Small Skid Steer or Compact Tractor

JPinnell · Feb 25, 2022

OK I've had a Kubota B7800 (30hp, HST, 4WD) that I bought new for the last 13yrs. I bought it with the loader and a 72in Belly Mower. Its been flawless, no complaints, and I've worked it ALOT at 100% capacity. I'm on 10 acres, mow at most 5 of that, rest is woods. We heat with wood, I do some metal fab on the side, and the tractor gets used every weekend, might be 5mins or 5 hrs, but it gets used. The LA402 Loader is rated at 800lbs which was OK at the time, but I find myself using the pallet forks I built most of the time for logs, firewood, etc and I'd like a little more lift capacity.

Friend has a Bobcat T140 they bought new in 2006. He had an excavating Co, but is now retired, and they used this unit mainly for landscaping cleanup. Then it moved to his house for personal use. It is well maintained, but he's not used it much the last few years and is now looking to sell instead of it rotting away. 2200hrs, tracks are new, price is right, etc. The T140 is rated at 1400lbs and 2000lbs tipping so it would be a an upgrade. Its a tracked unit so should be a bit kinder to the yard than a wheeled unit. But also similar overall size for parking, storage in the shop, etc. the T140 is a Kubota engine and seems to have a good rep.

The boy is now 12. Wife Unit sees a rider or zero turn as just a "mower" and while dangerous its not as scary to her as her little baby on a 30hp tractor.

So I'm debating to either replace the Tractor with this small Skid Steer and buy a Zero Turn for mowing? Or get the Skid and keep the Tractor for mowing which will be a harder sell to the wife? That B7800 has been as reliable as a hammer and I hate to part with it. Its not so much the money, but it is a factor. I figure the buy/sell on the tractor/zeroturn leaves me $5K positive which goes towards the skid. Either way I'm out $10K+

We are planning to add on to the house at some point if materials and inflation don't stay crazy. So I've got dirt work cleanup in the future that a skid would do faster, but I could manage with the tractor.

Long Story - so anyone running a small tracked skid steer for home use? Tracks/Rollers are supposed to be good for 1000hrs+ which for my needs would be 10yrs. Fluids and Maintenance I can handle. I've got a 3/4ton and a 10K goose to haul it if needed. I've got a "yard" not a golf course but even the B7800 running around with the loader and ballast is probably 3500lbs and makes a few ruts. I'd be worried that a 6500lbs wheeled skid steer would really tear things up. Tracks seem the way to go but were outside my budget until this T140 deal came up.

jeff9366 · Feb 25, 2022

How smooth is your ten acres?

A zero turn mower with small wheels can be a very rough ride over a field where a tractor has an acceptable ride.

dirttoys · Feb 25, 2022

The easy answer: keep the tractor and buy the skid. Easy with others money

I hate selling equipment that has never given a problem.

Any skid, tracked or wheeled is hell on grass, assume you either don't care about the yard, or won't run a skid on it. Having two things that can lift is amazingly handy.

Best,

ed

JPinnell · Feb 25, 2022

jeff9366 said:
How smooth is your ten acres?

A zero turn mower with small wheels can be a very rough ride over a field where a tractor has an acceptable ride.

When we 1st bought the place I had an ExMark 6ft deck. It was great at mowing, but with hills and obstacles it was still a 4hr job to mow 5acres. We've got a few trees, dry creek, and 1/3 of what gets mowed has a pretty good side slope. You could make time in the back field, but its not football field smooth. The B7800 is not as maneuverable, but does it in 5hrs+, so it was not a huge time difference and it could do tractor things too.

JPinnell · Feb 25, 2022

dirttoys said:
The easy answer: keep the tractor and buy the skid. Easy with others money

I hate selling equipment that has never given a problem.

Any skid, tracked or wheeled is hell on grass, assume you either don't care about the yard, or won't run a skid on it. Having two things that can lift is amazingly handy.

Best,

ed

The yard, not a lawn, immediately around the house we keep looking decent. But 100ft away around the shop gets a little sloppier

The tractor makes a few ruts if I haul a basket of firewood up to the house, but I try to do that when the ground is frozen.

Yes, I'm leaning towards keeping the tractor and buying the Skid. Budget puts me in a used Zero Turn and you just never know. Wheel Motors are not cheap and another few $K would be a wash over keeping the tractor.

Price on the T140 is $12K so it seems like a no brainer to jump on it.

jeff9366 · Feb 25, 2022

With hills and obstacles it was still a 4hr job to mow 5 acres. We've got a few trees, dry creek, and 1/3 of what gets mowed has a pretty good side slope. You could make time in the back field, but its not football field smooth.

Consider the CTL plus a previously owned Ventrac or Steiner:

We live on a VERY steep hilly property where we need to rotary mow 8 acres of horse pasture a few times a year, drag our horse arena and move downed trees/wood regularly. We have 11 acres total.

Consider a Ventrac for your primary mower, in lieu of a Three Point Hitch tractor. Ventrac is a division of Toro.

Rugged, two-plane articulated equipment designed for mowing slopes.

Front PTO is straight mechanical drive like a compact tractor but power transfers by rubber belt rather than tractor splines to implement PTO coupler.

We need to drag our horse arena and move downed trees/wood regularly.
Rear TPH optional. No rear PTO.

Watch the Ventrac videos linked immediately below.

VIDEOS: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Ventrac+Steiner

Another slope mower. Less versatile.

jeff9366 · Feb 25, 2022

Price on the T140 is $12K so it seems like a no brainer to jump on it.

Yes. A Loader for a new compact tractor is $4,000 to $7,000.

dirttoys · Feb 25, 2022

JPinnell said:
The yard, not a lawn, immediately around the house we keep looking decent. But 100ft away around the shop gets a little sloppier The tractor makes a few ruts if I haul a basket of firewood up to the house, but I try to do that when the ground is frozen.

Yes, I'm leaning towards keeping the tractor and buying the Skid. Budget puts me in a used Zero Turn and you just never know. Wheel Motors are not cheap and another few $K would be a wash over keeping the tractor.

Price on the T140 is $12K so it seems like a no brainer to jump on it.

Birdhunter1 · Feb 25, 2022

One ting about a tractor and loader vs a skidsteer is that is you have a log for instance, suspended a few feet off the ground, and you need to get off to cut it up into firewood or open a gate, you cannot do that on a skidsteer without crawling under the boom. That right there is why I don't have a skidsteer as my only loader machine. Ideally I would have both on the farm but I only have had a tractor with a front end loader. I use skidsteers and track machines alot, but not for the purposes I described.

dirttoys · Feb 25, 2022

Oh hey, on your boy, if you don't have a dangerous grade, the tractor shouldn't be any riskier than a mower. Teach him how to make it stop, and keep it stopped, and tell him you'll beat him to death if he ever gets off the machine while it is running, and he will be as safe as he can be.

Best,

ed

Dozernut · Feb 26, 2022

Have both if finances allow. You will be sorry later if you get rid of your small tractor.

[It's a tracked unit so should be a bit kinder to the yard than a wheeled unit].

Sorry, but this made me laugh. My tracked unit gets me in more trouble with the "Boss" than the tractor ever does.
The problems with the tracked units have been touched on. They are a pain when you lift something and have to crawl out. You are better off lifting with your tractor, if you can, when you need to work on something.
When you add an attachment, some don't give you a lot of room to place your feet or are taller and make you climb over it. There are more points of contention but I will not list them here.

Am I dissatisfied with my ctl, no way! The ctl is my main machine, but the only way I would get rid of my tractor would be to upgrade to a better or a little bigger machine.
Just my two cents, do what "you" want.

JPinnell · Mar 11, 2022

OK I bought the Bobcat T140. While its heavier, and has 500lbs more lift capacity, its VERY similar in footprint to the Kubota B7800 I have. Small enough I can haul it and implements on my 10K trailer. I've messed around a bit in the yard, and yes it can/will tear things up if you are not careful. But I think it will be a good addition. Needs some TLC, minor stuff, cosmetically cleaning it up, cleaning up the electrical grounds and a couple relays. It came with a smooth and a tooth bucket, so no wI'm on the hunt for some forks.

I've decided I will keep the B7800 for tractor and mowing tasks since its been so reliable. Thanks to all for their Input!!

seville009 · Mar 11, 2022

I initially used a tractor with a 3 pt finish mower. Bought a zero turn maybe five years later to take over the finish mowing; love it. Also used the tractor with a 3 pt snowblower. Decided to buy a tracked skidsteer with a heated cab and front blower; love it.

still have all the equipment.

if you can swing it, get them all. You can always sell stuff later if it turns out you never use it anymore. This stuff holds value quite well.

Edit: just saw your last post; good choice. For the skidsteer, the only way to avoid tearing up the lawn is to make large gentle k point turns.....

dirttoys · Mar 11, 2022

JPinnell said:
OK I bought the Bobcat T140. While its heavier, and has 500lbs more lift capacity, its VERY similar in footprint to the Kubota B7800 I have. Small enough I can haul it and implements on my 10K trailer. I've messed around a bit in the yard, and yes it can/will tear things up if you are not careful. But I think it will be a good addition. Needs some TLC, minor stuff, cosmetically cleaning it up, cleaning up the electrical grounds and a couple relays. It came with a smooth and a tooth bucket, so no wI'm on the hunt for some forks.

I've decided I will keep the B7800 for tractor and mowing tasks since its been so reliable. Thanks to all for their Input!!

Good call, and congrats

m1garand762 · Mar 12, 2022

Glad you bought the bobcat. I use a 773 around my place mainly for snow and firewood but it’s a great tool to have on hand you will find it equally as handy if not more than the tractor

bdhsfz6 · Mar 12, 2022

m1garand762 said:
Glad you bought the bobcat. I use a 773 around my place mainly for snow and firewood but it’s a great tool to have on hand you will find it equally as handy if not more than the tractor

I've been considering a track SS for plowing snow. How is the traction with the track machine? I've heard stories about them acting like a toboggan on slopes.

Smokeydog · Mar 12, 2022

I had tree surgeons do some messed trees around the house after some tornado damage. I took responsibility removing debris cause them some concern at first. They were use to using a Bobcat. I was using M59 with grapple and could keep up with a crew of 5. Go more places with less landscape damage and hauling off faster. Foreman was videoing and sending to his boss. One day saved almost $3,000 in debris removal. They were impressed. Davy’s tree service one of the biggest. Offered a job afterwards. That was only about 5% of the total damage.
I owned a Bobcat for awhile when I did more construction. On my hillside mostly wooded farm and landscape the tractors are king.

seville009 · Mar 13, 2022

bdhsfz6 said:
I've been considering a track SS for plowing snow. How is the traction with the track machine? I've heard stories about them acting like a toboggan on slopes.

it all depends on the track pattern. If they have the larger block style pattern, they will be terrible. The tracks with the straight line treads are much better; zig zag pattern even better. They're all terrible on ice, but manageable (just slow the revs down to get a better grip, similar to tires).