OK I am wondering what your opinions are for using a skid steer on hills? as I have some property I am trying to back fill in a section to get more level ground, but at same time I will still need to keep a down hill road open to do work on the bottom half of the property. I been looking for a skid steer for a while now, and just cannot seem to find a decent one for a fair price and also starting to think maybe a skid steer isn't the best tool for working on hills as well the hills I have are uneven ground, and about 15% slope(at the bottom is a 10+ ft almost vertical drop, retaining wall! so will need to make sure I can stop before going off?? I don't have a ton of experience with skid steers, so are they good on hills, or should I look for something else?? and if so, what? I cannot use a dozer, here due to some concrete and pavement that will need to be crossed often! Thanks
Yeah , we run a JD 8875 with the Grouser brand steel tracks . I've always felt it was pretty agile on hills with the over tire tracks . They will be light on the front if anything . When climbing a steep grade forward Keep bucket low with a little dirt in it for extra counterweight . You get used to them after awhile . Not as stable as a dozer so take it easy at first . Other than that was a pretty good move for us at the time as we could go after small short time digging tasks that come up . Add a good backhoe attachment and you are damn near unstoppable . Even tag team it with the excavator on different jobs . HeavyEquipmentForums If you are dealing with dirt and crossing a paved drive Grouser also offers the steel tracks with rubber pads . http://www.grouser.com/products/tracks-soft.php In my type of work the over tire tracks are the key to making the skid loader a viable asset .
You will have to ramp it down keep the bucket low you may have to back it up the hill or have a bucketfull of dirt if the front end wants to lift go strait down not to much sidehilling