Skid steer vs. tractor for hobby farm use

[dgeesaman]

Normally this comparison is apples and oranges, but going down my list of uses this situation is not obvious. 15 acre horse farm. 3 acres wooded, 5 acres pastured, and 7 acres of buildings, drainage, and grass to mow. Long driveway, almost entirely level ground.

All mowing will be done with a dedicated commercial mower.

My chores will be:
- Clear snow in winter (central PA, so some snow but not lots)
- Moving / flipping the muck pile
- Pulling drags around the arenas. Arenas are engineered footing but are somewhat soft so traction needs to be considered.
- Lifting / moving large square hay bales within an 80' x 35' wide storage building. Mixed gravel floor. Hope to stack them 3 high, each one weighs 1000# max.
- The odd chore of moving tree branches, moving cut firewood, pulling small stumps, and pulling a few fenceposts.
- Spreading some stone on the upper driveway every few years.
- Light dragging to break up the manure piles in the pastures.*
* This one is more likely to be done with the mower.

Contrary to many small farms, I will not be cultivating any land or doing serious excavation.

After some consideration including the fact that a good used CUT with a sufficient loader costs $15k+, and a used skid steer is well under $10k and more compact, I'm re-evaluating the skid steer option.

Will a skid steer with a bit of ground clearance be suitable for pulling drags around the rings, or may it get stuck? I'm thinking that one major advantage to the skid steer is handling the big hay bales safely with less access space in the building.

Also, with the compact tractor I was basing the loader capacity assuming I use a bale spear in place of the bucket and using the 500mm offset full height lift capacity. Per recommendations, I'm considering tractors with no less than 1200# rating for this condition. Are the same assumptions valid for the skid steer, or are the lift capacities more robust?

David

 

[Steve in MT]

My vote is for a medium size skidsteer for everything but dragging a harrow. A skidsteer is so much faster then a tractor and can turn around in its own space. There are lots of attachments that can be used on the loader, including a bale spear. There are still plenty of Farmall "A"s and Ford 9N/8N size tractors around that can be had for little money that would pull a harrow just fine. Just my .02cents.
Steve

 

[swick1]

A skid steer for 10k is gonna be rough. I'd get a tractor since they are designed to do everything except work in a barn. You may be able to fit a tractor in it anyway depending on how empty it is.

 

[dgeesaman]

I'm going to need to drag the rings regularly and a mower won't do it. If the skidsteer won't either, I'll need yet another implement for that like a 4wd UTV. Now there is no cost benefit, but it would be an interesting combination:
Option A: Skidsteer for snow, big bales, loader chores. Mower for mowing. UTV / 4wd golf cart w/ dump bed for dragging rings, hauling stuff around.

Option B: CUT w/ loader for snow, moving big bales around the property, loader chores, dragging rings. Mower for mowing. Used forklift for handling large bales within the utility building. With this option I can put off the forklift until we get into the big bales.

Dave

 

[Chickengrower]

I vote tractor. Skid steers can be a major PITA to work on and if you have to hire it done it is expensive. They get stuck easily and generally tear up the ground pretty good when turning. ALso they are slow as christmas and rough riding as heck.

 

[Bob Rooks]

I vote for neither, for reasons already stated.
Instead, I suggest a compact articulated wheel loader such as the Gehl, although there are quite a few other brands as well, which will give you the best of both worlds without the drawbacks of either.
Gehl Company - Compact Equipment for Construction and Agriculture

 

[Ken45101]

I have a skid steer, and several tractors. The skid steer is for digging and for rough trail work. Even for mowing, it's for rough areas, it does an uneven job although maybe a different design cutter would be somewhat better.

As mentioned, a ss really tears up the ground if it is muddy or soft. You wouldn't drag an arena with a ss, you would have to come back with a tractor to smooth it out.

Yes, a ss can maneuver better in tight spots...BUT the visibility to the sides and rear really suck!

Turning over the muck pile? You will need tracks or the ss will just spin and sink in. Tracks again tear up the ground.

For handling heavy loads, a ss is more tippy than a tractor (the ss is short wheel base). Lift capacity may be an issue. Skid steers are rated for lift capacity and tipping capacity. Usually the lift capacity is about 1/3rd the tipping capacity. I doubt that 10k will get you a decent condition bigger ss.

Perhaps you need a "utility" class tractor, not a CUT.

 

[SpringHollow]

As Bob Rooks mentioned, articulated wheel loader or tractor. Some Power Trac models might be appropriate for what you want to do.

Ken

 

[dgeesaman]

Perhaps you need a "utility" class tractor, not a CUT.

The models I'm considering are Kubota L3240, New Holland TC35D, TC40D. Not sure what class they fall into, but with appropriate rear weights and loader they can all lift 1000# to full height. In any case I will be using a SSQA bucket so that bales will be lifted with a bale spear attachment rather than bucket clip-ons.

David

 

[Verticaltrx]

I'd go with a large compact tractor or small utility tractor with 4wd and a loader.

I have both a SS and compact tractor and for most 'chores' around the farm the tractor is a lot easier. It doesn't tear up the ground, is 10x easier to get on and off of and is just more user friendly for a lot of the work you describe. However, in a farm setting the skid loader does excel at work with the forks (visibility is much greater), cleaning out the barns, and stacking hay. That said, I mostly use the skid steer for my construction business for excavating, dirt work and moving building materials, the compact tractor mostly gets used on the farm. For the farm I wouldn't be without a tractor of some sort.

 

[TripleR]

I'm in agreement with those on the limited utility of the skid steer, we had one for about two or three months thinking we might buy one. It was handy as heck for a lot of things, but I had to follow around behind it smoothing the tracks and traveling any distance was punishing. We still rent them and got a LOT of work done on our farm last year, but I would never consider owning one in lieu of a good tractor.

 

[Ken45101]

The models I'm considering are Kubota L3240, New Holland TC35D, TC40D. Not sure what class they fall into, but with appropriate rear weights and loader they can all lift 1000# to full height. In any case I will be using a SSQA bucket so that bales will be lifted with a bale spear attachment rather than bucket clip-ons.

David

When you start lifting 1000# to full height, small tractors (and skid steers) get very tippy, especially if the ground is not perfectly level and solid. Bigger is better for such operations. A bigger wheelbase (especially wider) and more weight make a big difference.

I think the Kubota L series are "compact" tractors, the M series are utilitity tractors. For example, the M5040 is around #5000 and a bigger wheelbase than the L series.

Also, ag tires are not as stiff and tend to flatten out (e.g. shift) with heavy loader weights.

 

[pjbci]

Get a tractor

 

[Budweiser John]

I own a New Holland TC45D utility tractor with a hydrostatic transmission and 4WD. It is in my opinion the "Swiss Army Knife" of utility tractors it has the quick attach bucket/pallet fork option and a standard Cat 1 three point hitch. Skid steers have their place but, as stated are tippy and not very turf friendly when turning.
My only disappointment with the New Holland is the super steer feature, touted by the dealer as the wave of the future. Wrong. The super steer option is a pita for accurate placement of pallet loads or swapping between the dirt bucket and pallet forks in that there is no last minute correction by turning the steering wheel. Turn the wheel to the right, front end tends to drift to the left. I love the tractor however.

 

[MBTRAC]

IMO given the limited specific tasks you have in mind I'd go for an articulated loader.

Something similar to this machine we use would be ideal; compared to any skid steer - it'll pick up c.1500lbs + to a greater height, has far better ground clearance, is simpler/cheaper to work on/maintain, turns on a dime & due to it's articulation doesn't chop the ground up, hyrdo drive with diff locks Frt/Rear means its almost unstoppable - grab a levelling bar on the 4/1 & you can also simultaneously pull the drag around the arena to get it into shape qucikly.
Cost us c.5K (in Australia) so they should be cheaper/easier to find in the 'States & equvalent units are are available s/h under Hitachi, Komatsu, Yanmar, TCM..brands..etc.

 

[eddie48]

I have a TC40DA with quick attach loader and bale spear. Have used it for everything you talk about. Works well. Also have a baby skid steer to get in and out of really narrow doors to clean out barn, but use that less and less for the reasons the others wrote about.

 

[madmax12]

A CUT you may want to at least look at is the Mahindra Max28XL. It is strong for it's size. FEL cap of 1400lbs and 3pt cap of 2200lbs.

I like mine :thumbsup:

 

[AKfish]

Tractor. Size the loader @ 24" (or 500mm) ahead of the pins and allow for 1/3 over capacity beyond the average wt. of your bales. No need to work the tractor at it's capacity day in day out. A 35'x80' building is plenty big enough to maneuver a 4-5,000lb tractor in.

AKfish

 

[roache]

Tractor. I have both, similar horse farm as yours. Stated ss problems very real. SS sounds like it should be a great farm machine, but isn't, better suited for construction IMHO. Selling my ss proving difficult, will take a big loss.

 

[mud23609]

For what its worth. I have a skid and more tractors than most. The skid sits most of the time. Don't get me wrong. It has its use, and as a dedicated small loader its impossible to beat as long as your not concerned about tearing up the ground and the ground is either dry or you have some sort of tracks (without tracks a skid is worthless in muddy conditions.)

I wouldn't want to give up my skid but if it came down to having the skid or a tractor, Id go for the tractor every time.

In your case I would be looking at the largest of compacts (mahindra 5035 comes to mind) or make the move up to a utility tractor. Hay is not only heavy its bulky and puts the weight a long ways out. On my last tractor purchase I looked long and hard at my options and ended up going with a used 2002 TN75D and I have to say I really enjoy that tractor. The power shuttle makes it nicer for chore work than even my 2012 TD5050 with mechanical shuttle. And with filled rears its very stable moving big round bales.

I've used the TN to drag my arenas but its honestly just a bit big for that though it will do it for sure. I usually use either a Kawasaki Mule, or an old Ford 3000 for arena dragging duties. The smaller package over all works better especially in my smaller indoor arena.

If your wanting to move hay on the front loader Id not look at machines less than 5000 pounds. Weight really is your friend here.