Thinking about trading tractor for a skid steer, am I dumb?

[tduby]

No, I’ve got a lot of underbrush that a tractor/bush hog won’t cut, at least I won’t use my tractor on that, plus it’s a lot of weaving in and out of big trees. I also have quite a bit of dirt work besides the pond to do.
I would like a Harley rake, auger, and a few other attachments that don’t do as well on a tractor.

If you got the brush under control could you keep it decent for a few years with your tractor? You could try renting for a month you might be surprised how cheap monthly rentals are. Get your work done see how you like a SS and what features if you buy you know for sure you want or don’t want

 

[nybirdman]

I hired a SS with a FECON head a couple years ago;it did more in four days than I had done with various tractors in ten years.That being said I have no desire to own(or purchase) one.Tracked vehicles are very expensive to buy and maintain.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Motorcycles SHOULD have cabs and that "LOUD" exhaust should go right inside!

 

[EddieWalker]

My neighbor hired people to come in with tracked skid steers cutters to clear areas of his land and it always looks fantastic. In some areas, he's done a great job of maintaining it with his tractor, but in other areas, it grew back thicker then before in two years because he didn't have to time to get to it to keep it mowed. This year he had that same area cleared again and it really looks nice, but so far, he hasn't been in there with his tractor and it's starting to grow up again. I think he has a month or two before it becomes a major job to get it under control again. And if he waits until Spring, it might be too late.

If you clear an area, it takes years of maintaining it to get it to that point where Mother Nature slows down on trying to convert it back to what it was.

Maintaining land with a tractor is a lot better then a skid steer!!!!! The skid steer is for massive amounts of abuse in a small area, where the tractor is great for covering larger areas in relative comfort.

 

[Gomer pyle]

The more I read, and think, the more I think I’ll hold on to the tractor. I hope to have the roof on my shop in the next couple of months, so I could keep something under that. I’m looking more at used skids. I probably don’t “need “ a skid but I do like equipment and my parents have 300 acres that needs a lot of work.

 

[WoodDuck]

Personally, I'd keep the tractor, then hire a skid steer and operator with a forestry mulcher to clear the brush. Forestry mulchers are incredibly expensive to buy, so it wouldn't be practical for your application to own one. However, an experienced operator on a SS mulcher can clear and clean more land in a few days than you could in a summer with a tractor. It'll just grind everything to wood chips right down into the dirt, and you won't have a big mess to pile up and burn when he's done. (Which you would still have to do with your own SS and grapple.) His bill would be considerably less than the cost of a used SS also. Once it's been mulched down below grade, you could easily maintain it with your tractor and a bush hog. Then I'd rent an excavator and large SS to get the pond knocked out in a couple of days with help from a friend. Not that a SS wouldn't be nice to have, heck I'd love one! My problem is the same as yours though; anything with low hours that's not ragged out, is big $$$$ for the occasional use I'd have for it. I would never give up my tractor to own one; tracked machines are too hard on lawns or property that you don't want to look plowed up when you finish with it. I consider a SS more of a specialty tool, and a CUT as more of a Swiss Army knife; it'll do a lot all-around jobs decently, but not as well as a machine designed with that one job in mind. Just my two cents! Good luck!

 

[two_bit_score]

The more I read, and think, the more I think I’ll hold on to the tractor. I hope to have the roof on my shop in the next couple of months, so I could keep something under that. I’m looking more at used skids. I probably don’t “need “ a skid but I do like equipment and my parents have 300 acres that needs a lot of work.

Rent one and try it out. Try out a Kubota and a Cat. I know they are both available around here as rentals with brushcutters.

 

[DieselBound]

It's really about time. I've done a LOT of work with my paltry Kubota B7800. We have 40 acres which were partially logged (Kubota could high-center on some of the ruts!); blackberries everywhere. Lots of soft ground: one reason why I could get a lot done was because I could operate the tractor during parts of the year that anything else would be creating HUGE ruts.

I rent excavators. I've rented a skid steer once to dig my fence holes. These are both amazing machines. And they did EXACTLY what I needed done: in my case, DIG. But by the time I'm done using them I'm DONE using them! Operating on tracks for hours at a time wears on you. Getting back on my tractor(s) is a joy in that I can now get some place and do so in a bit more comfort (yes, while still doing work). I keep lists (either written or in my head) of things I need a non-tractor machine to do and when I go rent I make sure I do exactly what I have on my list(s): in advance, my planning, I estimate how much time different jobs are going to take so that I know how many hours I'm going to need to rent for.

As others have said, there's also the option of hiring folks to bring in really industrial stuff to knock off jobs quickly. With this, and for the most part with renting too, no concerns about maintenance or things breaking. Tracked stuff is expensive to maintain and repair; and, you pretty much have to be using it a lot to justify the expenses (unless you have money to burn).

 

[finn1]

I had a skid steer for ten years. Sold it to buy a tractor with a front mounted snowblower, loader, and box blade.

A year later I bought a mini excavator to do some trenching and stump removal, things that were impractical with the tractor. (I considered a backhoe attachment, but quickly discarded that idea as well).

After all that, I decided that the skid steer was much better than the tractor for my particular uses. More rugged, Superior visibility for loader and fork work, lower center of gravity, and construction rather than hobby grade.

I bought a tracked skid steer (CTL), and haven’t looked back.

If I had to part with one of my four machines (dump truck, CTL, mini excavator, or tractor), it would be the tractor.

 

[johncanfield]

A CTL with a front brush hog could easily replace my tractor for 99% of what I need to do on the ranch. The only fly in the ointment is buying a few attachments like a grapple to handle round hay bales. Tracked equipment is superior for dirt work and grading.