1. Cat 2. Bobcat 3. Komastu 4. Deere 5. Gehl 6. Other (specify) Looking for some feed back. Our bobcat t190 may be getting replaced soon. Not sure what too look at so many good choices out there. Need some pros and cons of your purchases.
CASE. Go to Casece.com, click on tracked skid steers and then go down to compare machines, excellent and easy to use spec. guide. The T-190 is a weak machine, by any standard.
Takeuchi TL 150/250 Even though I currently own a T320 Bobcat,I would have to seriously consider a Takeuchi in the future. Actually, the only reason I did not buy Tak originally is because the nearest dealer is 150 miles away.
good dealer support would be my biggest thing to look at not price because if your down in the middle of the night or what ever and you have a good dealer to get parts and service work done that would be what i would go for also i like the takeuche they do have alot of power but the tl150 is huge and is speced at a 2500 lb lift capacity thats pretty weak a bobcat t250 which is smaller can lift that but the tak can push a hell of a lot more bobcat also just released that you can get steel tracks on the t250 300 320 something to consider if your just in the dirt or demo forest business
Ive been doin a lot of reseach on diff brands for sizes and such. Ive been told takeuchis are great. My buddy has a komastu 35, its heavy but seems like a sweet machine. They ran it hard for about 6 months now and no probs yet, they do alot of demo work(houses). Cat to me is out of the ? to big and bulky, plastic coated rollers. 75% of our work is in rocky terrain. I was in a t300 for a little and man that was a power house but might be a bit to big. Steel tracks are no go, has to stay rubber. The 190 is a perfect size most of the time but just needs more power. We would rather stay in the 8-9k lbs size but seems like the 10k lbs machines are where its at.
Terex PT 80.
We just baught a case 420. I used it today to load 20 foot sheets of steel into a high rolloff box with forks on the machine. The rubber tired version of the same 420 series tipped and grunted and was a complete waste of time trying the same thing the crawler machine did. The Drawback is cleaning the tracks! Unless you have a power washer available, it's nearly impossible to clean all the tight nooks and crannies this machine has tight to the cab. I read it has a 1750lbs lifting capacity.
No terex deals here. I have cat case deere bobcat komastu locally, that i know of for shure.
Id get a deere or bobcat
The machines with the polly track rollers, how do they hold up for you guys? I heard they arent the best.
They hold up fine, but you have to use a little common sense such as not using them for demo work or on rock all the time. If you stay mostly in dirt they will last a long time. My machine had 2400hrs on it when I traded it, still had all original rollers and metal roller sleeves on the squirrell cage.
Right now I'd be looking at a Deere, their lifting ability is among the top and pushing power is right up there with Takeuchi. Sure some guys will bitch about Deere's small cab and being noisy, but I look at production, I wear ear plugs and relax at home on the couch! Takeuchi is a good machine also to look at, I'm not a pilot control fan, but the Takeuchi controls seem a little squirlly to me. I've ran a Komatsu 35 quit a bit to and the controls are pretty good, but a little bit of a delay in them I think, but the 35 will push, but it has not lift or bucket breakout force, always have to back out of pile of dirt.
Well in my neck of the woods its all rock here. You cant even plant a flower with out an excavator. Unless were spreading sand on a beach front or plowing snow the machine is gonna be eatin rocks in the tracks. I try my best to take it easy all the time but ive tossed a track off 7 time from august till november last fall. Tuff under carrige is one of the biggest concerns. And the (its an 05) t190s u/c seems bullet proof. Dont know how the newer ones are with the suspension rollers.