I’m looking at purchasing a skid steer for my business, I have been in the excavation business for about 10 years in a small way, I work in a rural part of the county, and do mostly rough in work and small clearing work, I do most of it with a dozer, excavator, and a backhoe. But as business grows I keep getting calls for stuff that needs a skid, I need to be able to do more jobs in town, and I need to be able to do jobs from start to finish to remain competitive, I have been looking at a used skid steer, money is not there to purchase new, and I have had my heart set on buying a older Takeuchi pre emission machine, I do all my own mechanic work and I like stuff simple, but so far I have not had any luck finding a deal on that, everything has 3-5ks hours and they want nearly what you can buy a late model machine with half the hours. I have a customer that has a 2019 Bobcat t770 cab standard flow with 2300 hours that he is willing to sell me, has been dealership serviced for it entire life, in the last 500hrs supposedly has had complete ac system replaced, some type of circuit board was recalled and replaced, just had new tracks and sprockets put on in the last month, comes with 80” tooth bucket, and a grapple bucket, I believe I can buy the machine for around 25k. I know that the older bobcats were tough reliable machines, but I don’t know anything about newer stuff, what is everyone’s opinion on this? And is it possible to have it deleted? And what is the cost of that? I don’t like the idea of owning a def machine, but is living with this machine or getting it deleted better than buying a older higher hour machine? All thoughts and opinions are appreciated.
There is nothing simple about fixing a lot of the newer machines of any color. Between the proprietary electronics and DEF, it takes the dealer to fix or clear the computer on a lot of repairs. Finding simple machines without a lot of electronics and no DEF, and lower hours is really a unicorn, now that your 10-13 years with the start of DEF. If you have time to search nationwide for just the right older machine, you may find exactly what you want. The price on the BC seems pretty reasonable. You may not be able to fix everything yourself, DEF may or may not be an issue, but you likely have a machine with some good life left. However, I think once you have a high hp CTL, you will not be using your dozer as much and likely make more money due to easier mobilization, complete the smaller projects much quicker than a dozer. I think you could put a 1K hours on the BC and it would still be worth 25K assuming its not beat up. Older machines still break, drive motors are not cheap, so getting a high houred older CTL may save you in DEF issues and some electronics, drive motors are not cheap either, and just the normal stuff that high houred CTL's have issues with. Personally I would go with the BC. I think getting a CTL will very likely be a business game changer for you, and you will soon be able to flip into a new or very low houred CTL the following year, if you chose to. The BC at its price would set you up well for that.
I’m thinking I’m going to get it, everything points that that is the right direction to go. How hard is it to use non bobcat attachments with it? I saw a video yesterday that the aux electrical plug is different on a bobcat from most other companies, and that getting different brand attachments to communicate with the machine can be a problem? I find this hard to believe, seems like that would quickly sink a brand if they couldn’t cross with other brands in the skid steer world
Well it depends on the attachment. BC does everything they can to keep you using BC machines and attachments. Contact Skid Steer Genius, they can likely help you.
Only matters if you use electrical aux. Standard hyrdraulic auxiliary ie grapple is same. Bobcat attachments actually have a small controller on the attachment. .. . Skid steer genius has the controller/adapter, and a ton of info on their website.
I'll take two for $25k. That machine is worth $50k all day, every day. There's no way you're buying that machine with new tracks, and a second bucket for that unless it's stolen or a lemon.
what exactly is the Kubota or Doosan engine installed?
Well the deal is not done yet, but I expect it to be Monday, I will report back when it is
I've found the opposite to be true, I don't have a need for a high HP CTL because I have a dozer. As such I only considered the under 75hp CTLs to stay away from DEF. The CTL does all the small jobs that I used to do with my skid steer, but the dozer is still my favorite for any large earth moving, road building, finish grading etc. I've run Takeuchi TL12's plenty and they are not as productive as my LGP dozer for most dirt work.
I agree with mg84 ,I use 74 hp CTL and small dozer. I have had terrible luck with BC since Ingersoll sold. We switched to cat and have had great luck as well as nicer operating. In winter we spend 8-10 hrs in them pushing snow and the comfort is top notch. Are they the most productive? Don't know, we don't run the guts out of them, we grab the dozer at that point. Tak and Kubota are workhorses but spin crazy easy over uneven ground, rattle traps(especially Kubota), and HVAC needs help. My .02 worth.
You must not have to consider the cost of running an RGN around. I don't own a tandem or even a single axle dump that I could latch a beavertail to, nor do I own or have any desire to get a gooseneck. My 10 ton Diamond C tilt does everything I need it to, just can't haul my 1150.
Not many guys running RGN's around here, roads are too steep and curvy, access at most sites is terrible. Some of the big guys have them, but even so there are sites they are forced to use smaller equipment at because you can't get a semi within miles of it. A few run a tridem pintle trailer with a stout truck to pull it. I haul most equipment on a pintle hitch trailer behind either my single axle flatbed or dump truck. The large frame CTLs are too heavy to haul behind a pickup IMO, so I'd have to take one of the big trucks regardless, dozer or large CTL. My Kubota SVL65-2 only weighs 8000lbs so it tows nicely behind the pickup.
This comment will probably get flamed, but I will take my F550 with my 10 ton tilt trailer behind it all day, every day, over any thing bigger. I do have a service bed and fuel tanks, so my 550 weighs about 15k before I hook the trailer up. Truck, trailer, and T770 skidder weighs me right at 30k, and handles way better than a straight truck with a pintle I feel.
More comfortable sure, but longevity and cost per mile wise the class 6-7 and larger trucks have the upper hand. I like the versatility too, can haul materials/attachments/etc on the flat bed along with equipment on the trailer or take the equipment behind the dump truck depending on the job.
I prefer a high hp CTL over the 75 hp version of a large CTL. I have never lost one hour to a DEF issue. I have had 4 DEF machines and none have cost me an hour in down time due to SCR. So obviously there is more opportunity for issues, but I haven't personally seen it. The high hp machine gives me options. I can't always have the best suited machine on a job, I wish I could. The dozer can be somewhere else and I can put the 450B on a project with a big bucket and still be productive in most cases. I can put a mulcher on that machine as well. I also have a high hp wheeled machine for the same reasons. We can have equipment scattered all over Eastern Idaho, this keeps me productive at a level I am comfortable with even if I cant have the ideal piece on every job. There is a GC company that we do a lot of work with. They have a 370B which is 75 hp, it does a lot work, but it is a reminder of how much that extra hp matters (at least to me). There may not be a right or wrong way of doing it, just what works best for you. I pull nearly everything with a 3500 DRW or 3500 SRW. I can pull behind a dump truck, but seldom do. I have a 3 axle 24K tag and a gooseneck. I just prefer to do it that way. The 3500 gives me fuel, tools and so forth. The overall cost may be higher than a class 8 but convenience is worth something as well.
I will say that I personally don't run any high hp/high flow requirement attachments, which definitely would be a deciding factor for the bigger machines. Bucket, forks, grapple and post hole digger are about all I run. My only requirements capability wise for a CTL are that it will lift a full bundle of fence posts or full pallet of block and have enough lift/reach to load a tandem dump truck.
If you don't have a need for the extra power then there is no need to pay for it, that makes sense to me.
In case you are still in the market for a Skid Steer, I made a tool to help you easily compare the different models from the major manufacturers: https://www.skid-steer-rental.com/us/skidsteers/compare Appreciate any feedback if you found it useful, or other specs you think are valid to compare.