Tractor or Skid Steer?

[puter]

I've been looking and planning on getting a tractor for awhile now for a myriad of projects around a pretty wooded property... driveway/trail maintenance, drainage and electric lines, outbuilding foundations, old stump removal, general landscaping stuff, etc.

I have little experience with either tractors or skid steers and would appreciate some input as to how to decide which piece of equipment would be more appropriate. I don't anticipate doing any mowing with this equipment.

I'd like to be able to respond to the "job of the day" and reasonably easily switch between pallet forks, a dozer blade, bucket, small backhoe, etc. Given that, do CUTs offer any advantages over a skid steer? Thanks!

 

[txdon]

Welcome, Puter, To get the best informed answer to that question a description of your land would help, hilly, size, soil, rocks, and more detail of the jobs you intend to do. What do you want to do with the dozer blade build a pond push trees (size) or make a road etc etc...? Do you need it for snow blowing/pushing?
On the way to my tractor last week I saw a skid steer doing some landscaping on the side of the highway. He was carrying a pallet of grass (Texas) up a small incline. it had rained about a 1/2 inch the night before and the little skid steer was just spinning it's tires going nowhere. I thought to myself he needs a tractor with quick attach front forks or he is going to waste an entire day just spinning his wheels. I would have to say get a tractor.

 

[Chechnya]

Skid steer.

Attachments.
Manuverability.
Accesability.
Cost.

All factors that make you want a skid steer. Out of two kubota l35's and a new holland ls170 i prefer the ls170 for grading and picking up stuff. My landscapers are using two bobcats for my job too. They have no trouble lifting the sod off a semi-truck and moving it around.

Out of the bobcat, new holland the case ive driven latley, i still prefer a new holland.

 

[Phred]

A skid steer is a far better loader than any tractor since you can turn on a dime and maneuver in an incredible manner.

For all else the tractor is better.
I also think the tractor is more versatile. You can do anything a skidsteer can do, just a little slower in the loader department. Try baling hay with a skidsteer.

I will warn you that it is a lot easier to turn over a skid steer than a tractor. Also traction can be an issue on a skid steer.

Attachments are not an issue, IMHO, since many tractors will accept any skidsteer implement.

Fred

 

[foreman81]

I can predict the outcome of this, hands down a CUT. The lift capacities of the newer loaders are virtually the same as the skidsteers and you get the versatility of a tractor with endless attachments. But here are the ups and downs of skidsteers I found beign priviledged to drive bith types regularly in a nursery. I won't comment on the versatility of CUT since you are afterall in TBN.


The downs :The skidsteers make really awfull skid marks when you maneuver, even at the slowest speeds. They'll tare up turf, distrub gravel and mark pavement like you wouldn't believe, especially with a load. The skids bounce around alot in uneven terrains which makes it hard to safely lift and carry heavy loads such as loaded pallets or fully loaded buckets of stones (you tend to realise that when the owner of a 2003 dodge ram is looking at you while you dump raw materials in the back of it). Unskilled operators are a definite liability in this case. Visibility is eliminated when you are carrying high pallets thus safety is an issue when unloading pallets in the busy parking lot of a nursery in spring. Rear visibilty is also limited given the small VW beetle like window. The interior gets very messy after one day's work and you have to periodically get a shopvac and clean the pedals and get that watery muck out. Some skids have drain holes in the cab (Bobcat) an some don't (Gehl). You have to change the tires every year or two depending on use.

The ups : They make very quick work of digging, leveling, loading and dumping in almost every context. They are maneuverable as hell and can get in almost everywhere. They are easy enough to maintain and very very tough. For heavy constant loader work, it's well designed and handles hydraulic heat well with its stong cylinders. Changing implements takes all but 10 sec and you don't need to dismount. Incredible breakout capacity makes ripping and power lifting easy, but high lift capacities stink. Indeed very quick but...

I find the downs unacceptable in a home/private context and the ups good in a business type setting when time is money. For these reasons I vouch for a CUT over skidsteers. Besides they look better parked in a garage and have better resale.

 

[puter]

Thanks for the responses thus far... The property is mostly wooded gentle hills. Lots of 40-70' trees. Some lumbering was done on the property a few years back so, most of the large girth trees are gone. The soil is almost like compost, very few rocks.

Major jobs are redoing a 500' driveway, maintaining and getting rid of the major tire ruts in the logging road, digging footings, electrical, and drainage lines, plowing snow, making a lawn out of field, etc.

There's a 200x80ft pond (dug in the 60's) that is now about 2' deep throughout that I'd love to deepen... but, from what I've read here, that doesn't sound like a good fit for any CUT. Been quoted 5-7K to have someone come in and do that job.

And I'd like to put in a pool... another job that posts here suggest is probably not well suited for a CUT.

Besides that, there's lots of heavy things to be moved from here to there: downed logs, roofing materials, gravel, mulch, pavers, etc.

I didn't realize skid steers are easier to tip... that concerns me. At one point the logging road curves up an elevation change of 20-30ft in just a few hundred feet... with a pretty steep drop off on one side. The logging guys obviously got up and down it with trees ok, but those logging guys are all crazy, aren't they?

 

[DK35vince]

puter,
Its not so much side to side that skidsteers tip easy, its front to rear because of their very short wheel base.
I have had a skid steer sitting on its nose more than once . /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
I also learned years ago not to drive up the ramps on a beavertail trailer with no bucket on the front for weight, they will do a wheelie you won't soon forget ! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[snowbound]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( And I'd like to put in a pool... another job that posts here suggest is probably not well suited for a CUT.)</font>

Rent an excavator for a couple days for that.

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Besides that, there's lots of heavy things to be moved from here to there: downed logs, roofing materials, gravel, mulch, pavers, etc.)</font>

A CUT can have a loader that is as strong as that on many skid steers. It's not hard to find a CUT that can lift what a lot of skid steers can lift.

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I didn't realize skid steers are easier to tip... that concerns me. At one point the logging road curves up an elevation change of 20-30ft in just a few hundred feet... with a pretty steep drop off on one side. The logging guys obviously got up and down it with trees ok, but those logging guys are all crazy, aren't they?)</font>

My property was once logged - there's decaying log trailer parts about halfway up my hill. And it's a more serious hill than you describe. The logging guys are totally nuts - always have been - but the logging guys that did this used horses, not skid steers.

If you are worried about hills then skid steer sounds like the wrong answer. Maybe a compact track loader would be better. I'm thinking about that for the crazy part of my property.

Later,
Andrew Mullhaupt

 

[yooperdave]

Have you considered a power trac? Well worth taking a look at.

Yooper Dave

 

[EquipmentJunkie]

Skid steers are wonderful machines. The loader performance and attachments capability (especially hydraulic-powered) make them extremely useful. The New Holland LX665 that I use is great for certain jobs, like moving snow and digging dirt.
However, when you get a skid steer loader off of a relatively flat, smooth surface, a tractor begins to be more appealing. The more difficut the surface, the more a tractor shines.
From the description of your application, it sounds to be a job better suited for a tractor. True, a skid steer would be better at digging up the pond. But your pond isn't huge. It would just take you longer with a tractor. You may also consider renting a skid steer to do the pond work if you can't make decent time with a tractor.
If I had to give up my tractor or skid steer, I'd would reluctantly send the skid steer loader packing. A tractor's three-point hitch, PTO power, and off-road stability are just too valuable to give up.