Skid steer vs Tractor

[lay low llama]

I am looking at spending 20k on a skid steer or a 80-100 hp Tractor.

I'am looking at case or bob cat with 2k + lifting capacity. Ceiling height and width is no issue for me in the barn. The key thing is I want to use the skid steer for all my farm chores and not use the tractor except for brush hogging. (I can borrow my in laws tractor and batwing for brush hogging)

What are your experiences? What would you do different? What am I missing?

Operation: Cow calf.
Land: 80 acers and looking to ad.
Chores: brush hog, feeding round bales, stacking round bales in the barn, clean up this old dairy farm, fence building. I don't bale my own hay and don't want to get into that either.
Current equipment: Allis Chalmers 170 w/frnt loader, bucket, brush hog.

 

[Nesikep]

If you already have a FEL tractor, a skidsteer is a handy thing to have.. we have a JD350B crawler loader, which is a lot slower than a rubber tired machine, but is very handy. I hate the painful, uncomfortable procedure of getting in and out of skidsteers!.. turning on a dime, and the plethora of attachments is nice though.. I don't think they handle sidehills as well as a tractor though

 

[AllForage]

Just saw you already own a loader tractor, guess I would go skid steer

 

[skyhightree1]

Skid steers are great but if you have a wheeled skid steer and have deep mud you won't get far. If you get a skid steer with tracks you are good. However I love my 4x4 tractors with a loader. I would buy another tractor and when it calls for a skid steer for digging or clearing just rent one.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Skid steers are great but if you have a wheeled skid steer and have deep mud you won't get far. If you get a skid steer with tracks you are good. However I love my 4x4 tractors with a loader. I would buy another tractor and when it calls for a skid steer for digging or clearing just rent one.

Folks with TMRs use their skid steer or their FWA tractor to load feed everyday. In some cases the skid steer will be faster.
For me - - a $20K skid steer would not be used enough.

 

[Kingfisher]

Bobcat. Especially if there is a dealer nearby that you can rent attachments from.

 

[lay low llama]

Is anyone feeding round bales with their skid steer?

My land is flatish…so no steep hills, but I am worried about the back and forth of feeding the hay and cutting nets. What are the service intervals like?

I read that tracks are slower and more expensive to keep up (3k in service in about 1k hours) mud can be an issue but not huge.

I was really tired of being cold this year hence the want for something with a cab.

 

[skyhightree1]

its all in what you want... I like having a 4 wheel drive tractor that I can put any attachment behind it and do most chores. I haven't seen a skid steer pull a drill yet or disk or break up any land. I understand you can USE someone elses stuff but there is nothing like owning your own equipment and using it whenever you want.

 

[hurleyjd]

I bought a used New Holland skid loader several years ago. Most useless piece of equipment I every owned. Every time you turned you tore the ground up. Needs to be on level ground all of the time. Also not as fast on the ground as the tractor was.

 

[Kell-inKY]

I bought a used New Holland skid loader several years ago. Most useless piece of equipment I every owned. Every time you turned you tore the ground up. Needs to be on level ground all of the time. Also not as fast on the ground as the tractor was.

I asked my brother who used to be a contractor about this when I was thinking of one and he said exactly the same thing. Very narrow niche of where it might be better than a tractor, other wise not good on a farm if you go off road.

I've seen lots of people with a 4x4 tractor and no skid steer, but I don't think I've seen anyone with a skid steer and no tractor.

 

[turklilley]

If you live where it freezes, you do not want tracks.

 

[Brentp]

We use both every day. I wouldn't want to just have the skid steer but they are mighty handy for stacking and loading/unloading hay. They're especially useful in tight spaces. We have a wheeled machine but I'd rather have tracks.

 

[dwrich]

With an 80-100 hp with FEL you can feed and stack hay, aerate, fertilize, bush hog, drill post holes and weed kill. I have both, and use the skid steer with grapple, mostly in the woods. Looking down the road, if you want to maintain your pastures, you will probably be happier with the farm tractor. If you are more concerned with shaping the place up, the skid steer is infinitely superior.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[cowski]

this year with a skid steer ,you would have to rent a tractor to keep it pulled out ,if your mud is deep as mine.

 

[lay low llama]

I have a tractor, that is what i fed with this year. I either want a newer one with cab or a skid steer.

also with digging a post hole i live in the ozarks, lots of rocks not far down. I currently hire my neighbor to drill my holes for me with his skid steer.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

Around here I wouldn't want a skid steer without tracks, I use them all the time and can promise you that. If you have a tractor and plan on keeping it, you might as well buy a skid steer and have both. I wouldn't want to go with only a skid steer:

 

[Stocker Steve]

don't think I've seen anyone with a skid steer and no tractor.

I know one who has a big drylot. Buys all his feed and sells all his manure.

 

[ddd75]

i've used my neighbors a awful lot. pound posts, trench water lines, etc.

I've had it past the belly pan in deep mud and its only gotten stuck 1 time. i'tll get itself out of most mud holes. we have some good hills around here and it'll pound posts/ trench lines anywhere.

I guess it'll beat up the ground if you arn't careful but youc an turn them pretty nicely so it doesn't hurt anything.

Pretty nice in the barn stacking hay and if you move a lot of things around its pretty nice to be able to have the forks right in front of you so you can see everything. I can hardly see my forks on my tractor.

if you have a central location for everything and don't need to be driving it all around the farm all the tiem I think its a great choice.

 

[nobull82]

I only have a skidloader and was going through the same predicament as you but space is a problem for me. I don't know your setup but the way I feed rounds can be a pain in the rear. Maybe its just me but the attachments seem more then tractors and there's a lot of times i wished I had a PTO. I just posted a topic about tractor size because I'm really needing one. I love having a skidloader but trust me when I say a good tractor has its place to.