Considering a toolcat, couple general questions and any intel on where to get a good deal on a unit with 1k hrs or so?

[s2dm]

Hey There,

We have a 10 acre avocado farm just south of Santa Barbara on the coast. We did a pretty major amount of earthwork out here and Ive collected a lot of heavy iron, Cat 320, midi and mini kubota excavators, Deere 210, cat wheel loader, bobtail and a kubota skid. We are finally getting to the point in the project where we are making walking paths and working in increasingly small areas. I was getting ready to buy a little kubota RTV for general running about and bringing in loads of DG to some of these walking paths when I ran across the toolcat. We are also to the point that I have a lot of areas that are finished really nice and I just cant run tracked equipment in many spots. And....my wife absolutely hates the noise from the kubota skid screaming by.

Was hoping for some general intel on how people felt it would serve our use scenario? I was hoping that that might be what my landscape guys primarly since they seem to like the skid best but are often trimming bushes into my wheel loader bucket which is way too much machine for the job. We also have a 3 year old who loves to work with me and I wanted something we could work in side by side. And, I already have a fair number of skid steer implements.

Specific questions

1) Does a toolcat make sense as a primary maintenance tool going forward (Im slowly selling my fleet).
2) How is the cab size in a toolcat? I'm 6'6" and dont enjoy operating the skid at all
3) Do guys run them with the doors off ever? Our climate is so temperate almost all of what I have we take the doors off of and run open ROPS
4) Any good leads on a non-snow unit with 1000-1500 hrs? Easiest would be someone looking for a skid as Im going to sell that to buy this, but I also could buy outright. My local dealer is 10 months out on new ones and I havent found any used anywhere near me so Im going to be forced to probably buy sight unseen. Wanted a 2014 or newer ideally with the monoframe.

Any thoughts very much appreciated!!

 

[amhicks21]

I havent personally run a toolcat, but the company i work for looked at getting one a few years ago. we were actually talked out of it by the dealer, who's a friend of my boss. According to him they're somewhat of a maintenance mess because there are just too many moving parts with the 4 wheel steering and suspension. They also tend to rot out if used for snow removal. we ended up going with an l6060 kubota with turf tires instead and couldnt be happier. they still look like a neat tool but i have a hard time seeing a scenario where they would be the best tool and not just a jack of all trades and master of none. Of course, thats just the opinion of a guy with only second hand info so take it for what its worth.

 

[s2dm]

I havent personally run a toolcat, but the company i work for looked at getting one a few years ago. we were actually talked out of it by the dealer, who's a friend of my boss. According to him they're somewhat of a maintenance mess because there are just too many moving parts with the 4 wheel steering and suspension. They also tend to rot out if used for snow removal. we ended up going with an l6060 kubota with turf tires instead and couldnt be happier. they still look like a neat tool but i have a hard time seeing a scenario where they would be the best tool and not just a jack of all trades and master of none. Of course, thats just the opinion of a guy with only second hand info so take it for what its worth.

Thank ya. I forgot to mention we are looking for something UTV sized, no wider than 60”. I’ve operated a bunch of kubotas small stuff and it really wouldn’t be my first choice, plus we’d need a small tractor and a utv then. This would basically be taking the place of our skid and obviating the need for a UTV (if this would function well for that). We just have a lot of tight avocado rows now as our trees are getting bigger and we’ve been making a bunch of road base and dg walking paths that are 4-5’ wide. Can’t get my 210 in there anymore

 

[ruffdog]

Here are 2 low hour 5610 Toolcats at an auction right now.

Toolcat son upcoming auction.

 

[ruffdog]

The toolcat is like a AWS skid mated to a big RTV. They are not small at 5.5 feet wide and about 6.6 ft tall. They weigh about 6k so they will sink into soft ground. They won't tear up ground though from spinning or pushing tires. The doors do lift off the pins but they are heavy. The short lift arm will not lift as high as a skid or tractor but is stable and maneuverable.

 

[s2dm]

Would others echo the sentiment that they are maintenance heavy?

I have big stuff to lift big loads and won’t ever sell my wheel loader, so it wouldn’t be our main tool, just our light duty, day to day maintenance choice. It would basically be a light duty runabout with a loader bucket for ferrying top soil or mulch to areas we are working on.

 

[ruffdog]

It is way more than a "light duty runabout" for sure and is built tough. I doubt I will ever break or wear mine out.

 

[Xfaxman]

s2dm, this thread shows what Toolcats can do: Toolcat 5610 F and 5610 G Series Pictures

Would others echo the sentiment that they are maintenance heavy?

No, I don't think so. I have a LockNLube coupler on my lever action grease gun. That makes it easy.

Other maintenance is the same as other machines.

 

[laurencen]

having had 2 Toolcats the first a 2005 with 1500 hours and no history it served me well for 4 years, put on close to 300 hours and yes it needed some work but nothing major, traded it in for a new 2020 model, this has 100 hours on it only issue was the fuel gelling last winter, it was cold at -42C, covered by warranty turned out the pre heat valve was malfunctioning.

as for maintenance I do grease every 4 months as it sits outside but Im guessing if you require dealer maintenance and repair it will get costly like everything else these days

 

[myersjc]

I have a 40 acre property with 30 acre of solar panels. I currently have a 2013 5610 with the 3point and I also have a 2005 5600 with dump bed. The 5600 is pretty rotted out from its previous life salting sidewalks for a local municipality here in the MN winters. I disagree with the maintenance issues. They have to be maintained like any other machine no more or less then any other machine. They are the proverbial jack of all trades, master of none. For example, If you are moving a large pile of dirt and leveling it you can do that with a skid steer about 25% faster if you are only moving it a couple hundred feet because of the skids better maneuverability in small spaces. Need to move that pile and level it 200 yards away ToolCat will be faster with its 18mph top speed and suspension allowing you travel faster.

When I purchased the 5610 I considered getting a skid steer instead for the higher and heavier lift capacity when using the forks. For my use the biggest reason that tipped the scale back to the ToolCat is I maintain about a mile of road around the solar farm for access in the winter. I rented a T770 to see how the tacks would do in the snow and ice. I found the tracks were fine but the access in and out was a pain. If you are even a 1/2 inch from setting the blower all the way down on the ground the door lock wouldn't let you open the door. When you did finally get out you had to climb over the attachment in front. Once you were out in the cold with your bulky coat on opening the many gates, once you got back in where it was nice and warm was a pain to trying to get your coat back off because of the tight space in the cab. While you won't deal with the need for winter cloths, if you get in and out often it is just like getting out of a UTV and the cab has plenty of room, and no climbing over attachments because you get out the side of the machine.

If you look at the 5610 with the 3 point you can use a land plane or blade on the 3 point for grading your roads and walking paths. I also have a Polaris Ranger UTV that we take out rinding recreational trails up north but for running around the property here I always jump in the toolcat even thought the Ranger is sitting right here as well.

If you get the 29x12 turf tires you wont leave any ruts in soft grassy areas. I use the 90" finish mower to mow the grass around the house with air conditioning when it gets to hot around here. 90+ and humid is not uncommon around here in summer.

I think the biggest reason some small dealers discourage the sales of the ToolCat is they don't have staff familiar with them and because they are such a unique machine BobCat has premium price on them. This forces dealers to lose more profit when they discount them compared to the Skid Steer.

Finally I think the ToolCat is an ideal all around machine. It will do 95% of what either a skid or a UTV will do and for those other 5% scenarios you either have other equipment or can rent it.