Skid steer v tractor

[Lowlysubaruguy]

not to over complicate this which it really is skid steer v tractor if money and weight were not a factor.

Primary function moving snow, ( snow blower not an option has to be pushed and moved) When big storms hit it deep wet then frozen and its often a rinse and repeat process for months, then maintaining the same roughly 3/4 acre or more of a graveled lot thats in high use and loading and unloading 500 to 700 pound parts and drums. Thats the primary uses theres lots of secondary uses. But let’s keep it to this. The price between what id buy in a tractor v a skid steer isnt enough to cry over. Lastly I havent been in a skid steer in 30 years but i have about 1400 hours sitting in a tractor seat.

 

[PaulL]

Skid steer lifts more for similar dollars. Probably pushes more too. Not so sure on traction, but with chains (if a wheeled skid steer) is probably a wash.

A tractor is a lot more versatile, but if you're limiting yourself to only tasks that a skid steer does better, then a skid steer will be better. I guess maintaining gravel arguably a tractor would do better if you use a 3 pt implement for it, rather than using the bucket.

I would have thought the secondary uses are actually the reason you'd look at a tractor instead. (Assuming those are mostly uses that a tractor would do better)

 

[McMXi]

I don't know if skid steers are great on ice. A tractor with chains, 4wd and a locking differential might beat a skid steer with the wrong kind of tracks, or any kind of tracks for that matter. @North Idaho Wolfman has a skid steer and works with snow so perhaps he can help.

I do know that excavators with steel tracks or even rubber tracks can be darn right scary on ice.

 

[jimh406]

I think a tractor makes more sense. Perhaps, consider one with a Mid PTO to have a front mounted snow blower. A LX will lift what you are talking about and has an option of a rear blade. For the gravel road, you can use a grader/scraper. I don't think there is anything equivalent for a skid-steer.

 

[Caden]

Wheeled skidsteers are pretty lackluster in snow and ice. Tractor would probably have it beat there. Lift capacity would be better with a skidsteer.

For maintaining gravel I'd rather the tractor but either will get you a good result with different techniques.

 

[Lowlysubaruguy]

Skid steer lifts more for similar dollars. Probably pushes more too. Not so sure on traction, but with chains (if a wheeled skid steer) is probably a wash.

A tractor is a lot more versatile, but if you're limiting yourself to only tasks that a skid steer does better, then a skid steer will be better. I guess maintaining gravel arguably a tractor would do better if you use a 3 pt implement for it, rather than using the bucket.

I would have thought the secondary uses are actually the reason you'd look at a tractor instead. (Assuming those are mostly uses that a tractor would do better)

The secondary side of this saga is like 50 shades of tractor. But Im home now and I will elaborate more just so that ive covered it in my head.

The simple solution would be for me to sell my shops, 4 of my properties and move to a mental institution.

The solution for my issues and needs requires some background. I own two automotive shops a small towing business 5 properties one of them is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and in the jungle. The others are in an area that can go three years without a winter then it snows starting in October we get a foot or two at a time its wet then freezes then melts a bit then we get another foot or two and this can go on until the end of April. I own two tractors with many implements to handle this all open cabs. I no longer care to move snow while soaking wet ever again. So I need a unit with a cab and heat and since it will be enclosed it will need AC.

My larger tractor is almost ready to ship to Hawaii and I am concerned because my search for the solution which started two years ago is about to be at a crossroads. I also was reminded tonight why I need equipment. Last nights wind storm knocked a 40 foot section off a huge pine tree and its laying on roof of my shop which is partially caved in along with the side of said roof. I cannot be without some sort of equipment. Tomorrow morning me and the grapple will cut it off the roof and drag it free from the building.

What I need in Hawaii is a 50 plus HP excavator a 60 HP skid steer and a 20 HP tractor. Of which if I just retire and sell three or four properties I might just make the Kubota dealers day and order up exactly what I want. Meanwhile back to reality I’m not retiring for two to four years. My L4701 is headed west on a ship in less than a month and I need to make a decision.

If I just buy a tractor with a cab for my immediate needs here, it needs to be 40 plus HP but not 60 plus HP the Mx6000 is about as big as I can have so that my employees wont be afraid to use it around vehicles and not to mention loading drums or parts in some brand new truck. reality is the 4701 was the perfect tractor for here. But it does not have a cab. And it needs to be this big or I can’t manage the snow well enough. Plus I drag part cars around that are missing suspension components. This is something the skid steer will outperform the tractors by a lot.

The easy answer I buy a new skid steer with tracks maybe not the best for snow on ice but probably as functional as my tractor with cable chains. When I do retire and sell out have steel tracks installed and migrate it to Hawaii ( I know this is not going to be cheap) that’s if I sell here and the buyer doesn’t want it or can’t afford it. At which point if I still want an excavator I’ll sell the L4701 over there which will probably be worth more than it is here now.

The tractor I would just buy in Hawaii doesn’t exist they have not had what I actually wanted in two years of this quest and ordering a tractor there is complex yeah that’s the word I want to use and its complex because they have no idea when one will be built and delivers I mean no idea and then there priced about 25% or more than on the mainland. And that’s all compounded by the fact that here I gain the depreciation and tax deductions through the business and Oregon has no sales tax so its half the money for me to buy a new tractor here use it until I retire and ship it there.

Now all that being said if I buy a tractor for just here that tractor will probably never hit 300 hours it will never have a PTO shaft hooked to it. It will move snow, gravel mud, dirt and cars and car parts. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around $70K just so I’m not cold and wet for a few years if it ever snows here again. We have not had a real winter in several years. And the question of hiring someone to plow us out well its an option but it comes with issues. One is there’s a shortage of people who do this here and because I have never needed this service I will not be first on the list to be plowed out every day that it snows enough. Next is they cannot plow out close to and around the cars like we do with a tractor and its vital when were losing parking to the mountains of snow we have to pile up all over the place. If we have one of those heavy winters I can loose enough money in one year from not being plowed out quickly that it literally covers half this expense which is also part of this. When it comes right down to the costs I cannot afford to be without a tractor that’s adequate to plow out the shops and the tow trucks.

Well I hope this wasn’t a boring read. I think I make things harder than they need to be but there is no magical solution.

 

[Lowlysubaruguy]

I think a tractor makes more sense. Perhaps, consider one with a Mid PTO to have a front mounted snow blower. A LX will lift what you are talking about and has an option of a rear blade. For the gravel road, you can use a grader/scraper. I don't think there is anything equivalent for a skid-steer.

It’s two active parking lots blowing snow isn’t an option it has to be pushed and then piled high. The L4701 I own is decent at it so anything this size up to an MX6000 would be the right tractor.

I’m really looking for the answers from someone whos used a skid steer in a heavy traffic gravel parking lots pushing piling deep snow v a tractor.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Ok now this is really in my wheel house!
I use a Skid steer for 90% of my snow duties.

Skid steer hands down, as long as you don't have a great distance to travel.
Even then 2 speed makes that bearable.
Wheel skid steer, NOT track unless your only working on flats then tracks are fine.

I do some hills around here that make most people pass out, steep windy and way too dangerous in a tractor.
There is a 99% safety advantage to a skid steer, take and roll one off a cliff or a snow bank and you'll more than likely laugh it off, do it with a tractor and the very least your going to need a change of shorts, or you'll be dead.

For attachments SSQA is the bomb!

You can do a snow pusher (recommend) or a good blade.
For winter you can get all sorts of attachments top deal with ice and dustings of snow.

Then come summer you can ad attachments like a Land plane and slick up the gravel.

 

[Bearcatrp]

Well if money isn’t an option, and need heavy lifting and pushing, consider a Kubota R430. About same price as a skid steer or large tractor. Probably more comfortable too.

https://www.kubotausa.com/equipment-series/r-series

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Yea as @Bearcatrp said a R would be the cats meow!

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I move a lot of snow and have piled it up 20' tall.
and I would note I have an OLD Bobcat 743 granted with a twist of an added 51HP engine.
But it rocks, you can get close to things, you can see much better in front to load with forks or a barrel grip.
I use mine with a root grapple and it's a beast.
Ice is not an issue at all, with the right chains.
You can even equip them with snow and ice tires for a killer grip.

I love Tractors but a skid steer is better at lifting and maneuvering especially when it get slick.
I also use a boom pole to do all sorts of easy lifts with it.

and for employee use, again skid steer is a much safer and better option for doing all the tasks
And again if your working on moistly flat ground a track loader is a great option too.

 

[Caden]

Ice is not an issue at all,

Granted, the last time I ran a Bobcat 753 on snow and ice I was 6 years old. I remember it being terrible in the snow especially on hills. It had decent tires but I can't say if it had chains or not.

 

[fatjay]

I needed a tractor with loader with power steering and a better lift. But I am cheap, so i spent along time looking. I needed to lift dirt and load it into the dump truck when building my shop.

I got lucky and didn't even know it. A bobcat 610 came up and I bought it. I have tractors, with loaders. But the bobcat was unlike anything i'd driven. I could turn on a dime. Insanely maneuverable and virtually unstuckable.

That being said, I still need a tractor with loader, 3pt arms, grading blade, cab, tiller, plow.

It's not a tractor or a skid, it's a tractor AND a skid. They have 2 different functions. I'll drive my tractor to the store, to the field, i'll do tilling and farm work. A skid is more suitable for construction work, pivoting around the bucket or pallet forks. Sure there are other attachments, but those are the main.

Some things i'd rather do on my bobcat, some are more suitable for tractor.

Get both.

 

[McMXi]

Ice is not an issue at all, with the right chains.
You can even equip them with snow and ice tires for a killer grip.

I was thinking of a compact track loader as being questionable on ice. Are they a sub category of skidsteers or an entirely different animal?

I like the R430 suggestion. I drove one and it was awesome.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I was thinking of a compact track loader as being questionable on ice. Are they a sub category of skidsteers or an entirely different animal?

I like the R430 suggestion. I drove one and it was awesome.

I love my skid steer on ice, it's like riding a crazy carnival ride...
Then I pull up to the shop and put the chains on it!

I had more than one good scare with the tractor picking it's own path and not being able to stop it.
But I have old and not quite as capable tractors as you.

 

[PaulL]

So, I think I heard you have two tractors now. Based on the feedback here, which seems solid, I'm hearing:
1. Ship the L4701 to Hawaii. Don't need a cab there, so it'll be fine
2. You said you have two tractors, so you still have an (open station) tractor on the mainland - looks like that's a B7800
3. Buy a skid steer. So now you have a tractor and a skid steer. Skid steer for snow, tractor for all the secondary uses. Is the B7800 enough to do things like lifting a tree off your shed roof? If not, consider trading it on something bigger for the near term.
4. When you retire, ship the skid steer to Hawaii, sell the second tractor and buy a used excavator, and ship that to Hawaii too

Every requirement you listed is now met? ;-)

 

[mikester]

Skidsteer/CTL
Pros
- compact, heavy lift, better view of bucket edge, hi flow hydraulics
Cons
- terrible 360 visibility, sit under load, poor ride, poor egress, death trap in emergencies, hard to service many components, ground tear up
Comparable HP+Lift Industrial Tractor Loader
Pros
- ease of operator egress, sit up above load, superior 360 visibility, roomy cab and superior operator comfort, better ride, easier to service, less ground tear up, possibility of 3PH attachments or backhoe, good as general purpose machine
Cons
- lack hi flow hydraulics, generally lower loader capacity, poor view of bucket edge, harder to work in tight areas

If I’m doing primarily FEL work I would choose an articulated wheel loader over a TLB hands down, will blow away a TLB and CTL as a loader.

A TLB is like a Swiss Army knife trying to do everything but not exceeding at any task.

If I was a general contractor doing small time construction I’d get a CTL and a mini-x