Tractor vs Skid Steer Loader Specs

[4570Man]

If the ctl is far superior, why do you have so many different pieces of equipment?

The short answer is because I like equipment.

 

[aircommuter]

Like another person said you should rent some different machines to see what works best for you. I was in the grading business for over 40 years and I only owned one skid steer for tight quarters. If you want real strength and breakout force combined with overall stability then a track loader can’t beat. But it may not provide other things you want. If you are going to own a single machine you will have compromises.

 

[River Valley Landscaping]

The original poster stated a 7500lb weight limit on his trailer. That basically limits you to a smaller wheeled skid or tractor. Not positive but pretty sure l47 or svl75 would put you over that weight once actually loaded with a bucket. If a trailer upgrade was needed would that also mean a bigger truck? In my opinion track loaders are meant to get in and get to work, not the easiest to be in and out of. I think some of those newer compact articulated wheel loaders would be worth looking into. A lot of tree guys in my area use them when handling logs.

 

[ovrszd]

The short answer is because I like equipment.

I'd rather say it's because of the work you do. Very modest on your part 4570.

 

[4570Man]

The original poster stated a 7500lb weight limit on his trailer. That basically limits you to a smaller wheeled skid or tractor. Not positive but pretty sure l47 or svl75 would put you over that weight once actually loaded with a bucket. If a trailer upgrade was needed would that also mean a bigger truck? In my opinion track loaders are meant to get in and get to work, not the easiest to be in and out of. I think some of those newer compact articulated wheel loaders would be worth looking into. A lot of tree guys in my area use them when handling logs.

A 75 weighs about 10k pounds and a 65 is still exceeding 7500 pounds. I think Takeuchi makes a smaller tracked machine in that weight class.

 

[AaronD81]

The original poster stated a 7500lb weight limit on his trailer. That basically limits you to a smaller wheeled skid or tractor. Not positive but pretty sure l47 or svl75 would put you over that weight once actually loaded with a bucket. If a trailer upgrade was needed would that also mean a bigger truck? In my opinion track loaders are meant to get in and get to work, not the easiest to be in and out of. I think some of those newer compact articulated wheel loaders would be worth looking into. A lot of tree guys in my area use them when handling logs.

Yes, both truck and trailer are limited to 10k which means smaller CTL like a Bobcat T450 or T180. L47 would be the max for a TLB. Lots of reasonably priced 10k pound skid steers but buying a new truck and trailer isn’t in my budget.

 

[JoelPM]

Five years ago we moved to a 12 acre property and I bought an L4701 with a bucket, a box scraper, pallet forks, and a rotary cutter. My parents had an old (and small) plow blade that attached to the 3pt hitch in the back of one of their buildings which they let me have. I found that I didn't do a whole of brush cutting, but I did use the pallet forks quite a bit. I also used the bucket for moving dirt and gravel. Plowing our quarter mile driveway was accomplished with a mix of the bucket and the 3pt plow, but it was far from pleasant as the tractor wasn't heavy enough to counteract the push of the snow against the angled plow blade when the snow was heavy. And plowing in reverse is a pain in the neck - literally. I didn't have ballast in the tires (that's my fault), but even with the box blade mounted on the back, a full bucket of gravel could make the rear wheels come off the ground if you weren't careful. And when I started doing some hardscaping around our place I realized I could only move about a third of a pallet of pavers at once. That was when I realized a skidsteer was probably more useful for my needs. I started by looking at the SSV65 (because they're cheaper) but after reading up here and elsewhere I decided an SVL65 was probably the right answer. I ended up selling the L4701 and buying one. I couldn't be happier. I can lift a full pallet of pavers, a full bucket of anything, a bunch of logs (with a grapple), and plow the driveway while looking forward. For my needs, it is in every way superior. The L4701 could never lift as much as the SVL65 does. If your needs are more like mine, then I'd skip the tractor and go straight to a CTL. When I bought the tractor my wife told me to get a heated/cooled cab, but I didn't because I was afraid of hitting it under tree branches and wanted to save money. When I got the skidsteer I listened to her advice. Now I look forward to snow because the cab is a great place to be on a cold and blustery day. It's also a great place to be when its 90 and humid outside. I've never taken it very far, but for the 5 or 10 miles to a buddies house, it rides just fine on the equipment trailer behind my truck.

I moved a lot of dirt with the L4701.

And I moved a lot more sand, gravel, and dirt with the SVL65.

 

[nch77]

I own a wheeled skid and a CTL. The wheeled skid doesn’t fall that far behind on smooth hard ground. If the ground has deep holes or is anything resembling soft the tracks are in for big win. Either machine will make a tractor look silly. The tractor was already behind on maneuverability and considering the size difference required to get anything close to the same performance that’s a land slide victory for the CTL. Some of the larger farm tractor loader specs might equal a medium size CTL like mine but pretty much none of them could equal a T12 or equivalent machine. A lot of the posters here haven’t ever used a CTL and are considering a CTL and their brother in law’s small skid steer to be the same thing. If you’ve never had a CTL you really don’t understand. It’s a completely different animal vs a wheeled machine or a tractor. Especially in soft ground. I can make 10 trips over a soft area carrying a load and the same area would stick a tractor in one pass.

its like comparing the old Gehl skid steer to my Bobcat T870, 40 hp vs 100 hp tracked. The CTL is a beast compared to any tractor loader I've ever used.

 

[nch77]

But my T870 can't pull the square baler at all, can't pull the hay mower so fast that parts fall off, or pull a 10' bush hog. It also doesn't do as nice of a job grading the road as a 3 ph does. But it can push trees around, dig with the bucket, carry very heavy pallets, and use a mulcher.

 

[Bison]

Moving a few thousand bales over 35 years isn’t that much. What if you were stacking a thousand bales a day. Would the tractor still hold up to the job? It’s no question that the tractor loader is built a lot lighter duty than a true industrial loader would be.

Moving a few thousand bales over 35 years isn’t that much. What if you were stacking a thousand bales a day. Would the tractor still hold up to the job? It’s no question that the tractor loader is built a lot lighter duty than a true industrial loader would be.

I didn't think we were discussing a big commercial operation here but regardless.
Loading and stacking and feeding 4 bales at a time up to 1000 bales a year over 35 years is a bit more than a few thousand bales me thinks.I bought this old 75 hp 2wh dr clonker used with well over 5000 hrs on it. At the time it was my only tractor, it did the baling and all loader chores as well Today it has well over 17000 hrs on it with hardly ever a breakdown save for a few starters and tires.It is my back up tractor today.
Did you ever see another 40+ year old tractor regardless of make do that?