# Skid Steers



## Agcadmin1

Need some opinions on Skid steers we are now in the market for a new skid steer one of ours was not so fortunate on friday and caught a fire. It was a 2008 T300. This is not the first bobcat that we have had a problem with I own five and in the last two years it seems we have had nothing but problems I have put engines in both of our t200 and within 400 hours one blew the engine again. It seems the only bobcat I have that runs is the old 96 873. Curious what everybody else runs or likes. Also our bobcats are very multipurpose we have a number of attachments for our bobcats including asphalt planers, grinding heads, as well as earth moving equipment and I do understand that some of theses tools have to run on a bobcat because of the connections and high flow ratings. My operators are also tough on theses machines as well and there run by a number of employees so tough counts in my opinion.


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## WC&T

We own a Bobcat T200 (2001 or 2002 i think) and a Takeuchi TL126. The tak is smaller than the T200 but will damn near keep up with the bobcat in production. The bobcat has had more problems (rollers, idlers and fuel shut off) than the tak and the parts are extremely expensive compared to the tak. The controls on the tak are really touchy if you have never ran one but once you get use to them they are great. Never have owned a Cat since the undercarraige/track frame is junk but I have heard good things about John Deeres, Komatsu's and Gehl. Just my two cents


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## Blas

We had a lot of problems with the T200's when they first came out. Like you guys we constantly had problems with rollers etc.. but the thing that irritated me the most was the rubber timing chains that would fail like clock work at around 1200 hrs. causing the pistons to collide with valves. No way should they have had such a POS design like that. We lost both engines in our T 200's due to this. However, we switched over to the T 250's and apart from all the little problems here and there they have been much more reliable. I would switch to CAT if I could pass on the extra 25g's it would cost to buy a comparable machine but in times like this we need to keep prices lower. I would give the T 250 a chance. Our first one has about 3500 hours on it and the only problems we have had outside of the normal maintenance problems and switch's going out was the computer meltdown but that was at about 3200hrs. Skidders are like snowmobiles. Once they get to a certain age its not worth keeping them anymore.:laughing:


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## Agcadmin1

We used a takuechi on one of our jobs it was a rental machine and my crews seemed to like it, I am not sure about the durability of the machines which is my biggest hold back. I am glad to know that the parts are cheaper compared to the bobcats. The t200s we have also failed because of the timing chains just like yours and they did it twice in one machine within about 500 hours. The 300 we lost the other day was because of an electrical short would be my guess as the fire started around the battery.


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## TERM101

I also had problems with engines in all three of my T300's...If I remember correctly they all blew around 800-900 hours. Currently have two case machines and will never ever own another one. Constantly developing a new leak every day, electrical problems, front idlers went out at 600 hrs, etc...All of my machines recieve all preventative maintenance and then some. Rented a takeuchi a while back and it seemed okay...but it just didn't feel right for some reason. A friend of mine let me use his CAT machine a while back and I really liked it. It had plenty of power and hydraulics were very fast. CAT had alot of problems with the undercarriage a while back, but alot of guys I know that run them are having good luck on the newer ones, so they say. Just my 2 cents


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## smeagol

If you are taller than an oompa loompa don't get a john deere.


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## tgeb

I demoed a T250 a couple years ago, it was way under powered and the controls were slow to react. (Stop/change direction would take 2 maybe 3 seconds) not what I wanted. My Takeuchi TL130 ran circles around the T250.

I then demoed a New Holland C175 and it would beat the pants off the TL130.

The Takeuchi machines have very light touch on the pilot controls and it does take some time to get used to. They are also a little heavy in the rear and feel a bit out of balance.

The New Holland is better balanced, better visibility, but the controls are somewhat sluggish unless you wind it up pretty good.

I like the New Holland best, I have never set one on fire.....But I have not been in a Cat or some of the others.


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## CanDoExcavating

I started out with a 260 john deere, too small inside for me but it got me through my first year, then I went to a s250 bobcat with pilots loved the machine never gave me a problem except that when they serviced it (bobcat dealer) they forgot to hook up the aircleaner to the motor and it crapped itself, they replaced the motor and never had a problem with it, (I do the servicing now). then I traded for a s300 no problems with it either I would say go with the s series or the new john deere d series with over the tire steel loeghering tracks, yeah I know you have to tighten the tracks every 2 or 3 weeks but it takes what 30 min at the most. I am now getting quotes on new machines either another S300 or a Deere 328D either one is fine with me, Take a look at the new Deere D series they are a completely different machine I like the redesign.:thumbup:


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## Big Chris

smeagol said:


> If you are taller than an oompa loompa don't get a john deere.


 
What brand do you guys recommend for a very tall operator? :w00t:

I have Case, Deere, Bobcat, New Holland, and Gehl nearest to me. None of the above? LOL


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## Blas

tgeb said:


> I demoed a T250 a couple years ago, it was way under powered and the controls were slow to react. (Stop/change direction would take 2 maybe 3 seconds) not what I wanted. My Takeuchi TL130 ran circles around the T250.
> 
> I then demoed a New Holland C175 and it would beat the pants off the TL130.
> 
> The Takeuchi machines have very light touch on the pilot controls and it does take some time to get used to. They are also a little heavy in the rear and feel a bit out of balance.
> 
> The New Holland is better balanced, better visibility, but the controls are somewhat sluggish unless you wind it up pretty good.
> 
> I like the New Holland best, I have never set one on fire.....But I have not been in a Cat or some of the others.



HAHA I forgot about that Tgeb thanks for bringing that up. When we first bought our T250 we had the same problem with the controls (ours has the CAT style Hand controls) Turns out it is a computer deal they just adjust the settings and then the machine responds just fine. Don't exactly know why they wait for us to point out these problems before they fix them. Seems it would go a long way to repairing their image if they would just test these things out before they sent them out. In fact we had to have all 5 of ours reset with the new settings. It seems the first two t250's had the most power and our newest one is a complete dog. The first one we bought would out push all the others :laughing: and it has 3500 hrs on it :laughing:. Buying a bobcat is a bit like picking go carts at the go cart track. Sometimes you get a winner and sometimes you get a loser. It was the same way with the Kamatsu D65 GPX dozer's we were looking at. The one we owned was pretty hardcore when it came to pushing power so we looked at another one that was brand new and it was a dog. It's just a matter of demoing the exact machine you are looking a buying. A friend of mine runs takanuchi track skidders and he loves them.

P.S our first T250 would bury your Takenuchi :boxing::laughing::laughing::blink::shifty:


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## tgeb

Panda driving a car? said:


> P.S our first T250 would bury your Takenuchi


I'd like to see you try. :scooter:

Actually we had the dealer come out and try to program the the T250 for 90/100% power and it still came up short. They had a factory rep (aka idiot) come out and try to fix it with no luck.

It was obvious that the loader "had" the power it just could not deliver it to the ground. There was nothing we could do to "bog" down the engine, it would just give up.

I can put the Takeuchi and the New Holland into some work that they will stall out on, if pushed hard enough.



Big chris said:


> What brand do you guys recommend for a very tall operator?


The Takeuchi track loader is the same as the Gehl and the Mustang and I think at least on other brand. The interior of the cab is the tallest I have seen.


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## Durn210

tall- I'm 6-6 and over 300lbs much more room in a tak than a cat. hey I'm in shape- fortunately round is a shape


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## Big Chris

6'6" is pretty tall... I'm 7'0" and about 280.:whistling

Thanks for the advise. I'll keep it in mind when I'm shopping for a skid loader or CTL.


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## cexcavation

Big Chris said:


> 6'6" is pretty tall... I'm 7'0" and about 280.:whistling
> 
> Thanks for the advise. I'll keep it in mind when I'm shopping for a skid loader or CTL.


We need picks of you operating a mini ex or one of those mini bobcat skidsteers!!!!! Would probably look something like a kid strapping on his backpack for the first day of school!!:laughing:


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## Big Chris

LOL

They don't make ANYTHING for people my size. I feel cramped on my backhoe, dump truck, mower, wifes Mountaineer, regular cab pickups, bed, kitchen table, church pews, porta johns...

I'll have to start taking pictures, give you little guys something to laugh at.

Bet you guys couldn't block shots and dunk as easy as I could though:w00t:


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## Blas

Hence the name BIG CHRIS


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## Barometer

The Takeuchi track loader is the same as the Gehl and the Mustang and I think at least on other brand. The interior of the cab is the tallest I have seen.[/quote]

Takeuchi, Gehl & Mustang are the same in the CTL world. 

I moved up to a TL 150 last year & have been very impressed & satisfied with the machine.


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## CanDoExcavating

pulled the trigger last week and bought a deere 328D 0% intrest for 42 months with 3 month skips be here in 30 days!!:thumbup:


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## SKIDSTEERGUY

*If you are big, go with the Tak*

The Takeuchi, Gehl and Mustang CTL's have the largest cabs. Many of my larger customers have made this comment over the years. You will also notice that the track system is superior, the tracks cost less and the drive systems are more stable than Bobcat's. There are less computer controls as well thus they are more reliable. 

The down side is that parts are harder to come by so if you do have an issue, you could be down for a few days more than you would with a Bobcat. 

But, if it never breaks down, you are ahead of the game. I am now monitoring this site more often, so if you have machine questions or are interested in an attachment, I will do my best to answer your questions.

Robert Leib
Owner - Skid Steer Solutions


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## pdmcgowan

I need to rent a takeuchi and try it out. I really liked the mini excavator we owned thought it was damn near indestructible. Crappy thing is I dont have a dealer within 50miles. Bobcat near us was bought out and the new dealer is more interested selling new then any sort of customer support. Used to love the New Hollands for how fast everything worked and farm memories. Anyone have any experience with the CTLs for construction use?


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## dayexco

pdmcgowan said:


> I need to rent a takeuchi and try it out. I really liked the mini excavator we owned thought it was damn near indestructible. Crappy thing is I dont have a dealer within 50miles. Bobcat near us was bought out and the new dealer is more interested selling new then any sort of customer support. Used to love the New Hollands for how fast everything worked and farm memories. Anyone have any experience with the CTLs for construction use?


where in minnesota are you?


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## pdmcgowan

Rochester


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## diamonda

*Track Loaders*

Nothing runs like a deer!!! Try a CT 322 youll love it lots of power and very low maintenence!:thumbsup:


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## The Cleaner

What about the new bobcat 630 & 650's? anybody drive one of those yet? They are supposed to have much more room in them.


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## CanDoExcavating

just put my new Deere 328D to work today! way more torque than my bobcat s300. Cab is very roomy the moto is very quiet. very nice skidder :thumbsup:


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## The Baron

I've got 2 Case skid-steers in the fleet - an '06 420 and an '08 445. Overall great working machines. Only problems I've had have been electrical, related to the control panel getting water in it and/or just dying. Overall I'd say they are great machines and strong for their size. I'm 6'4" and 260 lbs cab size and comfort is fine.


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## TMatt142

Been awhile since I've been here....Been busy with work and all.....Just thought I'd add my 2 bit to the convo......I've run a bunch of different skiddy's ...All the bobcats...from the early 864's to the new T series. I really liked them till I gained employment with my current company. They run nothing but CAT equipment. I was very skeptical at first but as far as "true" track machines...I'll take any size CAT over the bobcats any day of the week. More power, better undercarriage, etc....We have absolutely zero problems with our 247 and 257's other than normal undercarriage issues that pop up on the rare occasion. On top of that, they are faster...That's coming from someone who grew up on bobcats and prefered the foot controls. Had some brief time on the JD's and what takes them out of the running is their bulkiness, and poor visibility.


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