Are there any other machines in this size and weight range that have the same hydraulic power as these?
Allmands TLB line is comparable to the Terramites, I ran a T5 a good bit before I bought my tlb425, the Allmands can lift 2100lb with the loader, all models have hydraulic steering, and the foot pedal seems a little more controllable but the real deal changer for me was the hoe. I'm not bashing the Terramite , they seem to be constantly improving the machines and if if I didn't find an Allmand I would have a Terramite. These little machines do a pile of work and are quite capable if the operator learns how to get the best out of them.
Terramite and Allmand both suffer the same hit when newbies run them, single range hydro-stat seems weak ! - because you're running it wrong ! When you want to push until the tires spin just push the pedal a little bit! Yes a multi range tranny would be nice , it would also add $5000 to the price!
Also they both suffer from being primarily rental machines, that means when you look at one a few years old it probably had the crap pounded out of it!
Here is the big issues I found
with the hoe when comparing the Terramite and the Allmand, (maybe these issues will make it back to Terramite, now I don't know if Terramite has updated this stuff so someone can chime in if they have),
The backhoe valve , Allmand uses a real Walvoil backhoe valve, very smooth and nice feathering, Terramite uses a bunch of single spool valves stacked and ties them together with their own linkage which feels kinda crude and sloppy in operation,next is the boom swing, Allmand uses a swing system that is cushioned at the ends of travel and gives a true 180 degrees range, Terramite swings the same through it's range and only gives 145 degrees, pins and bushings, Allmand uses Garlock bearings on all the hoe pivots which are hardened bronze bushings that are drilled like a sieve to enhance grease penetration, this combined with oversize pins (swing,main boom and bucket pivot are all 1 5/8" pins) keeps the backhoe boom tight as new for a long time, I don't know what Terramite is using for bushings, but the T5 I ran had about 700 hours and it was already getting a bit sloppy.