Specs on Skid-steers

   / Specs on Skid-steers #1  

Tractor_Joe

New member
Joined
Oct 23, 2003
Messages
16
Location
Upper Peninsula Michigan
I'm looking at purchasing a skid-steer and they're so many models and manufactures to choose from. I was trying to find a site that breaks them all down (if it exist) on the basic differences between them all. I'm interested in the basics, like type engine, horsepower, weight, lifting power, Hydraulic GPM. I find tid-bits of info scattered around but was wondering if anyone knew of a place that has it all in one place.

Thank you in advance.

Joel
 
   / Specs on Skid-steers #2  
Hi Joel,

What part of the U.P. are you located?

I know north of Menominee there is still a couple feet of snow on the ground.

Keep Warm

Yooper Dave
 
   / Specs on Skid-steers #3  
Ive seen a few but never have written down the URL's. Although i dont have any URL's i am very knowledgable about skid steers so if you want you can ask me questions and i will most likely have an answer.

It depends on what things you will be doing to determine the HP, GPM and lifting capacity.

For the HP, if you do alot of heavy duty work then you will need a higher horsepower of course and to me it depends on the soil type also. Here is nothing but clay and its a job all by itself of getting the tractor unstuck. Reccomend 50

GPM, if you do alot of work with attachments then more is better. If you plan on doing alot of lifting and making the arms go up and down alot then more is also better. Reccomend 23

Lifting, Of course if you plan on doing alot of lifting get a higher capacity. It depends on what you are lifting to determine what you will need. I have 1700lbs and sometimes thats not enough but i reccomend atleast 1500.

Tracks or wheels. Use wheels if you are mainly on concrete and tracks only for dirt. Rubber tracks for a skid steer cost around $1500 a piece.

I also reccomend Gehl and Bobcat and also New Holland except for the fact that my LS170 has open foot pedals and a low ground clearance so mud gets stuck underneath the pedals and it becomes hard to move to move the pedals.

This is just common sense stuff.. Let me know if i can help.
 
   / Specs on Skid-steers #4  
Do a search for "skid steer attachments".

One of the manufacturers has a complete breakdown on all the skid steer manufacturers.

Thomas is the least expensive.

Cat moves dirt best.

JCB has the single boom and a side door for access. That's what I have. I went with it for the door and have found it does everything else well.

If you can go for high flow hydraulics.

Most of them offer joystick controls. I have Case, hand, controls on mine. The theory on joystick it the next generation will be one step ahead on the learning process. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
   / Specs on Skid-steers #5  
I'll reply here with what I can.

www.coneq.com has information (basic specs) on the numbers you mentioned -- but does not give type of lift. So here's the basics.

Bobcat: S175, 185, 250, 300, A300, T190, T300 are vertical lift. ANY other loaders are radial.

Case: Any models ending in "5" are vertical lift; others (ending in 0) are radial.

Cat: Any models ending in "2" are vertical lift; "7" is tracked (257 and 287 are vertical lift track); "8" is high flow.

Deere: All vertical lift.
NH: Same as Deere.

Komatsu: oh geez... could never understand their numbers.

Thomas: the 205 is vertical lift, all else radial.

Gehl/Mustang: 7810, 7610 and 2199, 2099 (respectively for Gehl and then Mustang; two models per company) are vertical; everything else they make is radial.

umm... I don't know if I've missed anything.

Oh.

JCB is all radial.

And there are a few smaller companies (ASV, Takeuchi) that are still making only radial machines.

I think that covers just about everything. Good luck.

Xing

PS: Komatsu: 818 and 820 are vertical lift.
 
   / Specs on Skid-steers #6  
Joel,

I am from the UP and had a chance to work a NH L170 for about 10hrs last month. The dealer let me use it but called it a POS compared to Gehl or Case?

I did not like it. It has such low ground clearance it was bad on any loose dirt. Go to a track type if you do the skid steer thing for feild or dirt work. It was tippppppy as most of the wheeled ones are.

Skid steers have their place but I was not impressed with what it would do or options it had.

I hope your choice is a good one for you.
 
   / Specs on Skid-steers #7  
I thought NH skids were supposed to be very stable? Because of their ground-hugging nature?
 
   / Specs on Skid-steers #8  
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( It was tippppppy as most of the wheeled ones are.)</font>

Tipppppppy isn't a bad thing.

I have a JCB with Case (hand) controls. Yesterday I operated a Bobcat 953 with feet controls. I almost bent the levers on that puppy trying to get the bucket to do what I wanted. But I adjusted. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I spend alot of my time on my tractor on two wheels without any problem. It turns easier on two etc. When I climbed into the big Bobcat the first thing I found out was it wheelied even easier than my little JCB.

It's all about getting comfortable with your machine. For moving dirt pound for pound there's nothing to compete with the skid steer. They do take some getting used to. They will tip over. Eventually you learn where that point is and don't go past it. Staying at it will keep you young.
 
   / Specs on Skid-steers #9  
wroughtn and others,

I would agree withat "tippy" is good. Bobcat surely makes that argument. However, NH and Deere, especially, make a point in their literature of being the most stable skid steers. Few contractors realize this also means a machine that is harder to turn (requires more power to skid on all four wheels as opposed to only two) and consequently a machine that burns out its tires far faster. Bobcat machines are designed to pivot easily either on its rear wheels (unloaded) or front wheels (loaded). Before it had its vertical lift 7753 and 873 models, contractors who had used NH claimed NH was more stable. Well, sure it was, because the two machines were designed differently. But the impact of NH's stable machines did take its toll, as many contractors are shifting to the CNH umbrella.
I didn't mean tippy to be bad -- just if someone commented on how tippy NH was, I was curious to see what they would have said about Bobcat!
 
   / Specs on Skid-steers #10  
Another advantage bobcat has over some of the competition is driver's view of the bucket. On a bobcat you're sitting up and forward enough to usually see the leading edge of the bucket when working. Most of the others have you guessing.

But those darn foot controls...... /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
 
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