Deere vs. Case vs. Bobcat vs. Caterpillar Skids

[DigginLife]

I've been thinking about adding a new Case 70XT to my fleet, or whatever the new 400 series equivalent is. I'm concerned about the dealer support here in Michigan, we have a new dealer (West Michigan Power & Equipment) which is just new here, after an incredibly inept, hard to get along with terribly primadonna dealer left. (Wolverine Tractor & Equipment ) so now I'm also considering a new JD 300 series, a new Bobcat, or a Caterpillar (egads! The price of those Cat stickers on the side is outrageous!)

Could anyone shed some ownership lights? I would be using it as a primary unit, to replace a Case 1845C which has been nothing but perfect ever since I owned it. Durability and ease of use for new operators is essential to me. I do not want a rubber track unit.

Thanks, I just found the forum, and love it so far!

 

[johnno]

Cat and bobcat are boths good...just depends on what features etc ur looking for...do yourself a faovr and skip the deere if u can.....skids arent their strong point

 

[Nat]

I have had most of the major brands and feel qualifier to answer and my opinion is worth just what it cost.
I think the Case 1845C is the toughest skid steer ever made. You can't wear the engine out and the hyd. pressure is so low that leaks are never much problem. The operators view is better than most and the construction is heavier than the competition. All that said A Bobcat of the same weight will dig circles around it. I dug swimming pools for years with an 1845C and then bought a Bobcat 863. The bobcat had to be ran at nearly WOT to make any HP where the Case would spin all 4 tires at an idle. It took some getting used to but the first pool I saved 2 hrs on and more on the next few. I would dig a hole 3' 6" deep X 26' wide X 46' long with the case in 6 hours, the Bobcat would do the same in 4. I also used an 885 NH and it would dig dirt as fast as the bobcat, but wasn't as manuverable coming in and out of the hole. Another plus to the bobcat was the air from cooling the engine blew out the sides and made a nice breeze. HTH, Nat

 

[40Kchicks]

I love my Cat 216. I can’t say enough good things about it. When I bought mine new in 2001 I had just bought my farm and had no money. Now 4 years later I still have no money but I only have two more payments on the skid steer. Cat financed me 0% for 5 years and let me decide when I paid, meaning annually, semiannually, quarterly or monthly. I pay semiannually. They also extended the warranty to three years tip to tail. Deere was a little cheaper in initial cost but with 0% from Cat the payments were the same. I wish I would have given bobcat more of a look. Deere brought me out a 260 to try for a couple days and Cat brought out the 226. We drove both side by side and my wife insisted we get the Cat. It was the right choice. The Cat had a smoother quieter running engine, awesome controls, more comfortable operator station, ease of maintenance and did I mention my wife after driving both insisted we get the Cat. The controls are the best part of the machine. They become extensions of your hands in no time.

One thing I learned about buying this skid steer is that the dealers are like car dealers when they think you’re going to buy the other machine the price comes down and the perks come up. Both Deere and Cat counter offered a couple of times when I was dealing with them.

All these company’s have good parts support so that shouldn’t be an issue.

Good luck
Eric

 

[coopers]

www.lawnsite.com Has sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo many threads on those darn machines. They compare EVERY skidsteer there is. Just take a peak. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Blake
WA

 

[Tigerotor77W]

There ya go! Do take a look around both this and lawnsite.com -- there are several threads out there that are quite detailed.

 

[RobertN]

I am a broken record on this, skipping back to the same comment every time...

Take a close look at the tracked machines. I have used small to medium Bobcats(463, S150, S185skid steers), and then two tracked units, the CAT247 and ASV-RC30. The tracked units kicked tail! I want to upgrade from my CUT,, and when I can afford to do it, I will be looking at the track-loader(specifically ASV-RC30) first!

All the brands look good; the two I used happened to be in a local rental fleet.

 

[DigginLife]

Thanksfor all the replies, I am also reading info on the other site offered, and there is really good info there, too.

Thanks again! This may be a harder choice than I previously thought!

 

[jgh]

20050126

Don't fail to consider the A300 AWS machine from Bobcat, if you can use that much capacity. I love mine along with various attachments and a 430 mini-Excv.

The Kubota engines used by Bobcat are the best. 82 horses on the A300 gives lots of grunt. My has cab, ac, etc. Don't leave home without it.

In spite of the "sound cab" option, it is a noisemaker due to the low pitched predominance of sound. Even 29 DB muffs don't stop it completely. And Bobcats are not known for good visibility, in fact few SSLs are.

Definitely get Power Bobtach--makes hitching to attachments simple!

I have bought a set of turf Galaxies with it which means nada turf damage with the r4s for general use. Keep in mind nothing short of a tracked SSL will have great traction. It's the beast's nature--they don't call them SKID steers for nothing.

In addition I have a dozer blade, hydraulic fork lift forks, landscape plane, log grabber (cannot recall proper name), auger, trencher, 3 pt hitch plate w/ PTO motor, tree spade and some things I have forgotten. Got a wrist o twist for the excv, but it is heavy for my 3 ton model 430 (and it has cab and ac, too), so I bought a counterwt accessory, to be delivered soon.

Went Sec 179 /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif last year. Made salesman (and me) /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif, though.

Happy hunting,


Jim
/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
You can tell that smile is from a guy who has not made a payment, yet!

 

[Tigerotor77W]

Pssst... it's 81 horse. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Anyhow, the A300 is a great machine and I second a buncha your opinions. My only thought is that it might be a bit expensive for a first machine. But thanks for pointing it out... hope it works well for ya! (And especially, keep us posted on how it works.)

 

[gatractorman]

Personally I would spend 1/4 of the dollars I would spend on a new one and rebuild the 1845 and use it many more years, if someone gave me the money and said I had to go purchase a new skid-steer with it, I honestly do not know which brand I would purchase. All these new computer controlled things are nice when they work andI can speak from experience as I worked for a Bobcat dealer as a mechanic for a while some years ago, fully 6 out of 10 new Bobcats that returned to the shop were for an electrical problem, 3 of the 10 was for a leak of some sort, and 1 in 10 was for something else, Bobcat has a good product but in my opinion they went down hill when they installed a computer on them.

 

[baddog201]

i just bought the last new John deere 317 ive been a bobcat man for years and demoed a cat. I am a farmer in Indiana and main reason i decided not to buy bobcat is because they wont be putting kubota engine in them anymore and I use deeres and kubotas on my farm i make about 800 acres of hay and 3000 acres of corn and beans. I was really impressed with the visiblity out of the deere the weight distrubtution was alot different with the deere there is more weight on the front so it doesnt tend to ride on 2 wheels. my john deere 250 i still have has 3500 hours on it and is all orignal so they hold up just fine for us around here

 

[20 20]

Guy up the road bought one of the gehl skid steers {has a construction company} says it's great, much better then his cat????

 

[Soutthpaw]

I was a mechanic at a local JD dealer for a couple of years... I own a Bobcat! JD only makes Skid Steers so they have something to see the Green machine Fanboys.. They are made as cheap as possible and had lots of warranty work and hydraulic issues.. . Unfortunately all the newer machine all have computer controlled systems that just make repairing them more expensive. My vote is for Bobcat as that is really their specialty. Also Bobcat dealers and replacement parts are easy to find... have not had much experience with the other brands but have driven then and don't care for the design/control setups on them.
It would help if you told us how you were planning on using the machine... as for tracked machines, unless you need the low ground pressure or traction of tracks and dont run on hard surfaces much I would stick with a wheeled machine. you can get several sets of tires for what a set of tracks costs

 

[ddawg]

im only 16 years old but i live in alaska and get the pdf every year and i used that money to buy a bobcat s160 and made good money and i loved it and just this past year i bought a new bobcat s185 and i absolutly love it and i have ran case and i hated it but i will say if youve got the money cat is awsome but right next to it for a lower cost is bobcat and i have never had any big problems with it and they both stilll run like a champ and would not trade them for the world so best bang for ur buck is deffinetly bobcat:thumbsup:

 

[jbooth]

Why trade? Don't know the hrs on your 1845C, but I have nearly 6000 on mine and it has been bullet proof. Good on fuel and easy to run with the hand controls. I imagine the new machines with the fancier control sustems would be real nice, but every device besides essentials are is just something else to go wrong. A comparison was made between a 863 and the 1845C on digging ability. I believe the 863 is about 15 more horses and 1000 lbs heavier so one would expect to dig faster. If speed is the issue, why not get one in the 90 -100 hp range.

 

[pmichelsen]

Why trade? Don't know the hrs on your 1845C, but I have nearly 6000 on mine and it has been bullet proof.

Just a heads up, the original post is over six years old.