SHOOTOUT - Skidsteer Vs Mini Excavator

[dieselfuelonly]

Hi everyone, looking for some opinions here.

We have a small 6 acre horse farm, and with the sale of our old house (FINALLY!) we would like to do some improvements around here.

Some of these include redoing the riding area, getting some new gravel and spreading it on our driveway, and numerous other little projects around the house.

I am looking to spend under $7500 on a piece of equipment (Skidsteer or Mini Ex.) to help us accomplish these tasks. I know my budget is very limited, but I have found several skidsteers and a Takeuchi mini excavator that are within my price range. Anyway, thats beside the point - I need help deciding on which piece of equipment would be better for our property. I won't buy a piece of equipment thats in poor condition.

As I see it:

A mini excavator would be great for:

Loadind and unloading materails from my truck, or anything else
Spreading materials precisely over a small to medium sized area
Mild grading/leveling with the dozer blade
Using alongside my Yanmar (and if I ever finish that small trailer...) to transport materials around the yard
Digging holes/trenches
Fun to operate

And not so great for:

Moving large amounts of materials
Heavier grading/leveling
Bigger jobs
Limited attachment options
Moving around to work on larger areas (slow)

A skidsteer would be great for:

Moving piles of mulch, gravel, dirt, etc. that we get delivered
Grading/Leveling areas like the riding ring
Spreading materails out over larger areas
All sorts of other tasks with the seemingly endless attachments that are available for rent

And not so great for:

Working in smaller areas
Digging holes/trenches
Unloading materails from my truck
Working alongside my Yanmar (pretty big... I like to make use of everything I have, a skidsteer turns my Yanmar into a big lawnmower basically).
Not as fun as a mini excavator, but still pretty fun

Anyway, only other things I can think about are... I live in NC, have lots of clay and the stuff can get pretty darn hard if its dry out. I would be interested in using either piece of equipment to make money, I can see either one being useful there, though my neighbor already has a skidsteer and gets a LOT of work around here, he doesn't have a mini excavator though.

Thanks for you're thoughts and opinions.

Dennis

 

[Reg]

One of the skid steer attachments is a faux back-hoe.
Would that help to narrow the decision ?

 

[HeyUvaVT]

its sounds kinda like you already know which one you want

keep in mind that if you want to grade...spread gravel...move materials...these are all gonna be a PAIN with the ex

yea a mini ex is more fun to run however its really not efficient when it comes to anything but digging or grubbing small trees....that dozer blade is NOT a grading tool...its 50% there to help you balance your light weight machine and 50% to help push dirt back into a hole you have dug...however you can NOT grade nearly the way you can with a skid

another thing to think about...with your limited budget have you factored in the undercarriage costs of the ex...you should price idlers..rollers..tracks..etc and make sure you wear a helmet so you dont get brain damage when you pass out from shock hearing the price...

the same would factor in for the skid unless its a rubber tired machine tho...

we are in the lucky position to have both machines ( ASV RC100 loader and Takeouchii TB 175 ex) and I can tell you that I would rather run the ex all day just because its SO MUCH FUN BUTTTT it will NOT do what the loader will


just my 2 cents worth...

 

[Terra Firma Scott]

yeah go for the skid........

 

[JDeereman]

A mini-ex is a one-note specialty machine while the skid steer loader is a far more versatile general use machine with lots of attachment options that can be rented or bought. but imho the bigger issue is what you can actually buy (size, age and condition) for a mere $7500. in this regard, a $7500 skidsteer will outperform and outlast a $7500 mini-ex any day of the year.

Theo

 

[DavidVT]

Price a daily rental for a MiniEx in your area.
Use that knowledge as you try to make up your mind.

Good luck!

 

[dirtworksequip]

Simply put, the skidsteer is going to suit your needs better. It has a dozen or more attachments available and therefore much more versatile than the mini excavator. Although you can do a lot with the mini...........you will never be able to do as much as you could with the skidsteer and all its available attachments.

Sincerely, Dirt

 

[tractorman99]

How about a Skid steer with a backhoe.

Hear is a link to one in Denton NC.


http://www.equipmenttraderonline.com/find/listing/-BOBCAT-825-93515812

 

[cddva]

You pretty well defined the pros and cons of each machine. Can you buy a loader for your tractor? Otherwise, which of your tasks do you see doing the most? If you're mostly digging, the mini wins hands down, if your mostly moving, spreading and grading the skid wins. If your good friends with your neighbor maybe the two of you can compliment each other if you buy the mini and your willing to lend each other machines at home and team up on some outside work? Good luck!

 

[MarkV]

With 6 acres and a $7500 budget I believe you would be much better off trading your tractor for one with a FEL and backhoe. I think the budget may be on the short end for even that. In my area $7500 for a skid or mini isn’t going to buy anything that isn’t a problem. Your area may differ but repairs to either can be substantial.

MarkV

 

[john_bud]

Yeah, a mini-ex is great for digging holes and trenches. Everything else, it is not good at.

Have you priced the undercarriage? May help you to decide. Some are VERY expensive.

jb

 

[Matt_Jr]

With 6 acres and a $7500 budget I believe you would be much better off trading your tractor for one with a FEL and backhoe.

MarkV

I think MarkV hit the nail right on the head.

 

[JDeereman]

I think MarkV hit the nail right on the head.

If he could do this (trade his yanmar plus $7500) and end up with a fully loaded tlb that met all of his stated needs, i'd say you guys were right. i just don't see it happening. not for that money. bang for the buck has still got to be with the used skid steer loader maybe with a backhoe attachment as pointed out by tractorman99.

Theo

 

[Doug_D]

I bought a backhoe last year for $4000. It痴 an old AC model and leaks, but it will dig a hole and move material (10,000 pounds). For $7500 I think you may be amazed at what you can get if you dig a little on eBay and craigslist. Nothing I would do commercial work with, but jacking around on the farm yes. When you get bored with it, you can sell it pretty easy.

Just my 2 cents.

Then again, I had a friend leave a CAT 318 trackhoe at my house for a couple months while he was working in the area (40,000 pounds). That was a blast! Best tool I have ever used to take out trees

 

[woodlandfarms]

There are so many cool skid attachments to me it seems the way to go. I know you don't have the cash upfront, but down the road you can get trenchers, post hole diggers, backhoes. And I think you can rent attachments as well. Skid seems to be the answer to me.

 

[AndyMA]

If you need to do much digging a backhoe on either a tractor or a skidsteer is no match for an excavator. If you havem't run an excavator you might think so but spend a few minutes on an excavator and you'll never look back.

Andy

 

[crashz]

Hard clay huh?

Sounds like grading will be a priority. Which is probably best done with a box blade or rear blade on your tractor. I can fine grade much better with the reaer blade on my tractor than I can with any loader, and the old skidsteer that we used to have.

It sounds as if you should put a loader on your tractor for moving light, loose material and a box blade to grade and loosen up the hard clay. The skidsteer will dig in clay, but not easily. And not without teath on the bucket.

The mini excavator will dig on clay just fine. One note, If you unload your pick truck with a mini excavator, put some sheets of ply wood down prior to loading the truck. The bucket teeth do nasty things to a pickup bed.

 

[ctown75]

He can't trade his current tractor he needs it for when he gets his 2wd truck stuck.

Ain't that right DFO????

LOL

 

[Botabill]

With 6 acres and a $7500 budget I believe you would be much better off trading your tractor for one with a FEL and backhoe. I think the budget may be on the short end for even that. In my area $7500 for a skid or mini isn稚 going to buy anything that isn稚 a problem. Your area may differ but repairs to either can be substantial.

MarkV

I've got a mini ex and tractor with FEL. The mini is pretty limited in uses but for me has enough use grubbing trees to keep it after my original big reason for purchasing. I agree with Mark that a tractor with a FEL and backhoe may serve your purposes better and may have served mine better as well but the ex is FUN. Oh yes... if you try to unload a pickup with a mini excavator you will find the excavator has ripped through the truck box with one sneeze.

 

[AKfish]

I rented a Bobcat 435 ZTS (~10K lbs) last year and this year have upgraded to a Komatsu U138 (~32K lbs). Monster tree killer!!

Have used skid-steers over the years, too. Case and Bobcat.

I'd go with the suggestion to upgrade your tractor - given your finances and the size of your farm.

Either buy a FEL and box blade for your current tractor or sell your tractor and use the $7,500 to move up to a larger TLB.

AKfish