skidsteer (bobcat) vs tractor

sure they do!! built a three point hitch years ago for ours (they now are on the market)
and you can get hydraulic pto's that run off the hydraulics!!

they are great for working around the yard but not much good for harvesting field crops. best loader tractor we have ever had.

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chaora dhubh
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cruachan

Really? We have a Gehl 4400 and a 4610. Those are what we use for feeding the round bales. They work great. We have trax on the 4400 for deep snow and mud, and again, they work great. The 4400 has a bale spear and the 4610 we use the forks for the balage bales.

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Mine is really tippy with a big round bale on the spike, rather use the tractor for that. I have a platform I built for it, I put small bales and feed bags on it, great feeding machine for the horses.

I saw a video of whats called a "turbo saw" for the skidloader. High speed hydorolic saw that cuts at ground level or below. My neighbor hired a man and his skidloader to clear 100 acres and he was very happy with the results.

You "need" the tractor you mentioned. Once you get that you may "want" a skidsteer. As far as putting in fence. Get a post driver instead of an auger. A used driver and a new auger are about the same price.

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Agmantoo
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Originally Posted by jwal10
.. but it has no 3pt or pto for farm implements

What I said was for farm implements, try using a 3pt hay rake, baler, disk, plow, etc behind a skid steer, all backward mounted on a loader frame that pulls from a high mounting point on the machine, just adds more tipping. Also the only speed control of the pto is engine speed, on a tractor you also have ground speed to match through a transmission.

What you are doing, with no farming, the skid steer is the way to go, although multi heads are expensive. Shredding that material with the chipping head is the easiest and quickest way to get that job done. You can always buy a tractor later if it is needed....James

A 35 or 40 hp utility tractor sounds like what you need. I have 2 skid steers and love them I also have a 35 hp farm tractor 2wd no loader for my planting and farming and mowing and hay and grading. We also have a 39 hp utility tractor with a quick attach loader. It also has the skid steer quick coupler. I can change buckets between the tractor and ss. I built both tracto and SS a set of forks brush rakes, and othat attachments. If I had to jut have one it would be the utility tractor. Its more comfortable and quieter than the SSL. Grades betterthan the ssl and can handle wetter terrain. Also the tractor will be eaiser on damp yards to. Ao fir moving bales I have a spear for the front of the tractor and skid steer but the tractor has one on the rear to.

Also skidsteer attachments are alot higher than tractor attachments. I have built most of my attachments for my loaders.

I have a 4200 john deere compact 4x4 with loader, its only 26 hp but it moves round bales up to 1000lbs with pallet forks. I have dug septic tank holes with it in clay driven fence post wood and steel with the forks cleared brush mowed hay and grass raked hay. It gets used more than my big tractor and its not much bigger than a skid steer. there is no choice tractor wins hands down

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Thanks everyone for the input - I lean towards the tractor, but it sounds like I've got more research to do. It will be another year or so before we are ready to buy anything, so I have some time yet.

Meanwhile I think I will hire / rent the skid steer for mulching... once that's done a tractor is probably more what I need, but I can check out the skid steer when it's here.

It might be even better to hire a skidsteer n operator that has mulching head. That can prolly get 3-4 times more dun then yourself renting it an doing it yourself. I don't know your proficiency with machines. But a good operator will get a substational amount more dun.it'll cost more then renting but the amount that gets dun by a good operator will be cheaper in long run. But defintly sounds like u need a tractor. N I don't even consider a skidsteer unless it has tracks it turns it into a whole different machine.

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Yes, I was thinking the same thing... that and that the rental folks want me to have $100,000 in liability insurance incase the machine is "injured".

Tractor first and in your case the best. Cost alone is enough reason a skidsteer CAN do these things but not afford-ably. If you have the budget great get a CAT 258 full track machine. Glides over rough ground, is very gentle on turf, the suspension and pilot controls make it easy chair comfortable while you work all day. You said you were rich right? Maybe not, exactly?

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Do not meddle in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup........

Agree....I have a tracked skidsteer for a weekly rate for an off the farm building project and will be using it all day here.....and tracks vs. tires are no comparison when it comes to what you can do. If you only have a day or two of work it may be better to hire out, otherwise you will get a better rate for a weekly rental....depends on what your skill level is. I have been running skidsteers for quite some time and think that what I will get done today at the farm will be worth the weekly rental much less the work done at the jobsite...however, if I had to make a choice between the tractor or skidsteer, I would get a tractor first and rent a skidsteer or hire out for occasional use.
But hey, if you got money to burn..drop about 50K on a Bobcat T-300 with a cab, A/C, heat, stereo.....you only live once.

I think Id look at a SMALL 4-WD tractor Ford used to make a mini stieger that you could operate in either direction .I think it was about a 120HP machine. It sounds about like what you want wish I could remeber the model number

Lol, I don't think I'm going to be spending $50k on anything... less you're offering a no interest pay as you can loan?

There are several used ones around here that are going from 10-15k though, which is about what a tractor of similar vintage are going for. That an my need for having some muching head work done got me thinking about renting vs buying one instead of a tractor is all.