bucket has top mounted teeth which makes it good for leveling because they are flush with the cutting edge. A dozer blade on a skid steer is one of the most overrated and useless attachments made. Snow blades work good but aren't made for dirt. You can do very accurate leveling with your bucket as long as you can see what the cutting edge is doing.
Did you guys mention removing as much dirt from your stumps as possible? I didn't and I have stumps that have been on my burn piles for years. Granted my burn piles are typically wide and pretty fast burning, I need to dig a hole and start fires like that, but both of my big burn piles are right next to the creek where they would be likely to turn into ponds, which don't seem to burn as well...
Do I need to remove the dirt from the stumps? jk jk. It's one of the reasons I rather just haul them away, I'll have close to 25 stumps from trees ranging from 6" to 24" in dia... I don't want to be burning stumps in my backyard for the next 2 years. Not the best use of my time I don't think. I have considered it though. The small ones might be great candidates.
When I did my house lot 4 years ago there were multiple offers from the places that grind them up for erosion control, to come and pick them up and stuff them in a box for a reasonable fee. I did 4 loads for me and the builder had 3 loads for around the house. They stuffed those stumps in, until the box was bulging. I hate burning stumps of any size because of the responsibility and anxiety.
Can you elaborate a little? When you say they grind them up, I assume they were removed from your property, ground up, then used elsewhere for erosion control... They weren't ground up on your lot correct?
They came with a 30 foot open box truck, with a grapple in the back. They back up to the pile of stumps and stuff them in the box. Around here, it’s the big farms that do it but I’m sure any builder in your area can tell you the cheapest way to get rid of stumps. We actually have a place near me that has taken stumps for years and he made a landfill out of them and as they decompose, they get ground up and added to make topsoil. He is getting bigger and bigger every year. I have a couple of bow stands near his stump pit and I have seen a line of 100+ raccoons heading to the landfill a few hundred yards away. lol
TLDR; Machine is awesome. Ran into a no crank/no start issue - turned out to be a loose battery connection. Leaking oil from hydraulic oil pressure switch part no. 6670705. Will have to visit the dealer on Monday. Hoping it's a stocked part. Did more work yesterday. I cannot get over how nice it is to have one of these. Anyone that has ever been on the fence with picking one up and has enough work around the house to justify it, save up some nickels and pick one up asap. With that being said, this is where she was parked for the day. Last weekend I was running the machine and at one point shut it off to do some work outside of it, and when I went back into it to crank it it would crank. I had power and all my lights lit up but was effectively dead when I turned the key. At that point I thought maybe something was up with BICS so I dropped the bar and coincidentally it cranked and started right up. I had many more start/stop conditions since then so didn't think anything of it... never easy to diagnose an intermittent issue anyways. Yesterday same thing happened. I was in the machine for a good 4 hours, on and off a few times to run a saw. At one point I went back in it to crank it and the same thing happened. Had power and all but the thing was dead. No crank. No clicks. Nothing. I figured it had to be an electrical issue since it was running perfectly fine moments prior. Started at the battery cables and the neg side was loose. I literally pulled it off the neg terminal. The cable was was all mangled at the end and it was impossible to torque the nut down to clamp onto the post. Took the cable off, addressed the hardware, put it back in and viola! Started right up. Funny thing, when I was addressing the cable issue, I noticed the bottom pan in the engine compartment was a bit glossy. The day I picked the machine up I saw some residual oil down there, presumably from oil changes and what not, so I didn't think anything of it. After the battery fix I started it and saw that the engine light was on. I shut off the machine, opened the engine door, and saw there was an oil leak from up top (the engine was bone dry when I picked up the machine so I knew I had sprung a leak). It was coming from the connector of the hydraulic oil pressure switch. When I started the engine with the harness unplugged, oil was literally pissing out of the switch. Easy fix, hoping to get a new part tomorrow on my way in to work. I had picked up the Owner's Manual, Service Manual, and Parts manual - these things are a godsend. Makes picking out parts a breeze. I'm sure they'll become more useful as time goes on. The machine wasn't serviced that long ago, only had 40 or so hours put on it since Aug. But I will just go through and replace all the filters and change the oil for some piece of mind while we're at it.
Other thing, since I'm new to this space, any good heavy equipment parts dealers out there I can buy online from? Seems like every niche/circle has some reputable sites to buy parts from, curious what sources there are for Bobcats. Secondly, the wormhole for grease is as pronounced as it is for engine oil. Anyone use the Traveller grease from Tractor Supply? I had my head set on the Extreme Duty one but Tractor Supply was out of it, so I came home with the Rotella SD. I think I will buy a case of Traveller Extreme Duty and call it a day. I don't want to say grease is grease... but any lithium based grease with some Moly will be the same as any other right? Even the Heavy Duty is likely good enough... Would rather stick to one that will always be readily available locally so I don't have to keep mixing them when I grease the pins.
Just go with a good moly grease and use it often.
It's common for the bucket pins/bushings and tilt cylinder pin/bushing at the bucket to need replacing after 1500 or more hours even when greased regularly. The bucket pins are in the dirt and have far more rotation than the other pivots. Some users grease the bucket pins every 4 hours. The pivots sometimes squeak indicated they could use some grease. I have a different skid steer but need to do some pins and bushing on the bucket and tilt cylinders. I did them before but that was about 1700 hours ago. Too much other stuff with a bigger priority but will do it in the spring.
Rotella SD it is then. WalMart had it a bit cheaper than other retailers @ $6.98 a tube with free shipping. Bought 10 so should be good for a little while. Picked up my sensor from the dealer today too. Weirdly enough the switch was about $10 cheaper on Bobcat's website but I needed it asap so it is what it is.
I've seen that before and pointed out the online price was cheaper and the place matched the online price.
I'll keep that in my back pocket for next time.
Can't go wrong with Rotella. No more than what you will be using a buck or two a tube is nothing in the grand scheme of things.
Now, we are going to have to go through which cordless grease gun to buy? I like my Dewalt but have always favored the Lincoln.
Milwaukee? This is gonna be funny.... "Get expert guidance for a feature-rich, scalable solution!"
My cordless grease gun is my right hand. Can't quite bring myself to paying a few hundred $$$ bucks for a grease gun.
Yes, as I have pumped many thousands of tubes by hand but when you were doing grinders or mills with bearings that needed 3 to 500 pumps a day, or filling up the pneumatic grease tubes on a road milling machine, you appreciated a cordless gun. Now, with a few machines, a cordless grease gun is like sort of a crack cocaine for work addicts.
You guys are tough. I got mad as hell at the hand pumped grease gun in my first use. I tried practicing some, especially after I saw what they wanted for a battery operated gun, but as soon as I could afford it I got a lovely Milwaukee gun that has mostly ended my frustrations.
After two greasings, I can confirm the manual pistol-grip grease gun is starting to get on my nerves. I think if I got a locking adapter that would make it better. Did a lot of work this weekend. Things are moving at such a fast rate with the bobcat, words cannot describe. Fellow on the excavator uprooted about 12-13 trees for me. I cleared the brush and logs with my brother. About half way through. With how great the bobcat has been, it did remind me of it's age again. The following day when I was doing some grading, I started to lose hydraulic power - always associated with a squeal (like a power steering belt). It happened a few times here and there when I was turning or stuck in some dirt w/ a load. Then out of nowhere I lost quite a bit of power coming up the hill... The jaws would barely open on my grapple. I parked her in front of the garage to learn that the tensioner on the main belt lost tension. The bolt on the tensioner must've loosened just enough because I saw an imprint of where it should have been. Tightened her up again and was good to go. It was a pain to get the cam to loosen (to put tension on the spring), but a couple taps of the hammer did the trick. Definitely the original tensioner on the machine. It worked for me but I can already sense the impending doom. Bearings were still good, but not as silent as I'd expect from a new unit. The surprise... $450!!! from bobcat? For a belt tensioner?? This will either be an a) aftermarket procured part, or b) we will rebuild it. Looks look there are part numbers for all the bits that make it up. But I think aftermarket will be the way to go in this case.
Even with just a hand pump grease gun- get a locking coupler. I love mine! Locknlube Grease Coupler with Spare Rebuild Kit| LockNLube USA Grease Coupler by LockNLube®. Money Back Guarantee. Shop now! locknlube.com
Depends entirely on the quality of the aftermarket part(s). Some things you don't want to skimp on. Not sure about a belt tensioner?? $450 is pricey but in the grand scheme of things is a relatively low cost repair as far as equipment goes.
I still use old swing handle Lube guns and have a pistol grip for tighter locations. I as well cannot see the money in a battery fed lube device. I did add longer end hoses so can lay the gun on the floor to gain effort and have equipped three guns with LoknLube tips
Another upvote for lock-n-lube!
That’s the first thing I do with any grease gun, is add a 2nd hose and I have my battery Dewalt with a LocknLube. My pistol grip Red gun has a double hose with a tight 90 degree and my red lever is a straight because some fittings are just a pain to get to. My front steering cylinders and my trucks pitman arm require the tight 90.
Exactly what I need. Idk how I feel about that. It's a tensioner. We're not talking about some unique part that is novel to heavy equipment. That tensioner is at most, $70 to make, including labor. $450 is quite the markup. I guess the good thing is if an OE piece is purchased it'll be good for another 20 years and 4,000 hrs. I thought about getting one to have it ready for when mine fails or if it continues to lose tension, but considering the cost... I'll wait until it retires itself completely.
OEM parts can be stupid expensive but sometimes you have consider how much damage could be done if a part fails. If you could make the part using the same bearing and type of steel could be an option. It might not be made from mild steel.
meh, I needed an idler for my Case 580 SE and went on Amazon and 20’s later and in a day had a pretty good one. Only been on a year but it’s much quieter. Granted the other one was 40 years old.
It can be hard to know if aftermarket parts for way less money are decent quality but a lot times it's worth the gamble and substantial savings. If you buy from respectable sellers that provide a warranty gives some piece of mind.
Look at it another way. Idler falls off and trashes radiator. That would be bad, now I can’t get it out of my head. Might have to go wrap a SS zip tie around that thing. lol
Edit, nvm... Thought you were talking about the 773.
Idk why I feel the need to constantly come back, but since there were valid points brought up previously, I feel it's helpful to reiterate some since it can play into someone's decision to buying a machine. Bobcat got stuck this past week. Nothing over the top, but it wasn't going anywhere without getting pulled out - nothing ye ole' pig of a 2500 couldn't do. Unfortunately it didn't even cross my mind to take any pictures of it. We got a good bit of rain a week or so prior, and while I thought most of the yard had dried up enough to start pushing around some dirt where the trees got removed, I ended up driving into a spot where a stump had been pulled. It was level with the ground but the dirt was just suspended by the remaining roots and down I went. I don't think the hole was an issue to be fair, but the fact that below the surface it was a foot of mud left me dead in my tracks - or lack thereof (see what I did there?). A tracked machine would have carried along. I wasn't mad when it happened though, just a shortcoming of saving $10k on a wheeled machine. Once I have the yard graded it'll make me forget about the perks of having a tracked machine. Certainly a big difference in traction.
You may know this and tried it, but often you can use the curl of the bucket to push the machine out backwards when you get stuck. Works best if you realize the situation when you start to get stuck and push yourself out before completely burying it. Alternately, if you have a long chain and a solid anchor point near by you can roll the bucket forward, hook the chain to something solid on the top or back of the bucket (welded on chain hook works best) and by curling the bucket back it will winch you forward. Moves about a foot at a time, rehook/tighten the chain and repeat. Not fast or easy, but when you're out in the middle of nowhere with no other equipment thats gotten me out on several occasions.
I probably didn't have a beefy enough chain but when I last got the backhoe stuck I tried that method and popped what I think were 4000lbs rated chains like they weren't there.
It also depends a lot on how you hook your chains to the bucket. If you have a short piece of chain and you hook directly to the top of the bucket, then a lot of your force from curling the bucket is driving the front end of the tractor downward, deeper into the mud. A longer chain, or a chain + strap, will help alleviate the downward force when curling the bucket upward. On the other hand, if you loop the chain under the bucket and up around the backside, you're helping lift the front end up when you curl the bucket downward, making the pulling action more effective. Same concept about hooking the anchor as high off the ground as possible so it help pull the tractor up and out which is much more effective than of down and out.
We use 15’ 1 1/4” cables at the clay pits
Geesh- what are you towing with those?
Other loaders, haul trucks, our own dump trucks and end dumps usually Loaded. Was a busted chain some time back, cables since then. Overkill yes, durable yes.
Last year had an occasion to haul ‘Blow Sand’ or the sand the Wild Missouri River blew out In farm fields in boils. Fine like powder, will NOT even wet pack. Was to get and spread three loads. Problem started on first, pathway to stockpile is Blow Sand, even empty could not push the 365s thru it got hung up. Walked down brought up the 963, cabled to truck draw pin and seat belted steering wheel, on to the solid area. Turned truck around loaded sand, repeated back to access road. Second load the brother to the owners was handy and we repeated the event less the seat belt tie off. Work fine last long time. Five full buckets on the quad each time.
I'm pretty sure when I broke my chains I was hooked to the backhoe side, but I didn't think about lifting physics, which is a point well taken... I just needed to chain up higher in the tree!
All good advice in this thread. Noted this for later too. I had just enough space to get the truck in there to pull it out so was the quickest way at that point.
Been watching this thread and figured I'd jump in. Got a similar setup at my place, fought with the same decisions. For what it's worth, look into those 1-ton mini excavators. Perfect sweet spot for homesteading without breaking the bank. Few buddies of mine run the smaller Chinese machines and they ain't half bad for the money. You can tow 'em behind your pickup and squeeze into tight spots your neighbor's fancy Kubota can't touch. Fuel ain't much either. PS: Don't overthink it. Buy something that runs decent, doesn't leak like a sieve, and has most of its teeth. Fix it as you go and sell it when you're done if you have to. Hell, my wife thinks my equipment habit is worse than my beer fridge, but at least I can build her garden boxes without calling for help! Post some pics when you pull the trigger. Nothin' better than fresh iron.
I've been getting the Bobcat dirty for a few months now. I posted some pics of what I picked up a little while ago, here's another(it's a 773 F-series - logo missing on this side of the machine): Is it a perfect machine? Not by any means. But it does about 90% of what I'd ask of any other. Spent a good bit making some progress in the back yard. Once again referring to a previous post, we had about 13-15 trees cleared in the yard to make way for some grass. Our yard was littered in roots and weeds, and we wanted to make an effort to fix that. Burned up what we could before it got too dry out. I did the burning about 2 weeks before the fires broke out in WNC, and haven't since for multiple reasons. We've been getting a lot more rain with the spring weather and the canopies are filling in so might be time to get another burn in. I don't have much left at this point. Needless to say, the bucket and grapple doing work. Our deck was rotten and old as all get out so we decided to remove it and move dirt around to make out yard a little flatter. It'd take wayyy too much dirt to make it as flat as a soccer field, but by pushing around what I had it took a lot of the slop away and we still have a nice grade away from the house. Most of the dirt that I took was under the deck anyways so was better suited in other places.
continued from previous post... As of now, I am waiting for a fellow to come through (same gentleman that took the trees down with his large ex) to ride through with a harley rake and give it the final grade. It'll really smooth out the yard and remove whatever imperfections I can't manage myself. Just the right balance of DIY and relying on others to get the job done. This is how it looks now (out the kitchen door in the rear). I have the dirt marked for the new deck so my wife can "walk it" to get a feel for size. Obviously not done with it as there is more work to do, but I am doing it at a pace that works for me and that's all I can ask for. One of the unquantifiable aspects of owning your own machine - I do what I can when I have time and don't need to worry about paying $X,XXX for a weekend of rentals and potentially not being as productive as I had hoped. The skid steer is awesome. I move around milled lumber, drag my roots, logs, I mean everything. Pulling the old footers out of the ground from the previous deck was child's play for the machine. Would have easily been half a day to a day's worth of work with a shovel... not to mention the soreness that would have followed. Best thing about it is my neighbor has a good sized Kubota tractor w/ backhoe, and we have a great relationship. I will be moving some of the uprooted stumps he has in his front yard and he already told me he'd help me dig the trenches for drainage when I am ready. So both of us get about 90% of what we need done with our own machines, and maybe get another 5% from each other. The rest we still have to rely on other people but at that point it's so rare who cares. Edit: I have another neighbor with what looks to be a 8,000 mini ex that has been parked for months. It's his "homesteading machine" of choice. I haven't had a chance to talk it up with him, but considering the proximity I don't see why a rental or some neighborly agreement couldn't be worked out. So far everything is happening for the right reasons and hope things continue that way.
Renting from your neighbors is good if y’all close, but if something happens while you on the machine…. If he’s a good operator, I would just pay him to come do the work. You’ll get more done that way cUs you can keep him on the machine while you run support task. We did this for years, would hire my neighbor to clear with his 953 while I ran the bobcat getting rocks up or wheel loader toting big trees and logs out the way.
Those don't look like the floatation tires that come on most skid steers. Maybe 10.5x16 instead of 12.5x16? They just look narrow for the size of skid steer.
I know our 773 was fitted with 10.5x16….i believe factory spec for that machine.
That sounds right for flotation tires for a 700 series which most came with. My skid steer is a similar size and has 10.5's but they are listed as optional flotation tires. Seems they should be the std. tires as they are far more popular. The tires above just look narrow. Maybe it's just the camera angle??
They are the std tires. Maybe it's just the picture?
The brand of tires and intended application can have a big effect on true tire size, despite the number on the side being the same. Cheaper tires tend to run narrow, presumably to save rubber costs. The other thing I've noticed, specifically with 12-16.5 tires, is the ones with a high load rating intended for the front of TLBs are considerably larger than the ones intended for skid steers. The tires on the front of my Case 4wd 480E backhoe will not fit on my Case 1845C skid steer, they rub the body/fenders. Both are 12-16.5.
There can be fairly big differences between brands too. 10 ply on a skid steer is probably a rougher ride on hard ground and a little less traction because they don't squat as much.
Can someone shed some light on replacing edges on buckets? I have a 66" toothed bucket now. While it's great and really does a great job in getting into packed dirt, I do find myself missing the "finesse" I need to scrape dirt in certain spots and doing a final grade. I see double-beveled and single-beveled edges - anything to the double edges other than having the ability to flip the blade when one edge gets damaged/worn? Any recommendations for online/aftermarket suppliers that make good edges? BobCat is showing ~$270 for an edge (which I am ok paying for), just curious what else is out there.
Generally, if it has a removable cutting edge, it’s a heavier duty bucket that one with a welded on edge. If you are just working weekends, a welded on cutting edge bucket will be fine for home use. If you were loading gravel 3 days a week, you might want a reversible cutting edge. Around here Swict buckets can be had for 700 to 800 bucks and they are fine for the homeowner.
I have not seen a removable edge, I have seen (and own) a removable tooth bar.
The Cat smooth buckets have removable cutting edges standard. Over the years we have taken 3 new Cat smooth lipped buckets with edges and welded backhoe shanks on them to produce a CTL toothed bucket with replaceable edge. Stopped the scalloping between the shanks prevalent on most CTL buckets. https://www.cat.com/en_US/products/new/attachments/buckets-skid-steer-loader/general-purpose-buckets/1000023350.html
look at you go!! Nice work
Keep the digging bucket you have, and look for an older wider light materials bucket. 66" isn't that wide. You can find used wider buckets for $400-1200. You won't regret it when you want to move a lot of gravel, topsoil, mulch, bark, snow, brush, logs, stumps, tool, etc. I don't think you need a heavy duty cutting edge necessarily unless you're grading daily.
Bought one of these a couple of years ago for our T250 yard machine. It was $800 IIRC at TEC. Skid Steer Tooth Buckets » Solesbees Superior penetration and material breakout with Solesbee's Tooth Buckets. Durable and efficient. Explore our tooth buckets. solesbees.com Haven't used it much but seems to be a decent bucket especially for the $$.
And you would be correct. The edge is welded onto the bucket. Oops! I guess because I saw bolt-able edges online and the teeth on mine are bolted I assumed mine was too. I suppose I can still remove the teeth and us it that way? Maybe another poor assumption. I've obviously been making do with how it is, but I do feel I can get a little more with a smooth edge.