Pulling someone out of ditch with skid steer

[Jframe]

Purchased a 2008 S 185 Bobcat skid steer at beginning of year from widow of fellow who had used the machine since new to plow shared driveway for houses for which my home is one. Paid more than advised on this forum but local dealer gave widow a written appraisal and I could not very well bargain her down i.e. was not about to do so given circumstances. Machine had 250 hours, all plowing snow in the driveway, and now I have it looking pretty good (touch-up paint, car wax, new door seals, etc). This amazing inflation that has come on this year would allow me to sell the machine for at least 20 percent more than I paid, but I need and like the machine. Over the decades I have owned Deere, Cat, Mack, etc. and run Timberjack, CanCar, etc. etc., and Bobcat doesn't have anything to be ashamed of (except if they asked I would tell them to think a little harder about preventing rust). Put 25 hours on it plowing snow Jan. thru spring. Very grateful for the cab and heater. Snow due any time to begin winter again. There is a pretty good chance I will find a car or pickup in the ditch up on the highway when I am plowing. It's common, especially at the beginning of each winter. Compared with my tractor the S 185 really lacks good hardware front or back for hooking up a tow chain or line. With blades and buckets I like to put straight, even pulls on hyd cylinders. I could weld hooks on the bucket and am surprised it has none. Are there obvious places to hook on a chain or tow strap that I am missing?

 

[oosik]

I gave up pulling folks out of ditches about 25 years ago. Gave the tow line to the vehicle owner and he hooked it up himself. Resulted in about $1500 in damages to his bumper and grill. He wanted me to pay.

Besides my auto insurance policy does not cover these type of activities. I'll just bet yours doesn't either.

I will stop - see if medical attention is necessary - will use my cell phone to call for help.

 

[bcp]

Same here. I don't want to tow anyone unless it is a life-threatening emergency, a VERY easy tow to clear the road so I can go home, or a good friend. Cars are too fragile, and too many people are sue-ers.

Bruce

 

[Gee Ray]

I think you should look at the rear corners of the machine. I have hauled several new Bobcats and there are tiedowns where you can hook a chain across the back. If they are strong enough to tie down a skid steer the you should be able to pull out a car.

I am not sure when they started to add the tiedowns because some of the old ones did not have the tiedowns.

 

[4570Man]

I’d probably avoid the idea entirely but I’d just weld a hook on the bucket if you were going to do it. Skid steers don’t pull off the back very good in my experience. They’re already so back heavy they just tip backwards.

 

[seville009]

My ASV pt-50 came with two D rings welded on the back. Also came with both a front and rear trailer hitch receivers

 

[Jframe]

As Gee Ray suggested, the rear corners on my S185 each have a tie down bracket made of 1/4 inch steel. I has painted them last summer but if I noticed them I sure didn't remember them. The brackets aren't made for a sideways pull but might do in a pinch. Visibility is so poor looking backwards in a skid steer that I think welding hooks on the bucket is likely the way to go. So far as fear of helping someone in need, I keep lots of liability insurance, and here in the 49th state the act of not pulling someone out of a ditch is to be avoided. We have too many attorneys, just like everywhere else but there is a bounty on them. Thanks for all the advice. No snow yet but next time the wind turns to come from the south we will likely see our first snow at the tideline.

 

[JasperFrank]

I have pulled many a car out of ditches or stuck in the snow. They're usually neighbors, but sometimes its a visitor. Always, there is at least a verbal understanding that any damage is on them. Newer uni-body cars, with low front air skirts, just are not designed to be pulled out. My wife's 2017 Hyundai Accent is an example. There is only one hard point in the center rear and only one in the front that involves an eye bolt, you have to install, in the cold, when the plastic cover plug... isn't so plastic. If it is one of these new cars that got stuck, I would explain that there isn't a good way to pull the car out. "sorry can't help you." But if its an older car, with good, designed, hard points, its never been a problem.

 

[LouNY]

Pulling with a skid steer to me would be much like pulling with a front end loader.
When doing such I use the hydraulics for the actual pull,
hook up with the chain attached to the top of the bucket,
back up tightening the chain as I curl the bucket down,
when the bucket is curled all the way down and the chain is tight,
I'll curl the bucket back using the hydraulics to do the actual pull,
then curl the bucket down again while backing up and repeat,
till unstuck and placed were desired.
At times I will also raise the bucket while curling,
always keeping the bucket square with the pull.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

Personally, I think there are too many liabilities involved. Pulling a pickup out is one thing, but a plastic car is quite another