Buying Advice Skid steer vs traditional tractor??

[jeff9366]

"Skid steer vs traditional tractor??" is debated on T-B-N regularly.

Here is a LINK to your topic in the T-B-N archive: Tractor vs Skid Steer site:tractorbynet.com - Google Search

There are hundreds of developed threads on your topic in the archive.

Numerous videos on YouTube concerning your topic as well: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tractor+vs+skid+steer

Enjoy.

A tractor will get torn up attempting to clear 20 acres.

A skid steer lives stuck. Now if you had a tracked skid that is a different beast.

A tracked Skid Steer is a Compact Track Loader or CTL.

I concur with 4570Man that a tractor is not the right tool for twenty acres unless you have time to "peck" at the work over a long period and only then if the ground is level.

My tree service uses a Bobcat all terrain Skid Steer which has never been mired doing lot clearing for me over several years. Florida is mostly flat and mostly has well drained, sandy soil.

 

[Jeeterf15]

Sure you can mow/mulch with an excavator or track hoe, whoever told you that you cant? They are the best land clearing tool money can buy.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...rs-backhoes/&usg=AOvVaw0nV13KtFckVS020zNRj4Um

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...=ja9pIS2ED24&usg=AOvVaw3hPPBiM-MKgcIquzGKQ3aE

A thumb is like a claw mounted down by the bucket so you can grasp trees, stumps, rocks, etc

Wow; where there is a will there is a way! 閃ercia!

JB3

 

[Jeeterf15]

I went to a Kubota CTL [compact track loader] from a larger tractor and have never looked back or wondered if I had done the right thing. I got a 3pt adapter for the CTL and can use most of the implements I already own. I did get a hydraulic brush cutter for the CTL as the old one would have been too expensive for me to convert. Get a stump bucket and you can dig up some very large stumps. I got one with a grapple arm which makes it more versatile. I still have my small tractor for lawn mowing, tilling and other tasks that that a small tractor shines at.

There are pros and cons to converting to a CTL over an SSL. The SSL [skid steer loader] is cheaper in cost for purchase and maintenance, but as already mentioned, they do get stuck easier than a CTL. The tracked machine is a lot more stable than a skid steer and doesn't have the bounce that comes with air filled tires on a SSL. The CTL is not gentle on a lawn anymore than a heavy tractor with loaded R1s. Mine has a full cab with heat and air which is nice for the cold or hot days and a blessing when you get into a nest of bees. My CTL has great forward visibility but reverse visibility is poor, I went to a reversing camera with a 7" monitor which helps a lot.

Getting into a CTL is fairly easy until you hook up an implement. The implement blocks easy access to the machine and sometimes creates an adventure for getting in the cab without skinning yourself up. I greatly favor the Kubota straight lift front door versus the swing out doors the competition uses. The best easy access side door machine has to be the JSB with the mono arm.

There are a lot of great CTL machines out there but you need to decide what brand and dealer best fit you. I wish you luck and I think you are thinking along the right line as long you do not want or need a tillage or pulling machine, which would be a tractor.

Exactly the info I was wanting...I say skid steer but the CTL is what I was thinking, not knowing there was a difference!

Thanks for the info, and the digging of a pond is on the to do list as well; seems the CTL will help meet those requirements as well...

Thanks all!

JB3

 

[nybirdman]

Rent a Skid Steer with a FECON type head;purchase price about $300k.What uses do you have "after" the clearing is done?Implements for a skid steer are big bucks compared to tractor implements.
I own a tractor but hired a SS/Fecon to clear ten acres;it did more in four days what I did with multiple tractors/bush-hogs in ten years.

 

[RalphVa]

If it's like our very hilly and very wooded 8.5 acres here, a tracked one would be much more stable. There are places on our property where it is too steep for the 2025R. My wife last year attacked the invasives and downed trees. I chipped up a lot of small stuff but ended up with putting cutup big stuff in the bucket (often after she lugged it down hill so I could get to it).

For both, you still have to be very careful in working sideways on slopes, but the tracked one would go up and down a more severe slope.

We've almost all our gullies completely filled with tree parts now and have about a half dozen more trees that she is cutting up to be hauled SOMEWHERE. Most of it is too big to chip, even in one of those big commercial jobs. Wouldn't be able to get them down here or back up.

Ralph

 

[ruffdog]

I hired a company to clear about 4.5 acres of trees planted for christmas tree farm. The trees were on a grid of 7 ft x 7 ft and it was about 1800 trees. They used a feller buncher and large tracked chipper and cleaned up with a Hydro-ax. About 3 days worth of work for them or about 3 years if I did it.

 

[jjp8182]

opcorntub:
Butter anyone?

yes please

So many ways to approach this it's entertaining to consider that there might be a "single" best way.....

Considerations of:
what's the acceptable time frame for completing the project(s)?
Rent vs. buy for the initial clearing
Buy & re-sell or buy & keep long term?
What are the long term maintenance plans/tasks?
type of terrain and types of trees? (rocks & hills?, hardwoods vs. deciduous?, thorny vs. not?, what constitutes a "medium" size tree )
Local availability of different types of equipment

....and of course the big one that none of us are likely to help with (in a contributive manner): budget -- budget being inclusive of both money & time -- both of which should be considered in both short-term and long-term perspectives (also plays into the rent vs. buy&sell vs. buy&keep vs. hire out decisions). I've yet to personally see a piece of occupied land that doesn't require maintaining in some manner to avoid undesirable (or even hazardous) outcomes.

Only thing that might be a bigger consideration than budget could be the legal considerations (e.g. watershed restrictions near rivers, or fire/burn bans .....latter of which pretty much precludes the use of napalm as a method of clearing )

Really excavators/trackhoes, skidsteers, CTLs, tractors, dozers, telehandlers, wheel loaders (etc, etc) can all be used to good effect (not mention the potential use of various adapters).

The real thing is what's right for an individual's unique situation, needs and desires. .... heck depending on the local situation, it may be possible to buy used heavy equipment for a specific task and then turn around and sell it for the same amount (or in extreme cases even at a profit above the hours used to do the task). Though once things get to be a certain size transporting them can be a challenge in and of itself.

Which means all the rest us of can really do is offer suggestions and possibly help spend even more money :drink:

(so yes some buttered popcorn and a cider are actually sounding rather nice about now :laughing: )

 

[jjp8182]

BTW this thread: https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/414494-best-way-clear-unwanted-trees.html

tells some of the tale of using a tractor with a grapple and a turbosaw to reclaim a pasture that had been overgrown with pines and bradford pear trees ...and may be a worthwhile read (expect many suggestions on this thread to be similar to the ones there).

A couple things to keep in mind is that tractor loaders are meant more for scooping & lifting, where skidsteers/CTLs (and most other types of loaders) are built in a manner better suited for digging (in addition to scooping and lifting); that and implements with hydraulic motors tend to cost more than similar implements that run off a PTO.

Tractors also tend to have better ground speed than many other types of heavy equipment which if you'll need to do a lot of driving around on the property as part of the work could be a consideration (both short and long term).

 

[bcp]

Compact track loaders are a fun ride.

Bruce

 

[finn1]

I had a skid steer, traded it in for a CUT, the next bought a CTL and Mini excavator because the CUT wasn’t capable enough for dirt work.

Great for some things, but inadequate for dirt work.