Skid Steer Loaders
 

I am buying a compact track loader in the 70-85hp range and have narrowed it down to a few brands. Curious what everybody owns or operates on a daily basis. I've found a fairly large price gap between a couple of brands.

We run John Deere,s. No problems at all in the last 12 years(3 different machines). We don,t run tracks though.

Why would you even ask? There is only one brand!













Foe those that don't know it's John Deere.

Sure, John deere is fine, if you are buying a combine.

There is a reason that the cat skid steers are used by most major construction outfits. They are the nicest machine out there to operate. We have used all of the major brands, and for a tracked machine cat is the way to go.

I personally wouldn't rate a jd in the top 3.

Also remember that with a cat skid steer that ends in a 9, ex 289, you are getting a steel bogie style undercarriage.

Lots tracked machines are running with a rubber style undercarriage that will not stand up to abuse as well as steel.

I have been working in the rental business now for over 10 years and from what I have seen and operated my two choices would be either Bobcat or Cat. We actually just stopped ordering John Deeres and went with all Bobcats cause the customers like the Bobcats way more and I personally think they are a much better machine as well. The John Deere were in the shop a lot for repairs
And rate very poor in the comfort department

John deere's are underpowered and alot more sloppy then a bobcat, I would use a bobcat or a case before touching a jd and I'm also in a rental business,

its the bit like the 30-06vs270vs280vs7-08 argument but, its in this order for me.
bobcat
<small space>
then caterpiller,
<then after a long empty space>
JD, case, takegi, kubota, jcb, etc
although these would fine in an acreage or home use.

ive always had bobcat machines, a 751, s250 and an now an s160.
so therefore being totally bias with zero real time experience on any other types, Not to mention huge support from bobcat of red deer. it has been great little machine with zero downtime and its big enough and small enough to what i need done. I should have bought a T190 or a T180 in the very least. Id sell the s160 (600hrs) tomorrow and buy an T180/190.
cats,
In the few hours i been on a cat, I couldnt get on to the (pilot?) controls using the one hand operation, what an experience that was. that isnt the machine fault. I like the cats theory on low rpm to develop maximum hydraulic pressure and rpm only equals ground speed. That has to have fuel savings and longevity written all over it. It was also a the quietest cabin. (mostly because of the low engine rpm)
JD,
too me it looks 'unfinished' and what Im calling linkage heavy. this is connected to this link and this is tied to that with a linkage and so on...in a introduction to the machine i found it like a bull in a china shop, very robust and powerful, but its like tying your skates with hockey gloves on, no real finesse.
case,
seemed just to unbalanced to me and seemed to be behind in innovations. but that is just me. wasnt even a consideration
kubota,
is the newest entry into your price point, just sitting in it i found its big inside, but again it seems unfinished, the quality control isnt there, most welds have cold starts and hot finishes or have mig wire tails still attached. it should be of sound mechanical design being kubota motor and all. the undercarriage looked ok too. but either way it needs to get whatever bugs out of it before id consider it.

I have a Cat 272 . Went with wheels since I'm in a rock pit.

Its a heavy stable unit. Hydraulics are real smooth; You can go full foward from going full reverse , and tires stay on the ground.

High lift and 2 speed options are nice. went with low flow aux .

So far , so good.

I believe Bobcat makes a good machine as well as John Deere. Zero problems in 12 years with JD says something. As far as comfort goes, the air ride seat is amazing in the JD. Cat is very well built but the one handed pilot hydraulic controls was impossible for us to master as well. Thats why we got rid of it after 100 hours. Since I am the primary operator of the skid steer,I chose the one I liked to run. Luckily its also been very reliable.

Thanks guys, I'm a John Deere guy so of course they are tops on my list. I haven't really looked at the Cats, not sure what it is with a Cat I just don't like the looks and heard resale is bad for skid steers. I like the Bobcat machines as well but they haven't really made any huge advancements as of late from what I've been told. I am considering a Case, which is a swear word around our place, only because a customer of mine is a Regional Sales Manager for RME and the price is real good.

Another thing to remember with a Cat skidsteer is that the hydraulic operation is based very closely off of an excavators controls. If you are have experience running heavy equipment, you should fit right in with the Cat. They do take some getting used to if you have never run one before, but the pilot operated hydraulic system is awesome, and best of all maintenance free, or as close to it as you can get.

Just had my new John Deere 320 delivered.

Last one I had was a 2008 and this one is a 2012.

The differences in these 2 machines is incredible. The changes that they have made to the machine are absolutely brilliant.

Cant wait to try it out and put it to the test.

Go with the Case...

Have a Bobcat and like the features better than Cat or JD. it also has a remote control for demolition work without an operator in it. kind of a cool feature.

i know what you mean .. as if looks have anything to with performance.but its hard to overcome at times
bobcats cab forward design is by no means 'new' in the industry and i veiw it as a step backwards..but looks dont mean squat:thinking-006:. especially in my opinion.
your Case...its only a good deal when its exactly what you want or more than what you originally needed.
The bitterness of poor quality remains longer than the sweetness from the good value.
(my s160 was $6000 less than the T180 beside it,now im kicking my arse after 14 flat tires at $40 each and the jobs that i have lost because of not having tracks, the cost differential has lost its flair.)
cant go wrong with greasing a client at the same time. who is to say that he is propping you up just so you spend 50K on him, depending on his account it may never come back to you

have you talked to bobcat, caterpiller etc salesmen? they may bring one out for a trial run especially if your looking at a new one.

we have a cat and bobcat, myself, i prefer the cat, don't care how it looks.

I've run a few different kinds over the years, and although the pilot controls in the CAT take some getting used to, there's no doubt in my mind that CAT is the best followed closely by Bobcat.

I just recently used a JD 328D and I have to say it had power to spare, but I found that the controls were unrefined and it wasn't super comfortable to sit in.

There's a reason that CAT and Bobcat are more expensive than others - it's because they're better.

I ran bush cat for years, the track and sprocket system are similar to the Bobcat track. The Cat loader uses the ASV undercarriage and it is a superior system. I bought a 257 Cat loader a few years ago and have no regrets.

At our outfit, we had a Bobcat, then rented a John Deere, and ended up buying two Cat machines. Solid machine, no regrets.

Try a ASV/ Tyrex smoothest riding track system on the market

Thanks again for all the input, I'm going to check out some machines tomorrow hopefully. I've narrowed it down to a Deere 329D, 333D, Case TR 270 or TR 320. I'm going to look at the equivalent Bobcat as well. Not interested in a Cat machine as I simply don't like them, I don't care if they are the best or worst, I just don't like them.

The Deere machine will probably be my choice but am not ruling out the others. I had a water truck of mine on the Enbridge pipeline a few years back and one thing I noticed about all the big pipeline companies is that majority of the equipment is Caterpillar except the hoes, the equipment that does the finesse work is Deere. Most outfits have gone to Deere excavators.

Would love to here some more first hand experience with some different machines.

If you dont like Cat, check out ASV , I heard Terex bought out ASV, I believe their under carriage is superior to any others.

Thanks for all the suggestions, ended up with a Deere 323D. Got it loaded up with all options. Seems like a great machine an very nice and comfy to run. Deere was less than Bobcat and more than the Case but happy with the purchase nonetheless.

I have a Gehl CTL 80. I've put a 1000 hours on it since i bought it used. Been an awesome machine and trouble free.

I have been running equipment for 20+ years and I can tell you John Deere is really nice when it works. I have also seen a LOT of contractors go broke because of John Deere down time. One i work closely with has a Feller Buncher with 6000 hrs on it and Brandt Still has not been able to make it run properly.