Skid steers are they useful on a farm?

[poorboy]

Thinking of buying a used skid steer for my grain/cattle operation. I have a poor back and lifting all the sacks of canola seed and chemical boxes up from the floor onto the back of the pickup truck to take out to airdrill or sprayer makes my back ache at night. It seems to go fine dumping the canola seed into the fill auger on the drill or the chemical into the sprayer mix tank because it is going downhill off the truck. I was thinking that a used skid steer with a pallet fork would be handy for lifting the pallets of seed or chemical onto the truck. I could also use it to do some cleaning of manure out of a cattle barn and a little dirt work. I use round bales of straw and am not sure how good skid steers are for lifting 1000 lb bales of straw?
I found 2 used models in my price range, one is a thomas T133 and the other is bigger a thomas 233. One is manoverable and lifts 1300 lbs while the bigger one is more awkwark inside buildings, but will lift 2300 lbs. Usually the most chemical I need on a pallet would be 5 (115 liter) shuttles of roundup, just to remove off the truck when delivered from chemical dealer.
Are skid steers handy on the farm, or is a skid steer with pallet forks so clumzy and noisy that I will never use it? What lift capacity is needed? Is thomas and ok brand, or should I stay away from a thomas skid steer?
Thanks for any help, I have never ran a skid steer ever. Am looking for all the usefull advice I can get. I have a 12-15000 budget, so I am looking more at older models.

[r.reid]

I have ran a Case 1845 C and a Melro "bobcat". Both are very good but personally I'd pick the Case 1845 C, it is easier to catch on to and incredibly durable.

I think that if you got one for the farm, you'd probably wonder how you ever got along with out it.(snow removal, landscaping, ceaning up grain piles, in the barn, bulk seed bags, post hole auger, etc...etc...)

[gsanocki]

Wow I don't know where to start.This past spring I picked up a 753 bobcat(1300 lbs rated) at a auction. We have a backhoe, loader tractors, dozer tractor, 3pt hitch equipment and my most used item is that little bobcat. It is truely an item every farmer should have.
I have converted some of my 3pt equipment to fit the quick tack (the system used on the bobcat to hook up to buckets ect) these include mower, 8'dozer, and post digger. I have two buckets one for fertilizer grain or snow and one for dirt digging. and a set of pallet forks.
One of the things I use it for is moving augers. I mounted loops on all my augers just below the gearboxes and have a square tube that I clip to the buckets or forks that sticks out the side of the bobcat about 4' with a hook on that I just pull up grab the auger and move it into or out of bins. I use mostly 10" augers for outloading and they are really miserable to move by hand, with the bobcat its just a breeze even if there is 8"or more of snow.(One set of tire chains needed) I also use the hyd on the bobcat to run the bin sweep. Now if one is not careful I think you could wreck a smaller auger say pushing it into a bin too hard.

I mounted the mower so it could sit on edge in a vertical position, I use it to cut back tree branches that hang over into the feilds and it really works great for prunning hedges. The mower ran by the hyd system will chop up a 3" tree. You just have to make sure you have screens in front of yourself. By the way the mower does work great for cutting grass you just have to be careful because skid steerring can make a mess of the ground.

The smaller machine will be nicer around and in buildings(I use mine in the shop for removing / mounting tires ect) but the bigger one will ride smoother assumming longer wheelbase and will handle bigger jobs and it will still be really handy in most small areas.

I'v never moved a round bale but I have unloaded pallets of 40 canola bags off the truck,It would't really lift it but I did manage to drag them off the truck and move them around with the ass of the bobcat off the ground (I don't recomend doing that it was a bit scary when the pallet did clear the endgate)
It does handle a mini bulk bag of wheat really well as long as the staps are not to far down the forks.

My favourite thing about the bobcat is that it is also fun to operate. I tend to find myself out there for hours pushing snow freezing in the bobcat doing a job that the 4 wheel drive and blade would do in about 20 minutes. But you know can't wear out that big iron.
Well I think I babled long enough good luck finding something, and I'm sure you will really like having one around espcially as we get older and our bodys don't like the lifting like they did.
Gary
if you have any questions just email me
erfarms@telusplanet.net

[JD_7520IVT]

I think a Skid steer would be useful on a farm especially if you used it to clean snow in the winter. It would make it more useful and help to payfor it.

[WoolyBear]

Skid steers....... can't live with them, can't live without.

Only drawbacks that I see......no PTO, hitch has to be jury rigged to pull trailers, augers, etc. and there is virtually NO rear visibility. Then again if you drive in, you should know where you're backing <grin>. I've gotten good enough that I haven't had a bent gate for atleast 2 years, and the paint scratches are bearable. Another problem is there's no room for a passenger, so either the wife walks...... or you do <SMILES>.

Good points?......... I could go on and on too! Round bales....if you can't lift them, SKID them! Then put the feeder down over the top. Pallets, are easier with a pallet fork, and I don't have one. I know with bales that you can lift closer to the loader's capacity if you tilt back the load fully before lifting, turn before you lift, and stop before you tilt. Its great in tight corners, and narrow alley ways.
Some metal gates can be opened without leaving the cab.

Lots of attachments and accessories are available, but many are overpriced. Post hole augers work well off the hydraulics, but remember to put the grapple forks down before you lift the bucket.

We've had experiences with Case, Thomas, Gehl and Bobcat over the years, and we currently have a Case 60XT. Wouldn't be without any of them.

[poorboy]

What do you think the ideal lifting capacity should be on a farm? Is 1350 lbs too light for idea useage or 2400 lbs too large and awkward?
Everyone tells me that for contractors a 1700 lb lift machine is the most common, because it is lighter to put on a trailer, more manoverabe, and can just lift enough. The catch is that these machines are the most expensive to buy used because of the demand. I did not know if they are also the handiest size for a farm, or if a farm could easily handle larger or smaller machines. I have MFWD tractor with loader for real heavy work and most round bale handling. I was hoping that a pallet fork on a skid steer would be the handiest thing for a farm.

[WoolyBear]

A 60XT from Case has a operating weight of 6600 lbs., and an operating load of 1800 lbs. You can lift more, if you watch how you move your load. A trick for heavy loads is to keep the back end of the tractor slightly higher than the front end. Your are already helping gravity if you reverse that. A set of water tank weights, and a full diesel tank will help with counter balancing that load. Thing to remember is if you continually overload your machine, you could cause problems in the tires, and of course the hydraulics and linkages.

This machine has a 75 hp motor which is more than enough. The operating width is listed at 65 inches, though a wider bucket would change that. Its overhead clearance is 78 inches so that should make it usable in most barns.

[WoolyBear]

goofed on the gravity thing..... keeping the hind end LOWER than the front end when dumping (like into an manure spreader) would be more logical. Sorry about that.