I don't own them, but have used them. I have posted on it before, I believe in the "Buying" section.
I have used two skidsteers; the Bobcat S185 56hp turbo, and the Bobcat 463; 36" wide machine for limited access. I have used two track-laoders, the RC30 and Cat-247.
For dry stuff, the skid steers work great. A little wet, and they make a big mess. They can move large amounts of dirt or material very well. The 463 got me through a 36.5"' gate where I had to remove material and bring it around front. I have used the S185 for grading, moving material and running a trencher. The hi-flow trencher on that S185 CRANKS! it is impressive! About the S185 and wet conditions, it is parked at the house now(belongs to a buddy). I was moving dirt, and dumping it in a big hole on a slight downslope. I was running up and down the slope properly, but it tore things up fast with wet conditions. I got stuck and used the loader to pull forward; I could not back out. It got sideways on the slope and tippy! I had to finally use the loader to pull forward down the slope, while trying to straighten out. I did it, but it was not fun, and I had to drive way down the property to find a way out.
I have used the RC30 and Cat-247 for digging, grading, and loading a dump truck. The RC30 was a bit short for loading the 8yd dump truck; I had to make a little ramp of dirt. I did grading and digging in damp conditions where the Bobcats would have to be parked. It worked great, with little mess. The same with the Cat. I had to dig and grade in a back yard, and load a dumptruck out fron. Had to go across the grass... I loaded 8 8yd dumps using a 1/2 yard bucket, over wet grass. It did leave some minor indentation that will fix up easily. Man, a skidsteer of similar size woulda made a mess; would have had to park it.
The track-loaders had joysticks. I liked that. The steering control on the Bobcats has a long throw. It's easy, but you move more to steer and manuever. Bobcat does offer that option on many of its tractors.
Both track-loaders had ASV track system. The RC30 had the torsion suspension, not sure about the Cat. Boy, they rode much smoother than the skidsteer. The track loaders were nice to drive.
The RC30 could manuever pretty tight with standard tracks and not tear up the grass. I have seen the video on the putting green with the turf tracks; it is believable. The Cat, I did not manuever as much with it in sensitve area's. On the grass, I made a point to move straight forward and back, 'cause it was rather wet...
One note, with a local Bobcat dealer, they rent cheaper than the regular rental shops... I have not rented from the Cat/ASV dealer, although I noted thier price compared to the local rental shop. I could not justify the 45 mile pickup, and then delivery to go get it down in Sacramento. When I rented the Bobcat 463, and the Bobcat Hi-flow trencher, I was working not far from the Bobcat dealer.
I want to sell my
B8200 Kubota and get a RC30. I need to save up the balance; the Kubota would be about half the price. I am looking at low hour dealer offers. Looks like a RC30 with 2-300 hours, with a clamshell bucket and trencher, would run about $22-23k.
My biggest worry is the price of putting a mower on it to replace the capabilty of the Kubota for mowing the property. I am thinking of selling the Farmall-A, and upgrading to a Super-A with 3pt.
