Comparison Skid Loader or Front End Loader?

[Frugivore]

I just finished pricing out a new FEL for my used tractor (Kubota M4030SU), and at close to $6500 I could almost buy a small used skid loader for that kind of money (probably around $10,000). I would be using the loader for moving compost/mulch, manure, brush/small trees, loading a 16ft dump trailer with 4ft sidewalls, and assisting in pond construction (along with an independent backhoe). Any opinions on what is the better value for the money? How does using a tractor FEL compare with using a small skid steer?

 

[bucktaker]

You are right on for your stated uses a skid steer would do all those tasks better than FEL. Skid steers could be a money pit and it is another piece of machiney to maintain.

 

[Lohman446]

Tractors are wonderful pieces of equipment and "jacks of all trades" if you will. However they will seldom compete with a dedicated piece of equipment designed for a single task, at least in the task that piece of equipment was designed for. Skidsteers were designed for material transport and do this job exceedingly well and far better than a FEL on a tractor will.

 

[KubotaToy]

I owned a JD 6675 skid steer (42hp), so it was small compared to the market today. I also have a Kubota B2710 tractor with FEL. I wanted a backhoe, so I traded the skid steer last year for a L45 TLB with a little more lift abilty thinking I did not need three pieces of equipment. I tell you I wish I had kept it or traded my tractor instead. I like having a backhoe but miss my skid steer for moving stuff, the L45 may lift more but the SS just did it easier. You can find good deals on wheeled skid steers if you look hard enough. A 1997 with 550hrs just sold for 8500.00 at the local dealer.

 

[MarkV]

I would agree with the others, skid steer is hard to beat for loader work. The one area where I prefer the tractor is moving any distance. For me, the SS is harder on my body when moving from point A to B. If that distance is very far I would rather use the tractor.

MarkV

 

[Aging TOO Fast]

. Skid steers could be a money pit and it is another piece of machiney to maintain.

Just curious, why could a skid steer be anymore of a money pit than a standard tractor?
Hydros?


As to which one skid steer or FEL, I believe besides cost (purchase and upkeep) need to consider the primary use;
moving, clearing, raw transport of materials skid steer better suited.

If working in manicured areas like a lawn, garden, pasture etc....a tractor with FEL won't churn,
grind and tear up the surface as much respectively.

 

[Johndeere3720]

I upgraded from a small tractor without a FEL to a Deere skid steer (61 hp) and have not looked back. The skid steer is so versatile, it can get into tight spots and has a relatively small foot print. Plus it has a load rating of 2100 lbs and has more power than traction. From my experience having a tractor and skid steer is better than a tractor with just a FEL, you lack the versatility of the skid steer plus there are fewer attachments available for rental when you need to do a project. My vote is on a skid steer, from some experience and from reading reviews I would defiantly look at Deere's 300 series skid steers, less problems than the 200 series and better visibility and power than the xx55 series. I have a 317 and absolutely love it!

 

[Cat_Driver]

Come on now....more of a money pit. I have a Cat track loader and in five years I've changed the oil, filters, and battery.
EXACTLY what I spent on my (2) Kubota in the five years I owed it.

Please people stick to the facts when you're helping people.

Personally I would never own a tractor after seeing what the skid steer does. The only thing I can't do is plow a field, and I don't any way.

With the track loader I never get a flat, with a tractor I git flats weekly working with date palm thorns. Lifting capacity was 3-4 times what I had with my tractor. Attachments are unlimited with a skid steer. Changing attachment by pushing a button and never leaving the cab, - I love that. I usually go from one bucket to the next, to the next attachments all day long depending on the job.

I hook up a back hoe, and trencher and this thing is worth it's weight in gold. Fact is the skid steer with a trencher was far better even than straight trenchers with wheels where I work. I work in beach sand so the track loader floats, whereas the trencher with wheels always got buried.

Now lets talk turning on a dime. Nothing better than getting into a tight spot and just spinning around to get out.

 

[tessiers]

2 words, skid steer, end of my story.

 

[magicheater]

There are 2 kinds of people in the world, Those that like skidsteers and those that prefer a tractor. Spend some time in a skidsteer to make sure you are the first type before you buy it.

 

[DJ54]

I have a baby 450 Bobcat. Love that thing, but use it for what it was intended. Great for loading out manure, and stacking my small round bales. Spotting material etc. Goes in tight corners easier than a tractor.

As I told a buddy of mine considering one. Just so you understand the term "skidsteer". They do scuff things up if you turn abruptly. Not a problem where I use mine, but he was thinking of spotting mulch around trees on his lawn, and general yard work. Yup, it can be done if you're careful, but he is meticulous about his yard. So in my mind, not the tool for him...

 

[bucktaker]

Come on now....more of a money pit. I have a Cat track loader and in five years I've changed the oil, filters, and battery.
EXACTLY what I spent on my (2) Kubota in the five years I owed it.

Please people stick to the facts when you're helping people.

Personally I would never own a tractor after seeing what the skid steer does. The only thing I can't do is plow a field, and I don't any way.



With the track loader I never get a flat, with a tractor I git flats weekly working with date palm thorns. Lifting capacity was 3-4 times what I had with my tractor. Attachments are unlimited with a skid steer. Changing attachment by pushing a button and never leaving the cab, - I love that. I usually go from one bucket to the next, to the next attachments all day long depending on the job.

I hook up a back hoe, and trencher and this thing is worth it's weight in gold. Fact is the skid steer with a trencher was far better even than straight trenchers with wheels where I work. I work in beach sand so the track loader floats, whereas the trencher with wheels always got buried.

Now lets talk turning on a dime. Nothing better than getting into a tight spot and just spinning around to get out.

I guess I was considering a older skid steer priced similar to a fel 3-5k so yes that puts it into the high maintenance possibility. As I said a skid steer would work very well for his stated purposes. but go ahead and recommend a brand new skid steer when a 3-5k aftermarket fel for his tractor will work to

 

[swick1]

My brother in law is always working on his Jd 280 skid. When I borrowed it I thought I was on fire after the upper coolant hose let loose and started evaporating as it poured down the engine. He put a new starter and flywheel on it and the control cables are stiff. It's a fun machine when it runs. Do these repairs sound worth it to you or do you just want to dig?

 

[Notforhire]

My brother in law is always working on his Jd 280 skid. When I borrowed it I thought I was on fire after the upper coolant hose let loose and started evaporating as it poured down the engine. He put a new starter and flywheel on it and the control cables are stiff. It's a fun machine when it runs. Do these repairs sound worth it to you or do you just want to dig?

Junk is junk whether it's a skid steer or a tractor.
I sold my Bobcat and bought a tractor, because I needed to mow and till. By the way I had zero problems with the Bobcat. As far as loader work goes, the Bobcat was way ahead of the ag. loader I have now. Ag. loaders are material handlers. Skidsteers are built much stronger, with better breakout force. They are designed as loaders, not just adapted with loader attachments.
If you can get by with an ag. loader, like me, you will save some money. If you need a loader with power and speed, get a skid steer.

Bill

 

[crazyal]

The problem with an $8k skidsteer is unless you know who owned it and how well it was maintained it may cost you a lot. The same is true for any piece of equipment, including tractors. If you know what to look for then you can weed through and find one in good shape. When I was looking at buying a small dozer I was amazed by how much abused equipment is out there. I saw things like pins in lift cylinders that had 1/2" worth of play. If an owner couldn't take time to pump a shot of grease into a zerk what makes you think that things you can't see like regular maintenance were done?

It is nice at times having more than one "jack of all trades" though. I often use my dozer and backhoe at the same time. But, like others have said, it means maintaining two pieces of equipment.

 

[RPW]

Money pit? could be. I bought an older bobcat 741? at an auction. No markings on it so I had to "guess" at what model it was and it came closest to the 741. No this thing was basically a basket case as all the wiring had been stripped out of it plus many parts were missing. BUT the motor turned over easy and I didn't see any water in the oil. Some hydraulic oil was leaking. Long story short I paid $1500 for it and put in about another $1200 for new hydraulic wheel motors. Created my own wiring harness and guage cluster etc. Found the hydraulic leak (a bad brazing job) and now I have a machine that's doing everything I've asked it to around the ranch. I also have a JD 5103 with FEL and between the two machines it has made life a lot easier. Currently using the tractor to drive the chipper and use the SS to move the trees into position to cut and prepare for the chipper. And I have a LOT of trees to chip (another post, cleared 38 acres of small cedars).

Bottom line is both machines have there place and strengths/weakness. If you're mechanically inclined or know someone who is you can get by with an older machine that will need some TLC before use.

Good luck.

 

[Adj100]

one thing I have seen looking at skidsteers, is alot of them have HUGE numbers of hours on them, and they still want 10k or more. I am talking 4-5k hours

 

[RPW]

Yep, if mine "did" have an hour meter I believe it would have had at least 4k plus. If maintained properly that shouldn't be an issue. Around here you can pick one up for about 5k to 8k on that range.

 

[Tenn_Blue]

Depending what you want to do and how fast you want to do it! Tractor is good jack of all trades as was mentioned - can get it done but takes time. Skidsteer will move, dig, load transport a lot quicker.

Skid attachements are several times more expensive usually, but you can also rent ANYTHING to go on a skidsteer!
Skids are more tipsy with a load because of the short wheelbase than most tractors.

We have both (and a mini-x instead of a backhoe for the tractor). The tractor gets used more day to day, but we do use the skid a LOT for things that it does better than the tractor. Actually, you would be amazed how much use the excavator gets as well!

As to the money pit thing - be careful what you buy. A skid will only be as good as it's maintenance, and they tend to have a shorter life than a tractor. Most skids are looking at serious maintennce needs at around 5k hours. Thats when most businesses get rid of them. Part of that is where the skid came FROM - remember that these were designed for CONSTRUCTION use, and many that you find in the under 10k$ range are beat to death and lived hard lives before they got to you. When you have to replace stuff, it tends to be expensive - much more so than on a tractor, because all the systems are built heavy for construction use.

 

[sparc]

I have a baby 450 Bobcat. Love that thing, but use it for what it was intended. Great for loading out manure, and stacking my small round bales. Spotting material etc. Goes in tight corners easier than a tractor.

As I told a buddy of mine considering one. Just so you understand the term "skidsteer". They do scuff things up if you turn abruptly. Not a problem where I use mine, but he was thinking of spotting mulch around trees on his lawn, and general yard work. Yup, it can be done if you're careful, but he is meticulous about his yard. So in my mind, not the tool for him...

You are so right. A wheeled SS is tough on a lawn. I wouldn't want to do any hard turns on my lawn with my M610, I see what happens when I am out in the rough and know it would make a **** of a mess out of a lawn. Still, I did use it once to yank a dead tree. We had put in a couple Japanese maples and one didn't make it. They were 12 footers so had a good size root ball. The SS made it easy to remove but had to be very careful not to tear up the lawn and make wide gentle turns. A tracked SS might be a little easier on a lawn but will still do some damage.