I was wondering if someone could offer a little help. looking to purchase a new Skid Steer for a weekend farm in Western Wisconsin. Primarily snow removal, grapple bucket for working in the wood and general horsing around. I've looked at a case SR175, Gehl 5240 and a Deere 320E. I got all the machines priced out the same with the same options but I am worry about reliability and dependability. Up in the area by Western Wisconsin a lot of the farmers run Gehl, the machines seems a little primitive compare to the other manufacturers but key is dependability. Most of the people I've talked to praised the Gehl. The case machine seems really nice as far as the workmanship, but I've hear they have a lot of electrical problems. The machine I am looking at has these options: 1. heated cab 2. Self leveling bucket 3. Dual hydraulics/with float 4. Block heater 5. Suspension seat 6. Two speed Hydro Any help will be greatly appreciate it, I just don't want to make the wrong purchase. All those 3 choices are because they are local dealers and if there are any issues I know I have local service.
I see 90% Gehl on farms
Deere here since it is a E model should have a Yanmar engine now,which is a plus over the Deere engine they had.Will have some emission stuff.Local dealer close also a plus.Good luck
I have a new New Holland L220 w/ OTT that works for me. It's virtually identical to the Case equivalent, since they are made in the same factory. I have had no electrical problems. I have made some "improvements" to my machine, most of which are applicable to the Case equivalent. You can check them out at If you go Case or NH, be sure you get the latest firmware for the EH controls & control system. I just had mine updated, & the addition of E-Z EH is an improvement. I understand that there are a fair number of JCB dealers in Wisconsin, so why aren't you also looking at a JCB?? The side-entry cab is unique, spacious & is very useful if you have to get in/out of your machine a lot.
In WI? Must be a local thing for you, theres a pretty good mix across the state of every brand. Gehl was popular on farms around here until their big dealer went under. If you will be using it enough for Ag use, the Cat dealer has an Ag program you may qualify for. May be worth looking into.
I have a CASE Alpha machine. Its been trouble free electrical or otherwise. Except for new hand controls which were replaced under warranty. If your controls on the 175 were mechanical, there is very little issue. The EH controls have seen a series of improvements since they come out, like the EZ EH update StumpWally talks about. I have happy that CASE has continued to refine the controls and make the updates available without cost on the machines outside of warranty. The issue with Gehl for me is that you don't get much in trade in or resale for them. The prices upfront are not any cheaper. The Deere and CASE will give better trade/resale values.
Have you thought about what happens to the side entry door if you want to put tracks on the JCB? FWIW, I went with a Deere 325 about 6 years ago and I've been happy with it. 250 hours on it now on the farm. Tracks on it all the time.
I wouldn't say that's true across the board based on my experience with Gehl. More difficult to sell than Bobcat or Cat for sure, but they are very marketable for good money if you don't have to sell quickly, especially if they are pre-emission machines, have two speed, hand/foot or pilot controls, have cab/heat and are in good shape mechanically and aesthetically. Can't speak for trade-in value since I have no experience here. I personally love the T-bar controls, but don't think the common user likes them. Gehl had some issues with whining hydro's a while back, but was told by a long term mechanic they came out with a fix - some line that connected the tandem pumps that had a larger orifice or something.
You can't put OTT on a JCB because of the side-entry door. If you need tracks on a JCB, you have to get a JCB compact track loader, which still has the side-entry door but which is a little shorter on the bottom to clear the tracks.
Resale value isn't anything to consider unless you haven't bought something off a farmer LOL. There's usually nothing left. 10-15,000 hours
Actually you can put tracks on a JCB. Either fit yourself through the front entry, or I've heard the recommendation to cut off the lower part of the side entry door. None of which I consider a good solution. That's why I brought up the point. Not everyone uses tracks on a skid steer but mine are on full time as well as others that I know.
Not all, we used to run them into the ground and 10k hrs, now we trade early and often so they are worth something. The price is right, and I no longer waste my days working on SSLs.
That only makes sense. Its the model I have used for the last 20 years. As the price of these things continue to go straight up, it makes even more sense. I like to keep them current. Much easier to pay some every 3-5 years and little wrenching than to rebuy an entire machine and have to turn wrenches on your way to dropping all that cash.
In our case, with all of the other stuff on the farm keeping me busy in the shop, we'd need to hire another person. Plus we would also need to keep another machine around for when the others would go down. If the prices weren't right it would be different, but so far its been working well trading around 2yrs/2k hrs. The machines all have 3yr/3khr warranties, so outside of regular maintenance, not much I need to do.