Anyone experienced with Bobcat 743

[AlanB]

We are looking at another well worn SS. This one is a Bobcat 743 with a Kubota 4X hp deisel.

5xxx hours, rough around the edges, charging system not working, some obvious electrical issues (wires dangling in places, got to love that)

Looks like it will be about $4K

Several patches and what nots on the machine, but all in all seemed to run out ok.

Can defietely tell the difference between the 1300 lb bobcat and the 2000 lb John Deere we ran.

Sat it on it's tail yesterday going on the trailer, wife said I was big eyed, then again, she as jumping off the trailer at the moment so how could she tell

Has the center curl cylinder, I like the design a lot in that all my lines are pretty much hidden.

Anyone have particular experience with this machine?

 

[MrJimi]

All around good machine and you can go to Bobcat site and look for historical specs and you will know more about it and the parts are not cheap but good quality, I wanted a Bobcat 773 and I found a Case 1845 C for less money and more attachments and a very much stronger machine that will do anything I ask of it and with a 60 HP Cummins 4 cyl. Diesel it is a powerhouse, I have to fix a minor hydraulic problem and throw a gallon of paint on it and I will have a nice machine for our use and if your curious, I have pictures in my gallery, link in my signature

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Four grand sounds high unless you're buying it from a dealer. Chances are they gave three or less for it. BTW you back a skid steer up on a trailer unless you have a heavy attachment. The only thing I know more exciting than attempting to drive a skid steer onto an over the wheel trailer is to drive a Case Super L backhoe on without the hoe locked into place. There's a reason they call them steering brakes.

Case has the most backawards system for locking in the hoe ever. Unless you're aware of the techinque it's impossible. And they're so butt heavy that without the hoe locked in they're, well, exciting to drive.

 

[AlanB]

Yeah, I learned the back on technique on the first one we had, but I wanted to see if it would go on forward, and I was hoping to anchor a block of concrete with it on the trailer.

Yes it is from a dealer, and I figure he has about 3K or so in it. What I get though in buying from a dealer is that I have had a couple out to the house, and get to evaluate them closely before making a decision. Costs me more than buying at an auction (I pay for the priveledge I guess) but makes me more comfortable in my decisions. Also if something major was to break, he would help me sort it out (he has with me and others in the past).

Harv, you still have Iris? Would you go with a Robot again? I love that door, but there seem to be no used ones I can find.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

I still have Iris. She has over fifteen hundred hours and is having issues with her drive motors. She still works fine, just overheats a bit when doing some serious dirt moving. If the R&R of the drive motors is like the rest of the work on the machine then it will be mostly about figuring out how they've figured out to do the repair easy. Every time I have to do a repair they seem to have an easy way to do it and all I have to do is figure it out.

The most serious repair I've had to handle so far was a wheel bearing seal that got ate by a rope that worked it's way into the seal. We ate the housing out and it was like a hundred and fifty bucks and was available within two days from Georgia. When I pulled the housing I figured I was in for a five to six hundred dollar bill just for the housing.

Unless I get a deal that's totally unbelievable my next skid steer will be a JCB Robot. Since I won't get rid of Iris, she's family, my next machine will probably be an 1110T with high flow. I've got a quote for one like that for less than $45,000.00 brand new from the dealer in Dallas.

I've rented a Bobcat 250T and it was fun. But I absolutely hated not having the door. When you're one person doing work with anything but a bucket the door is not only a pleasure, it's a safety issue.

 

[MrJimi]

I did some looking and I found these robots,
JCB ROBOT 1110 For Sale at MachineryTrader.com

nice looking unit and it should have a huge lift to it

 

[AlanB]

Thanks Jimi, I made a poor statement, what I should have said was there were no robots at a price I could stand for sale.

There is a guy down in Tampa with some many times (I think they are old rental units) that are in the low teens, but still strong money for what we do with them.

Looks like Jim is going to go ahead and buy this one. We have run it every day since Saturday, and it is rough but functional.

Definetely needs some TLC, but fits right in with the rest of my stuff

Will probably also pick up a 66" smooth bucket, I think I am buying a set of pallet forks and a grubber bucket for it as well.

Just have to see how it pans out.