# skidsteer (bobcat) vs tractor



## ArmyDoc (May 13, 2007)

Have been researching getting a tractor, but someone suggested I should think about a bobcat because it can run more implements. Anyone have any thoughts about the differences between these two machines?


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## subman (May 6, 2011)

A skid steer (bobcat) will handle a wide variety of implements but they are very dificult to see out of other than straight ahead and are also quite top heavy when you raise the bucket with a load in it. It wil aslo absolutely destroy the ground you are on when you try to steer hence the name skid steer. I live in KY and we are on wet ground alot and the skid steering is awful on any kind of ground that is dirt.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

A skidsteer is a loader and a very good one, better than a tractor for some jobs.... but it has no 3pt or pto for farm implements....James


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

Each has it`s place, I would never be without my Bobcat, but as jwal10 has said they have no pto. So they are not much good if you need pto. They do have tons of implements for the skidloaders front ends, but on the most part more expensive than tractor mounted tools. So if you only want to push stuff, or run a post hole digger, or a few other things, get a skidloader. > Thanks Marc


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## manfred (Dec 21, 2005)

Im interested in a skidloader because of an attachment they have to cut trees and a grabbler to pick up and move the pieces. They can do a lot of dirtwork fast too.


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## DaleK (Sep 23, 2004)

ArmyDoc said:


> Have been researching getting a tractor, but someone suggested I should think about a bobcat because it can run more implements. Anyone have any thoughts about the differences between these two machines?


I'm not aware of a single implement a skidsteer can run that a loader tractor can't run. There are hundreds that the tractor can run that a skidsteer won't. Some aren't used that often on tractors, because the skidsteer can be more maneuverable, particularly in small areas.


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## Jena (Aug 13, 2003)

Skidsteers suck on uneven ground. They like to get tippy. I'd take a tractor over a skidsteer any day unless I wanted to work in a barn or something too low for a tractor.


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## Ramblin Wreck (Jun 10, 2005)

I'm blessed to have both, but if I had to choose one machine, it would be a 4x4 farm tractor with a loader (the bigger the tractor the better). You can make a skid steer do many things a tractor will do (even seen a three point hitch/pto attachment on Craigslist here), but it's very rough on the ground you travel upon. 

If you are clearing brush, however, a skid steer with a root grapple is the perfect tool. It will also dig into the ground much better, if you are clearing a site. A farm tractor loader is not meant to be a "digging" tool, but some use it that way.

Unlike some have noted above, in a skid steer I feel much safer on uneven ground or with a load in the air, but the unit my brother and I own/use is a very heavy, tracked machine. It might be different in a skid steer with wheels/tires.


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## Rick (May 10, 2002)

Tractor with a loader - like mine doesn't have! I didn't realize until now it is not a bobcat I want it's a loader. I have a thick metal roof that uses the location a loader would use so it is not easy to install.

Anyway back to OP's OQ..... Do you want to keep weeds and saplings cut? 

Having heard reports of Skidsteers being typsy, I'd try a small tractor etxra weight if you have no experience using either. 

Good luck!


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

manfred said:


> Im interested in a skidloader because of an attachment they have to cut trees and a grabbler to pick up and move the pieces. They can do a lot of dirtwork fast too.


Chainsaw and front end loader on a tractor will do the same thing... with the tractor I can drag a log weighing several tons out of the swamp...


DaleK said:


> I'm not aware of a single implement a skidsteer can run that a loader tractor can't run. There are hundreds that the tractor can run that a skidsteer won't. Some aren't used that often on tractors, because the skidsteer can be more maneuverable, particularly in small areas.


There you go. I'd like to have one, but if I could have only one, (skidsteer or tractor) it'd have to be the tractor...


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## PNP Katahdins (Oct 28, 2008)

Buy the tractor, rent the skidsteer.

Peg


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## solidwoods (Dec 23, 2005)

A question like that needs some related info from you. Giving an opinion about a very broad subject could add up to a small book.:hysterical:

To make that decision for myself I would list the right now and future jobs I need done.
You may have few light weight needs or a complex need (you didn't say)
List tractor vs. skidsteer and how much $ for an attachment if required.
Also consider future work and if you will be working it as a business tool or personal use (taxes factor as $).
And I'd say its only fair to consider 4wd tractor vs. skid steer.
There are a few physical facts that must be weighed also:
cost of a basic tractor/SS 
any computers involved
parts costs
ground damage
availability used
marketability when you sell it

You will find a bunch written on this site about the subject.
Its a big decision because the 2 are quite different but luck for you the market has plenty to choose from right now.:bdh:
jim


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## Jennifer L. (May 10, 2002)

I have both, and I'd hate to be without either one. If you are going to do field work (haying or planting) you are going to need a tractor and there's no getting around that. If you are going to do gardening, general work around the homestead, livestock where you are buying in the hay, then a skid steer could be a good alternative.

The thing to remember is, if you are going to use a skid steer for the same uses as a tractor, you might as well have a tractor. If you are going to use the skid steer for digging your garden (manure fork will deep dig your soil), make compost, raise slaughtered beef for processing, haul firewood to the house, jack up equipment to change a tire, haul stone for your driveway, dig a pond, haul a dead cow out and bury it, clean a barn out, pound fence posts and stretch wire, feed round bales inside a barn, well, skid steer is what you need. 

If I had no livestock, the only reason I'd need a big tractor would be the PTO to run a generator. Otherwise my two Bobcats do everything else I want. 

Skid steers take some thought to work well. They are tippy in some situations and you need to be aware of it and take that into account. They do tear up ground if you "skid steer" them and if you are working in a sensitive area of yard, then you have to do some back and forth "tacking" to turn them around without tearing everything up. Perfectly doable it you take the time to do it. They are probably one of the more dangerous pieces of equipment to operate because of the lift arms and the temptation to reach outside of the cab to do things when the engine is running. People looking for a short cut, people trying to see better and sticking their heads out, that's how you get killed on them. You need to respect any equipment you operate, but a skid steer is less forgiving than anything else because you are working so close to the hydraulics and when the bucket comes down, it's down. Hand, foot, or head in between the beam and the frame and too bad.


Jennifer


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## ace admirer (Oct 5, 2005)

every farm has a tractor or ten, very few farms (percentage wise) have skid steer.


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

We have two skid steers, and several tractors. Couldn't live without the skid steers. We use one everyday.


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## Qhorseman (Jul 9, 2010)

I have both a skidster and several tractors. Skidster(Gehl) is the first thing started in the morning. Not very good for handling big round bales. But for everything else the skidster is invaluble  IMO


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## ArmyDoc (May 13, 2007)

Thanks for all the replies.

Several asked what I intended to use it for, so I'll tell you a little about what I have, and where I want to go with it. The land I have right now is essentially all planted pine. 

Short term:
We will be having ~5 acres cleared for the house, eventual barn etc. The rest will be managed as timber till we can "recoup and regroup".

Medium term: I have 20 acres that was clear cut and planted in pine ~2-3 years ago, that I would like to convert to silvopasture over the next 5 years. To do that quickly, I need to rent or hire someone with a muching forestry head to mulch the dead wood, and clear runs of pasture between the planted pine. 

Long term: As we harvest, would like to begin to convert more property to silvopasture. 

For the next 15 years, will be dealing mostly with timber and smaller areas of pasture with a max width of ~40-50ft. To get between trees (~10ft between rows) I think the widest bushhog I would run would be 6-7 ft wide. Ofcourse, I might not need to get between the rows very often, since not much grows there, so maybe that's not an issue.

This is what prompted looking at skidsteers: While I was looking at renting machine with the mulching head to rent, I looked at their other attachments. Apparently you gan get a 6 ft bushog attatchment - didn't even know they made those for bobcats. They also had a no-till seader head you could rent, which might be helpful for planting pasture. I have used the augar head for drilling post-holes and that's a real treat compared to putting them in by hand. (of course you can get that for a tractor too.)

I guess I was surprised to find that they had so many attachments for doing what I can forsee doing. I had planned on getting a 50-60 hp tractor, with a quick detatch loader, bushog and renting vs buying an auger for putting in fence posts... But I would still have to rent a skidsteer for any mulching head work. Might still be better off doing that.

Does this altar opinions any?


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## artificer (Feb 26, 2007)

Simple test: do you plan on pulling a wagon? Yes, I know you can pull one with your truck, but all the associated activities that go along with whats on the wagon still call for a tractor.

As long as you don't plan on raising your own feed, the skidsteer will be fine.

Personally, I'd take a loader tractor first because of its versatility. If you get the correct tractor/loader, you can get a quick attach plate for the loader. The best of both worlds... sorta. The tractor isn't going to have the hydraulic flow rate of the skidsteer, but its a good compromise.

Michael


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## Qhorseman (Jul 9, 2010)

If you are going to be clearing and cleaning alot of land with the skidster, I reccomend a grapple bucket and a brusk rake.


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

For me the terrain decides the issue. You can run a tractor on steeper hills and if careful muckier soils than a skid steer. The large tires are on a tractor for a reason.

If your land is fairly level, a skid steer might work for you. Around here it would be a nightmare.


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## fordson major (Jul 12, 2003)

jwal10 said:


> .. but it has no 3pt or pto for farm implements.



sure they do!! built a three point hitch years ago for ours (they now are on the market) 
and you can get hydraulic pto's that run off the hydraulics!! 

they are great for working around the yard but not much good for harvesting field crops. best loader tractor we have ever had.


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

Qhorseman said:


> I have both a skidster and several tractors. Skidster(Gehl) is the first thing started in the morning. Not very good for handling big round bales. But for everything else the skidster is invaluble  IMO


Really? We have a Gehl 4400 and a 4610. Those are what we use for feeding the round bales. They work great. We have trax on the 4400 for deep snow and mud, and again, they work great. The 4400 has a bale spear and the 4610 we use the forks for the balage bales.


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## Qhorseman (Jul 9, 2010)

lonelyfarmgirl said:


> Really? We have a Gehl 4400 and a 4610. Those are what we use for feeding the round bales. They work great. We have trax on the 4400 for deep snow and mud, and again, they work great. The 4400 has a bale spear and the 4610 we use the forks for the balage bales.


Mine is really tippy with a big round bale on the spike, rather use the tractor for that. I have a platform I built for it, I put small bales and feed bags on it, great feeding machine for the horses.


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## manfred (Dec 21, 2005)

I saw a video of whats called a "turbo saw" for the skidloader. High speed hydorolic saw that cuts at ground level or below. My neighbor hired a man and his skidloader to clear 100 acres and he was very happy with the results.


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

You "need" the tractor you mentioned. Once you get that you may "want" a skidsteer. As far as putting in fence. Get a post driver instead of an auger. A used driver and a new auger are about the same price.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Originally Posted by jwal10 
.. but it has no 3pt or pto for farm implements



ford major said:


> sure they do!! built a three point hitch years ago for ours (they now are on the market)
> and you can get hydraulic pto's that run off the hydraulics!!
> 
> they are great for working around the yard but not much good for harvesting field crops. best loader tractor we have ever had.


What I said was for farm implements, try using a 3pt hay rake, baler, disk, plow, etc behind a skid steer, all backward mounted on a loader frame that pulls from a high mounting point on the machine, just adds more tipping. Also the only speed control of the pto is engine speed, on a tractor you also have ground speed to match through a transmission. 

What you are doing, with no farming, the skid steer is the way to go, although multi heads are expensive. Shredding that material with the chipping head is the easiest and quickest way to get that job done. You can always buy a tractor later if it is needed....James


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## taylorlambert (Jul 4, 2010)

A 35 or 40 hp utility tractor sounds like what you need. I have 2 skid steers and love them I also have a 35 hp farm tractor 2wd no loader for my planting and farming and mowing and hay and grading. We also have a 39 hp utility tractor with a quick attach loader. It also has the skid steer quick coupler. I can change buckets between the tractor and ss. I built both tracto and SS a set of forks brush rakes, and othat attachments. If I had to jut have one it would be the utility tractor. Its more comfortable and quieter than the SSL. Grades betterthan the ssl and can handle wetter terrain. Also the tractor will be eaiser on damp yards to. Ao fir moving bales I have a spear for the front of the tractor and skid steer but the tractor has one on the rear to. 

Also skidsteer attachments are alot higher than tractor attachments. I have built most of my attachments for my loaders.


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## jacksun65 (Feb 5, 2007)

I have a 4200 john deere compact 4x4 with loader, its only 26 hp but it moves round bales up to 1000lbs with pallet forks. I have dug septic tank holes with it in clay driven fence post wood and steel with the forks cleared brush mowed hay and grass raked hay. It gets used more than my big tractor and its not much bigger than a skid steer. there is no choice tractor wins hands down


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## ArmyDoc (May 13, 2007)

Thanks everyone for the input - I lean towards the tractor, but it sounds like I've got more research to do. It will be another year or so before we are ready to buy anything, so I have some time yet. 

Meanwhile I think I will hire / rent the skid steer for mulching... once that's done a tractor is probably more what I need, but I can check out the skid steer when it's here.


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## maverickxxx (Jan 25, 2011)

It might be even better to hire a skidsteer n operator that has mulching head. That can prolly get 3-4 times more dun then yourself renting it an doing it yourself. I don't know your proficiency with machines. But a good operator will get a substational amount more dun.it'll cost more then renting but the amount that gets dun by a good operator will be cheaper in long run. But defintly sounds like u need a tractor. N I don't even consider a skidsteer unless it has tracks it turns it into a whole different machine.


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## ArmyDoc (May 13, 2007)

maverickxxx said:


> It might be even better to hire a skidsteer n operator that has mulching head. That can prolly get 3-4 times more dun then yourself renting it an doing it yourself. I don't know your proficiency with machines. But a good operator will get a substational amount more dun.it'll cost more then renting but the amount that gets dun by a good operator will be cheaper in long run. But defintly sounds like u need a tractor. N I don't even consider a skidsteer unless it has tracks it turns it into a whole different machine.


Yes, I was thinking the same thing... that and that the rental folks want me to have $100,000 in liability insurance incase the machine is "injured".


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Tractor first and in your case the best. Cost alone is enough reason a skidsteer CAN do these things but not afford-ably. If you have the budget great get a CAT 258 full track machine. Glides over rough ground, is very gentle on turf, the suspension and pilot controls make it easy chair comfortable while you work all day. You said you were rich right? Maybe not, exactly?


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## Elevenpoint (Nov 17, 2009)

maverickxxx said:


> It might be even better to hire a skidsteer n operator that has mulching head. That can prolly get 3-4 times more dun then yourself renting it an doing it yourself. I don't know your proficiency with machines. But a good operator will get a substational amount more dun.it'll cost more then renting but the amount that gets dun by a good operator will be cheaper in long run. But defintly sounds like u need a tractor. N I don't even consider a skidsteer unless it has tracks it turns it into a whole different machine.


Agree....I have a tracked skidsteer for a weekly rate for an off the farm building project and will be using it all day here.....and tracks vs. tires are no comparison when it comes to what you can do. If you only have a day or two of work it may be better to hire out, otherwise you will get a better rate for a weekly rental....depends on what your skill level is. I have been running skidsteers for quite some time and think that what I will get done today at the farm will be worth the weekly rental much less the work done at the jobsite...however, if I had to make a choice between the tractor or skidsteer, I would get a tractor first and rent a skidsteer or hire out for occasional use.
But hey, if you got money to burn..drop about 50K on a Bobcat T-300 with a cab, A/C, heat, stereo.....you only live once.


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## fantasymaker (Aug 28, 2005)

I think Id look at a SMALL 4-WD tractor Ford used to make a mini stieger that you could operate in either direction .I think it was about a 120HP machine. It sounds about like what you want wish I could remeber the model number


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## ArmyDoc (May 13, 2007)

elevenpoint said:


> Agree....I have a tracked skidsteer for a weekly rate for an off the farm building project and will be using it all day here.....and tracks vs. tires are no comparison when it comes to what you can do. If you only have a day or two of work it may be better to hire out, otherwise you will get a better rate for a weekly rental....depends on what your skill level is. I have been running skidsteers for quite some time and think that what I will get done today at the farm will be worth the weekly rental much less the work done at the jobsite...however, if I had to make a choice between the tractor or skidsteer, I would get a tractor first and rent a skidsteer or hire out for occasional use.
> But hey, if you got money to burn..drop about 50K on a Bobcat T-300 with a cab, A/C, heat, stereo.....you only live once.


Lol, I don't think I'm going to be spending $50k on anything... less you're offering a no interest pay as you can loan? :bouncy:

There are several used ones around here that are going from 10-15k though, which is about what a tractor of similar vintage are going for. That an my need for having some muching head work done got me thinking about renting vs buying one instead of a tractor is all.


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