Sound Off On Your Favorites..

dsnAK

I am in the market for a skid steer Bobcat / CASE / or Cat.

I am a small contractor and will mostly use this for personal use. I have a 1/3 mile road that needs constant snow removal and am looking at a machine to move it. A typical snow plow will not work as the snow drifts like crazy and I would build up huge walls with the plow. We get about 200' a year but the wind howls constantly - last weekend it never subsided from 35 MPH for 3 days - sure is a nice place in summer though.

That said what is some advice from people who know a whole lot more than I do. I am looking in the used route and will also ocassionally use the machine for setting piers (auger), light dirt work and blowing out my neighbors - so eventually it will pay for itself???. I am also looking for a tracked machine. I will of course purchase the snow thrower when I can afford it - I suspect I will move snow the first year with the bucket and blade.

Thoughts on what to look for and what to avoid??? Let my education begin...

jmic

D,
I'm sure all the machines you listed are good, however I'm partial to Gehl's, have had them for 25+ yrs. Main thing is if you're going to get one is to find one with low hrs <1000. A track machine will bring big $$, maybe you should consider a tire machine and look for after market tracks to go over tires. Well good luck!

__________________
___"Remember You Never Get A Second Chance To Make A First Impression"______________________
Joe

rino1494

They are all good machines, but I would also consider your local dealer. Face it, machines break and you need the parts to fix them. Ask around and see how your local dealers measure up.

Also, I am 99% sure that case does not make a track skid loader.

__________________
Life is hard. It is harder when you are stupid

Uncle Sam wants YOU....to speak ENGLISH

jmic

Rino, you left 1% for error and your wrong! Case does make a track skid steer . Gotta love Google!

__________________
___"Remember You Never Get A Second Chance To Make A First Impression"______________________
Joe

denick

D

jmic and rhino are right.

We own Bobcat skidsteers. We have rented tire and tracked machines of Bobcat, JCB and Cat. The the Bobcats are preferred by all.

I would caution you on tracks used for snow. The tracks on these machines are geared for mud or lawn travel. They can be almost unusable on snow once packed or slick. We had some scary events with a contractor that owns 2, 300 Bobcat tracked machines on a slight slope.

Try to find out if there is a track maker that makes a snow track.

You might want to look into a small articulating loader that has the tool carrier set up. They can do almost every thing a skidsteer can do except counter rotate. With chains they should push better than a skidsteer.

Nick

tgeb

Though not listed, I prefer New Holland skid steers over the others.

I have a 665LX that we have used for snow removal for years, and it does very well.
Last year I purchased a Takeuchi rubber tracked machine a TL130
it does great in the wet and soft conditions, but tried it out on some frozen/semi frozen stuff last winter and the thing was like on ice skates. Had to move the New Holland in to get the job completed.

Have not tried the TL 130 in the snow yet.

I have the rubber tracks we can put on the New Holland if we need to. The thing is unstoppable with the tracks on it.

And like rino stated, local dealer is important.

Tom

__________________
Tom

www.gebcon.com

dsnAK

THanks for the responses so far...

Interesting to know about the tracks and snow. I would have thought.... I guess that is why I am at the begining of my search here.

I agree about the local dealers and the 3 I listed I know have outlets up here - at least close enough by. My town has no dealers. WHat is available used for me is also going to make a diference...

The tracks that are available to add to a wheeled machine are reliable? I thought of using tires and chains but thought that would be insufficient - will have to rethink that one.

Thanks so far and throw in anything I 'must have' and things to avoid...

Excalibur

From what I have been told when choosing between a Bobcat or a Case it depends what you are after, the case is a easier machine to pull wrenches on but the bobcat is a better built machine. At work we have a 743 bobcat and we needed more traction so we got a set of single tire chains for a semi and adapted them to fit. IMO a set of tracks would be by far better than the chains (only have chains on the back wheels but it makes for a VERY Rough ride). McLaren Industries makes a very nice set of tracks that go over the tires, I know a few guys running them and all are happy. IMO bobcat makes a very good machine, I have owned a few and would buy another. Honestly all the manufacturers make pretty good iron.

Bob

gravtyklz

Well i've only used a Cat skid steer, but I dont think you can ask for an easier to use machine. Pilot controls are super easy. Cat supposively has the best resale value as well, but Case, and Bobcat are close.

It does however appear that most people fall in love with the first brand of skid steer that they use...provided they function well. So I guess they're all close enough in quality to come down to prefrence.

jojo

I may be a rookie in the excavating biz,,,but I have used skid steers ,front loaders,and backhoe's to remove snow at my full time job,,knowing your machine is the key it seems,,other than machines for snow ,,,try some snow fence,,,placed in the right place you will git rid of the drifting problem,,,,

jmic

Sure Jojo spoil all the fun! Give me a 10' drift and my skid steer, I love challanges and having fun.

__________________
___"Remember You Never Get A Second Chance To Make A First Impression"______________________
Joe

dsnAK

THanks for the rest of the thoughts.

Sounds like all are pretty decent and I probably will go off of availabilty and ealer support.

do the McLaren tracks work pretty well in snow or is chaining all 4 the way to go?

You know when I lived in Eastern AZ - they used snow fences along alot of roads - they work well until the wind shifts. Our winds are way to sporadic and I do not think my neighbors would like 1/3 mile of snow fence through their yards. I don't think I have ever seen any snow fences up here, come to think of it....

Throw in any more ideas - next week we begin to start the shopping... I will probably be back with more questions....

This is a photo of the road near a neighbor - obviously the road is not being maintained now...

Attached Images

 

Excalibur

I dont personally know how the McLaren tracks are in snow but IMO they should be pretty good, if appearances aren't decieving. Their Protrac Diamond is the most aggressive one they have, it's reccomended for ice and snow. These are the tracks that I would buy. As far as chaining up on all 4 corners I wouldnt reccomend it, we checked with the local dealers before we put any on our machine and nobody was real comfortable reccomending chains at all. They said on the rear would be "ok" , but definatly not on the front because that is where the most weight is when you have a full bucket and it would be very hard on the axle housings and bearings. Since we put fluid in the rear tires and chains on the rear tires traction has improved greatly. Another bad thing about chaining up on all 4 corners would be that it would be harder to spin it around (too much side traction). On slippery ground ours whips around very nicely , much better than it was before.

Bob

Excalibur

Hell Yeah!!!! Big boys need to play with our toys too. A 10' drift and a skid steer sounds like a real blast!!!!
Bob

tgeb

I have the McLaren rubber covered tracks and they work well in all conditions. Though I can't remember using them in the snow too much cause we do parking lots and I did not want to run the tracks on the pavement like you need to in order to clear the snow.

One problem with the McLaren tracks, they MUST run fairly tight, and they do not recommend that you use them on any kind of foam filled tires.

Grouser products makes tracks that can run loose (not tight), That can go over flat proof, filled or solid tires.

Now back to the loader.

Given your choices I would recommend the Bobcat brand. Probably a less expensive purchase up front than the CAT, and cheaper to maintain than the CAT. The Bobcat dealer should have a bunch of attachments if you have the need. Their machines are VERY tough, allot of rental places here have them because they can take abuse. I have found dealer support for my Bobcat Brand excavator to be very good.
The Case is probably a good machine,(I haven't run one of their skid loaders in years) but I see them as trying to "keep up" with the competition so to speak, I don't see them making any innovations.

See if you can get your dealers to let you Demo a unit, You could clear that road in the photo. I didn't see any road, but if you say it's there...

Good luck, Tom

__________________
Tom

www.gebcon.com

dsnAK

Thanks for the info on the tracks - I will be armed with a little info before I begin looking.

The one thing with the CAT is you have to buy a 'mid sized' model for it to accept the eventual snow thrower that I'll be getting. I am not sure if the smaller Bobcats take their thrower attachments.

That brings up another thought on size/power vs what I'll need. ANy thoughts - I would eventually get the 2' auger for piers, bucket/blade and thrower.

Somewhere under there is a road. The neighbor's is a cabin is seasonal and I am away from home until spring working a job in Anchorage - so we have not tried to maintain the road this winter. I suspect the drift there was 10' above the road surface which is gravel...

dsnAK

Sounds like I will be starting at the Bobcat dealer and see what I can learn...

dsnAK

Come on up anytime - where in W. CA are you at - spent alot of time in BC and Yukon..

jmic

dsnak,
I'd reccomend you stay with about a 6000# machine.

__________________
___"Remember You Never Get A Second Chance To Make A First Impression"______________________
Joe

Excalibur

dsnak,
If I recall correctly you can get a snow blower for any size of bobcat, only thing is it may be a smaller blower though.

I am located about 250 miles east of Edmonton Ab. in Saskatchewan. If you go 500 miles north from Billings Mt. you will be real close to here.

I have to agree with jmic on machine sizing bigger is better, too small of a machine will drive ya nuts.

Bob