Rental company needs advice on Skid Steer purchases

[deerewashed]

may i recommend you look at other equipment besides skids and track loaders and take that into account. It will be much easier going to the same dealer for skids as well as excavators, loaders, etc. Not having to run around to multiple dealers is nice. Deere has a nice product, and since they offered you a loaner when necessary i would go with them, especially considering you are only buying 1 of each. If it were to break down on site, instead of having to give your customer a free extra day after it is fixed, you can give them another machine within an hour or 2.


just my .02

[bobcat_ron]

What about something like a JCB 1CX or Ditch Witch CTL/TLB combo's? They seem to be real head turners in a niche market.
Posted via Mobile Device

[deerewashed]

Also, look at mustang, built very similarly to gehl and tak. great price point, and i checked there website and there is a dealer in airdrie if that is nearby....i rent mustang equipment every week, and they send me the same piece of equipment every time and i have been the operator if the majority of the hours on them....very dependable imo.

[deerewashed]

Originally Posted by bobcat_ron

What about something like a JCB 1CX or Ditch Witch CTL/TLB combo's? They seem to be real head turners in a niche market.
Posted via Mobile Device

yeh i am really interested in trying the ditch witch, possibly the coolest machine i have ever seen, especially if your work is primarily heavily populated areas with tight spots.

[J2Rentals]

A Thank You to Deerewashed and Alco!

I am going to go with the John Deere, I picked out a 320D with the Electric controlls so the user can decide H-Pattern or ISO. Just like most of you on here he convinced me out of buying the tracked machine so instead I am going to buy this, wait a few months, then hopefully buy a mini Excavator. I have decided to simply buy this one and finance it instead of leaseing as well.

I am still not sold that I like the John Deere as the best machine but it is a good machine, has all the options I wanted Plus some extras that will be nice to have, and the price was in line with everyone else. This one is pretty well loaded with just about every option and for not much more then the other guys were quoting for ones with basic options.

What really sold me is that they are the only ones who will not be competeing against me in the rental market as they dont have a rental division so my hope is that when someone calls them to rent, they will send them to me or one of thier other rental house customers. I also feel that they are offering the best after sale support and the loaner machine will be a big perk. Plus the sales guy worked very hard to earn my business and seems like a trustworthy guy.

My only concern is how thier are hitting thier interm Tier 4 emissions standards...
Instead of a DPF filter, or DEF injection, they are using a EGR system that is recirculating most of the exhaust gases back into the engine to be reburnt. Only time will tell if this is a bad idea but it does make me a little nervouse about the potential life of the engine.

Thanks to everyone for your help, when I pick it up in a month I will let you know how it goes!

[JDSKIDSTEER]

You will be very satisfied with the 320D. I have most of the independent rental companies in my area running 318D's and they are giving them very good service.

[CPEC_Andy]

Originally Posted by J2Rentals

Hello and thank you for reading my post.

I am not sure on the rules on this forum so I will try not to say anything that might come across as advertising my company.

I own a small trailer rental company in Calgary, AB, Canada and am about to add 2 skid steers to my fleet. As the type of rental customer I would be primarily renting to would be land scappers, snow removal companies, and small construction companies (mostly the people who read this forum) I thought I would ask you guys what units and features you want on rental units.. and hopefully you can help me chose the best units to purchase. Keep in mind I need ones that can stand up to abuse and are reasonably cheap to maintain.

The brands I have it down to are Cat and Bobcat. I don't want to say anything to offend any other brands but after much reasearch i have already ruled out all the other brands. (although I Might consider a John Deere or New holland (the new holland dealer is good, the local case dealer is terrible)

I will be buying brand new (leaseing actually) and will have the full warranty on these units as well. I think I would like to go with 1 wheeled machine and one tracked machine, what are your thoughts?

SO far I am thinking:

Bobcat
S185 or S175
T190

Cat
226 236 or 242
247 257 259

The Cat track loaders are a bit heavey and I have heard many bad things about the 247 and 257 but maybe that is older units.

The only other thing I can add is that I want to stay Under 8000lbs operating weight on the tracked machine due to insurance and weights on my trailers.

I really appreciate any advise / help you can add!

Thanks Again!!!

We like the Terex products. The RC 30 and RC 50 are particular nice. They are appropriately sized for landscape and construction companies. In particular property improvement contractors like these units for their floatation. (Minimal damage to existing turf) The RC30 is the smallest sit in skid steer we could find and it does gang-busters from an ROI perspective. We bought several hundred.

[2ExploreTech]

Renewing this thread over 2 months later...

J2Rentals -- so what machines did you go with and did you eventually get a track machine?

For rental companies, there is a set of tracks that can attach to a wheeled system. That is, tires come off and tracks hook up to the axels. Not as good as a true track system, but better then the steel wrap arounds. Perhaps your already familar with them(?) A rental co in NC got one a few yrs ago.

My recommendation for your tires would be to foam them or go solid rubber (or honecombed). As they tend to find every nail or sharp rock on a job-site. ... but others here may have had a different experience

[69satelite]

I hate to hijack your thread but I cant pm on this site could you help me out I am looking into renting trailers also. I would just like to pick your brain a little.
Would you please pm me?