Best Track Skid Steer Under 7,500 lbs?

[Dougster]

i was in a similar situation and ended up buying a toro dingo tx 425. i got mine slightly used from the dealer for around 10,000. i was all set to buy an asv rc30 when i found out about their hydraulic system. it seems to not have the power of the walk behind units. also their attachment plate will need an adapter to run dingo sized attachments. again when running these attachments it will be at a lower pressure so performance may be effected. i also like the idea that if it gets away on a hill i can let it go instead of ride it down. sometimes it will go on the front of the trailer with the backhoe when i need both pieces. the light weight allows this better.
good luck with your shopping.

It's an interesting idea... and I especially like the idea of just letting it tumble as a last resort! As least I will still be alive!

I wish I had my camera with me on one of the sloped sites where a potential client was thinking about having some ugly stumps removed. No way my tractor would climb that slope in a million years. I even doubt that a tracked skid steer or Dingo could have done it either. I think you'd be looking at a full-sized hoe with extended reach capability... or maybe a large track excavator. Kinda shows that no matter what I get as a second/backup machine... there will always be jobs that are out of my reach unless folks are willing to pay me the big bucks to rent large commercial equipment.

Dougster

 

[Dougster]

BTW, I am actually bidding on both a CAT 247 and an RC-30 as we speak. That particular 2,000 hour CAT 247 is back on a certain large auction website after the original winner... at $16.9K... backed out. Makes me wonder why as the buyer looked totally legit... but now I've got a second shot at it.

Monday Morning Update: That nifty used CAT 247 down in VA went this time around for $17,000.00. My final bid 23 seconds before the end of the auction: $17,000.00. Unfortunately, the first $17,000.00 bid won... not mine. Had I bid $17,000.01 or more... I would own it today.

Funny how that works. No road trip this week I guess.

Dougster

 

[whodat90]

Nope, you have to accept that losing something by $.01 is the same as losing it by $10000000000000000. Someone else wanted it more than you. With proxy bidding, he may have bit $20K and your $17000.01 would have been outbid immediately. That's the nice thing about it, there's always someone selling something, and eventually you can find it for what you're willing to pay.

 

[Dougster]

Nope, you have to accept that losing something by $.01 is the same as losing it by $10000000000000000. Someone else wanted it more than you. With proxy bidding, he may have bit $20K and your $17000.01 would have been outbid immediately. That's the nice thing about it, there's always someone selling something, and eventually you can find it for what you're willing to pay.

Actually, this was a case where he had bid in a maximum of exactly $17,000.00. That's what makes it so nasty hard to take! I know because it did not increment his bid up to the next $100.00 (or whatever) above mine as it would have done had he bid in a higher proxy. I just didn't have enough time left at that point to go to $17,100.00.

Funny thing was that nobody else was even close... and he had made it appear like he had done some late proxy up-bidding to scare folks away. Very smart guy here! Had I known that he was faking, I could have easily snagged it... for one cent more!

But it ain't over yet. He could back out or have problems financing just like the first "winner"! It's never really over 'til it's all over!

Dougster

 

[Builder]

Actually, this was a case where he had bid in a maximum of exactly $17,000.00. That's what makes it so nasty hard to take! I know because it did not increment his bid up to the next $100.00 (or whatever) above mine as it would have done had he bid in a higher proxy. I just didn't have enough time left at that point to go to $17,100.00.

Funny thing was that nobody else was even close... and he had made it appear like he had done some late proxy up-bidding to scare folks away. Very smart guy here! Had I known that he was faking, I could have easily snagged it... for one cent more!

But it ain't over yet. He could back out or have problems financing just like the first "winner"! It's never really over 'til it's all over!

Dougster

Doug,

I know how ya feel. It really hurts, doesn't it? remember that 580 4x4 Super-M "plus" I really wanted? Price was super low, exact machine I wanted, etc.? What were the chances that after speaking with the dealer Friday at 4PM, that he would sell it the next day when they were only open 8-12 and the guy would have cash/check in hand? All i had to do was buy it the following monday....still stings me.

The pain gets easier to deal with after a few more weeks, 'specially if you find something else.

I'm looking for a deere, M/F or 'Bota with cab/AC/heat/R-4's/ 4x4 utility tractor about 40HP now.

Here we go again!

 

[Dougster]

Doug, I know how ya feel. It really hurts, doesn't it? remember that 580 4x4 Super-M "plus" I really wanted? Price was super low, exact machine I wanted, etc.? What were the chances that after speaking with the dealer Friday at 4PM, that he would sell it the next day when they were only open 8-12 and the guy would have cash/check in hand? All i had to do was buy it the following monday....still stings me. The pain gets easier to deal with after a few more weeks, 'specially if you find something else.
I'm looking for a deere, M/F or 'Bota with cab/AC/heat/R-4's/ 4x4 utility tractor about 40HP now. Here we go again!

Well, I've got to look at it this way: I had two darn good shots at this one machine. I somehow managed to blow them both! God apparently didn't intend for me to buy that particular CAT 247!!!

However... if it does mysteriously come back to life ONE MORE TIME... I am driving down to Virginia with cash in my hand and sitting outside the guy's door until he sells it to me. Enough of this endless eBay *deadbeat bidder* nonsense!!!

Dougster

 

[Dougster]

Well, I've got to look at it this way: I had two darn good shots at this one machine. I somehow managed to blow them both! God apparently didn't intend for me to buy that particular CAT 247!!! However... if it does mysteriously come back to life ONE MORE TIME... I am driving down to Virginia with cash in my hand and sitting outside the guy's door until he sells it to me. Enough of this endless eBay *deadbeat bidder* nonsense!!!

Well, it sold good this time. So much for that particular CAT 247 machine.

I'm also running into scam artists from Nigeria on both eBay and even my local Craigslist. Fun, fun, fun... not. How boring.

Also... every time I visit an actual dealership, the sales folks there are trying to talk me out of going with a used track skidsteer and going with a new wheeled skidsteer. They are basically saying that the undercarriage problems and refurbishment costs are going to be WAY higher than I had heard... as much as $9K-12K every 800 hours... and that wheeled skidsteers with those cheap aftermarket tracks added can do almost as much as tracked skidsteers at a fraction of the overall operating cost.

Does this ring true or make any sense? Am I truly on the wrong "track" here???

Dougster

 

[jmfox]

Might be true for caterpillar, but I haven't heard any such complaints form others. Cat's track machine is basically a wheeled skid steer converted to tracks, so for them to say adding tracks to a wheeled skid steer is better admits that their conversion is a failure.

jmf

 

[Dougster]

Might be true for caterpillar, but I haven't heard any such complaints form others. Cat's track machine is basically a wheeled skid steer converted to tracks, so for them to say adding tracks to a wheeled skid steer is better admits that their conversion is a failure.
jmf

Hi JMF - I think I'm confusing you a bit. Not talking so much about origins as current design. CAT uses the ASV undercarriage and that's what their competitors are jumping all over. They're saying that Milton CAT (my local dealer) will take me to the cleaners on an undercarriage refurnishment... and that it will occur about every 800 hours making the machine very costly to run. On the other hand, these competitors to CAT and ASV are recommending that I buy one of their wheeled machines and do a track conversion of one type or another... some much more expensive than others... but still cheaper than having to worry about a CAT maintenance bill from Heck every 800 hours.

Nonetheless... I remain skeptical.

Dougster

 

[jmfox]

The only skid steer machine on the market that is designed for tracks is the ASV. Even Cat, who use an ASV track system, have converted wheeled skid steers to track. Even so, the track machines are generally better than the wheeled versions. Wheeled skid steers are being replaced with track and articulated options, so you should be suspicious of vendors who suggest that throwing on a set of tracks is better than the designs accomplished by the engineers at Cat, Bobcat, New Holland etc. etc.

jmf