I'm going to be buying another older skidloader for a project I have soon, and it wont be a very expensive one. Anyway, I was looking at the new holland L-series, and the bobcat 753, 763, and the case 1845c. Which of the before mentioned do you recommend will be a good buy for an older machine? I need something that can lift a bit, nothing TOO heavy, but most of all I want something that has a good history. Suggestions appreciated. Mike,
I have an case 1840 with 3,548 hours on it. The only things I have done to it is replace 3 hoses, 2 batteries, & just today I had to replace a gasket in the fuel pump. I have overworked this machine for about 3,000 of the hours. I have done the routine fluid changes, but I have worked the machine HARD. It has the Cummins engine, which my dealer says should last around 10,000 hours. However, the case hoe attachment has been junk. I have broken different parts of it several times, I guess that is why my dealer quit selling the case hoes. If they still made them, I would buy another one tomorrow.
does yours have the cummins G188D? i thought only the 1845 had the cummins. how do you find the steering pumps & lift cylinders are holding up? my previous bobcat was a BOB-CAT (the brand name), and it was friggin old it wasn't funny. It worked GREAT, until after a couple years it was just losing steam like mad. I find my bosses CASE 90XT has a terribly loose boom & everything seems so loose on it. only 1600 hours, and its had the turbo replaced, all the exhaust, and it vibrates like CRAZY. dealer maintained. I think he just has a lemon..... But Im not sure. And also all of a sudden its acting like the turbo isnt working again but i cant tell. its so gutless when you turn and lift...and i dont recall hearing the turbo whistle when its up there. I don't know, though. Could just be getting a bit worn. I like the CASE 1845. Definately going to consider this. And, also I would definately consider a BOBCAT, but I dont know whos best with the older machines. Thanks for your help, and keep the suggestions coming! They said 10,000 hours? WOW! That's a really long time.
I have no slop in anything, no leaks, no complaints. It does have a Cummins, but I am not sure what model. I do know it is the same engine in our case 455 track loader. I have used this machine to tear out several thousand yards of concrete. I usually out the forks on, run them under the pad & lift, wiggle, & drop until the pad cracks & I can load it. It is a lot louder than other brands, but I have ran other brands & they just don't measure up (in my opinion). I ran a New Holland monday, it is a lot larger & can lift much more weight without tipping, but it does not have near the power of the 1840 & it is "jerky". Tuesday, I ran my 1840 & the guy who usually runs the NH was back on it & I worked circles around him (even with a smaller bucket). It is a great machine.
Ok, first of all I'd like to introduce myself, Hi everybody. My ocupation currently is a parts person for a large case dealer. On the lot today are over 50 new case 400 series loaders. We have been a case dealer since the late 40's. If I were in your shoes, it would be no contest, 1845c 1845c 1845c or maybe the 1840. We have had machines in the shop getting wheel bearings and having 10k hours on the tack. Controls are very simple, parts usage is low, power is good. To clarify an earlier reply the 1845c has a 4-390 cummings in it. the 1845 desil had the 188 in it and it was a case motor not a cummings. 1845, 1845b, and 1845s all have 188's if they are desil, 159 if they are gas. If you have any other questions about them, I'll be happy to help.
Mike, Smalltime has nailed it in my opinion...the old Cases seem to do well. The older NH don't fair as well IMHO. An old Cat 226 is also a bulletproof machine.
I have bought 7-8 1840's over the years, most were new. I worked them hard and they are a very good machine. Really good power for the size of machine and very dependable. I think the 1840 and 1845C's are some of the best older machines available of any make. If you check the used prices on 1845C's in good to average condition you will see that they hold their value extremely well. That says something.
The 1840 or the 1845c are good choices, resale is good with them. I ran another contractors 90XT this spring and the boom was really sloppy also, wonder what the deal is with that? Around here the 1840 or 1845c were the standard before Cat. If you like foot controls don't be afraid of the Ls160 or Ls170 (565 or 665), we had a Lx665 and Ls170. Got great trade in on both and they lifted more than our 440 does. The bad with the New Holland is the seatbelt and they are underpowered. The 170 was a good grading machine for the price. Good luck.
When I first saw a skidsteer with a homemade pole attachment to handle scrap semitruck tires, I knew I had to have one. The guy that was using it was a 83 year old man that swore by the Bobcat brand tractor. I noticed his Bobcat was new and asked him "why such a new machine"? He said he buys a brand new machine every year because he wears them out. I came back to my home state and purchased a brand new 1999 Case 1845C and quickly fabbed up my pole attachment and was in business. Over 7 years later, it has over 4000 hours on it now and starts right up every time and easily does the work of 6 men. In fact, I'm on my way out the door to go run it for a few hours today. :bouncegri I used to own an older 4500'ish hour bobcat with a 3 cylinder motor. I always had alot of trouble getting it started, especially in the morning. Another thing I didn't like was foot controls for the bucket tilt/raise. As much as skidsteers bounce around, it's pretty pointless in my opinion to have foot controls where presicion control is most important. Especially when you have a 7 foot long pointy spear in front of you. I rented a 226 CAT at the dealer back when they were newjust to try it out. I had the machine for a couple of days and could not get used to the joystick controls. I think one joystick was for driving/steering and the other was for working the bucket. I had to drive that one "slow" whereas the Case 1845C I can literally throw around at full throttle.
763 Gets My Vote The 763 that I run is just awesome. A little bouncy, but the power is great, and it gets the job done. My vote for the money.
Bobcat get's my vote, but that the only brand I will purchase. Get great support frm my dealer.
I have a deere 5575 which I bought used. It has worked fine for me.
I've never heard many complaints from the Bobcat crowd really at all. My machine was darn old, and damn beat up. I still laugh at how hard I worked it. I can't blame it for the way it was after all those years of hard abuse. But, I'm looking at the 1845, new holland LX665, or a bobcat 863 or something. Alot of the ones I've looked at are pretty beat up. I guess I need to spend the extra buck, and get something I won't be doing engine/pump work to all the time.
Bobcat is good but stay away from the "boss" electronic guage panel. If it has 2" round guages your good to go. I think they are all pretty good. Fairly basic machine, not alot to go wrong. Try to find one thats not beat to death. look for pin slack, a good starting motor, and hydraulics and hydros that lift and push/ steer/ nice and smooth. Even speed for left versus right side wheels. No oil dripping out the bottom Ken
I may be looking into an older skid steer this summer and my dream machine is a 1845C. I've never heard a bad thing about them and I'm constantly seeing companies running 1845's even when all their other equipment is alot newer because as I've talked to operators as they say that the 1845 was the best Case ever made better then both the XT and the current 400 series. The old 753's and such Bobcats are also known as great machines.
I think many would agree that the 1845C is certainly one of the best skid steers ever made. It was good because it was simple. The newer machines are a lot more complex and so some of that reliablity has fallen away. The newer machines are quieter, much more powerful, and less fatiguing to operate. The 1845C is as said simple, productive and ultra reliable. One little known fact is that the 1845 series is largest selling model of any skid steer manufacturer in the world. The fact that the resale value of these machines is unreal is a good indicator of its perceived value to contractors.
I would really like to own an 1840 for my next machine. What are the major differences in the two? don't they basically share the same powerplant? My 1845c does a great job, but I'd like one that's more narrow for increased maneuverability when I'm unloading my dry van trailers. here is a pic I took yesterday of my 1845c next to the loader I'm cleaning up. I bought the 1845c new in '99. It has ~4000 hours on the clock and is used daily. We use that pole attachment I made years ago and a hydraulic scrap grapple to handle our tires.
The biggest difference is that the 1840 is rated at 1,500 pounds, whereas the 1845C is rated at 1,750. (I ought to say that that's the most obvious performance difference.) The 1840 also lacks self-leveling loader arms; the 1845 has that built in. I believe the 1840 runs 10x16.5 tires, where the 1845 runs 12xx16.5 tires. KSSS would be far better source than I... so hopefully this can whet his appetite.
The 1840 for years (about a decade) was the most powerful machine for its size on the market. It had 50 hp nonturbo and was very economical on fuel. The later machines which became more affected by EPA requirements some of that fuel economy was lost. They were narrow and did have the 10X16.5 tires. Very compact and very capable. I would hate to guess how many cubic yards of material I have moved with one. I have taken them into large buildings and gutted them in very abrasive conditions. Very few problems. The problems I did see were usually th result of hoses rubbing together. I finally got smart and made the dealer put hose protectors on the machines before I took delivery. They were a little rough riding. You could get hyd. self leveling on them. There are a lot of them around and as with the 1845C still hold their value very well perhaps not as well as the 1845C as the market has grown to favor higher ROCs.
Since You All Are Talking About Some Case 1845's - Gotta Question, Are The Older 1845's (not 1845c) O.k.? Bought One Recently - Seems To Be Good Machine (older 1976?) - Have Not Been Able To Use It For Dirt Work - Ground Frozen Since I Got It About 3 Weeks Ago - Was Told When Ground Is Frozen - Forget Trying To Dig It With Skidsteer...
can't beat the 753's i heard that the new bobcats are not as good as the old ones. What are your thoughts about this
Welcome to HEF Cat! :drinkup
The older case 1845 as well as the b and s variants are good machines for their age, being produced in the late 70's and very early 80's. The 1840 and 184c's saw a redesign of the basic frame of the machine as well as using cummings for their power instead of case's gas 159 and their desiel 188. Case did a good job with their engines, their early 580 backhoes ran them, I think untill the letter "d". Also used in the ag side in several tractors. As a parts man for a case dealer, I didn't run into any amout of serious hydraulic or hydrostatic failures, but the number of machines in use isn't that high. Even the farmers have traded them in for an 1840 or 1845c and newer models. I dunno I think that unless I wanted a machine strictly to plow my driveway, I'd stay with a c or newer machine. Skid steers are very handy to have and the c's and newer usually have things like auxillary hydraulics and maybe high flow as well as the universal couplers that allow you to rent any attachment that you can think of. Unless the machine has been updated the 1845 straight ran a different quick attach, or might not even have one. I think that the purchase price difference between the models is offset by the versitility of the later models. Just my .02$
I just bought an older 763 with 2300 hrs on it and could'nt be happier with it. I've used a 743 and 753 a little and liked them both but like the 763 alot better. It is smoother to operarate lifts alittle more and does'nt want to go over backwards as fast when you are going up a steep hill, which is a problem that I have to deal with on my property. The company that I work for has nothing but Mustangs and I like them but I'm not sure of their life span. I work on a cold planning crew and when they start to get older we pass them down to different parts of the company that are'nt as concerned with reliabity. We had a new 94' Bobcat 853H that was a total POS that no one wanted to run, it was like being in a paint shaker. They did'nt pass it down just got rid of it. I was told that Bobcat had troubles with that year/model and it put a sour taste in my bosses mouth and we've had nothing but Mustangs since.
My friend has an 1845, the hour meter broke at 7000 hours and that was couple of years ago, it's still going strong. A little jumpy, but it hasn't had any major repairs, i think the only things it's had was a new sprocket.
We use to own a 743 Bobcat and updated a couple of years ago to a 773G, both are awesome machines. We started with a old Case, I don't even remember what number, but I hated the controls and the machine. I've run a lot of different skid steers and would say Bobcat and John Deere are my personal favorites.
I would think that the Case 1845c is the best, as I have yet to replace any major parts on one, just routine maintenance. For Bobcat the 743-843 machines were my favorites, but they are rust prone. I have been looking for a deal on a 1980 -up skidsteer but in my area all skid steers are beat up and overpriced. I am thinking of moving up to a classic track loader instead.
975 bobcat I have 2 975 bobcats that I got back in 1982 other then tires and normal maintance neather has ever had more then $500 worth of work done on them at any one time. Tires are the bigest expence @ a little over $500 each for 1500/19.5 I get about 1000 hours out of a set. Working load is 3700 lb and tipping load is at 7400 lb. (been there done that) Both have John Deer motors and the 974 has a perkins which I do not like. I was told by the bobcat rep that I should expect around 4000 hours out of the motors and around 8000 out of the frame. Both of my machines have over 10,000 on them. The hydrostatic motors on 1 is getting a little week but still manageable. Concidering both these machines will be 30 years old next year and not having to do much work on them I think I made a good investment. If Bob Cat still made this machine I would buy a new one but they quit about 10 years ago.. By the way most parts are still avalable so I have been told by Bob Cat Northwest. When investing in any machine it is important that you have good support.
Welcome to HEF sparky! :drinkup
Welcome to HEF dirthog28! :drinkup
Thankyou :beerchug
I would say a bobcat. Thats pretyy much what everyone has around here. Our 1990 743 has over 7000hrs on it, and runs like a champ. we bought it and had to put a new engine in since we bought it blew up. its a durable machine. At work we have an S300 and thats bulletproff. My 2nd cousin does concrete and apparently had a 773 turned up so mich it spun tires in the tracks he had over the tires. THe dealer is a good one to see, thats pry why most have em. Some of the IH guys have the older cases and like them, i never ran one. so i dont knwo wut to say.
Ive got an old bobcat and love it, case looked too small cab wise ,and the cat at work is squirrelly....Just my 2......Jeff
Any Bobcat before 1993 is a good choice, but the obvious signs of oil leaks should be considered, look closely at the loader, mainly where the bucket cylinder is mounted on the top, Bobcat loaders had problems with cracks there. The older Case's I've seen and run are real pigs, much less visibility than Bobcat and can be somewhat cumbersome to fix a problem on. If I was buying a used skid, I'd just get a CAT, those machines are darn good and they are built 5 times better than Bobcat, just looking at the quick attach tells you they are smarter, Bobcat still uses that BS tapered pin setup, that is so cheap and all their pins wear out even faster if you actually grease them!!
Welcome to Heavy Equipment Forums Sterlclan! :drinkup
thanks....nice to be here :drinkup
I've run a lot of these things now i guess... let's see... -first, a 1977 632 before i was old enough to touch the pedals (good machine for the farm, good machine for a small landscaping company) -then some 743s, those were great. -then an 843, one of my favorites. -an 853H (worn out, terrible machine) -an 863H on tracks (NICE machine, still a little worn out) -a 763 (worn the hell out but still better than a deere for finesse work.) -some kind of made in China piece of junk (No name brand skid steer, lol) -a bunch of brand new rental John Deeres (HATE THOSE THINGS) -can't remember either a Bobcat S250 or S300 (All I remember was it was beautiful, air conditioning, radio... Absolutely beautiful.) -Bobcat 773, I ran an S185 as well I think -and most recently, a brand new Cat 268B (First machine i ever ran with joysticks, takes a little to get used to. Yeah, the cat is a little squirly but i'm sure you get used to that too...) I'd never get a John Deere, I just don't like the controls, viability, the cab... The Cat is nice, I can see myself getting used to those joysticks, especially if you gave me a brand new 297C, those things with 2 speed, ride control, air suspension seat, A/C and satellite radio/ipod connection straight from the dealer... yeah i'd try one of those out... and never give it back!
I can only imagine what its like to have a skid steer with air conditioning and a radio. Everything I have ran has been open to the elements and often older than dirt. When I think of "older" I don't think of anything comfortable.
Hate to bring back an old thread. I'm looking for an older skidsteer, within a budget. I found a 1994 Lx665 #847911 with 1143 hours on it. Only want 9,000 for it. Would this be a good machine, or should I find somthing newer. I've searched the web for coutnless machines, and the more i look the more lost i get. I have the equipment appraisal form, which list park brake doesn't work, back up alarm doesn't work. It also has a cab and heater. Any suggestions pertaining to this model? Also looked at: 1998 Deere 7775 with 1300 hours for 11,900. 1997 Bobcat 763 1350 hours 13,000.
In my opinion, you can`t go wrong with any size New Holland They are tough machines.I have owned 7 and have never had any problems with any of them. I just recently purchased a new L185 Great Machine!
My question to the companies in America? Why , when something is so popular, would you ever quit making it.?
Floating this one back to the top. Great thread, thanks all for sharing their experiences. o.
Safety is a big one. Dumbasss do dumb things and sue the OEMs and pretty soon you have 6 safety sensors to satisfy to start a machine. Technology gets better is another reason, if company A built a 1845C type SSL with that old tech, very reliable but not refined in any current way and Company B introduces a quieter, more powerful, pilot controlled machine that is easier to run and that lifts more weight and even though machine A is probably more dependable, the B machine is much nicer to run so they sell more. Emissions is another forced criteria to meet, which results in newer models to be built that allows for the emissions requirements to be added. For me, if they still built an 1840-45C machine, I wouldn't buy one new (and I have had 6 of them over the years when you could still buy them new). The newer machines do almost everything better. The only advantage to a vintage machine is anyone could work on them and they don't have near as much to go wrong, but the newer machines are way more productive.