I'm building a garage, and the excavator guy seeing my ferguson to-30 with FEL said i could save $2500 if he could just pile hte dirt up and leave it. I said absolutely, I'll be happy to deal with it. Then I realized a few years ago I moved 250 yards of dirt with that ferguson and it **** near killed me. The clutching, shifting, braking, no power steering, and the radiator blowing directly on my right foot pretty much cooked it. So I thought I should take a look at what other options I if I spent that $2500 on a machine. I searched and searched for a tractor with power steering and FEL and hydro, but none of them came even close to $2500. Then I found a bobcat for $3500. I offered the guy 3k and he took it, so now I'm the proud owner of a Bobcat M-600. All fresh fluids, cylinders repacked, perfect running and opperating. Has a slight oil leak somewhere that is indicated by some white smoke burning off the top of hte engine, but otherwise all movement is strong, all hydraulics are strong, I think I ended up with a good machine to do my dirt moving. But boy does that foot/hand thing take some getting used to.
I think the 1st thing to do is build a cage with side screens. It is very dangerous as is.
Welder Dave is rite, Although the early ones came like this... It is dangerous. Glad to see someone still running the ole Melroes.
Just recently purchased one of these myself. Though mine is missing the intended bucket or bob-tach adapter plate so I'll be fabricating something for it. My main issue though is the previous owner was doing something with the wiring and never completed it so now that falls on me. WD is right for sure about the cage. They made one for mine though I think they could have done a better job of it. It'll serve its purpose though. I do need to find attachments for it though aside from a bucket, I'm looking for forks, grapple bucket, backhoe and maybe a couple other things but its for the purpose of digging out along my basement wall so i can make repairs and afterwards, prepping for a slab for my upcoming garage.
You're asking too much for an M600 type machine. I think the last ones were around 1972 and it uses clutches for steering instead of hydrostats. Very capable machine in the right hands though if everything works properly. Forget about a backhoe. I think it's rated for 1000lb.
They had a backhoe for it, The D100. As for too much from it, I've seen them easily clear out for a swimming pool which is pretty much the same process for digging out for a slab. Worst case I can go over the area with a tiller to loosen up the top layer and scrape it out.
It's approx. 50 years old. Expecting it to perform anywhere near new and be reliable is unrealistic. A shop here that was a dealer when new had a 600 series forklift with extra counterweight and wheel frame out back. They knew the machine inside out and finally desided it was longer worth trying to keep it going. Just being honest so you don't end up with an expensive pile of iron you can't use.
Completely understand. So far my investment is minimal, hence why I'm willing to invest a lil more. The primary thing I need from it is for the work on my basement wall. Its narrow enough to work along the wall but not heavy enough to add much strain against the wall while I'm working. Once its served its use I'll end up picking up a larger unit for other jobs down the line but for now I'm gonna work that lil wisconsin engine to death. lol
Don't push the Wisconsin too hard especially on hot days. They are a good engine BUT not the best in a skid steer application because they are so closed in and can't get enough cooling air. Make sure tokeep shroud around engine spotlessly clean to allow full air flow. Heat from the bucket hyd's certainly doesn't help. Was told in a commercial setting engine life was only in the 1000 to at most 1500 hour range. Better to take an extra day or 2 than push your luck. Also remember something about removing heads periodically to remove carbon deposits. They aren't a very high compression ratio. Hope this helps.
Those models were obsolete back in 1980 when I started turning wrenches on iron. The later units had heat tabs on the cylinder heads to short the ignition and stop the engine before you actually did work it to death. The Melroe brothers developed them on a chicken farm I think, and they were the model T of the skid steer world. Look around the places that dismantle these for a takeoff open cab, the 610 will fit, and possibly the 700 series of that vintage, you NEED a safety cage, as these machines will literally go ass over teakettle in a snap and there's no saving it once set in motion. Try these folks. Schaefer Enterprises 4535 ST ROUTE 3 PO Box 136 Wolf Lake, Illinois 62998 Phone: (618) 833-5498
Mine has a cage and as of today I bought a d100 backhoe attachment for it. Both units need some loving so hoping for nice weather.