Should I buy a Skid Steer?

[Higgins]

Unfortunately, in my case, BC and other Mfgs are 1 1/2 Hrs away! So that's a chunk of change for pick-up.

As for storage, we can store in under our large deck, or in the utility shed!

If the BC is moveable, I'd rent a trailer to take it to the dealer! In the event it doesn't move, they bring a larger BC and pick it up and move it onto their low boy!

AL

 

[greg13]

$30k will pay for a LOT of landscaping on 1/4 acre. Get a grip!

 

[mcbane]

You have 15 acres the op had 1/4 acre







Both of the rentals places near me give you the trailer to use for free to haul it.

The telehandler weighs 30,000lbs without trailer. I decided my Tacoma just didn’t have the oomf to haul it up the hill.



Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Higgins]

That would be wonderful if you could find people willing to work! We gave up waiting for contractors to return calls, show up for bids, or show up to perform the work!

We both enjoy working in our gardens, at our age it's a little slower, but we get the jobs done, the projects are completed. So we are happy campers!

AL

 

[Flat Thunder Channel]

Man a lot of critics are harsh on buying equipment with small properties. I'm glad I didn't ask about my tiny lot size versus my desired equipment acquisitions.

I just bought a MF30E last weekend with a small backhoe attachment....I think this phrase puts it best, 'if you have the money, it won't place a financial burden on your family, and it makes you happy buy it! Sometimes things don't need to be logical to make them worthwhile, and what really matters is are you happy with your purchase/money expense.'

I try to stick with purchases that retain their value and or things that can be used to make money. Equipment seems to hold it's value well and you could even start a business with it.

Making everyone happy impossible. ******* the wife off easy. Generating smiles for yourself doing work on your own..... Priceless

 

[jdieter]

I had a utility tractor on previous property, moved to 11 wooded acres and considered buy another UT. My buddy that's a heavy equipment operator talked me into getting a skid steer. Bought the local Bobcat dealers rental 763 twenty years ago, still running strong, figured it was well maintained and you'd have to be pretty determined to damage one. Added a few attachments over the years, tracks, forks, hoe etc. Best investment I've made. It's probably added 10 more healthy years from the physical labor it's saved me.

 

[niget2002]

I had a similar post about buying a tractor for my 1.25A home. I pretty much got the same answers. You probably don't really 'need' to, but no one will tell you not to if you 'want' to.

Don't be surprised if you buy one that your neighbors start asking you for help. If you get good with it, I'd be willing to hire out some of my time on weekends to some neighbors, but only when I wanted to.

 

[Showkey]

After you plant the grass on the 1/4 acre.........you 60-100 sqft of driveway left to drive your skip steer.

 

[andyvh1959]

Rent it as needed. Buy it if you can get it reasonable (cheap) get the work done and sell it again for what you bought it. Then it's zero cost to use other than fuel. As with anything, ownership means maintenance and repairs. 1/4 acre lot? My lot in Green Bay is 125 x 185 with a 3,000 sq ft house, 12x16 shed and now 24x28 detached garage. with the 80' long driveway it doesn't leave that much for landscaping. I found a reliable guy with a skid-steer on craigslist. I'll hire him again in late September to finish the landscaping around my new garage. PLUS! He brings the skills to run the skid steer that I don't have or yet possess.

Best yet is a friend/buddy who has the skid-steer, trailer and truck to haul it. Hire it in, work done and haul it out. No repairs/maintenance. Heavy equipment is like a boat, great when you buy it, great again when you sell it. Now, perhaps a mini skid-steer like a Dingo would make sense. Takes up floor space about equal to a large ZTR.

 

[Jarwop]

I bought a used bobcat. When my daughter came over and saw it she asked "Why did you buy that?" My answer - "Cause I didn't have one". If you buy one, set up in a LLC and then tell those who want free work, "Its in the LLC gotta charge for its use. That stops the freeloaders cold...

 

[dcg9381]

Anyone done something similar? Is it a stupid purcahse? Can someone give me some reasons why I should buy one vs just save the money/depreciation and just hire someone to do all the works? I probably spent more money on tools than money I saved by doing works myself lol.

I've bought a tractor for same purpose.. Buying it used, I think I sold it for at or slightly above what I bought it for.

$30k is a pretty high price point for a used one - should be lots of options.

It also depends on on your soil / climate. Around here, it's tons of limestone and there is no substitute for a skid steer... Well, except maybe a larger skid steer.. Up north where the soil is soft, I think your options are open a bit more.

Brother has bought both skid steers and backhoes - he has 10 acres... He does well on them...

 

[3onthetree]

0.25 acres, so like 80'x135' and maybe a 60'x32' house on the lot?

Can I be the first on the list to buy your $45K in equipment 5 years from now at $15K and about 18 hours total use?

 

[aventino68]

I'm also looking at a skid steer, I'm a newbie and I need tracked. From what I've read up you need to figure out hydraulic flow of your implements so you know the size machine to run to cope with what you use. Auxiliary hydraulics and two speed trans are other good options. I have a good JD dealer nearby so I'm sticking with that brand. I'm sure there's a bunch of skid steer owners on the forum who can chime in.

 

[Earp69]

Local rental has the new Kubota 95 with enclosed cab and ac for 250 Friday through Monday morning, how so cheap? Idk but it works great for me. They'll rent you a d6 dozer for 350 a weekend but you have to pay them to haul it which is another couple hundred unless you know somebody. And there equipment is in good shape, better than anything I've rented from sunbelt which is a lot. It's a small independant company

 

[Higgins]

Man a lot of critics are harsh on buying equipment with small properties. I'm glad I didn't ask about my tiny lot size versus my desired equipment acquisitions.

I just bought a MF30E last weekend with a small backhoe attachment....I think this phrase puts it best, 'if you have the money, it won't place a financial burden on your family, and it makes you happy buy it! Sometimes things don't need to be logical to make them worthwhile, and what really matters is are you happy with your purchase/money expense.'

I try to stick with purchases that retain their value and or things that can be used to make money. Equipment seems to hold it's value well and you could even start a business with it.

Making everyone happy impossible. ******* the wife off easy. Generating smiles for yourself doing work on your own..... Priceless

Flat Thunder, I Agree.

Although our lawn and garden area is small by most standards. The BC allows us to unload 100 bags of mulch or other material out of the PU and move it around the yard. That alone is HUGE, as the traditional tractors can't handle the grade. Not to mention, I'm not the one having to physically pickup and move the stuff around the property.

The remaining property is steep, and difficult to walk. No tractor would be able to negotiate the retain! When we loose a tree down the hill, it's the BC that retries the firewood oh so carefully!

Do we use the BC every day? No! But it sits in the utility shed available to work at a moments notice!

AL

 

[Flat Thunder Channel]

Flat Thunder, I Agree.

Do we use the BC every day? No! But it sits in the utility shed available to work at a moments notice!

AL

I think you have the right idea! Just be careful not to tip her over on the steep grades. I just front tipped my Bobcat for the first time the other day. I was traveling too fast over uneven terrain and it was 100% my fault. She didn't go all the way over but bounced off the loader bucket. Scared the **** out of me. I slowed her down a little after that incident.

A wise shop manager once told me, 'if you are using any tool and it generates white knuckles, you are using the wrong tool!'

 

[Higgins]

I think you have the right idea! Just be careful not to tip her over on the steep grades. I just front tipped my Bobcat for the first time the other day. I was traveling too fast over uneven terrain and it was 100% my fault. She didn't go all the way over but bounced off the loader bucket. Scared the **** out of me. I slowed her down a little after that incident.

A wise shop manager once told me, 'if you are using any tool and it generates white knuckles, you are using the wrong tool!'

Yup! Using any large tool, one needs to pay attention to what one is doing!! Especially with the little 443, should you attempt to lift something too heavy, the rear of the BC will be pointing skywards quickly!!

I transplanted several trees on the property. Was able to dig them out and moved them to the new location. Watered the trees till the new location was ready. I wasn't able to come close to picking them up again. So after a week, the dirt balls had dried out enough I was able to pick them up and move them. So with the 443, I really have to pay close attention to how much weight i'm going to try and move!!

AL

 

[Bretny]

A skid steer is just a machine with a bucket. If you need to do bucket work there great. Start needing attachments like a backhoe and other attachments and they get real expensive real quick. They are also really good at ripping the ground up. But for the most part they have enough hydraulic flow to put most any attachments on.

Figure out how much the machine will depreciate over its life with you and transfer that into hours of a rental machine.

I own a micro EX, 3,500lb machine that I paid 8500 for 2 years ago. The only reason why I bought it was because I knew I was going to need to replace two septic systems. It's been a huge help in many other ways and has far paid for its self. I think I have about 400hr more on it now. I wouldnt own any machine with only 1/4ac.

 

[dcg9381]

Local rental has the new Kubota 95 with enclosed cab and ac for 250 Friday through Monday morning, how so cheap? Idk but it works great for me. They'll rent you a d6 dozer for 350 a weekend but you have to pay them to haul it which is another couple hundred unless you know somebody.

That equipment would cost 2x that price here... Maybe more. I know the D6 is around $1000 per weekend...

Can I be the first on the list to buy your $45K in equipment 5 years from now at $15K and about 18 hours total use?

Or buy a used one for $20k and sell it for $18k in 5 years.. Seriously. Bottom of the market for a skid steer in good working shape seems to be around $15k around here...

 

[Toomanytools?]

Hi,

I live on a house with 1/4 acre land. It is not terrible large but I need lot landscaping done..................... Is it a stupid purcahse? Can someone give me some reasons why I should buy one vs just save the money/depreciation and just hire someone to do all the works? I probably spent more money on tools than money I saved by doing works myself lol.

You should try living "In" the house. Guess it comes down to how much cash you have sitting around. Having a 1/4 of an acre that needs landscaped isn't much. I think I would rent one for a couple weekends get the big project done, maybe hire some help with other stuff. If this is a 5 year plan do a little at a time maybe, but 1/4 acre not sure it make $$ cents! Plus if you don't know what your doing in soft ground I have seen wheeled skid steers churn a hole to China.

 

[drmarkr]

A good 226b goes for around $16-18k. Do your math and make your decision. I had one for about 8 years and put a couple of hundred hours on it, most all of it my use on our 5 acres. But I also periodically rented it to a friend that I trusted to use when he needed it for his business...it was in way better condition than some of the rentals he was getting. He paid me what he charged clients so it deferred some of the cost of the unit.

I sold it about a year ago because my use had slowed way down. Glad I did or else it would've burned up in the carport fire we had in November!

 

[Bolson32]

I would rent if I were you. I bought a JD SCUT, 1026r for my 1.7ish acres and that's plenty of machine for what I do around here. I did have a little rider with a snowblower at my last property that was 1/3 acre. I can't imagine a skid steer of any real size being useful on that property, maybe a dingo but that's still a stretch to own I'd think.

On the other hand, you could re-landscape it every weekend!

 

[IMXCITD]

you only live once...buy it and enjoy!! Buy a clean used one and it will be worth it's weight in gold and you will resell for same or more than you paid. You could also do some side work w it.

 

[jeremyclarkson]

Thanks all for all pros and cons of getting a skid steer.

My property is actually just a tad under 1/2 acre instead of 1/4 but that doesn't make a difference lol.

Like someone mentioned, waiting for contractors to come and give estimate and no show is very frustrating.

To be honest, one of my dream is to owning a military tank or AFV but that's less reliastic and most costly.

Owning a skid steer or excavator is the closest useful thing I can think of to a tank.

The two more issues is weight of the machine and wheel vs track.

I don't want to buy a dedicated trailer so I prefer a machine under 6000 lbs so I can rent a 7k trailer easily whenever I need to move it vs a 8000lbs machine where heavy trailer rental is harder to find.

I found a Bobcat T110 for about $25000. 1600 hours and 2013 model. It fits the bill but there is also a 600 hrs almost brand new 2014 Kubota SSV65 for $22000...


The other advantage is that I can order from gravel and start spreading it immediately instead of having to wait for a contractor to show up. Bid, and make sure they do a good job.

 

[jeremyclarkson]

Also, do heavy construction equipments depreciate slower than cars?

 

[Bretny]

Equipment prices is regional. Very regional. For instance a 1970s backhoe here in NY will max out at about 5k. In AZ that same machine is 2x the price and dug rocks its hole life.

As for renting for $250 for a weekend idk how that business makes any money. A skid steer here to rent cost just under $500 for 8hrs and delivery is not included. I bought a small tractor with a loader for about 12 days of rental time. But in the end it's still all regional.

 

[Flat Thunder Channel]

I have a few incites from people who use this particular piece of equipment regularly on the job. My tree trimmer mentioned he likes to keep his tires as bald as possible. It limits the damage generated by turning on customers lawns. I never thought about it like that before, but it makes sense to a certain degree.

The outfit who poured my concrete has a tracked version. I asked him how he liked it and he was disappointed with all the extra maintenance required. I believe he said he wished the new unit was still equipped with tires.

I wouldn't limit your equipment to a trailer. You can get an equipment trailer cheap in comparison to a skidloader.
Just a few extra things to think about. Happy Shopping.

 

[Bolson32]

Thanks all for all pros and cons of getting a skid steer.

My property is actually just a tad under 1/2 acre instead of 1/4 but that doesn't make a difference lol.

Actually, I think this changes it quite a bit. A 1/4 acre lot with a decent sized house on it means a really small yard. You're essentially gaining an extra 11k sq ft of un-housed property.

It's still, definitely on the small side. But if you want it dude, go for it. Does it snow there? You could use it for snow removal too.

 

[andersen24]

Also, do heavy construction equipments depreciate slower than cars?

So I am curious, what did you end up doing? I am now in the market for a skid steer (Bobcat T590) and came across this thread.....

 

[joey1320]

Yes.

The answer, when the question is, "Should I buy more equipment?", is always Yes.

 

[ilikedirt]

I live on an acre, partially wooded. If I got a piece of equipment it would be something like a small 25hp tractor. Possibly with a backhoe. Anything else is unnecessary for a lot this size IMO.