Compact Track Loader, whos the best?

[groundcover]

When I bought my Kubota SVL 75-2 back in 2022 Deere and Cat were around 18-20k higher for similar sized machines, which was just to much more money for me to justify, lastly I wouldn't own a CTL that didn't have a roll up overhead door, it's a must for working by yourself IMO.

Friend of mine has a Cat. Was with him one day when he got a call from his employee saying he was trapped. He was running a Harley rake and got too far into a muddy spot. Cat wouldn't move and door wouldn't open !

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Friend of mine has a Cat. Was with him one day when he got a call from his employee saying he was trapped. He was running a Harley rake and got too far into a muddy spot. Cat wouldn't move and door wouldn't open !

I saw right away that as much as I would be working by myself that the overhead roll up door was what I needed, your friends employee's only option was to wait on someone to come pull him out so that he could either raise or lower the arms in order to open the door or pull the ring on the back glass seal and pop out the back glass to exit through the back glass hole, nether are appealing to me, the overhead roll up door solves that problem.

 

[Dukeisok]

I think like most things it's highly dependent upon your intended uses and for heavy equipment, your dealer support. In my area the Kubota Dealership is hands down the best one to deal with. I was set on buying a Kubota and when I was looking they had a pre-emissions case 450 on the lot with all the bells and whistles of the era including high flow, for a song. Given my intended use which is a low volume landowner, it was a no-brainer and I've been very happy. Hard to beat a Cummins 4 cylinder engine.

That said, I don't make money with my equipment I just use them as toys so price point is extremely important. I do have to run it with the door off for frequent moving of logs and whatnot because I can only get out if the arms are all the way down. If they're up even 2 in the door won't open. A roll up door would be nice, perhaps even nicer would be the JCB single arm unit that lets you go out the side door. That appeals to me from an engineering and safety perspective although they only have a 74 horsepower engine which is insufficient for my needs ( I'm an unusual homeowner and that I have a forestry Mulcher that requires 40 gallons per minute to run) I never get out underneath the arms but it's often the case that I climb out while the arms are a foot off the ground holding a log in a grapple so I can use a chainsaw at chest height without digging in the dirt

 

[Flogger]

I can't share any specific complains, just that guys who had Bobcats, often for several cycles, opted to go Tako/Kub/Cat over the last few years, and i know two guys who specifically said "anything other than a bobcat".

My experience with Bobcats local standing are purely dealer. We gave the local Bobcat dealer a real wake-up call back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s with Scat Traks. Good service and follow-up is a real selling point and they had lost sight of that.

 

[Flogger]

New Holland is one i think we left of the list. They aren't really one of the more common ones, but if you have a dealer close, I wouldn't rule them out. They do appear to average a bit lighter for the same HP; which can be good or bad,View attachment 2207193

New Holland is taking the Deere business in my area mainly because of Deeres asinine approach to dealing with customers. Let’s sue them seems to be the new motto. New Holland made the Deere for years until Deere tried the sue them approach. New Hollan has always been the lifting machine but in the dirt they often come up a little short.

 

[groundcover]

My experience with Bobcats local standing are purely dealer. We gave the local Bobcat dealer a real wake-up call back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s with Scat Traks. Good service and follow-up is a real selling point and they had lost sight of that.

Same experience here. I said I wanted a mini track loader and they treated me like I was wasting their time, after a couple of inquiries I called Ditchwitch. They were more than willing to drop off a much better machine to demo. Bought that one and since have added another. A few months after I bought the Ditchwitch Bobcat called me back, I said I bought the Witch and couldn't be happier! Salesman said , I guess you were serious ! You think ?

 

[groundcover]

Had her out this morning tugging over and hauling some future firewood.

 

[paulsharvey]

Wish there was a better source for equipment prices, figured I'd post this one cause it popped up.

 

[paulsharvey]

Couple more comparison prices

 

[paulsharvey]

The Kioti really isn't much savings over the comparable. Although $68.5 gets enclosed AC vs Kubota $73.5 without enclosed. I have yet to see a single Kioti in the wild with a contractor, and I wouldnt be in a hurry to get one. I don't doubt it's fine, but parts supply make take a while

 

[rockinbbar]

Every now and again, I'll see folks doing bush hogging for $35/hr....

I see that some down here.

Mostly either kids on dad's tractor w/ 6' cutter.

 

[4570Man]

The Kioti really isn't much savings over the comparable. Although $68.5 gets enclosed AC vs Kubota $73.5 without enclosed. I have yet to see a single Kioti in the wild with a contractor, and I wouldnt be in a hurry to get one. I don't doubt it's fine, but parts supply make take a whileView attachment 2350474View attachment 2350475

I paid $71,000 without a bucket pre tax for my enclosed cab 75-3 in December 2023. A guy I work with paid $65k for an open cab 75-3.

 

[Flogger]

Look for an engine with a good track record and a Sunstrand pump. That’s the heart of it all.

 

[paulsharvey]

I saw this set up for sale, and actually thought it was pretty interesting. It's a "pallet" that fits on a regular roll off dumpster truck, made for a skid steer, with racked storage for multiple attachments. I'm kinda assuming either for a demo/tree guy, or someone who can't transport the machine and attachments themselves.

 

[paulsharvey]

But, with that, you could drop of the machine (or have it dropped), and then grab a dumpster or two, deliver those, and be ready to go to work. Kinda depends on whether you are bringing in, or taking out material

 

[T_HedMF1533]

New Holland is one i think we left of the list. They aren't really one of the more common ones, but if you have a dealer close, I wouldn't rule them out. They do appear to average a bit lighter for the same HP; which can be good or bad,View attachment 2207193

I Have this machine with a cab and have zero problems in the two years iv'e owned it.
I doesn't require DEF and has no DPF filter( Not sure how they get by this). Nice roomy,quiet interior. Mine has the 20 inch tracks so it's pretty stable on steep inclines. The tracks are easy to keep clean. I would buy another one in a minute.

 

[Camofurever1]

Gehl/Mustang is owned by Manitou so I would suspect that is who is making them at this point.


Seems like a lot of contractors run Tako's for CTL. One youtuber I watch wouldn't take a Kubota if you gave it to him, other than to take the excavator to toss it on the burn pile. The one he had, he spend more time working on it than using it.

That had to be Dirt Perfect.....

 

[ReRide]

Kind of a simple question, and I could not find anything like this so I am posting a new link. I would like to know opinions and facts about the overall reliability and design features in your opinions and if you have unbiased comparisons. Thanks a bunch, this is a great place to expand one's know

ledge!

Kind of a simple question, and I could not find anything like this so I am posting a new link. I would like to know opinions and facts about the overall reliability and design features in your opinions and if you have unbiased comparisons. Thanks a bunch, this is a great place to expand one's knowledge!

I bought a 2011 S650 Bobcat in 2013, its a Pre-Def machine. I use it for cutting cedar trees with a shear, stacking the trees with a grapple, and building new pasture fence with a post driver, some dirt work and some snow removal. I bought it with about 600 hours on it and now I'm at just under 1,700 hours, I don't put many hours per year on it. So far I've had no breakdowns other than breaking a hydraulic hose when I didn't have them protected from the front tire. I know a track machine would be nice in the hilly area I'm cutting trees, but the loader itself has been very good for me. I grew up on Bobcats so the foot controls are what I am used to. I don't know how the newer ones stack up but the one I have seems very good for me. One thing I would say, I was looking for a reasonably priced used loader. What I found was loaders that were used for construction or a fertilizer plant and they were kind of beat up. Take your time and find a good used machine or possibly new depending on your budget. I didn't want a lot of extras but I ended up with the 2 speed, A/C and heater, power Bob-Tach, and I absolutely love those items. When I do use mine I spend a week bouncing around the pasture and if you use it very much you will be glad you got some extras on it.

 

[shooterdon]

I did not read all the posts. $75k is a hunk of change. My investment account averages 12% a year.

There us not much my 40 HP tractor cannot handle on my 20 acres. Figure $40k for one today. The $35k difference provides a return of $4200/yr. I can rent a lot of stuff with that

Plus operating costs are going to be less with a tractor.

My advice is to make a spreadsheet of the tasks you need/want to do and run some numbers. For 5% of the jobs, renting or hiring a contractor made more sense. It was obvious what I needed after going through that exercise.

 

[jk96]

I agree completely with bidding a total job cost but my opinion still remains that if you need a 16,000 pound $150,000 skid loader then you actually need a real dozer.

The $150 is msrp. This machine can be had for around $109k cash price, just slightly more financed through Case IH at 0% - 48 or 1.5% - 60. Trading in my TV450 and picking up this TV620B next week.