Hey guys, current firefighter and starting to build homes on the side. Looking at purchasing my first skid steer. Wanting to use it for backfill, landscaping, small grading, as well as for my hunting club for food plots and cutting shooting lanes. Want an enclosed cab. Was looking at Cat, Bobcat, and Takeuchi. What is yall’s opinion on which one you would purchase? Not looking for new, but 2010+ with lower hours. Need it to be able to run a forestry Mulcher, auger, and maybe a tiller/bush hog. What would be a good machine capable as well as reliable for what I’m needing it to do. It’s also something I will not be running everyday so more or less part time machine work. Thanks for the help!
The best maintained for the lowest $$$ figure is more important than the brand.
The mulcher will require "high flow" hydraulics. That alone will narrow choices considerably. I would buy a pre-DEF machine.
Welcome to the Forums JB! Your location says Birmingham and by the term "ya'll" I assume Alabama and not Michigan. The dealers in the 'Ham are just as, if not more important, than the brand.
I have a customer that has several new bobcats and they have been down more than they have worked. The issue with this hasn’t been the breakdowns, it’s the service from the bobcat dealer that sucks.
The mulching mission kind of sets the bar for what capability the machine needs to have. Because mulching is a very high demand application, how much mulching you intend to do will dictate how much machine you need. Since your building houses and not running a dirt or mulching business, I would guess it would be an occasional use type attachment and high productivity would not be the biggest driver. I would look through the specs of whatever machine you are interested in. CAT's XPH system is high flow and high pressure, Case's version is EH enhanced high flow these offer flow around 35-40 gpm and psi around 4K, ASV also is a high flow/high pressure system. I am not sure who else offers 4K plus psi systems but there may be others. These machines are expensive and harder to find used. The higher flow and higher pressure, and its ability to keep itself cool are important for productivity. The benefit of higher psi machines is that they go over relief less which helps keep the machine cool, going over relief generates a lot of heat. Hydraulic Horsepower matters, I would compare the numbers carefully. The more mulching you intend to do, the more all of that matters. If you take the mulching need out for the sake of discussion, most any higher hp high flow machine would do what you need very well. You could likely go with a high flow sub 75 hp machine, which would keep you out of SCR. You would be doing things slower but you would not have DEF to deal with. These are the productivity decision you need to decide for yourself. Personally if your a house builder, I would keep the machine more simple and affordable. By choosing the right mower, you can do a fair amount of mulching type work. Diamond mowers has some great options in their high flow mowers, very capable for different types of work. I have a mulcher and a large Diamond mower but with the big Diamond mower it does a lot of what the mulcher does but handles the typical mower type work as well. So often the Diamond gets used while the mulcher sits. That may work for you as well. As for brand, there are many options and depending on the year the answer can vary. I would decide how much you want to spend, and decide what level of productivity you are good with. Don't lose sight of where you making your money, and it is not running a skid steer so I wouldn't over spec it. Once you know how much machine you really need, and how much you want to spend, you set out to find machines that fit your criteria.
You do not need high flow for a mulcher. Many companies will build you a mulcher with a hydraulic motor spec'd to your machines pressure and flow rates.
John deere track loader 323e,love it ,and I have great service.
I didn’t even think about the newer ones having DEF systems now. What years did that make their debut?
I agree, but that’s the 3 I’m most familiar one, besides Deere and and wasn’t impressed with the last one I operated. What would you suggest?
Haha yes I’m from Alabama. Southern thing I guess. That’s another thing I’m considering is the support I have locally for whichever machine I choose. Just wanting to get a jump start here on which ones I should stay away with and which one I should look more into purchasing.
Your exactly right! And that’s why I’m here hopefully to help curve overbuying a machine that I’m not using solely to make money! Thanks for the great reply. I’ve worked for a construction company for several years when I got out of high school. So I’ve only operated skid steers with buckets and no fancy attachments. So finding one that has those capabilities without overbuying is what I’m trying to figure out. Thanks!
I'm not really sure. I think it was required for engines over 75 HP in 2010. The cost of the DEF is not the issue, it is the added complexity and maintenance cost.
Correct. On our newer fire Engines at work with DEF systems reak havoc with problems from time to time.
I have a CAT287b. I likely use it less than you plan to use yours. I have heard negative comments on this board about the ASV undercarriage it has. I did replace the majority of it a few months ago. Yes it costs money. I just chalked it up to deferred maintenance. The machine seems quite strong. It is high flow, so my matched mulcher works well. Despite what folks on here have said, it seems to work as a bulldozer VERY well pushing piles of sand. I like the joystick setup. The only downside I can think of is the weight. It is great for pushing and lifting, not so great for moving around. I put it in a 26k GVWR dump trailer behind a 1 ton dually. It is likely very close to limit with a couple of attachments in there with it.
I live in Birmingham as well. Like I said the dealers here in the 'Ham are just as, if not more important than the brand. I won't muck up this thread but I'll give you some local advice via private conversation.
Tier 3 was the last of the engines that did not require a DPF or SCR. Tier 4 Interim was DPF equipped. I bought one in 2014 a SV300 CASE and put 2K on it and it never had an issue. Run them hard and they worked well for me. Idle time or not getting them hot would clog the filter. Tier 4 Final is SCR or DEF equipped machines. They are required over 75 hp. I have two machines a 2017 TR340 and a 2018 SV340 that are SCR and never have given me any issues yet. The year of the machine is not as important as what Tier the engine is. Mulching with a low flow machine regardless of whether or not the mulcher is speced to the machine may have a place but is a small one for anyone trying to make money at it.
So what's the deal with machines less than 75HP? Can you still buy new ones without DEF?
Yes they are not required to run SCR. They typically have a DOC which is similar to Cat on car. Pretty much trouble free.
Yep both my 279's are 74 horse and no DEF just that fancy muffler.