Help me out, mini skid

[EVM]

Ok, I am in the market for a mini skid steer. I work on mostly established landscapes but that might change a bit because my best friend installs fiberglass pools. He will be giving me leads for grading, sod, maybe even trenching for electrical on his pool installs.

I have two units in mind, the Toro tx525 Wide Track which I can purchase a demo with 50 hours @ $15,500 6 month warranty. Then the Ditch Witch SK650 can be had for $20,500 with turf tracks/full warranty.

I like the power/weight of the DW but don't know much about how good their turf tracks work compared to Toro. I did demo a DW but it had regular lugs and I was using the unit on dirt which the DW tore up also. I did ride across the lawn and the lugs depressed into the ground.

I like the Toro because it is supposed to be great on existing landscapes but think the toro might be under powered in some situations.

Can someone help me out with the turf disturbance issue between the units. Will there really be a big difference between the 2 units? Can I and Will I be needing to adjust the belts on the Toro all the time?

Thanks

[Innovative]

We have a Ramrod with the standard lug tracks. We are constantly on existing turf. The lugs leave impressions in dry turf and do minimal tear on the grass if you are a careful operator and not a yahoo. If the soil is soft or very wet after a large rain, we stay off. It will do damage then. Another option is taking some good plywood and cutting it into 16" or 24" strips and using this for your track, then lay a sheet or half sheet down where you need to skid turn.

[Hollowellreid]

asv rc30 or pt30. They do great on turf with the regular tracks, I would imagine the turf tracks that are available are even better.

[RockSet N' Grade]

On mini's, the walk behind option is usually ignored in the conversation. From my experience, you want to stand on the mini instead of constantly walking behind it. Check out the Ditch Witch set up and compare it to Toro's. Remember that ground clearance is an issue..........this should help you sort through this a little better.

[EVM]

On mini's, the walk behind option is usually ignored in the conversation. From my experience, you want to stand on the mini instead of constantly walking behind it. Check out the Ditch Witch set up and compare it to Toro's. Remember that ground clearance is an issue..........this should help you sort through this a little better.

Ground clearance on the stand? Or ground clearance beneath the power unit?

So I guess what I am asking is, both machines are heavy so if you are making alot of passes over one area, regardless of the machine, you are going to get rutting in the soil?

[Innovative]

We found it totally depends on soil/ turf condition. If it is wet or soft and you are doing constant runs from the street to back yard you will get compaction ruts. If it is dry, usually just the grass blades compact. Then we run a rake over it and they pop back up and it is very very minimal damage - almost un noticeable except the grass looks freshly raked in the area.

Ground clearance helps a lot - the more the better. If you need to get over curbs, up hills, through mud, even loading on the trailer. Machines like the Bobcat where you add a ride on platform on the back, really limits approach and departure angles. Unless you choose to just walk behind the machine and forget the platform. We prefer to ride with the machine, for better visibility and control.