Been hearing the Bobcats are in the shop a good bit. When I took mine in for the 1500 hour service the dealer told me he had two newer ones ahead of me in for "diagnostics". I guess they quit using Kubota engines and are making their own now too. Anyone current on any of the newer machines, any brand? Tried a Kubota with the two speed that did real good, but visibility wasn't great. Easy in and out was a plus as my knees bother me some.

Need to buy a tracked machine for winter work. All the dealerships here are sold out of everything, excavators and skidsteers so I'll need to order ahead.

I’m shopping, too, and right now the JCB is leading the pack. Next the Bobcat and new Holland and then kubota and John Deere bringing up the rear. Local mechanic says the outfit that does the fiber optics had two John Deere’s, and couldn’t get a full season out of them. Caterpillar is out because of the local dealer.

We’re always lifting things with the skid steer and then need to crawl out for one reason or another. With the JCB you can get away with that. Plus the telescoping boom option would be very handy.

Diesel mechanic I know suggested takeuchi when I asked the same thing.

I'd love a skid steer. I like the older bobcats with the kabota engine. We have a mini excavator 324, 2013 model. I love it. I just can't scoop and go. Luckily we have a tractor with a bucket.

So far it has been bullet proof.

Not sure the reason why you are looking for a tracked vehicle but good luck.

Wouldnt touch a new Bobcat. If it were my money Takeuchi would be whatnid look hard at.

Oh and what I can move with the blade and bucket is actually impressive. Easy to transport and only cost 12 grand. I can raise the machine about a foot and trust me, it has excellent down force.

I'm gonna go out tomorrow and clear trees with it.

had a case 45 skid steer for many years.liked it a lot,all controls in your hands.never did like bobcat.over 20 years ago.

Look at Takeuchi if you’re going tracked. Gehl makes a damn good machine if you’re going wheeled. I have 2 New Holland’s and Case has a good machine too. Bobcat is way down on my list even though I operated a 2000 763, literally into the ground. JCB is unique with the single lift arm, side entry and telescoping arm, but they don’t have the best reputation, historically speaking. Kubota would be hard to beat in the durability category.

Hate to take away from fireball but what's wrong with the jcb's? Seen a few around here at a decent price.

I like the idea of the telescopic boom. What's wrong with the local Cat dealer?

Thanks for weighing in JM. I've had two Gehls, no problems. I've lost count of the Bobcats, at least 6. Very durable, but we're talking old machines w/o all the electronics. Thousands of hours with very little repaired. But, as we all know, electronics change everything. Current wheeled machine works perfectly fine, but I need tracks to get around in mud. I have heard good things about Takeuchi but have never run one, other than logging equipment.

CAT

Thank me later

Just tagging for daydreamed equipment someday.

Poor dealer network, expensive hard to source parts, terrible resell value comparatively and sub par reliability.
Lots of better options IMHO, but opinions are always subjective.

Dishonest salespeople, and management is aware and don’t care.

Takeuchi’s are solid. Buddy has 4 right now. TL10’s and 12’s.

Skid steers have a lot of variables. Controls are a big one. I can run standard (foot pedal) and “H” pattern like second nature. ISO’s are another, the Takeuchi enclosed cab doors slide up and over instead of out which is nice. I’d test drive every brand available locally. Dealer support is nice but not imperative with the convenience of online part ordering as long as you can do a lot of your own maintenance (which you can do)

For sure , any brand you choose beats a shovel.

Do yourself a favor a skip over New Holland if you’re running it weekly . If it’s just needed every now and then then ok. They’re just behind CAT and Kubota in quality

I liked the older bobcats. The new Cats are nice, but someone is probably making the skid steer for them. Can’t comment on other brands.

Kubota svl95 all day everyday and twice on sunday.

I'd like to get a forestry mulcher with it. Fire fuel reduction is BIG bidness around here and will continue to be. The mulcher on the excavator is good but a good skidsteer setup should cover more ground.

You’re gonna drop some coin on one of the high flow outfits

What are you running Bob?

If Kubota has a tracked one then I would look at it. I ran a CAT a couple of weeks ago and it was nice but they don't hold up. They are constantly in for repair.

NH

What's going on with it? How many hours and years old?

Nothing but they just aren’t as high quality overall as a CAT or Kubota . I don’t think they cost as much either so it really depends on what you wanna do with it and frequency of use.

It’s about 4 year old 75 hp tracked . Low hours . I bought it used

Oh yeah get one that uses a safety device OTHER THAN a seatbelt.

Got enough hours on my New Holland to have a pretty good feel for it.

I like it!

Made in the USA as well, so no wait for parts that may or may not be coming from overseas.

Power of it still surprises me. High flow C245.

I keep it busy. Money maker for me. Last week I was taking out mesquite trees I couldn't reach around with it.

They may have changed them now but the NH cabbed version requires the loader to be down so far before the door can swing open . That’s just dumb. What if the machine has a breakdown and it does with the loader up far enough to keep you from being able to open the door to leave the cab. Big boo boo on the design team

How many hours you up to now? What kind of mulcher you using RB?

I'd just lower the loader by letting the hydraulic pressure off. Same goes for my tractors. I can shut them off with the loader in the air, and still lower it. Just use the control stick and let the pressure out of the cylinders.

But there's other ways too.

You open the door a crack, then push upwards on the door... it slides off the hinges. Or in an emergency, you can exit the rear.

Or you could just design it better SEE KUBOTA

I have about 275 hrs now.

No mulcher. I made the decision not to use a mulcher when I bought it. Using a mulcher will take half the life out of a machine. If you expect you can get 5000 hours out of a machine, if you are using a mulcher, you'd get half that. It's hard on stuff.

Yeah. I looked at them. Don't lift as much, and cost $10k more.

Pass.

What are you using to take down the mesquite?

Danuzer Intimidator.

Pulls trees out by the roots.



Clean up and back drag with an Armstrong Ag root rake.

I wonder if that would work on the oaks we have here? They are tough to get out even with an excavator.

Takeuchi makes a damn good mini excavator. I would expect their skidsteers to be good as well, but haven’t been on one. Kubota and Caterpillar are both well regarded.

I do okay on oaks up to about 20" with it.. as long as you have some moisture in the soil, and it not dry and set up like concrete.

Liveoaks are the hardest to get out, but I get them too, most of the time. If it's too big for me to get out with what I have, you don't wanna be running a mulcher on it.

Ford 8n with a hitch scoop

A CAT or comparable hi flow with a forestry mulcher will make things pictured above look like tonka toys

Whatever works for the job and your budget

Nothing but time

Is Ren Fiddy standing in the scoop with an electric chain saw?

LMAO

Nawww

Wortuh hose and a grubbin hoe

And Miracle Gro ? Didn’t he eat it the first time you showed it to him ?

Pop rocks man, mix it in your Hawaiian Punch

That's all we've bought for the last 15 years and their rubber track models are flawless. I would have to have a really good salesman to sell me on something else after 15 years of experience with them.

Son in Law has had a couple case wheeled units for over ten years. He recently leased a couple Kubota tracked units. I see they both have his Company decals on them now, so they must be off lease.

I guess that means he likes them a lot. Otherwise, they would have gone back.

I researched the hell out of the subject about a year ago. It came down between the Kubota and Cat. I went with the Cat 289D3. A year later and I am very pleased with the machine. I was worried about it being underpowered by the 75 HP engine. It has plenty of power and you don't have to mess with def and the related problems. Go Cat and don't look back.

I have a NH LS190.b
Seat belt sucks. Had to replace the whole system last week after the safety failed and locked the system.

If your are even thinking JCB I'd make sure you talk to someone who has one and has some hours on it.Don't know about their skid steers but have a 10 year old back hoe at work bought new lots of problems.The old saying JCB Junk Constantly Broke applies to it.

One thing a forestry mulcher does, is cut trees and brush off at the ground, leaving a stump in every case.

Those stumps grow back in lots of tree species, plus, you cannot use ground engaging equipment with stumps like land mines everywhere. Well, you can, but you see why you shouldn't, the first time you hit one.

I have a Tak TL8 w/ the 3307 Kubota engine. Same motor as the Kubota SVL75-2.

The Tak has been great for me. Never felt underpowered. The SVL75-2 has more auxiliary control options on the joysticks. I’ve put a lot of hours on a SVL and they do have better visibility.

Both are hydraulic over hydraulic iso controls. Easy to work. F’ foot controls.

The CAT 3.8 is made by Kubota, FYI.

Oh and as mentioned, Tak and Kubota have roll-up doors. Nice to be able to work with the cab open if you want. Was a selling point for me.

Caterpillar. They are the ones that all others are judged by.

There are 2 ways to buy a CAT. 1. through CAT. 2. Through the CAT rental store (same machine, different salesman). I buy used out of the rental fleet. EVERY time that machine comes in it is serviced and maintained by a CAT tech.

adults were having a conversation. you have so much to say but so little to add

I'm probably not a good person to ask because I've never shopped around. My attitude is if it ain't broke, don't fix it. We've always had nothing but Bobcats and have been pleased with them. My machines run 7:00am until 4:00pm Monday through Friday and 7:00am until 12:00 on Saturdays. They never stop, but we're just using them to load trucks. No real digging or excavating. I've got 3 of them right now. There's a large landscape company that's one of the largest in the country and they have a contract with Bobcat where they lease them during the Winter and park them in commercial parking lots for snow removal and leave them there all Winter. When the Springtime comes, they turn them in and the Bobcat Dealer sells them off as "used" at a discount with no hours on them. I think that the last 4 machines I bought were that way. The past few were financed through Bobcat at 0% for 48 months. That's a deal. The last couple were loaded with a cab enclosure and AC.

I got talked into a New Holland one time back in the early 2000's. My guys ran that thing into the ground.

If I were going to look elsewhere, I'm a big Cat fan for wheel loaders. You can't go wrong with Caterpillar.

A high school buddy in Hawaii runs a Cat with a forestry mulcher and has been pleased with it. I need to give him a call and see what he can tell me.

My buddy has a tracked ASV. It is a weird machine. High horsepower with high hydraulic flow. They were meant to run power accessories. The machine needs tracks and is always broke down.

The tracks don’t last very long in rocky terrain

Rocks aren't an issue most places here. We have alot of what's called decomposed granite, red clay in other areas.

Those have independent suspension undercarriages. Not made for rough work IMO

Parts/service availability are always important. Whichever dealer has the best parts guys would make my choice. I’ve had several Cats and John Deere machines. I prefer Cat, personally. Resale on Cat and JD is similar in our area.

Also, think about weight if you need to move it around. The 299’s and 333’s are heavy!

Weight is your friend with a compact track loader.

Mine's heavy, but you need heavy when you have a working weight of 4500 pounds on the loader.

I get and agree with that. But, you can also push DOT weights with those two machines. A lot of people don’t realize that they can’t pull them legally, depending on the set up.

At least here, may be different other places.

I'm in Texas as well. My small equipment trailer has a 14kGVW. Pull it with my F350.

I really need to get a lowboy gooseneck with a dovetail though. The ramps on my current trailer are pretty steep without a dovetail.

That’s good .

Isn't it ironic that CAT is using a Japanese powered engine in their skid steers ?

Right now I use the excavator for chopping down trees and brush. I think a skidsteer would be faster. This is about two acres of manzanita I cut down this spring. I go back for another 40 hours next week.

Since 2012 "D Series" with a Japanese made engine !!!