bobcat b250 vs b300

[capt_met]

hello all,
thinking about getting a b250 or a b300 bobcat tlb. they both seem like great machines. curious to input from others that may have bought either of these machines what they think of them after using them. strengths, weaknesses, any regrets. any input would be appreciated. i hope to use the machine for general construction and excavating.
thanks in advance,
capt

 

[jgh]

20050919

One of the moderators, Mark Chalkley, has a (Earthforce, now Bobcat) TLB and will undoubtedly share many, many, many, many/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif comments with you (actually all helpful) if you can successfully get his attention!

Bobcat stuff is my fav, but I have a skidsteer A300 and excavator 430, not a B.

Happy shopping,

Jim
Mt Burgha on the Rivanna in VA

 

[Tigerotor77W]

How do you like that combination? Is it working out well given the price you paid for those two?

 

[jgh]

20050920

Not bad and the financing was very good as well. Always you find situations where something smaller/larger would be great, but overall I have been pleased. My use is episodic, but growing with our new farmland. On Saturday I pulled down limbs and one whole tree while clearing out the area around an old barn we are using to store square bale hay, using the 430. I'm looking fwd to the counterwt so I can put on the wainroy I bought with the machine--it's a little tippy with it right now.

The A300 is good because it has all wheel steer. I think I mentioned that to you once b4 in another thread. I would not give SSLs the time of day till this concept came along.

Mark Chalkley surely thinks I am crazy but ask him if his Earthforce has AC in its cab /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

J

 

[capt_met]

a little update. a few days ago i demoed an ingersoll bl 370. it was awesome. the backhoe controls were the smoothest i have ever used. it was a great price but i'm going to let it go because of the repair issues. it said ingersoll but you could still see where it said EF4 under the paint. also tried out the JD 110. wasn't impressed at all. it drove smoothly but didn't like the process to get from the forward controls to the rear. bobcat dealer has been very helpful so far. all of them very nice folks. i think it is between the B300 or going the skid steer route. i just feel much more at home in a TLB than the skid steer. thanks for the replies and maybe mr. chalkley will pop up some time. guess it means bussiness is good.
take care,
metin

 

[jgh]

20050922

Search on Earthforce for Chalkley's copious comments on his buying/using experience a few years ago. His narrative was so good, in all seriousness, we really felt both his joys and his pains.

My own feeling is just as using a skid steer with, say, a trencher attachment, is not as good as using a dedicated unit like a Ditchwitch, a combo unit like the Earthforce/IR TLB has its practicalities and its limitations. I feel sure they remedied that lack of ac. Hey, maybe I'm just spoiled.

Happy hunting,

Jim

 

[capt_met]

well it looks like the B300b won. i will be picking it up in a few weeks. they didn't remedy the AC yet so i will be going without the cab. while at the dealer demoing it we put the bucket up against the blade on a 4 something series excavator. i was able to push it around no problem. the thing really feels strong for the size. i figure with the excavators low psi for the contact area was the reason it was so easy to push around. i also liked that you shift into and out of gear on the column. i let you know more as i learn it myself.
good luck,
capt

 

[capt_met]

just an update a few months later. i ended up finding a great deal on a used B300. was able to get a package deal and ended up getting a root grapple, box blade 12" and 24" buckets and a trailer. got it all for about half the price of the new one. only had 600 hours on it. i have since put about 75 hours on it and have to say Mark Chalkley was right across the board. the machine is amazing. using the grapple it is amazing the size trees it will pick up and carry. digs very strong and smooth. i couldn't be happier. but, as mark did it looks like the tweaking will be beginnning soon. going to go the same route mark did and add a valve to control the ground speed independant of the engine speed. this will allow the use of more slow speed skid steer attachments. after this is done it will be capable of most anything i might need to do. i want to thank this list for help and the knowledge that gets passed through these forums. i have read enough to where i am starting to know the answers to questions being posted. which seems to bring more questions.
thanks,
capt

 

[RockMan 101]

I am looking to purchase a B300. have you been happy with your machine?

 

[capt_met]

I guess another update is in order. I still have the B300 and it still suprises me. I have used it on a number of wall jobs and it lifting abilities are second to none in that size range. using a set of forks instead of the loader bucket I am able to pick up 3600# blocks and stack them. it does help to be on level ground with the heavier lifts. the backhoe is smooth as ever, the 24" bucket rarely comes off. still on the same tires at 1300 hours and they are not looking near needing replacement. it has been a good buy that has definitly paid for itself.