Skidsteer / Bobcat Around Yard?

PN14

Guys,

Anyone use a skidsteer loader (bobcat or similar) around the yard for feeding, cleaning etc? What are your opinions?

In theory I think one would work well for us over the winter it would be working all on concrete yards and would get to lots of places which are awkward with the tractor including with a bit of door widening into low calf houses which have to be cleaned by hand (which is a pain and time consuming in an allready packed springtime.

Are they worth investing in? Is it possible to get ones which would lift a silage bale? Any views from people who actually use one of these type machines would be greatly appreciated.

49801

dont have one but would love one
good few threads on them over on bff.
i like the idea of the jcb robots with the side door so your not climbing over the attachment but i've wondered do they have the same forward reach of a NH l160 for taking a grab of silage off the top of the pit.

PN14

Cheers will give a look over on bff see what they have to say. Like I said I like the idea on them as well but would like to get opinions from someone with first hand knowledge of how they work in practice before doing anymore about getting one.

Bodacious

PN14 wrote: »

Cheers will give a look over on bff see what they have to say. Like I said I like the idea on them as well but would like to get opinions from someone with first hand knowledge of how they work in practice before doing anymore about getting one.

I drove a bob cat for a year on a large beef finishing unit in the states and it was the handiest machine on the farm, all the feeding/ loading/ scraping/ tidying/ even snow clearing ... Get bucket and dung fork and sweeper if possible ... They Awful easy to drive and you get fierce handy with them quickly

pakalasa

Bodacious,
Would they lift a round bale of silage?

Pacoa

I have an old bobcat 643. It wouldn't lift a bale of silage but the newer ones would. Not sure what number they are now but i think there was a 757 or something like that. My one has solid rubber tyres with no grips on them, i wouldn't recomend them, no traction. Get the ordinary inflateable ones but other than that they are fierce handy yokes around the place for cleaning out and for shifting things from a to b.

oooge1

my neighbour who is a contractor has one.. and he told me dont wait for years before you get one..get one now.. best machine in the place he says.. never had a problem starting over the harsh winter..handy in a tight yard like his,he has scraper, grab and bucket..very usefull..id love one , just need the funds....

mantua

Ya a friend has one around the farm!! he helps stack bales for me and cleans out the calving pens!! There not too expensive for all that they will do!! if the friend didnt have one i'd be seriously tempted to buy one!!

LostCovey

oooge1 wrote: »

my neighbour who is a contractor has one.. and he told me dont wait for years before you get one..get one now.. best machine in the place he says.. never had a problem starting over the harsh winter..handy in a tight yard like his,he has scraper, grab and bucket..very usefull..id love one , just need the funds....

............and good tight concrete for a skidsteer!

Muckit

Yes.... and are they limited to just yard work? Would the likes of a JCB 2cx be a more useful machine?

blue5000

I looked into it a few yrs back, 10k min for something to lift a bale of silage. What could a 2cx jcb be bought for anyone?

Bodacious

pakalasa wrote: »

Bodacious,
Would they lift a round bale of silage?

Hi pak,

I did my placement in 99 and bobcat I drove back then wouldn't handle a bale of silage IMO prob lift haylage alright but wouldn't lift it high enough to do much either... Okay from A to B and to stand her up and throw ring feeder around it but overall it's a flyer and handy (on concrete only) but not for luggin bales.

49801

like most things these days there are small ones... medium ones and big ones.
so just a question of matching the machine to tasks:rolleyes:

Pappa J

Hi guys i worked in america on a farm over 15 years ago. They had 2 NH skids loaders a 40hp and 60hp. If you are talking about lifting baled silage go for a 60hp, heavier, stronger and more powerful. Wet concrete yards add a lot to the life of the tyres. While one of the machines were being serviced they got a bobcat out for a day......DIdn't like the feel of it. Mechanically fine but didn't feel as free to use as the NH's

jim420

from my experience they are a great machine,drove one a few years ago in a plant hire yard,very handy and easy to drive.
a friend of mine hired one a few weeks ago to clean out his dung pit and load his side slinger..great little machine and did it very quickly and cleaned all the yard no problem.

MfMan

I've a mustang 2060, rated at 60+ HP. Great machine, unbeatable for shear grab work as it can drop blocks closer to the pen face than probably any other machine. (Have a 4' 6" grab but it could handle a 5' easily). Occasionally use it to lift round bales with the pallet forks; it teeters a bit but can lift them high enough to drop in over the round feeder. Also use it for mucking out sheds and generally scraping about. Additionally, it's handy for lifting pallets up and down off trailers (though it can be difficult trying to match the forks with the pallet entrance if it's at waist / shoulder level or above as you can't see through the boom.)

Other uses include lifting 1/2 ton fertiliser bags, shifting big stones into position when making / repairing stone walls, (ground clearance is low but it can be used in the fields when they're dry enough), loading sand / gravel etc., tidying implements such as spreaders, sprayers into tight corners of sheds when they're left up on pallets. Thinking about getting a big sweeping brush that can fit into the forks so that yards, sheds, slab etc. can be swept down quickly. Hard to see now how I could manage without it.

A word of warning; my mustang is simple mechanically, (Bobcats have a name for being more electronically complex which has caused some issues) but I have had some trouble with it, ( I bought it privately), and there aren't too many mechanics that have sufficient knowledge of them to effect repairs. McArdles in Glaslough, Monaghan, are main dealers in the country for Mustangs (they also have other brands) and know these machines inside out. If you''re getting one, it may be worth it to buy of a dealer who'll provide after-sales service. Also, it's probably worth getting one a bit stronger rather than lighter; the extra power / weight will come in useful and you won't lose much maneuverability.

jerdee

i have had a skid steer for close on fifteen years now
best so far was my bobcat (rip )

had gehl mf and belle and now have a mustang 2050

best yoke around any farm faster than tractor to feed cattle

i have brush bucket bale handler cememnt mixer yard scraper and a homemade extension for moving half ton bags

if i did nt have a bobcat i would not be farming as so useful

i put straw into sheds for lads around me hay load slurry tighten wire load topsoil pick stones even moved my auto scraper in the frost as it was stuck to floor
also very handy to push silage into feed barriers saves a lot of time inside of pike

anybody who has seen one working with me ahs bought one
(the lads in mc ardles are very good to deal with too)
i have a new holland one at work and would not recommend them 700 hrs and a lot of money spent on it ,,,,,,

if you do get one between 8 and 12 k would get you a modern enough and as mf man said they are simple to drive and maintain

ps wheelbarrow gone pike redunaant and shovel missing

jeff greene

My experience of them is only watching a tarmac company doing the drive here, unless he was new to the job, he was jumpy and bouncing around, not a great endorsement. Depends on yard setup, I'm a bit spread out here and use the loader as much off the yard as on, drawing bales, fencing etc

The point of not being able to farm with out them, is true of all loaders. I'd be lost without a loader, I have a 50hx, can lift two bales, 600kgs of maize, load bales and is fast and nifty around building too. I looked at a 2cx, €10,000 would get a good one, limited height for the diet feeder put it out, nice to drive though, I think more useful than skid steer. Small artics like JCB 406 would be an option too.

cattlejobber

we have a mustang 2040 on the farm and feed around 200 cattle with it silage,beet,meal, straw all in a days work and half the time wouldn't do with out it. got it off mcardle's and their second to none

Highland

Bought a NH 180 last year - cost 10 grand plus another 1400 on attachements - best thing i ever bought - will lift 1.5 tonne pallet (rated 1085kg) of a trailer and will take a bale of hay off the thrid row. wouldnt be without - sold an old JCB 3CX and am not sorry - most versatile machine in the yard

blue5000

http://eu.ironplanet.com/Skid-Steer+Loaders?ct=1&h=3080-3%2C1

Worth a look, if anybody knows of an empty cattle lorry coming back from Italy.....;)