Bobcat purchase help !

[Concrete Cowboy]

Hi, I'm in the market for a new skid loader and would like to stick with Bobcat because my 763 served me well. I am stuck between a150/160 or a 175/185. My main concern is vision (because i work very close to workers in my concrete business). Vision was very good on the 763 ,and is the same with the 150/160 machines. I like the idea of loading trucks better with the verticle lift 175/185 and would like the opinion of someone that has ran them as to the line of vision on these machines. I often work in tight spaces and small yards so this is my biggest issue to figure out before making a purchase. I also wonder about turbo vs non-turbo. I felt my 763 did me fine. I would't mind having the extra power but how do turbos hold up over the long haul ? Is it just something else to give me problems ? Any info will be a great help ! Thanks

[bobcat_ron]

Buying any skid steer with out a turbo is like getting a woman with no breasts, sure it's fine for a while, but the turbo gives you more boost.

[ksss]

Let preface by saying that I would get a CASE, assuming you must have a BC I would get a 220, IMHO the most productive machine they make. Dimensional not much bigger than your 763 and you have more power, better reach. If you go with a vertical lift the 175 is very weak. The 185 I think is better but still anemic, if your just throwing around forms and doing light grading you can get by.

[bobcat_ron]

He wants vision, and he liked the 763, even I didn't fall off my rocking chair and demand he looks at a Cat, I just had an itchy feeling you'd pull the old Power Tan pickle tickle.

[Junior M]

He wants vision, and he liked the 763, even I didn't fall off my rocking chair and demand he looks at a Cat, I just had an itchy feeling you'd pull the old Power Tan pickle tickle.
When doesnt he pull that card..

The 175 is a gutless wonder.. I would go with the 185, or the 160, I heard the 140 was a gutless wonder to, never even seen one up close..

[ksss]

He wants vision, and he liked the 763, even I didn't fall off my rocking chair and demand he looks at a Cat, I just had an itchy feeling you'd pull the old Power Tan pickle tickle.\\

Perhaps the man just needs to expand his horizons a little. If I had not mentioned Power Tan MSROPS would have jumped me about how close I came to buying a BC 220. See how careful one must be on here.

[ksss]

When doesnt he pull that card..

The 175 is a gutless wonder.. I would go with the 185, or the 160, I heard the 140 was a gutless wonder to, never even seen one up close..


Junior here is a reading comprehension problem for you. What is the common thread among the BC machines you list...............tick......tock......answer gutless wonder. The only machine in the ROC class range that is not a gutless is the 220.

[Junior M]

Junior here is a reading comprehension problem for you. What is the common thread among the BC machines you list...............tick......tock......answer gutless wonder. The only machine in the ROC class range that is not a gutless is the 220.
They are, from the T190 down they are useless, I dont know about the T140 down never seen one and never heard of anyone that owns one that small.. From the T190/S185 up, awesome, all the power you could want. The 300's hard to use a little bit of power, its either all or nothing..

[SellingIron]

If you want a 763 but with a little more power.. Buy the S160. Going with a S175/S185. The boom sits higher up on the frame which will make it harder to see someone while you are running over them....BC has no turbo issues...Try to get it before Jan. 2009.. Programs are going away.. (Maybe)

[westcoh]

If your doing alot of work in tight spaces and small yards, the S160 would probably serve you well as long as you don't spend a lot of time loading trucks, then I'd say look at an s205. I think an s220 is alot more machine than you'd need, it'll use more fuel and be too large for maneuvering around in tight spaces. Park an s220 beside an s160 and you'll see just how much bigger it really is.

[mrsops]

Hi, I'm in the market for a new skid loader and would like to stick with Bobcat because my 763 served me well. I am stuck between a150/160 or a 175/185. My main concern is vision (because i work very close to workers in my concrete business). Vision was very good on the 763 ,and is the same with the 150/160 machines. I like the idea of loading trucks better with the verticle lift 175/185 and would like the opinion of someone that has ran them as to the line of vision on these machines. I often work in tight spaces and small yards so this is my biggest issue to figure out before making a purchase. I also wonder about turbo vs non-turbo. I felt my 763 did me fine. I would't mind having the extra power but how do turbos hold up over the long haul ? Is it just something else to give me problems ? Any info will be a great help ! Thanks

well if your main concern is vision like it is mine then bobcat is the way to go. I myself had a bobcat 763 and 773 before trading them in on s185 and a s205 now i have 2 bobcat s205 skid steers great machine you will be very surprised of the power on the this small framed machine, you can even invert the rims to make the machine only 5' wide if your working in tight areas. Don't bother with a s175 i rather run a s160 put counter weights on the s160 and it will have the same roc as the s175 anyway and the s160 has alot more hp then the s175. so in my opinion it would be either a s205 s160 or s185.

[Concrete Cowboy]

Is there anyone out there who ran the 763 (or another radius lift Bobcat) for a long time and switched to a verticle lift machine. How did you like it ? I'm set to drop the cash but still not convinced either way. The Dealer says the S185 has much better resale value.. Other than the advantage of loading trucks how do the two lift arm styles compare ? Thanks again for the info -

[BrandonV]

We have a 763 and it's been a good machine, except for the electronics which have given us fits for years. We upgraded to a 287b cat and love it. The only thing you loose is a little visibility out the back... But from the sides and whatnot your good to go. Defiantly check out some other brands you owe it to yourself, you may choose bobcat but when you spend that much $$$ shop around. Maybe look at the jcb
Robot it has one lift arm but I think it might have great visibility.

[mrsops]

\\

Perhaps the man just needs to expand his horizons a little. If I had not mentioned Power Tan MSROPS would have jumped me about how close I came to buying a BC 220. See how careful one must be on here.

:laugh::laugh::laugh:

[mrsops]

Is there anyone out there who ran the 763 (or another radius lift Bobcat) for a long time and switched to a verticle lift machine. How did you like it ? I'm set to drop the cash but still not convinced either way. The Dealer says the S185 has much better resale value.. Other than the advantage of loading trucks how do the two lift arm styles compare ? Thanks again for the info -

What are they quoting you on a s185? compared to a s205?

[Concrete Cowboy]

They quoted a price of $29,500. out the door for a S185 with ACS controls,Heavy duty tires,a 74" smooth bucket and a 68" tooth bucket. The S160 Had a price within $100 or so because it had additional options like suspension seat, and backup alarm/horn. I still can't decide which one - Hoping to get some more input from guys on here.

[mrsops]

They quoted a price of $29,500. out the door for a S185 with ACS controls,Heavy duty tires,a 74" smooth bucket and a 68" tooth bucket. The S160 Had a price within $100 or so because it had additional options like suspension seat, and backup alarm/horn. I still can't decide which one - Hoping to get some more input from guys on here.

Is there cab and heat in the 185?

[Concrete Cowboy]

No cab or heat - My work is seasonal and it's not terribly hot during summer in Ohio so i passed on those. My backhoe has full glass cab and when the glass is dirty it's hell to see. You think that price is high ? I've never bought a new one before but looking on Ebay at low hour machines it seems to be on close. I need to make a purchase for a tax writeoff before the end of the year so i don't have a lot of time to shop.

[Junior M]

No cab or heat - My work is seasonal and it's not terribly hot during summer in Ohio so i passed on those. My backhoe has full glass cab and when the glass is dirty it's hell to see. You think that price is high ? I've never bought a new one before but looking on Ebay at low hour machines it seems to be on close. I need to make a purchase for a tax writeoff before the end of the year so i don't have a lot of time to shop.
No, that is an awesome price, you'll love the ACS controls. I think I would go with the 185 just for the extra power and things, you never know, you may land some bobcat work where you need a machine bigger than the 160...

[mrsops]

No cab or heat - My work is seasonal and it's not terribly hot during summer in Ohio so i passed on those. My backhoe has full glass cab and when the glass is dirty it's hell to see. You think that price is high ? I've never bought a new one before but looking on Ebay at low hour machines it seems to be on close. I need to make a purchase for a tax writeoff before the end of the year so i don't have a lot of time to shop.

I think that price for a s160 is high yes. s185 that's not a bad price your getting 2 buckets and acs controls is always more then reg and and foot. Tell them to throw in a nice spare tire assembly and they got a deal:usflag:

[Concrete Cowboy]

Maybe I'll try that - Still looking for advice on the two different lift arm styles. Any info or personal experience would be a great help. I would like to buy the S185 if i was confident that i could see well when operating in tight quarters. From what I understand the only difference in a 160 and 180 is the lift arms. I hope someone can shed some light on the subject - Thanks again for the replies

[mrsops]

Maybe I'll try that - Still looking for advice on the two different lift arm styles. Any info or personal experience would be a great help. I would like to buy the S185 if i was confident that i could see well when operating in tight quarters. From what I understand the only difference in a 160 and 180 is the lift arms. I hope someone can shed some light on the subject - Thanks again for the replies

concrete cowboy you will have no problem at all. I owned a 763 and a 773 before getting a s185 and a s205 the vision is the same to me i never have any problem what so ever in tight areas. Like i said before you can even invert the rims on the s185 to make it only 5' wide i did it on my s205. The s185 will lift 250 lbs more in roc then the s160 and i think it has about 4 inches more height when loading a truck. I dont know if your loading trucks or what but fill me in a little more

[Tigerotor77W]

Maybe I'll try that - Still looking for advice on the two different lift arm styles. Any info or personal experience would be a great help. I would like to buy the S185 if i was confident that i could see well when operating in tight quarters. From what I understand the only difference in a 160 and 180 is the lift arms. I hope someone can shed some light on the subject - Thanks again for the replies

I guess my question would be... what exactly do you want to know about the lift arm styles? If it's personal experience you're looking for, or stories about how well they've been for me, I'm afraid I can't offer anything.

On the other hand, vertical lift machines are generally regarded to be more suited for heavy lifting or truck loading, but in the smaller size classes, I personally don't see much of a difference. I think that a good Gehl 5640 will be just as productive as the Deere 320, even though one is vertical lift and one is not.

My opinion: if you've found that the 763 has worked for you, and you don't find yourself wanting more lift height, more dump reach, or more stability, I think the S160 is a good upgrade. If you're always sweating about lifting forms or still have to break pallets down before unloading trucks, it's possible that an S185 or S205 might fit your ticket (the S205 is also a heavier machine by 700 pounds than the 763 was). There's no doubt that the S160 will have better visibility in most areas, but where do you look most often? If you never turn around to look behind you, that's something of a moot point. (The S185 does, however, have a boom geometry that permits some rear corner visibility.)

[mrsops]

:laugh:Vertical lift all the way

[Concrete Cowboy]

Nice equipment in the pic ! I do load stone and dirt regularly into a C-70 dump. I got it done with the 763 - i would load till it was heaping on my side of the truck bed then use the bucket to push the material over to the empty side. It's starting to sound like the S185 is the better choice. Nobody on here seems to complain about vision problems due to the verticle lift arms. That has been my only concern. There's a lot of times when i shuttle stone to the rear of a house with a nice lawn and i will drive straight in and dump, then i will back all the way out to the street to get another scoop. I do this to avoid twisting around and tearing up the yard .Sometimes i have to back through a narrow opening in a fence or between the landscaping and the property line. I talked to the salesman today and he said he might be able to bring the 185 out to my house to try out. Did the price seem OK to you guys ? I'm glad i found this site to talk to guys with experience in the machines.

[Junior M]

Nice equipment in the pic ! I do load stone and dirt regularly into a C-70 dump. I got it done with the 763 - i would load till it was heaping on my side of the truck bed then use the bucket to push the material over to the empty side. It's starting to sound like the S185 is the better choice. Nobody on here seems to complain about vision problems due to the verticle lift arms. That has been my only concern. There's a lot of times when i shuttle stone to the rear of a house with a nice lawn and i will drive straight in and dump, then i will back all the way out to the street to get another scoop. I do this to avoid twisting around and tearing up the yard .Sometimes i have to back through a narrow opening in a fence or between the landscaping and the property line. I talked to the salesman today and he said he might be able to bring the 185 out to my house to try out. Did the price seem OK to you guys ? I'm glad i found this site to talk to guys with experience in the machines.
imo that price was awesome for the 185, only thing I would add would be the suspension seat..

[bobcatexc]

Cowboy - I had the same concerns with the arms as you when I traded my 743 for a 773 turbo (S185). You'll get use to the arms, you can position the arms just right and be able to see the back tires, there is a blind spot, but they all have them even your 763. I use to load my single axle the same way, keep pushin it across, but with the added reach you won't have to anymore. I've always been a Bobcat fan, but in a couple years, I believe I'll check out a couple other brands, others are coming out with way more HP and breakforce, etc in the same class machine.

If you do hit a labor now then just remember you'll have that on a big job, plus screw'em if they can't take a joke! :laugh:

[westcoh]

I've ran a 753 for the last three years and just purchased an s205 this fall, and I can't say visibility has been a problem at all with the 205, and I work in a lot of tight areas as well. Visibility isn't quite as good as the 753, but you get used to it quick.

[denver 2]

My company does a lot of flat work (Pavers, Bluestone,etc.) and work in tight spaces with heavy loads of stone and the like. I've had the Bobcat s185 Gold pk., Bobcat 773G, and Bobcat 7753 models on the job. In our line of work turbo is not really nescessary due to the fact that run our machines at half throttle because we are in close quarters where control is paramount and need to communicate with workers is important. Although slogging a pallet of stone through sticky mud from the far end of the jobsite then turbo comes in handy. I found that the cab was a hendrence in my business because of sight and communication constraints as well as ability to exit machine when boom is part way up. If you do a lot of digging by all means buy the turbo.

[Twitchy]

Maybe I'll try that - Still looking for advice on the two different lift arm styles. Any info or personal experience would be a great help. I would like to buy the S185 if i was confident that i could see well when operating in tight quarters. From what I understand the only difference in a 160 and 180 is the lift arms. I hope someone can shed some light on the subject - Thanks again for the replies
Buy my s185, i loved it! Just need a bigger machine and more lifting weight. It's for sale in the equipment forum w/ pics.You get a combo 4-1 bucket too, you can do anything with one those.

[Stick Pro]

i would go with the 185 we have a 753 and a 185 there is a visibility difference in the rear of the machine but not enough to wory about the 160 and the 185 will have the same visibility in the front of the machine so u do not have any worys there we work in tight aeras digging swimming pools with acess that is tight going between two gas meters with an inch on each side the 185 in no problem doing that u would be much better off in the long run with the 185

[KRtraxx]

You need to check out other brands also..You would be shocked what performance AND resale you can get out of some competitive machines also..Not knocking BC have sold a LOT of used ones over the years...Look at the specs of this lowly Mustang 2054..Which would be in the 25K range equipped as you said you priced the 185 BC with 2 buckets. Can guarantee you 8 bucks an hour trade in value cost at 1000hrs.You keep your tires and bucket..That is for normal wear.Damaged machines at trade in would have to be figured for...Check out the specs and compare..breakout and wheel torque is what gets work done..I do realize pin height is not quite as good..and till spring,no pilot controls yet.Visibility is excellent. Till I went on my own I have sold for Cat,Bobcat,Case,New Holland,Deere,Gehl and ASV.. Am not that brand oriented and try to give every make a fair shake for their good points(they ALL have them)but in this size class the performance and value of the 2054 are hard to ignore..(sorry I cant figure out how to copy and paste and keep the colums lined up..)

Make Mustang Bobcat Bobcat
Model 2054 S185 S205
Rated Load 1,601 to <1,751 lb ,1,751 to <2,201 lbs,1,751 to 2201 lbs
PERFORMANCE
Arm lifting force 4,400 (lb) 3,550 (lb) 3,600 (lb)
Bucket breakout force 5,000 (lbs) 3,600 (lbs) 3,550 (lbs)
Bucket rollback at ground level 28 (deg) 25 (deg) 25 (deg)
Dump height @ bucket discharge 90'' (in) 91'' (in) 91'' (in)
Dump reach @ max height 23'' (in) 29.6'' (in) 29.6'' (in)
Height to bucket pin 115'' (in) 118.2'' (in) 118.2'' (in)
Lift arm geometry Radial Vertical lift Vertical lift
Max dump angle at full height 38 (deg) 42 (deg) 42 (deg)
Operating load w/optional counterweight 1750 (lbs) 1950 (lbs) 2150 (lbs)
Rated operating load, standard 1,650 (lbs) 1,850 (lbs) 2,050 (lbs)
Tippng load, standard 3,300 (lb) 4,076 (lb) 4,451 (lb)
ENGINE
Displacement 133.6 (cu in) 134.1 (cu in) 148.5 (cu in)
Engine make Yanmar Kubota Kubota
Engine model 4TNV88 V2203-M-DI-TE2B-BC-3 V2403-M-DI-T
Maximum torque INA (ft-lb) INA (ft-lb) INA (ft-lb)
Net power 47 (hp) 56 (hp) 61 (hp)
No of cylinders 4 4 4
Rated speed 3000 (rpm) 2800 (rpm) 2700 (rpm)
DRIVE TRAIN
Max axle torque 5,800 (ft-lb) 4,700 (ft-lb) 4,900 (ft-lb)
Max travel speed, optional None (mph) None (mph) None (mph)
Max travel speed, standard 6.7 (mph) 7.3 (mph) 7 (mph)
Tire size 10-16.5 10-16.5 31.5x13-16.5
HYDRAULICS
Hydraulic pressure 3000 (psi) 3300 (psi) 3300 (psi)
Optional pump flow 28 (gpm) 26.4 (gpm) 25.5 (gpm)
Self leveling bucket Opt Opt Opt
Standard pump flow 18.5 (gpm) 16.9 (gpm) 16.3 (gpm)
DIMENSIONS
Fuel tank 14 (gal) 24 (gal) 24 (gal)
Ground clearance 7.5'' (in) 7.5'' (in) 7.5'' (in)
Height to top of ROPS 76.5'' (in) 76.3'' (in) 76.3'' (in)
Hydraulic tank refill/system total 11.5 / 13 (gal) 4.8 / 9 (gal) 4.8 / 9 (gal)
Operating weight 6,050 (lbs) 6,220 (lbs) 6,655 (lbs)
Overall length w/bucket 122.5'' (in) 130.3'' (in) 130.3'' (in)
Rear angle of departure 27 (deg) 23 (deg) 23 (deg)
Reference bucket capacity 13.0 (cu ft) 14.0 (cu ft) 14.0 (cu ft)
Reference bucket width 61.5'' (in) 68'' (in) 68'' (in)
Wheelbase 38.5'' (in) 40.6'' (in) 40.6'' (in)
Width over tires 60.4'' (in) 66'' (in) 66'' (in)