New skidsteer

[ehp]

 I got a 75 xt case with heated cab , machine has been rock solid and never caused me a problem but I would like to go 1 size bigger so am looking at finding a new machine , I want heat/ac, the best ride I can get , tires , hand controls,  whatever else comes with it pretty much, the sr 250 case lifts a couple hundred more pounds than mine but open to whatever make , What are you guys using and what you like or hate about the machine

[dnash]

I'm not sure how much sand you've got over there but a rubber track machine is worth it's weight in gold in heavier, wetter ground.

We've got a John Deere ct322. I would buy one again for sure but I would make sure to get the heated cab and maybe a radio.

[ehp]

I'm on sand most of the time  8) and alot of ice in the winter time , dealer had a kubota 75 on tracks and it would not go anywhere on the ice . I just put chains on the tires and go pretty good . I donot see the wet ground you see I know that . The John deere dealer has a pretty nice 326 that is priced right with everything I want , One thing I learned this summer and that is if its got a enclosed cab like mine you want a/c big time , my cab was alot hotter than the temp outside . The dealer near me wants me to buy a new sr 250 case but I have not talked to anyone that has one to see how good its holding up . The case has abit longer wheelbase so was thinking it might ride better as these fields that grow tobacco are as rough as anything to try and sort logs on, 46 inch spread between each row , would like to keep the weight down to 8500 pounds as that is about my limit to move with my pickup/float , We got alot of MTO around where I cut most of the time and they love over weight pickups 

[Maine logger88]

The track skid steers are the way too go unless on ice then they are useless. My father has a ct322 been an awesome machine for groundwork tho.

[ehp]

yes tracks are better , just yesterday I was moving some logs for the mill on fresh sand that was just put down, well lets just say I might have dug a few holes in that nice fresh sand  8) but in most cases if the ground is that bad my by-law will not let me cut any how , we are not allowed to make any ruts in the bush skidding and my guys checks for that so I'm happy with tires and with chains it gets around not to bad on ice , Dnash, one of these days I'm going to have to come over and see you guys , your not that far from me and plan on staying closer to home this winter , I got lots of timber close to home to cut and lots over in Tillisonburg as well

[redprospector]

Hi Ed!
I'm running a Bobcat T320 92 HP high flow. You are right about rubber tracks not doing well on ice...unless you use the screw in studs, then you can get around real good. The undercarriage on the tracked machines add a lot of stability to one. I have a mulching head that weighs a little over 2800 pounds, and I regularly lift it to the full lift of the machine on slopes better than 30%.
My Bobcat weighs in quite a bit over 8500 pounds, but may be a bigger machine than you need.
The only one that I can say by experience to stay clear of is the Terex machines. Mine was not a good experience.

[BargeMonkey]

 I would stay with a newer NH / case machine. We have 2 NH's, a 175 wheeled and a CL-175 tracked and love them. Im not a fan of the newer cab style but we are on our 6th 170 sized machine. Havent heard much good about the new deeres, and im not a bobcat fan.
Our tracked machine got 900 hrs to a set of tracks, mid sized machines are so handy, we looked at a big one a while ago, defeats the purpose.

[ehp]

I ran a Bobcat 250 for about 2 months , it is abit stronger than my 75xt , My 75xt has the extra weight added to it and weighs in at 7410 pounds without driver so quite abit more than the 6700 pounds it says in the book . I like the A300 or any thing that has steering as that would help lots of tearing the ground all to hell . Andy where I log most of the time a big hill is about 1 foot in height  8) yes its that flat until you come to a gorge then the earth falls off forever  ;D, no place for a skid steer . A new bobcat would be nice but up here they are gold in price and they think their parts are real gold , somethings their out of their mind . I know the Case dealer would take very good care of me but just worried he will have to take care of me as it may break down lots and I'm not a very good guy about when things break down that was not my fault . Just looking at the trouble their having with the case tractors

[lopet]

Yep  we should have a Ontarion  meeting some day. 8)
Good luck with your purchase.

[cutter88]

we log up in Huntsville Ontario, I ran a 85xt for my father inlaw for a year in the landing piling logs it was a stong machine, when I went on my own I started with a 485 new Holland now we have upgraded to a full out track machine its a 247b cat... can be high maintenece at times but it will go anywhere and lift a lot because of how well balanced they are

[ehp]

Cutter88 .i'm from the Huntsville /Haliburton area but my wife is from down here in the sunny south ;D, I have never been around cat skidsteer much . I can buy the case for about $25,000 less than a Bobcat the same basic size , I told them before I buy anything I want to test drive it on the landing for a couple days , if they will not give me that chance to test it then I guess I donot need their skidsteer , anytime any one wants to meet its fine with me , it gets lonely working in the bush all by yourself  ;D

[redprospector]

Ed, it sounds like Case may be you're best bet. I run a Bobcat because we had a good servicing dealer in El Paso, TX when I bought it. They have sold out, so my next machine may be a Cat.
In my opinion, they're all about the same since everything is computerized. To me it all boils down to which dealer won't leave you hanging.

[cutter88]

Cutter88 .i'm from the Huntsville /Haliburton area but my wife is from down here in the sunny south ;D, I have never been around cat skidsteer much . I can buy the case for about $25,000 less than a Bobcat the same basic size , I told them before I buy anything I want to test drive it on the landing for a couple days , if they will not give me that chance to test it then I guess I donot need their skidsteer , anytime any one wants to meet its fine with me , it gets lonely working in the bush all by yourself  ;D

I agree if they wont let you try it they don't wanna sell it to bad

[BargeMonkey]

 Our local dealer lost a sale on a new kubota track machine because they wanted to get 1 weeks rental out of it before they brought it down. Kinda glad we bought another NH anyway.  ;D

[redprospector]

My dealer lost a sale on a new T870 when they wouldn't do a demo.
The salesman actually told me to ask one of my competitors (who just bought a new one) if I could borrow his for a week or so to see if I like it.  :D
I just had the engine rebuilt in the 320 and kept going. Like I said, my next one may be a Cat.  :D

[ehp]

Andy , I worked at the case dealer for about 3 months as a chainsaw tech and small engine guy so they know what kind of a guy their dealing with  :D, I have a NH dealer not very far away either and a Gehl, JCB . One thing I do having going for me is Strongco and their a pretty large company with lots of dealers close and they sell volume so prices are alot less than retail so the Case dealer knows this and will match Strongco's price , Remember this is Canada but I can buy a SR 250 loaded for $48,000 plus tax , list was $66,000, I think thats a good deal just wondering if the new machine is anything close to the older XT machines, I bought this XT almost 2 years ago and have not put 5 cents back into it in parts , its been pretty rock solid but I run into more than my fair share of big oak that is abit hard on the girl, 4 ft on the stump is quite common and now the mills want those types of trees cut upwards to 30 feet long to make big timbers if the outside is not pretty for hard grade lumber , a 4 ft on the stump 16 footer red or white oak I cannot lift and in some cases I cannot move so have to use the skidder to just push it over to the log pile, Yup a 10,000 pound machine would be stronger but it might not be faster at piling

[ehp]

No cat dealer even close to me , maybe a couple hours away

[ehp]

Bobcat will send me anything I want and are good guys to deal with, I bought the 75xt off them , when I started logging down here I needed a skidsteer so phoned them and in about 1 hour I had a S250 sitting on the landing  but it didnot have enclosed cab which I wanted and they had nothing like I wanted left, they sell a pile of machines to guys plowing snow

[ehp]

anybody run a 326e johndeere, dealer came by and the price is good but I have never ran a JD skidsteer, deere is close to me as well . I think the 326 is abit stronger than the sr250 but wonder on the ride , price is not much different either between the 2 , I was thinking the JD would of been more money sense I'm living in JD land

[CuddleBugFirewood]

I have a T870 as of this summer.  I had a NH LS170.  The NH was just too small... rated capacity was 1750 lbs.  The t870 rated capacity with weight kit is 3750.  Machine weights around 12  thousand pounds but I have not found an oak or hickory log I could not lift, and the 12 foot lift height is awesome for loading log trucks.  When I checked around the other machines could not lift that high, and all topped out around 10.5 feet, it makes all the difference when loading those last logs on the truck.  Have not found a log it will not lift yet.... and can load multiple smaller mat logs at a time....had to get bigger set of forks to handle the weight as I bent the ones I had for the ls170.

I did demo the bobcat before buying for a few days.... my intention at the time was to demo multiple machines, but nothing else could come close to the 12' height, which when demoed made loading log trucks much easier than with my ls170.   My neighbor dairy farmer demoed the bobcat demo machine the same time I had it and he bought a JCB shortly before I bought the T870.  I don't think he has been as happy with the jcb as I have been with the bobcat. 

Doesn't sound like a tracked machine is for you, but just wanted to give my opinion to someone that may find this info helpful.  Good luck with your decision!

[Nate379]

I have a S250 and I like it.  Weighs about 10,000lbs with grapple and loaded tires.  It handles heavy logs better than the Tr270 Case we also have.  The case is way better in rough/muddy ground though.

[ehp]

well been playing with new skidsteers and I think its time to pull the trigger , had a johndeere 326E, a Case SR250 and a Bobcat S650, all fully loaded and I think I'm going Bobcat but by noon tomorrow I will know forsure , got 2 case dealers here and there trying there best to get me in that case and its abit cheaper but the 650 just seems to fit me best as far as driving goes a very smooth ride and the bobcat is stronger than the case , the 326E is very strong but the dealer just is not very nice in my books and will not give me anything on trading for my 75xt , I paid $`12,000 for the 75 and both bobcat and case will give me $15,000 on tradein so I feel thats pretty good , New bobcat is going to cost me $38,500 plus tax , Case is $37,500 plus tax

[OH logger]

bobcat is proven and very reliable

[BargeMonkey]

 Case / NH are built side by side now, so my opinion will be biased. I've ran or owned quite a few, I think we are on #5 "new" NH.  Maybe bobcat has stepped it up a bit, but I ran a new out of the box 763 around 01-02, it was cheaply built, tippy, hard to see, our 665lx would have eaten it alive. Depends where you can get dealer support, closest bobcat dealer for me is 50miles.

[ehp]

I have never ran a older Bobcat but have ran , a 250, 300, 185, 750,and this 650 all were dam strong on lift and quiet inside the cab , you can see better out of the 650 compared to the sr250 , as far as dealer support , the bobcat dealer is about 25 miles away, the case is 3 miles and I worked at this case dealer for abit fixing equipment .