What is The Best Mid-Size Skid Steer?

[mikester]

I own a wheeled and tracked skid steer. The wheeled machine doesn’t do well in soft ground. If the ground is fairly firm but muddy on the top it doesn’t do well. It also rides like a pogo stick. If you’re working on fairly smooth and dry ground it’s a capable machine. The tracked one is a completely different animal. You’re not buying a tracked one that’s not at a fire salvage sale for $15k but a tracked machine is very capable. A tracked skid steer will make a tractor look silly. The wheeled machine will still outperform a tractor on dry ground. The tractor wins in mud. You can run steel tracks on the wheel machine to help with the mud. I don’t have them on mine because I don’t like them for one thing but I drive the machine on roads and driveways so steel tracks are out of the question. View attachment 764545

I'd take a CTL over a SS any day. You forgot to add how SS are more unstable. Both machines operate under the load, have poor reach, poor all around visibility, have restricted egress and are death traps.

If your machine catches fire and your boom is part way up and you can't lower your boom because the electric over hydraulic controls stopped working then you need to remove the back window to climb out over your burning engine. No thanks.

They are great machines for getting into tight spaces. I still prefer my M59 which has comparable or better boom lift capacity than similar HP SS/CTL.

Good luck finding a decent CTL for $15K

 

[4570Man]

I'd take a CTL over a SS any day. You forgot to add how SS are more unstable. Both machines operate under the load, have poor reach, poor all around visibility, have restricted egress and are death traps.

View attachment 764615

If your machine catches fire and your boom is part way up and you can't lower your boom because the electric over hydraulic controls stopped working then you need to remove the back window to climb out over your burning engine. No thanks.

They are great machines for getting into tight spaces. I still prefer my M59 which has comparable or better boom lift capacity than similar HP SS/CTL.

Good luck finding a decent CTL for $15K

A CTL is much more planted to the ground than a SS. They could flip on their nose like that but they don’t make a habit of it like a SS does. The reach isn’t much different than my M59 was. The egress is bad. I’d like to have a JCB one arm skid for that aspect. I wouldn’t go as far as to call them death traps. Id bet a lot more people have died on open station equipment than the amount of people that have been burned to death or were crushed under the loader arms. A Kubota machine with the roll up door is some better in that aspect. My 75 Kubota has a good bit more lift than the M59 does. The 15k part is unreasonable but you aren’t buying a M59 for 15k either.

 

[Hay Dude]

A CTL is much more planted to the ground than a SS. They could flip on their nose like that but they don’t make a habit of it like a SS does. The reach isn’t much different than my M59 was. The egress is bad. I’d like to have a JCB one arm skid for that aspect. A Kubota machine with the roll up door is some better in that aspect. My 75 Kubota has a good bit more lift than the M59 does. The 15k part is unreasonable but you aren’t buying a M59 for 15k either.

I want the JCB tracked tele skid, but the “tele” part is a bit too small. Maybe when theres some used ones available, I will finally go for it.

Still like the small telehandlers. I have rented many a telehandler for construction and always admired their capabilities.

 

[4570Man]

I want the JCB tracked tele skid, but the “tele” part is a bit too small. Maybe when theres some used ones available, I will finally go for it.

Still like the small telehandlers. I have rented many a telehandler for construction and always admired their capabilities.

If I was strictly lifting stuff I would buy one of those. But the ability for precision grading is important to me. I’ve never had a compact telhandler but I’m guessing it’s lacking for grading dirt. My M59 wasn’t good at it and one of my friends had a compact loader and it wasn’t any good for moving dirt.

 

[ning]

I'd take a CTL over a SS any day. You forgot to add how SS are more unstable. Both machines operate under the load, have poor reach, poor all around visibility, have restricted egress and are death traps.

View attachment 764615

If your machine catches fire and your boom is part way up and you can't lower your boom because the electric over hydraulic controls stopped working then you need to remove the back window to climb out over your burning engine. No thanks.

They are great machines for getting into tight spaces. I still prefer my M59 which has comparable or better boom lift capacity than similar HP SS/CTL.

Good luck finding a decent CTL for $15K

Here's a link to a report about that accident

 

[MinnesotaMorg]

Here's a link to a report about that accident

Thanks for linking this. I would rather be terrified of what can happen and be more careful than operate with my head in the sand. That poor bastard what a way to go.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

Just for price reference, about a week ago I bought a used Kubota 65 with 1300 hours for $35,000.

Yesterday I sold my 2015 Bobcat T550 with 2700 hours for $21,500. Two years ago I paid $17,000 for this machine and put 200 hours on it over the 2 years.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Just for price reference, about a week ago I bought a used Kubota 65 with 1300 hours for $35,000.

Yesterday I sold my 2015 Bobcat T550 with 2700 hours for $21,500. Two years ago I paid $17,000 for this machine and put 200 hours on it over the 2 years.

I have an SVL 75-2 and absolutely love it so far, I bet you will like that machine.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

I have an SVL 75-2 and absolutely love it so far, I bet you will like that machine.

I had rented a SVL 75 this spring to load about 1600 tons of sand. Thats when I was convinced I needed to upgrade to a Kubota.

 

[scootr]

I poo pooed Kubota tractors for many years as less than the construction skiploaders I was used to. But this new to me MX5200 has changed my thinking. It is a very capable tractor that is infinitely easier to use.
My Bobcat 773 is a machine you have to have a specific use for and a lots of seat time to get handy with it. It's really not an all around tool for a ranch or nearly as versatile as a small or medium tractor