Skidsteers

[James]

I'm at that point in my business that i would like to add a skidsteer. I have operated several kinds (Case 1840, Bobcat 873, etc.) Does anyone have some pros and cons to these models or any other skidsteer I should consider? Thanks, James

 

[Matt]

I would definatly go with a New Holland. Ive never operated one, but those things have balls. Ive seen one push over oak trees 7-8 inchs around no problem. You definatly can't say that about a Bobcat, they have a hard enough time going into a pile of mulch.

 

[Stonehenge]

Gehl is the only brand we will buy. They got great lifting capacities, are durable as hell, and I like the safety a Gehl offers. New Holland has bucket controls on the foot pedals. While I know there's a lockout mechanism to keep the bucket from moving when someone's not in it, there have been a few scenarios where it has moved, and could've hurt somebody. <p>I'll only buy a skidsteer that has no controls at the feet (except for maybe aux. hyd., and there's nowhere else to put them). Gehl has that, and has proven to be very durable. In my area, most landscape companies (and other construction-type companies for that matter) have either all Gehl or all New Holland (some Case, too). There are smaller outfits that'll have one Bobcat, or Mustang, or JCB, or Thomas..... But the bigger companies seem to stick with the aforementioned two. I'm not bigger, I just really like the Gehl.

 

[paul]

Ok just my 2 cents worth,<p>I like the old style New Hollands.<br>The problem with the new ones is vision from the sides the lift arms get in the way when lifting and moving close in tight areas.<p>The new Case seem to be better in the vision area but haven't run one enough to be sure.<p>New Holland machines will lift more and load higher than most machines. (Bobcat ect)the new Case(xt series) and Bobcat 773 & 873 will do about as well as the New Holland, I like New Holland also because of it's longer wheel base.<p><p>----------<br>paul<br>

 

[steveair]

We just rented a newer XT case (i want to say 85xt, but probably am wrong...) to sweep the sand off our roads. It was I nice machine. No foot pedals, which is a big plus in my book. <p>Only thing I didn't like was the auxillary hydraulic pedal. Has a pedal on the floor that you had to push and then lock to operate the sweepster. It worked good, but was kind of a pain, and didn't lock all the way down. If you pushed it, you would have full power, if you locked it it would only have like 80% power.<p>Also, the case had a gas pedal on the floor. Was nice. Didn't have to have the engine reving up all the time. I also had the throttle lever on the side, but the pedal was nice with the broom. I'm not sure if others have a seperate pedal for throttle, but others I have used didn't.<p>Also, the case was about average for visibility. Had a few blind spots. Nothing unusual though. <p>New Hollands are tanks! Can't go wrong with one of those.<p>steveair<p><p>

 

[little green guy]

New Hollands are the best. Ive run new hollands and John deere both w/the superboom. I think the super boom is the only way to go. I run new holland alot. They are real durable and real powerful. I was working on a clearing job once and backed into a 8&quot; tree and didn't even know i hit it till it was almost the ground. I was also pushing down anbout 14&quot; trees with it. GO NEW HOLLAND

 

[paul]

quick note all deisel motors should be run at full throttle,<p>----------<br>paul<br>

 

[steveair]

What about the diesel motors, I never heard that. Explain please...<p>We have a old JD diesel tractor 750. You can't possibly run it full throttle because of the clutch. On hydros, you can, but not on the manuals. If this is the case, then why do you say this. Same for big machines too. We don't sit there and have our 580 at full throttle all the time either. I thought that was why they have a pedal on the floor. It's impossible, in fact to have the machine at full throttle all the time.<p>Maybe there's something I'm missing here. I really don't know, so any answer to your point appreciated. Is this just one of those 'in theory' points. <p>steveair<p>

 

[Stonehenge]

Another word on skidsteers - The Gehl 6635 I have regularly lifts loads of 3200# (40 Versa-Lok units on a pallet) to move around close to the ground. I can take pallets off truck beds 4' high that weigh around 2800-3000# (I bet you'll figure out how I discovered that difference in lifting capacity ). So, it can handle a pretty good load.

 

[paul]

Stone, that is one reason I like New Holland full load of versa-lok with our 783's 40 units not even grunting. Now some of that stone we get from Halquist they say runs 4000 lbs per pallet it has a hard time unloading,<p>Stevethat is why they make lower gears <p>No mostly for hydo's need full rpm to lift and keep hyd. pressure up.<br>I remember the D7's that I use to run they had a peddle for lowering the RPMrun them full out and use the peddle for close work<br><p>----------<br>paul<br>