What to look for in a Skid Steer.

CyberCop · Apr 7, 2025

spitter said:
Takeuchi or Gehle with a Yamar engine and pre-emissions machine with low hrs. would be the holy grail for a part timer who wants to fix his own ****. But very hard to find. Don't even consider a Bobcat after 05. All CTLs with emission garbage are hampered by the same problems. If you stick with a pilot-controlled machine you eliminate a ton of wiring which is always the bain of any piece of old equipment.

OK, probably a dump question, what is a "pilot-controlled" machine? No joysticks. playing asteroids with a skid steer sounds fun.

CyberCop · Apr 7, 2025

jk96 said:
Really hard to say on what brand of CTL. I've heard good and bad on them all. Everyone says stay away from Case because of wiring issues, maybe that's just the older units or maybe I'm lucky. I'm on my third Case, keep upgrading in size. Never had a wiring issue. In eight years I've had one injector failure covered under warranty, and a hardline hydraulic failure that was fairly expensive, $1400 due to being in the belly of the unit and the amount of labor to get to it. I've heard deer owners say stay away from Kubota and Kubota owners say they would never own a deer. I would look at dealer support first. Are they close, do they have a competent shop. If they are moving a lot of equipment they probably are working on a lot as well and have some experience. I would also stay away from any unit that has been used for forestry work. That type of work is very hard on equipment.

Main reason I am considering a Kubota. My local Nelson Kubota has always been awesome and helpful to me.

scootr · Apr 8, 2025

CyberCop said:
I plan on leaving the larger trees for shade and not all is a slope. When I'm done I am looking at 10 to 15 acres of flat and gentle slopes. The rest is a hill side.

Sounds good

scootr · Apr 8, 2025

CyberCop said:
OK, probably a dump question, what is a "pilot-controlled" machine? No joysticks. playing asteroids with a skid steer sounds fun.

I think you mentioned you never ran a SS? If that is correct you should rent one and experience it for yourself. It is much different than running a tractor. Some negative aspects for sure.
I ran the same model BC I purchased used for many years prior to my purchase. And honestly I only use the SS when the tractor can't do it simply because of the visibility issues and ease of entrance.
But having both covers everything.

Seven Gables · Apr 8, 2025

CyberCop said:
OK, probably a dump question, what is a "pilot-controlled" machine? No joysticks. playing asteroids with a skid steer sounds fun.

A pilot controlled machine uses hydraulic pressure to move/stroke the spools in the main control valve stack. This system takes the place of mechanical linkage .
It’s basically a separate hydraulic system known as a servo system. Usually it consists of a small gear pump that maintains about 500psi of hydraulic pressure to your joysticks and foot controls in the cab. You’re joysticks and foot controls are actually pressure reducing valves that very accurately control the pressure to the main valves (the working hydraulics) and thus the stroke of these main control valve spools. In a nutshell it’s pressure control used to regulate flow.