I'm looking to purchase one, really like the cab design and door. The visibility seems best for my application. Will be doing a lot of grading, digging, and lifting with this machine. I have another machine I'll keep for brush clearing/grubbing. I'm curious to those who have run/owned one and service/parts, maintenance. Would You buy another, why/why not? Thanks for all the info! The other one I like is the John Deere 333e.
we have the 2013 jcb 205 wheeled machine. i think it has 1200 hours on it now. its not quite perfect, but it is close. i would say drive one as much as possible and if you like it buy it. service and support has been the best i have experienced. its one of those deals where some people are going to love it and some are going to hate it. you just need to figure out which side of the fence your on. its best features are all around visibility, the quiet cab, and the side entry; it is also quite comfortable to drive.
I have noticed a lot of the specs of the large(75hp) jcb are very close to the other brands 90-100hp. Also what in your opinion makes it not perfect? For what I need the visibility is huge. Is the cab quieter and better sealed from outside dust than others you've operated? I need Something that seals good, I have bad allergies and get asthma.
You might want to look at the new CAT D series skid steers. They do have a great sealed cab.
Yes what they are doing with "75" hp seems impressive. they do that so they don't have to get into the emissions regulations of the "greater than 75 hp." the cab is by far the quietest i have ever been in, i really like that. as far as the cab being completely sealed i do not think it is. it works good for what we do with it, and i don't notice much dust being in the cab, but if your in a 100% dust environment i think you would get dust in the cab. but the cab is still more sealed than any other brand i have driven. also, for whatever reason the in cab recirculation "filter" (some kind of fancy wire mesh) seems to be a little less than adequate just by looking at it, and the outside air filter seems pretty small and tends to get dirty quickly. air flow always seems good though. the electric controls are the main reason i say to demo one as much as possible. for the most part i like our electric controls, but our machine has the older software installed, which i prefer. the cat probably has better cab filtration, but if your looking for visibility, you won't find it there. i would say if your doing heavy digging and generally abusing the machine to go with the radial arm design. the vertical design gives you one more potential problem causing link. you said you have a beater machine so having to be careful (about ramming things) with the left side of the machine should not be an issue for you. we have not had any breakdowns with this machine, but if a breakdown would end up costing you tons of money and you wouldn't be able to get a loaner machine, i think a bobcat would be the most reliable machine. we have been running them for around 40 years and just never really had any problems to speak of with them.