Track Loader For Residential Use - Am I Insane?

bmac · Jan 16, 2006

beenthere,

 The closest I might go would be a ToolCat as it works well on lawns and adapts to all the front tools that the skidsteers use. 

You may be right on target here. May very well be what i need (need is the word I use with my wife, don't tell her what I really mean /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif ). As far as the 3PH attachments, I hate them. However, the ToolCat now has a rear 3PH option. So, if that's all that's holding you back from getting a ToolCat, well, no more excuses for you. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

beenthere · Jan 16, 2006

( ........... However, the ToolCat now has a rear 3PH option. So, if that's all that's holding you back from getting a ToolCat, well, no more excuses for you. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif )

I'm too much in love with my Deere 4300. Possibly a few more hp when (if) I trade up, but it does everything I want and more, and is a perfect size for my yard and woods.
Really couldn't be happier (and if I need an excavator, I rent one. same goes if I need a phd or other front tool, I rent it on a ToolCat).

Regal · Jan 16, 2006

As much as I like my tractor, with slopes and that 800' driveway, I would test out the ToolCat. From what I've read they have a good ground speed which would be nice clearing snow or smoothing gravel. All attachments are out front. Not to mention the cozy cab. Carefull though, wife might want to spend too much time in it. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Oh! I see your in GA. Probably not much snow /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

sflranchok · Jan 16, 2006

( First, a little history. I have a long-running thread in Rural Living documenting my home construction project. We are building on 12 heavily wooded acres. From there, I started a thread in the ATV section about making trails through the woods for the kids and their ATVs. In that thread, someone mentioned renting a skidsteer to help in clearing the trails. After doing some research on skidsteers, it wasn't too big of a stretch to start looking into tracked machines. I'm afraid I'm heading down a very slippery slope. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Now, I have a NH 29D with FEL, BH, Bush Hog and pallet forks. I bought it 2 and a half years ago in anticipation of moving to the new property. Well, the move is taking longer than I anticipated, but the end is in sight - looking like a March move date. During this time, I've used the NH only sparingly (might have 50 hrs on it). So, it has alot of servicable time remaining - heck, its not even broken in good. But, the more time I spend on my property, the more I wonder if the NH CUT is the right equipment for what I'll be doing. You probably see where I'm going with this.

How crazy would I be to sell the 29D and buy a compact track loader, say something like a Bobcat T190? In addition to the aforementioned trail clearing / maintenance, my uses would include landscaping, maintaining an 800' gravel driveway and probably an endless amount of time keeping the underbrush and sapplings cleared out of the remaining woods.

I think a tracked machine would be better than a wheeled skidsteer on my wooded terrain (some areas have a significant slope) and I assume would be more turf friendly for the occassions when I might want to plant trees or shrubs around the yard (could be wrong on this). However, I don't know how well the rubber tracks would hold up using them on a gravel drive. And, I understand the tracks are $3.5-$4K a set to replace, so that would be an issue.

Attachments I think I would want to own would be limited to a bucket, forks, a grapple of some variety and an auger. anything else that might be needed I would rent.

I'm thinking that if I am patient in looking for a low-hour used machine, I shouldn't have to spend over $25-30K. Of course, I need to see what I can get for the 29D and attachments to know if this would be doable from a financial standpoint.

So, have I gone completely nuts or are there others out there who have considered something like this? I would look into a ToolCat as an alternative, but, as has been mentioned on this site, newer model used ones might be hard to find. I haven't looked for those yet.

Anyway, please share your thoughts. Feel free to be brutally honest if you think this plan is insane. )

Let me encourage to consider a mini-excavator. They can dig out some of the larger trees (of course, most folks prefer keeping the largest ones), great for any lanscaping jobs or trench work, and, when you get real comfotable as its' operator, can help maintain or spread gravel for a driveway. I never would have said all this until I got one and it is incredibly useful. It has rubber tracks.

My other equipment is a M105X that handles the rest of the work arond the place.

I'm sure you will make the decision thats right for you.

Steve

tlbuser · Jan 17, 2006

( In that thread, someone mentioned renting a skidsteer to help in clearing the trails. After doing some research on skidsteers, it wasn't too big of a stretch to start looking into tracked machines. I'm afraid I'm heading down a very slippery slope. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 I think a tracked machine would be better than a wheeled skidsteer on my wooded terrain (some areas have a significant slope) and I assume would be more turf friendly for the occassions when I might want to plant trees or shrubs around the yard (could be wrong on this). However, I don't know how well the rubber tracks would hold up using them on a gravel drive. And, I understand the tracks are $3.5-$4K a set to replace, so that would be an issue.
 I would look into a ToolCat as an alternative , but, as has been mentioned on this site, newer model used ones might be hard to find. I haven't looked for those yet.

Anyway, please share your thoughts. Feel free to be brutally honest if you think this plan is insane. )

Insane, NO. Unrealistic, probably. There is IMO, no such thing as a one-fits-all machine. You said a wheeled skidsteer would be unstable on the slope, yet a Toolcat may be OK. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif If you've got to get out from under the payment your in, to get a payment on something else, you might want to reprioritize your wish list also.
A rubber tracked machine can be turf friendly, only if you think ahead and minimize the angles of your turns. But, I would not want to use one very often on a well established lawn.
Mad may be on a better "track" for your todo list. A decent steel tracked loader could very well handle your construction, rough grade, roadway and trail blazing / maintaining issues. Something like Mad's or a used JD 350/450 with a 4n1 bucket would be ideal and you can get forks for them too. A little ingenuity and fabricating could result in a hydraulic driven brush hog attachment too.

dmccarty · Jan 17, 2006

bmac,

Seems like we are in the same boat regarding what we need to do on the land. I have a JD 4700 with a 6 foot mower that will eat 2 inch trees. One of the reasons I bought it was to cut trails. And it does. I just went and mowed some new trails in the woods as well as remowed old trails as well as skidder trails that have grown up over the last four years. The tractor and mower did what I bought it for.

However, I have other areas I cannot easily get the tractor into due to soil wetness and large trees. Our land has some areas that are infested with Russian olive bushes. I want to push the underbrush hundreds of yards away from the house not only to have more of a view of our land but to reduce firehazards. There are cutting heads you can put on skid steers and larger equipment that would make short work of the chore. The problem is that the larger equipment won't work because of their size. The skid steer might work but its still pretty large. And they cost money. The attachment to do this work is expensive. I think I saw them listed for 3-5,000 dollars....

What I'm almost certain to do before the end of this month is buy a 17hp DR mower. It will cut down 2.5 inch diameter trees, its small enough to fit in the forest, it won't tear up the soil and the price is the least painful of the options. And if I buy it before the end of January I can use it for six months without putting down a cent and its also the cheapest time of the year to buy from DR. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Once I have a lawn I can buy a finish mower that will fit on the DR Mower.

I suppose you could grade your driveway with a skid steere. I have seen them doing finish work but I don't know how one would tear up the gravel to rework the drive. I maintain our private road which is roughly a half mile long. Every couple of years when the road starts to pot hole I'll put the teeth down on the box blade and rip the gravel back up before finishing it smooth. I don't know how to do that with a skid steer.

If you do go the skid steers route make sure you get one that has enough GPM to operate the attachments you need. It looks like I can rent attachments for skid steers pretty easily. Just get enough GPM in the hydraulics.

Later,
Dan

bmac · Jan 17, 2006

Steve,

 Let me encourage to consider a mini-excavator. 

Stop it!!! You're killin' me here!! Here I am asking if a skidsteer or track loader would be an unwise purchase and now you're teasing me with the thought of a mini-excavator. Someone help me! Please! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Seriously, that would be a great addition to a fleet. But, I'm trying to have a fleet of one machine. May not be practical for me, but I have no doubt that I could put one to use on occassion.

Thanks for the suggestion.

sflranchok · Jan 17, 2006

BMAC, I don't mean to tease you any further, but I think you'd be somewhat pleasantly surprised to learn the price on the mini-excavators....If not for now, maybe when the time comes for a really really big milestone birthday or anniversary. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif Note I didn't say millstone. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Steve

EddieWalker · Jan 17, 2006

bmac,

Have you rented a skid steer yet to see how well it romoves trees? It is nothing like your tractor. No way in the world I'd want one. They are very good for what they are designed for, but farm or ranch life isn't one of their strengths!!!

Rent the one you were interested in and I think you'll quickly change your mind on this line of reasoning.

Hopefully you're just in a dreaming, planning mode and aren't in a hurry to do anything rash.

There's nothing wrong with what you have except for maybe needing a little more power. For the kind of money you're williing to spend on a machine that will cause as much damage to your land as repair, I'd consider buying a larger CUT first.

Why is 750 pounds not enough lift for you? What do you need it for?

I think there's a very good reason the CUT market is doing so well and so many people have them. They are the best machine for small acerage with the most versatility.

Wait until you move in and spend a few months living on your land with the tractor you have before trying to decide what you need. It's kind of silly making these desisions when you don't even live there yet.

But if you really feel you need to spend your money, the dozer idea isn't a bad one. Just don't buy an old one that you need to work on all the time. I'm guessing you can get around $15,000 for your current tractor, give or take. You said you could handle paying up to $30,000 for a tracked skid steer. My thinking is you have around $15,000 that's burning a whole in your pocket!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Just kidding, but bare with me.

If you look at some of the small dozers in the 40 to 60 hp range, you can find all sorts of them with 6 way blades, in good shape and fairly new for well under your budget. Run it for the summer or a year. Take your time and clear what you want on your land. When your done with it, sell it for what you paid for it, or just under.

Komatsu 31, Mitsubishi D21, Deere 350 or whatevery you find that you can get parts for. Most repairs are fairly simple and the machines are designed to be abused, so to speak. Just do lots of research before you buy and you should be able to find a good one.

Eddie

RobertN · Jan 17, 2006

Interestingly enough, skid-steers were designed for the ranch/farm. I kinda thought the same as you before, but have changed my mind after using skid steers, but more so using the newer track-loader.

Check out The Bobcat Story I found it pretty interesting to see where these machines got thier start.

This thread asked about tracked loaders. I would agree that around the property a skidsteer might not be the best option(mostly because I have got them stuck trying it). However, the track loaders could work out really well. They are better all terrain machines, and work significantly better than a skid-steer in wet conditions.

In regards to homeowners using more CUT's vs Skid steers or track-loaders, I(IMHO...) think the biggest issue is price. Skid-steers or track loaders are more expensive up front. They have an amazing array of attachments, that can put a 3-point to shame. BUT... The attachments for skidsteers/track-loaders are much more expensive. A 3pt PHD is much less expensive than a universal skid mount hydraulic PHD.

One thing though, for $25k you're getting in to 50 and 60hp machines with high-flow hydraulics. My scope of interest has only been B2910 or JD-4310 sized and powered(25-30hp) CUTS. Not sure what a 50hp CUT/mid-utility with high-flow hydraulics would run...