Hi all, New to the forum, I have found some good info on hear allready, My dad and myself are looking for a good used skid steer , we live in MN we are looking for something over 45 hp it is mainly going to be used for personel use, I have 3 acres with alot of oak wilt dead trees I need to clean up and he's mainly going to use it for dirt work and the such. we have a $15000 limit. which models should we be looking for and what should we stay the hell away from. sorry so long just wanted to give all the info. Please don't turn this into a pissing match. if there is a reason for a negative or a positive please let me know why, we are both new to skid steers so any help greatly appreciated. Todd
Well.... 15000 is a nice bit of money to spend for what you need! I have always thought the Bobcat s185 was a good machine, and they are a dime a dozen for a nice one in your range. Also, a case 40 xt or a case 410 are good machines. Personally i would go with something a bit bigger.... like a Bobcat s205 or a case 430, 440 or a cat 242 or 246. These are all good machines and will serve you well. I guess for me i like the mid sized frame for mobility, and you can still get a machine big enough to lift 2000#. Always buy a bit bigger than you think you need!!!! You will kick yourself if you dont. If you shop around you could also find some great deals on Gehl machines. I have never owned one but ran a few. Never heard anything but good about them.
leave the case 410 & 420 alone if they are early models, lots of motor issues. Personally I'd go with a late case 1845c & late 40-75xt, good solid machines. Bobcat wise, mainence is easy service is a pain. They are probably the hardest machine to change a starter on. That being said they are pretty tough and reliable, just time consuming to repair.
i dont see why everyone says bobcats are so hard to work on. i am always surprised at how easy it is to work on them. now my car is a huge pain to work on, way worse than the skid steer. we have never had to replace a starter, but isn't it just inside the back door in plain view on a 185?
I was thinking for sure that bobcat had several models out there that they put the starter on the backside of the transverse motor, where getting to it was pretty much impossible. Can't find a pic to suport my claims right now but thats ok. Listen to what atco and other forum mechanics have to say about bobcat service...
THREE QUESTIONS : First what dealer in your area are close and have a good parts/service department? second what do you hope to do with this machine? third how long do you want to own it?
People may think I'm crazy but go after a Takeuchi 130/140 (or Mustang/Gehl version). They lift a lot, are easy to run, and you have the tracks.
I was in your position last Fall. I bought a Bobcat T-200. The opinion seems to be that tracked machines are expensive to keep up. I have used it for dirt work on hillsides that a wheeled machine just couldn't handle. If I had gotten wheels, I would be out of luck.
I have a ggod asortment of dealers around me, John deere, Case, bobcat, cat gehl. Myself, I have just bought a house with 2.5 acres of trees that have oak wilt so they are dying one by one so woods work, Dirtwork and my dad wants it for dirtwork. I think as long as we like it we will have it alot of years, Its going to be used on the weekends so we won't be puting on alot of hours.
That was my situation. House with wooded 2 acre lot on hillside. I have had about 100 tandem loads of fill as of yesterday. Going to put in gabion boxes and terrace lot.
i have heard bad things about gehl 7810s here and there. but i dont think you can go wrong with the old school standard gehl skid steer. (if your wrist can handle it) again, the neighbor has 30,000 hours on his old gehl and still uses it all the time. a skid steer is the one machine i wouldnt recommend buying bigger than you need. its a skid steer, it is supposed to be small. i havent figured out why companies are releasing giant skid steers again, bobcat tried it in the 80s and never sold any.
I didnt mean to buy the biggest skid you can find or that money can buy. I meant once you determine your application buy a bit bigger than you think you may need. Once again.... as i said before, for me i would buy the larger model in the frame size that fits your application, (i.e. Bobcat s-205). For what it sounds like you are going to use it for a S-205 machine or similar would be a good choice. Also,, i never bought a track machine for the cost of upkeep. I am not the only person to run our machines, and these guys dont have a clue what it cost for an undercarriage for one of these machines.
I picked up a 753 bobcat with 700 hours on it. I use it at the lake for just about everything. When I shopped around the advice I heard was to get a compact machine thats able to get around in tighr quarters. The property has lots of trees and I have yet to have trouble handling any size tree on the property. I also got a tree grapple and rock grapple that made handling tress a piece of cake.
Case 1845c tested and proven work horse.
I have a 1993 Thomas 233 HD that is a brute. This machine just keeps going and going - lots of power. It's not luxurious but it is a highly useful utilitarian machine. Bought a newer Case 95XT recently with a monster pump on it to run the snowblower but I couldn't bear parting with the Thomas so I'm going to keep em both.