Should I do Skid Steer or should I stick to regular John Deere?

[kennyd]

I replied with my thoughts in THIS thread.

Fritz...Please stop starting new thread with every little question! Its making it real hard to follow!

 

[ddivinia]

FRIZ,

The advantage to a skidsteer front end is the ability to use (buy or rent) the vast array of attachments made for them today. As you pointed out the skid steer attachment carrier is the way to go. As an example of this I needed to use a hydraulic planetary auger to drill a few holes last year, I did not want to buy one for such a small job. I was able to rent the attachment for less than $100 (it was a Bobcat brand) it hooked right up and plugged in without any modifications.


Another thing to point out about the 400CX loader is it is self leveling while the 400X is not. This means the bucket or forks are kept level as you raise the loader arms, an important feature to me.

What sucks is you can't turn the auto level off. On a Cat skid steer you can do it.

I have the 400X on my 4520 and I have a 542 SL on my 5525.

I would NOT buy the self level feature again. It limits the movement of the bucket and it is not exactly keeping it level. Try both for a little while before you make your decision.

Go with the skid steer attachment setup on the FEL - flexibility is awesome.

You can move your attachements around. Lets say you go wiht a 3720 then to a 4720 or a 5xxx - if you go skid steer - all your stuff swaps out. I have 2 different hay spears. Then I upgraded my forks last year so they would go on both tractors. my 4720 with 400x woudl not pick up a pallet of sod, but my 5525 with 542 SL would easily, but no forks.

Skid Steer plate on the FEL gets my vote.

D.

 

[BarryinMN]

JD on their larger tractor proprietary QT system obsoleted theirs in favor of the ISO/Euro Spec system a year or two ago.

Buying into their smaller tractor QT system on a new tractor is probably an exercise in obsolescence sooner rather than later. The market is demanding SS QT.

Same as dd I did not specify SL on my ag loader. My construction TLB does have it and spills heaping loads...

 

[Johndeere3720]

My Dad has a 3720 and a CT322 track deere skidsteer. Many times I wished the 3720 had a skidsteer attachment system until I tried to move the Cat grapple. The loader barely picked it up and the rear wheels came off the ground. The CT322 works great but it is harder to attach the Cat brand products to since the holes to attach to are barely wide enough unless it is on perfect. The 300x attachment system also has its flaws since the right hydraulic cylinder is faster than the left so when you hook up the loader attachments, you have to push them a little to get it on. The 300x is also kind of hard since it only is the two top 'hooks' that you are grabbing with the loader making it harder to line up. The skidsteer plate is very simple since you grab and connect. I have had times where the Deere auger was hard to get off since the bottom 'sticks' unless at the perfect angle. I sugest a block to put under it to get it off. Not to change the subject but have you thought of a bobcat toolcat?

 

[KennedyDiesel]

The tractor buckets are not even in the same league as the SS buckets. The SS attachment is very versatile and I would not be without it. Like mentioned earlier though don't think for a minute that your tractor will match a skid steer's capabilities/durability.

 

[siloguy]

Mowing might be OK if you don't need to turn very much, but skidsteers love to eat lawns.