Hello fellow dirt players. Here are my needs and I'm asking you which machine would you go with. I own a small concrete block company down here in panama central america. I think I have read most of this board and have been doing a lot of research on all types of machines. I have knocked it down to the deere or a bobcat, of course you might know a better machine for my use, if so please throw it in there. I need to be able to go from bucket to forks fast. I need to be able to load a dump truck with it. I need to be able to pick up a pallet of blocks, or a pallet of concrete bags, 100lbs each. maybe 25 to 30 on a pallet. I am looking at the bobcat 330 or the deere 325 or 332. don't want a track machine. also hand control vs foot controls, which is better. I am looking for a used machine, low hours. 3ok to 35k range. I see a lot of post with problems with the bobcat, but that is a little misleading due to the amount of bobocats out there vs deeres. I don't need a machine with radio's heaters, doors, enclosed cabins. I do need one that is quiet, that won't beat the crap out of me. My main goal is to pick one that will pick up and handle the weight, fast change over and is the better over all machine with the least headaches. thanks for any replys.
Hey mark I have a bobcat s330 and we love it over here.. The reason why you may see people posting more problems about bobcat on here is because there are triple the amount of bobcat skid steers then deere skid steers.. John deere has the LOUDEST CABS I have ever heard, bobcat is definetly quiter. In my opinion I also feel bobcat has the better power bobtach out there you can actually see when the handles are opening and closing. Bobcat has better visibility as well
You may want to look at the S300 instead of an S330. There are many more used S300's out there than S330's http://www.machinerytrader.com/list...85EAA1C19AE1792CB21&Pref=0&Thumbs=1&scf=false The price is right on some of those S300's with low hours. The S300 has a rated capacity of 3000 LBS and the S330 has a rated capacity of 3300 LBS, not a great deal of difference if it fits the bill. I have owned 5 Bobcat skids and 1 mini-hoe. They have had their problems, just like any machine. I started out running a 1986 843, which was problably the best of any Bobcat machine I have ran. I know you stated you don't need A/C and the like but there are some deals out there on loaded machines that in essecence you get that for free. The A/C might come in handy if you are located in a coastal region of Panama - plus keeps you dry during the rainy season.
If heavy lifting and pallet work are your primary uses, the industry consensus is pretty much that the Deere and New Holland designs are the clear winner. True vertical lift pattern and great breakout forces. 332 vs S330 comparo: 332 Turbo/ 330 natural, 60/40 332 wt dist. / 70/30 S330, 3400# more bucket breakout on Deere, 800# more boom breakout on Deere, WAY easier servicability on Deere with access all the way around the engine. This list can go on and on. Yeah, the cab models of the Deeres are loud, but without the glass like you're spec'ing it, it won't be any worse than any other machine. You've got nearly 100hp 8 inches behind you. It's gonna make some noise. The only reason Bobcat puts handles on their hydraulic qt machines is because they bind frequently and you'll need a bar to get your bucket off, or at least something to beat on to try to get them loose, with the added benefit of "seeing the handles opening and closing". The Deere design qt doesn't have pins in sleeves, but a rotating pawl. Been running them for years and have only ever seen one bind once. Absolutely packed solid with heavy clay that froze. Buy the Deere. It is the better machine.
I have ran the hydraulic quick-tach on Bobcat machines since 2000 and I have not run into that problem. Normal maintenance which includes greasing the quick-tach pins, will allow many hours of service out of the hyd quick-tach.
I have had a S300, and currently have 2 T300's and love them. I have tried other brands but I don't see myself switching anytime soon. I feel they are very reliable, great support from dealer, parts are readily available. I have had cabs on everything, I like the sound deading package, as well as the visibility out of the cab. This is just my experience and opinion.
I never ran into a problem. Bobcat has a great power bobtach
interesting mark - better question to answer is how do you fix the thing in panama? is one brand better supported locally than the other? I was watching this cat 277b (i think, it was a large tracked cat weighing about 5.5 tonnes) working a pile of dirt the other day, every time he'd nose into the pile and lift he'd lift the rear end of his machine off the ground. the bucket was only a standard sized (for the machine) 4 in 1 and smaller than what i run on the S330. I cringed watching him run round fully loaded and balanced on his front idlers, sure he turned easy but it just looked plain wrong and unsafe. now his cat weighs about 1200kg more than my S330 but he aint carrying any more load. reason i raise this point is that to me a 70/30 weight bias is preferable to a 60/40, I dont give much of a hoot how the thing handles empty but when its got a bucket full of clay or a pallet of bricks i dont want the thing standing on its nose, i want it planted nice and stable which is what bobcats do in my experience. I have no idea of deere's - i'm not interested in them even if they were free however for all i know they could be a useful product. and i'm real curious, mkz, but can you please show me just one example of a factory built naturally aspirated S330? I'd hope you're not blinded to the fact that bobcat put all their service points on one side of the engine. the reason bobcat have handles on their bobtach is cause it uses the same setup as the manual ones and just adds a ram. if the ram stuffs up you can always remove it and keep on working. grease is your friend, i get to see lots of manual bobtachs that dont work and its always for the same reason - and ends up with the operator replying 'I didn't know there was a grease nipple there?' and most of these are owner operators too which is a worry. not sure if the 2 speed option is of much use to you but at times a 12mph travel speed comes in handy. for a straight load operation then the a300 might be of consideration. diff between the S300 and S330 is a larger engine and some counterwieght so I understand.
Is Esco the Bobcat dealer there? I think they are the Bobcat dealer in Costa Rica, but not sure.
The S330 has way larger tires over the S300.
thanks thanks for the imput you guys gave me a few things to think about. ESCO I dont' think carries any skids anymore. It's really hard to find much of anything down here, as far as parts ect. I did call a deere dealer and asked what size skid they had, she replied, whats a skid? I said well take a look at your ad in the yellow pages, see that machine on the left? thats a skid.. o well we don't sell those anymore. I then wrote to deere and asked them where could I buy one here, they never wrote me back. used one's down here are few and if you do find one its been worked to death and way over priced.
if it is critical to your operations and working hard then a wheeled loader may be a consideration mainly due to the reasonable expectation that i'd expect a wheel loader will last you considerably longer in terms of operating hours. i understand the volvo loaders are meant to be ok but i'd hazard a guess that cat are probably better supported in panama. is there some particular reason you choose a skidsteer over a wheeled loader?
another choice would be the A300, the four wheel steer version of the S300. nice for carrying big loads on forks because the dont hop as much when turning.
Go to RB auctions online or Iron Planet and pick yourself up whatever has support down there. Doesn't sound like you will have much choice in brand. Considering how cheap they are selling up here you likely could run it and recoup your costs when you want out of it.
mouse, I do own a 340b ford with a front end loader and box blade. I home made myself a set of forks to hook up to the bucket, and then didn't like it because I couldn't see them. That is one reason I was looking at a steer, to be right up on whatever your working with and being able to see it. I have been worried about the weight they will pick up which has been holding me back from buying one. Today I saw a ad for a 82 cat. 3.5 forklift, in fair shape, needs brakes, a seat and has a piston leaking, but for 1,900.00 hell my guys where backing up to it to load it up on my roll back just about as fast as I was trying to write the man a check. so my lifting problem is no more. now I can look at a smaller size machine that I can use mainly for sand and gravel loading. yes I know I already have a front end loader, but here again It's hard for me to see what I have in it, most of the time I scoop a bucket full only to find out when I dump it that I picked up equal to what a small child could have thrown in a western flyer. I hope with a steer I can see that mistake before I cross the yard and dump it.. and I guess the main reason I was looking at steers, is BECAUSE I WANT A NEW TOY!!! I have wanted one of these machines for years, but never really had a need for one, once I almost had the wife set to agree that I needed it to empty the liter box. I also feel that one day were going to wake up to find the dollar is worthless, so I would rather have something I can put my hands on and know thats where that money went.