compact articulated loaders

[Renze]

My brother is thinking of getting a compact farm helper:
A skid steer is not an option because of my father: A. because of the jerky controls, and B. because i dont see him, age 65 having arthritis, crawl over the loader arms into the cockpit every day. An articulated loader is far more accessible and wears less rubber.

What do these things really handle ? We have 3 foot horse stable doors, but a compact loader narrow enough to go through those doors, would be useless cleaning a big layer of packed muck in the free stables. Most newer doors are 1.20 wide, and a machine that fits through that doorway, will be able to get things done.
Will it also lift haylage and straw bales, or are these machines too unstable for that ?

 

[GT2]

My brother is thinking of getting a compact farm helper:
A skid steer is not an option because of my father: A. because of the jerky controls, and B. because i dont see him, age 65 having arthritis, crawl over the loader arms into the cockpit every day. An articulated loader is far more accessible and wears less rubber.

What do these things really handle ? We have 3 foot horse stable doors, but a compact loader narrow enough to go through those doors, would be useless cleaning a big layer of packed muck in the free stables. Most newer doors are 1.20 wide, and a machine that fits through that doorway, will be able to get things done.
Will it also lift haylage and straw bales, or are these machines too unstable for that ?

I seems to me that the skid steer would be way more maneuverable.
However they do beat the s**t out of you.
What about a tracked skid steer? I hear they are a lot smoother?

 

[Renze]

..No skid steer at all... my father wont crawl into one, so me or my brother have to do the work on winter evenings, while my retired father can take all day, during daylight.

 

[J_J]

How about something like this.

H Class

http://www.power-trac.com/hclass.htm#422

 

[Renze]

How about something like this.

H Class

H Class

1200 lb lift capacity to handle haylage bales and clean hard packed muck ??? no that wont work... Its gasoline powered, something we dont want.

Schaffer loaders

schaffer video

This Schaffer sells for about the same price as that Power Trac with comparable specs...
Just take a look at those Schaffer models and see for yourself, so i dont have to explain why i wouldnt buy a Pwer Trac even if it sold for half the price of a Schaffer, Fuchs or other German miniloader....


Actually i was more interested in what a machine this size gets done, are they stable enough to handle large square straw bales, etcetera...

 

[coopers]

No you want a loader the size Kubota offers. They are very stable and quite powerful (typical of Kubota's well built machines) and they have many different attachments. Nurserys all around this state use them. They're very common. Case and Deere also offer mini loaders but I believe they're a tad larger than Kubotas.

 

[coopers]

The case 221D is a large compact loader. Case does have smaller models but I've never used them or seen them and right now their website is down so I can't check the numbers. The Deere 244J is a large compact loader as well. The only other compact loader I know of is the JD 84 which is the third picture. I'm not sure on it's size. The Kubota, from what I've een, is a pretty dang compact loader. They have two sizes, one smaller, one bigger. I'd check one of those out. The only thing I notice is they don't look too terribly comfortable. But I could be wrong. Case's machines look comfortable.

 

[jmfox]

Take a look at JCB.

jmf

 

[LoneCowboy]

I drove one of those JCB 409's and looked a Volvo 25 (20?), both about the same size.
6' wide (2meters), about 16' long (about the size of a typical compact tractor)

1.2yard bucket (about 1.2 cubic meters)

4000lb lifting capcity
someting like 9000lb breakout force.

way stronger than all but the biggest skid steers.
really manueverable.

bad part?
About $70,000 USD (the same price as a big skid steer)

 

[Renze]

We would rather get a smaller one, 2 meter wide is still wider than my 3011 (1.65 on the narrowest 1.35 trackwidth) and not able to enter the 1.20 meter ( 4 foot) horse barns.

I was hoping to get some practical experienced advice on a machine of about 1.10 wide and 2000 pounds of lifting force. That is the size we'd be looking at, we sometimes carry big square bales into the barn lengthwise, but straw bales are lighter than silage so 1 ton tipload would do for us.

I was hoping to hear if a machine at 1.10 meter wide or less, is still stable enough to carry bales up to 800kg and has enough breakout force to bust hard packed muck in the yet-to-build freestalls.

70.000 would be way out of our budget too...

 

[Scooby074]

I was going to recommend a L20 too but i think its too much machine for want you want to do, and doesnt meet most of your criteria (cost/size)

Have you looked at the Avant 300 (skid) or 500(artic) series? I have no hands on with them, but they seem to meet your requirements in size and capacity. On their site they show some pictures of their bale handling capacity and use on the farm.

It might be worth a look. 300 Series 500

Attachments

http://www.avanttecno.com/web/engmaatal/bestinvest.htm

http://www.avanttecno.com/web/engsales/pdffiles/500englantiwww.pdf

 

[LoneCowboy]

Nothing I've found is smaller here in the US (maybe europe?)
I think for 4' wide, you're in skidsteer land
even that's a pretty small skidsteer, probably lift 1200lbs or so

48-55hp

 

[Scooby074]

The Avant 500 articulated is sold in North America by Gehl. Its a pretty impressive machine for its size. Its under 4' in width check it out.

Gehl Company - Compact Equipment for Construction and Agriculture

There's also the MultiOne machines which are very similar to the Avant. Maybe even made of sourced from them? http://www.multione.com/html/sl_series_specs.html

 

[Robert_in_NY]

We do not see that small of equipment around here very often. I wish I could give you some insight on it but about the only thing I can say is see if a dealer or a rental yard has one and try it out.

 

[Renze]

It must be because i draw 10 to 18 ton heavy duty payloaders as a daytime job, but neither the Power Trac nor the Avant can appeal to me.. The German ones, Schaeffer, Weidemann, are my favourites, they just look more thought out... What i also like about the Schaeffer, is that even the smallest ones come with Schaeffer in-house built and developed 7 ton axles !
I think they are a bit more pricey than an Avant, but sitting on the rear frame, gives you a better feel of where you're going on an articulated machine. In the heavy loader market, the concept of a cab on the front frame, is abandoned by all.

Skid steers, i never liked them. NExt to that, i dont see my father wrestle himself into a skidsteer with his bad knees, nor operate one without hitting walls.
The landscape contractor in my area, has one of these mini loaders, and its just a great piece of machinery: fast, nimble and smooth. And its easy to get on and off.

 

[Scooby074]

The Schaeffer machines are nice too, They look like shrunk down, full size loaders, whereas the Avants have more of a "toy" appearance with alot more plastic to break. Having been around cows and horses to a lesser extent, i can say they have a remarkable ability to break all but the strongest of materials

I can see the advantage of sitting on the front half of the Avants in this size of machine because it keeps you inline with the lift arms and may give you better perspective in close quarters.

The solid axle of the Schaeffer is definitely a selling point. Spec wise the companies offer very similar machines. I dont think you'd make a mistake with either brand, But the Schaeffer may be a little more solid, with a larger engine and more weight for a given class.

 

[kennyd]

What about a Power Trac? It seems to fit all your requirements to a "T"

 

[Robert_in_NY]

What about a Power Trac? It seems to fit all your requirements to a "T"

It was brought up in Post 4, discussed and rejected.

 

[kennyd]

It was brought up in Post 4, discussed and rejected.

Guilty as charged

 

[Renze]

Given our requirements, a four wheel steer monoboom skidsteer like the JCB Robot might be something: smoother steering, easier to get on and off by my father with bad knees..

I dont have the guts to ask for their price though...


My favourite is this one: http://www.schaeffer-lader.de/en/pages/lader/hoflader/detail/345s_detail.shtml
it has a 1 ton straight tipload, 2 ton weight and its width is about a meter....