IS the toolcat get enough traction for dirt work?

[jandefirewood]

I am a farmer and currently own 2 John Deere 7320 series tractors. They both have a front end loader on them with a bucket. They are to big to take onto some of the small trails that I have because of their weight they just make more ruts than they fix. I was considering g a toolcat to use for fencing, dirt work, leveling hard ground, clearing trails, and lifting bulk seed pallets with the pallet forks to fill my planter. Will the toolcat handle this kind of work? I know that it will lift 1500 pounds, but I was wondering it has enough traction to dig into the ground and fix these ruts and build these trails. I will be considering the toolcat because on the farm it is nice to carry a passenger with you in the air conditioned cab and it is nice to have a dump bed that I can use to haul rocks out of some of my fields. The bed is also great for carrying all of the necessary tools that farmers have, tools, chain saws, axes, chain, ect. I own 2 Polaris rangers that are amazing. They never break down and service is a snap. The questions I would like to talk about are:

- Traction while digging with the bucket
- How much will it actually lift will weight in the back
- Does it pull 4,000 pounds easily?
- Is it good for plowing snow with a flat blade?
- How does it handle the box blade?
- Is it reliable?

Thanks for you input. I am looking at purchasing one but want to know if it will handle what I want to do. Thanks a lot

- Evan

 

[dylan]

Evan
I've had my toolcat for about 3 months now and have logged about 150 hrs.
here is my input to your questions:

Traction while digging with the bucket:
Not the greatest machine for digging holes. I do landscaping in the summertime and it does not dig like a skidsteer or even like my JD 5425. If the terrain is even slightly unlevel, wheels will spin and it takes a bit more finese. It does not seem to have "true" four wheel drive. Weight in the back helps. It will get most jobs done though. I can usually get a full bucket each time. It seems to really excel in jobs where I am scooping from a pile and delivering somewhere. Gravel to the walkway that we are installing for example. It is quick and nimble for that sort of work.

- How much will it actually lift with weight in the back?
I've used forks to lift half pallets of brick which are about 1500 lbs. You need weight in the back to keep the rear wheels on the ground. It will not lift a 2000lb snowblower.

- Does it pull 4,000 pounds easily?
I regularily pull a single axle trailer with mowers on it. It might weight about 2500 - 3000 lbs . It is no problem.

- Is it good for plowing snow with a flat blade?
I currently use a 7.5" western blade and a 6" blower. It pushes really good.
I do about 100 residental driveways and 3 commercial parking lots. It seems to be slightly faster that my tractors for snow work. The blade is easier to push than the blower but is also half the weight.

- How does it handle the box blade?
Not sure.

- Is it reliable?
I'm still up in the air about that one. I like to think it will be but I've had several issues so far. the dealer has been good about getting on it and getting it fixed but ... I'll let you know after several months.

I think it would be perfect for around the farm and especially for building trails. So much better than a ranger or a pickup or a tractor. Having the bigger tractors available does not hurt either for the big jobs.

Cheers dylan

 

[jandefirewood]

Thanks Dylan i am trying to learn as much as posible about the machine. Your reply helped a lot thank you. i was looking for as many replies from anybody so that i can learn even more. my main concern is digging. is it posible for the toolcat to just drop the bucket, dig in and be able to fill the bucket on a level piece of land?

i was looking at Mattrax. they are a track for pickup trucks that give more traction. they also sell Tracks for atv's. here is the site

Introducing new LiteFoot M3 and M3 Ultra-Ride rubber track tread

do you think they would fit on a toolcat to give more traction. I was woried about the tracts interfearing with the wheel wells, could they be used with 4 wheel steer off?
I was also looking at the small wheel wells on the toolcat and was wondering if they would tuck underneath?

thanks
Evan

 

[dylan]

I think the mattracks would fit but you should give them a call to check it out. It should would increase your traction. (might add to the price though!) The old mattracks used to reduce your speed by one / third. do the new ones do this?

Yes you can fill the bucket on level land. Consider getting the most aggresive tires you can for it. I am using turf tires which are not the greatest for digging.
While I mentioned it is not the greatest digger, I did dig and relocate 100 yds of fill while backfilling my foundation. It got full buckets everytime and was very nimble around the job site.

 

[dsb5610]

Evan,

I have an 03' Toolcat with just under 500 hours on it. I have not had any problems with mine.

Your digging question would depend on what type of soil you have. Here in northern IL it will dig right in. I've dug down to where the door handles are at ground level in short order. If a 5000lb skidsteer will perform the digging you want to do then I think you would be satisfied with the Toolcat. That being said, a 7320 with MFWD is a different class machine.

The Toolcat really excels for tasks like clearing fence rows. I used to haul my tools in a Gator and pull a trailer. I would cut trees out of the fence rows or field edges then cut them into manageable lengths, throw them on the trailer, drive over to a ditch and throw them off. Now I cut the trees down, jump in the Toolcat, push a bunch together, pinch em with the grapple and off I go. I've also built a post/tree puller. Basically a hydraulic pincher I use to pull fence posts or trees. Very handy.

dsb

 

[jandefirewood]

Thanks Dsb,
The soil here in southern Illinois has a lot of clay in it. I think that the toolcat will handle it alright. I was just a little skeptical. On my farm I will need to take it through a lot of soft muddy ground along with uneven ground with some ruts and ditches. Do you think it will be able to make it through without getting stuck? What kinds of stuff have you guys taken yours through? What kind of stuff have you gotten it stuck in before?

Thanks
Evan

 

[theoshin]

My soil is a clay/sand mix. I had difficulty landscaping outside our house with the tc. The tc would spin its tires often - not true awd. It took the sod off fine but the clay was too hard. Granted, I have a 68" lp work bucket w/o teeth. Using the smaller bucket with teeth may work much better. I used my fathers small case 350 bulldozer to remove 15 yards of dirt and the toolcat to move the piles very quickly. I also found a medium sized bobcat skid steer better for removing dirt around the barns for laying new concrete aprons.

You are asking the same questions I had. I sold my 85 hp awd tractor and replaced with the tc. The tc is much more precise and much, much better in tighter quarters - such as the barn or around buildings. I can drive into my horse barn which is very nice with the fork/broom/or bucket installed. The bucket is much better for all but very heavy lifting and large volumes vs the tractor. I did not have much luck grading well with the tractor - and I have a good bit of experience on loaders and bulldozers. I also found my 5 miles of roads took a beating with the tractor tires. Also, i can change attachments much, much faster with the tc. Bucket, broom, snowblower, etc. - switch them in 5 minutes.

They really are two very different machines. The tractor has the ability of putting much more power to its 3pt hitch for farming type work - disks, mowers, etc. It also will put more power to the ground with lug type tires. However, I can mow more precisely and with much less turf damage with the toolcat. I could move a lot more snow per bucket with the tractor, but with the tc bucket i can still move more snow per hour as it maneuvers much better. Visibility is also much better in the tc. I wish there was one machine for everything but no such machine will ever exist. A 5000 lb tractor or toolcat will not run a 8ft mower like a 10000lb tractor and the tractor will not do as well for anything that requires finess. My plan is to borrow my fathers 80hp tractor for the 1-2x's per year i need it. The toolcat does better for everything else. I grew up in a construction family (road builders) and find the tc, most skid steers, and tractors not really well suited for road grading. To do a good job you need weight and a non-traumatic way to transfer it to the road (tracks) unless your ground is soft. That is why the skid steers with tracks have become so popular with landscapers.

TS

 

[jandefirewood]

Thanks a lot i am now thinking that for my farming operation i am going to buy a bobcat track loader. the toolcat is my dream but just doesn't sound like it preforms verywell with the bucket. Thanks for all your help.

 

[jmfox]

I've been looking for a machine to handle the makeover of my 40 acre parcel. This job includes many tasks including a mile of road. I original thought a compact track machine would be good, but after trying one, I didn't like the visibility or power of the Bobcat T300. I then tried an articulated loader, John Deere 244J, but it was only good at one thing. Now I'm back to the Toolcat, and quite ready to finess the job while enjoying the benefits of versatility and comfort.

jmf

 

[jandefirewood]

Well i am going to test drive the 300 and see how i like it. i thought that it would be better because i have 2,000 acers of land to work with. what do yall think?

Thanks Evan