Excavator v. Skid Steer for Hobby Farmer?

[M59]

Ya got that right. Skidsteers, wheeled or tracked, rip the hill out of the ground. Anything with tracks do that, even my little 1-ton mini-X.

Just had a demo here of the Green Climber LV300, which is 1-ton, diesel, tracked, and REMOTE CONTROLLED. It has extra-deep treads on the tracks, but it still struggled to get up loose duff on the slopes. Flail attachment pictured.

Not as slick as Faxman's Bobcat, but intriguing nonetheless.

View attachment 754427

OUCH. That is one expensive, albeit probably very useful machine for the right application. $50K for a used machine

I wonder how many of these get rolled over because the remote operator gets a little ambitious with the incline?

 

[mikester]

TLB - Tractor Loader Backhoe
The Tractor is the core onto which you hang implements for accomplishing different work objectives. In this case the Loader ( aka FEL/ Front End Loader) is standard equipment on the TLB. The Backhoe is also standard on the TLB.
The Loader uses SSQA/ Skid Steer Quick Attach attachment point to attach/ detach the bucket onto the loader arms. Removing and adding implements at the SSQA takes 1-5 minutes depending upon number of connections including hydraulic hoses. Pic attached of grapple attached to SSQA instead of the 84 inch wide bucket capable of carrying 1 yard heaped. Also attached SSQA attached McMillen auger capable of running augers up to 40 inch in dia. ( Not a great pic but what I had)

A commercial backhoe such as a John Deere 310, 410, etc is a dedicated backhoe and does not use SSQA since the loader with bucket and the backhoe are intended to be permanently attached to the machine ( unless performing maintenance ).

The SSQA fixture was developed by the skidsteer/ trackhoe community to enable multiple tools to be used by the core power plant and other equipment manufacturers accepted and use this standard.

The tractor core also has PTO ( Power Take Off ) at the back and some at the mid point. The PTO and the 3 Point Hitch allow adding additional implements like brush mower, flail mower, power rake ( pic below), chain trencher ( pic attached).

The 3 Point Hitch by itself can pull a box blade or landscape blade or rake or disc harrow, etc.

Tractor also have a drawbar for pulling wagons, trailers, etc ( I prefer the CL Fab SSQA hitch for moving trailers since it gives better control and easier to see trailer)

pic: disassembling a 15 ton rock in creek bed into 2 ton bits so I can move them out of creek with backhoe.

an older one of these TLB's with Integrated Toolcarier

Cat 420D IT Center-Pivot with Integrated Toolcarrier | Caterpillar

The 420D IT Integrated Toolcarrier sets the industry standard for operator comfort, performance and versatility.

h-cpc.cat.com

comes with a hydraulic quick attach, bees knees compared to SSQA.

 

[4570Man]

Thanks. Appreciate your views as a KX40 owner/user.
Please elaborate on what you consider "little work" and "big work".

All my work is out in the country and never have to cross a paved area.

The 40 will out perform the M59 so anything it’s currently doing the 40 will do better. A mini x is a good tool for foundations, utilities, septics, light clearing, and just general residential construction work. A mini x isn’t good for stump digging over 12” or digging large volumes of dirt.

 

[Xfaxman]

A mini x isn’t good for stump digging over 12” or digging large volumes of dirt.

Speaking of large volumes of dirt:

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Speaking of large volumes of dirt:
View attachment 754464View attachment 754465View attachment 754466

Bobcat really should put you on the payroll, you are good advertisement for them.

 

[dfkrug]

OUCH. That is one expensive, albeit probably very useful machine for the right application. $50K for a used machine

I wonder how many of these get rolled over because the remote operator gets a little ambitious with the incline?

The little one in my photo above (Green Climber LV300Pro) is new and cost about $80K. Good for a contractor specializing in brush-clearing on difficult terrain. The 600 is much bigger and heavier. I will I had the extra-deep rubber tracks on my mini-X.

The LV300 looks like it can handle a rollover without damage, other than scratching paint off the rollbar. I do think it needs more counter-weight for mowing downhill. Just had a demo here yesterday, and I posted vid on my Utube page.

I am not promoting this method or this product for brush removal; I just want to see more efficient and economical methods of reducing the fuel loads in our local forests.

 

[groundcover]

The little one in my photo above (Green Climber LV300Pro) is new and cost about $80K. Good for a contractor specializing in brush-clearing on difficult terrain. The 600 is much bigger and heavier. I will I had the extra-deep rubber tracks on my mini-X.

The LV300 looks like it can handle a rollover without damage, other than scratching paint off the rollbar. I do think it needs more counter-weight for mowing downhill. Just had a demo here yesterday, and I posted vid on my Utube page.

I am not promoting this method or this product for brush removal; I just want to see more efficient and economical methods of reducing the fuel loads in our local forests.

Can you post a link to your video please ?
Have a customer willing to purchase either a flail or rotary mower for my Ditch Witch mini track loader but I don't think it's a wise investment for the amount of area that he has. He has a Gravely 30" rotary ( man killer ) and weed wack the rest.

 

[dfkrug]

Can you post a link to your video please ?
Have a customer willing to purchase either a flail or rotary mower for my Ditch Witch mini track loader but I don't think it's a wise investment for the amount of area that he has. He has a Gravely 30" rotary ( man killer ) and weed wack the rest.

Mowing (flail or blade) with a tracked skidsteer is an interesting proposition, where traction problems don't allow wheels, and tearing up the soil/grass is of secondary concern.

I recently put a new engine in a DitchWitch SK500 walk-behind tracked 1T+ mini-SS, which is a very impressive machine that is all-hydraulic with pilot controls. No mower on that unit now, but the owner just got a root-rake/grapple and loves it.

The contractor who owns this Green Climber also has a CAT 299 with masticator, but it weighs about 12,000#.

Around here, you can expect to pay $1000/acre for a team of manual laborers with gas weed-wackers if you let your grasses and weeds get out of control on hilly mtn hard-to-mow property.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

I went on the web looking for "TLB's," and I thought I was going to find big backhoes with backhoe-style buckets on the front. Instead, I saw tractors with SSQA mounts. I already have a tractor with a tractor-style loader. I don't want a second tractor, and I'm keeping the one I have. If I were getting a backhoe-style machine, I would want a real backhoe that would dig around big rocks and then pop them out and carry them off.

I looked at specs for some backhoes I found. I saw figures in the range of 11,000 pounds for front bucket breakout and backhoe bucket pushing. Don't know if those numbers are right, but they would definitely fix all my stumps and rocks, and rearranging my shooting berm would also be easy.

It looks like a big backhoe could do just about anything an excavator does, and it would also have a much, much better bucket and loader than a tractor. Maybe I am mistaken.

Internet ads can't be trusted, but it looks like a backhoe in pretty good shape can be had in the mid-20's.

I don't see how a telehandler could dig a deep hole with steep sides. Am I wrong? In any case, they are hard to find used in this area.

 

[Carl_NH]

Plowboy, You are correct - you can get a used full sized TLB (JD410, Cat 416, Case 580) with 2-3,000 hours for $20-30K range. These are great construction machines and many people buy and use these for a few years, get the major tasks done, then sell them for what they paid, but they will need maintenance and repairs, hoses, cylinders rebuilt etc.

I think it's really what you are comfortable with, that covers the majority of your tasks, at your price point.