Skid Steer vs. Crawler (was Re: [AT] Deere Model 350 Questions

[Rob Gray]

Thanks for all the responses and detailed info! I did not take in all of 
what my neighbor said because I was not knowledgeable enough to absord 
all of it in one quick conversation. He did mention skid steers too, but 
he emphasized that on this place I needed tracks (he's worked this land 
before for my grandfather years ago clearing some land). He said the 
best combination for me is tracks and a bucket instead of a blade so I 
can pick up the rocks instead of just pushing them with a blade. Did I 
read it right in an earlier post, but can you run a skid steer on 
tracks? Excuse the clueless questions....

Rob


Cecil E Monson wrote:

>> Those negatives aside, I agree that the skid steer is a lot more 
>> versatile 
>
>
> than a crawler and easier to store (but watch the weight - they are 
> heavier
>
> than they look and can exceed the load rating of a trailer, even 
> though there
>
> is plenty of room). I sold a number of them, new and used, before I 
> retired,
>
> and I never had a customer complain or say that he wished he had gotten a
>
> crawler instead.
>
>>
>> Mike 
>
>
>     Mike worked for a dealer in New Jersey who did a good business in
> there machines. I got my look at skidsteers when I built my new shop a 
> couple
> years ago and was on the user end of them. I also have a lot of time 
> in the
> seat of a crawler.
>
>     Both crawlers and skidsteers ride rough but that is not a problem
> unless you want your wife to run it while you watch. ;-(  It is what they
> do for you, not what they do to you that counts.
>
>     I, personally, being frugal by nature and one who hates to pay the
> full shot for anything, would not buy from a dealer if I can help it. 
> Mike
> knows the dealer he works for bought low and sold high and it is 
> better you
> do the same if at all possible. I don't know about New Holland skidsteers
> but almost all of them come with detailed instructions for maintenance 
> and
> repair and you can do most of this yourself. Also, there is a helluva 
> weight
> difference between anything on a crawler and what is on a skidsteer. Just
> the A frame on my JD 420 crawler that the lift arms attach to weighs a 
> full
> ton and is very hard to pick up off the tractor for maintenance. Fixing
> anything on a crawler usually starts with these words "remove the bucket,
> lift arms, main lift cylinders, tracks and final drives" and never 
> have so
> few words involved so much heavy stuff. On a skidsteer, it usually begins
> with "fold the seat forward". I didn't say they were easy to work on as
> things are pretty crowded. Like Mike said, things are tight. Tires on 
> skid
> steers are not prone to having flats when used in and around a yard 
> like they
> are on construction sites. I think the tires on mine are 10 ply.
>
>     In my travels thru the Midwest, and I am sure those of you who live
> out there already know, there are literally thousands of good used 
> skidsteers
> for sale across the country. I have seen lots of small dealers who 
> seem to
> specialize in them and the prices looked a lot more reasonable than 
> those out
> here where most dealers seem to sell to construction companies. Maybe 
> it is
> because those Midwest dealers sell to farmers who are more careful 
> with their
> money.
>
> Cecil
>