Toolcat

[bigblueox]

Does anybody have or have used a Bobcat toolcat? I'm doing a large fencing project and am using one to drill posts with. This might not be the right fourm to put this under but it is a tool carrier so i figured what the heck. And this fourm needed some attention!

[TRACKHOE71]

we have one, where i work, not sure the model number, but ill try to help ya out the best i can

[itsgottobegreen]

They are the baddest machine in the world to plow with. Throw a blizzard 810SS on the front. Curtis 4' hydro v box in the back (remove the motor and u can plumb it to work with the rear hydros) They turn on a dime. Comfortable to plow with for hours on end (unlike a bobcat skidsteer)

It would be great for fencing. Throw the posts in the back. Drill hole, get out, grab post, drop in hole, get back in. No going back with a truck to drop off each post.

[RTSmith]

Old thread, but just how close to the work a small skid-steer can a Toolcat do?

[bigblueox]

they are pretty sweet. what are you looking to do? i think it's limited when digging because of the loader geometry and breakout force. I use our for alot of fencing, plowing snow, running a harley rake, spreading gravel, grading, sweeping, moving large round bales, feeding cows, i mean you name it it's pretty versatile. all wheel steer is pretty nice to!

[mouse]

the toolcat is not good at hard digging/pushing compared to a skidsteer. i'd reckon its about the equivalent of a s130 in the digging stakes. the other weak point is that you can shuffle/wiggle with a skidsteer but the toolcat cannot (if you know what i mean)

it is great for lift and carry operations, for not making a mess of your yard, for carting your kids/grandmother around and for any operation that requires moving further than the dirt pile to a truck. on the lift point beware it has a lower lifting height than most skidsteers.

it feels comfortable on slopes, many places i take it i'd not even consider taking a skidsteer up/down. its ok on cross slopes, mainly limited with what you feel comfortable with.

the d series (the current model) seems to have the traction a bit better sorted than the earlier ones tho having some weight in the tray helps a lot. I'd be circumspect of the a & b series, they changed the loader arm for the c series and thus fixed a few limitations. c&d run the same arm setup, d has independant suspension all round.

its rated at 1500lbs lift capacity, it'll lift a ton pretty easitly, about the only limitation is how much sway you can put up with in the loader arm - given its a central arm long objects like a 40' telegraph poles tend to be intertesting to carry.

in a nutshell, if you want to just load trucks stick with a skidsteer however if you want a good flexible tool that does a lot of things quickly and easily the toolcat is a good thing.

i've both a toolcat and a S185 coincidentally. the toolcat is far easier to use mostly. i've so far run my entire attachment range on the toolcat including a hammer, landscape rake, brushcat, grapple bucket, trencher, auger, soil conditioner etc etc.

if i was fencing full time i'd use a skidsteer unless the turf is precious. i'd choose the skidsteer cause you can work the auger as you dig plus the toolcat use a radial lift and its quite a radius.

if you go down the toolcat path, tbn has a reasonable section ot TC.

My main tip is learn to clean your fan properly especially if you mow/slash with it.

[RTSmith]

All good info. Thanks!. I have a Kubota RTV we use a lot, and then the ss works a root grapple, hammer, bucket, etc. Doesn't sound like the toolcat can quite replace a ss for HD operations. My 2,000# Cat is often tipsy with large rocks in the grapple, a toolcat would be worse. Now, if I could justify a toolcat AND a ss, that would be the trick...! But my thoughts of consolidating two pieces into one isn't quite practical given my uses.

[RTSmith]

I really don't have anything to note, but there hadn't been a single post in this entire section since November and I didn't want the little 'puter geeks inside the machine getting restless. Obviously tool carriers just aren't as sexy as doxers & excavators...

[bill5362]

I have a C Model Toolcat and love it, pushing snow it is a beast. We put a broom to sweep and clean up, and use a soil perpetrator on it as well. A very versatile machine.

[bobcatmechanic]

they now have the 5610 which is a tool cat with no bed and a three point hitch and pto on the back i think rated at 25 hp becare full at running a breaker on them they dont like to curl them back when you get to 90 degrees and you have to back up and curl at the same time also the arms are not rated for a hammer to light they will break over time from using a hammer alot of drive motor issues on the old c series the rotating groups eggshell and you notice a pause in the drive and weak drive force the cab has to be pulled to put the motor in a c series i believe not enough clearance to get it out over all the digging sucks the front dips when you get in a pile because of the suspension nice ride they will climb some pretty good banks though

[harrywallace]

They are awesome machines

[s-moe]

I need a post and want to try a Toolcat someday.

[Jaybuild]

Any idea what a new one goes for?

[Panhandler Bob]

30 something?

[RoadDoc]

Last time I talked to a dealer, it was in the "ballpark" of $48K.... Don't remember options discussed. Think that's when I hit the floor.....:dizzy

We were talking about the newest version with the three point hitch, etc.

[334 lawn co]

goodness gracious. ill stick with my kubota rtv and tractors. speaking of rtv, anybody see that they have a four seater now?

[timm9]

A fully loaded (2 speed, cab, road-light kit/turbo, stereo, high flow) will run in the mid $40,000 range. I have two that are used strictly for snow removal with Blower units. The visibility is excellent and it is capable of 18 MPH. The "ride" is superior. In my old CAT after 18 or 20 hours I could hardly walk for two days. In the Toolcat, I get up after 4 or 5 hours of sleep and I'm good to go again.

[bernieg]

just curious if anybody is having problems with the drive motors?? i bought my toolcat in '05... 200 hours later they had to replace both front and rear drive motors... i have not used it very much but guess what?? 200 more hours and it is in the shop again and they said i need to replace both drive motors... and my warranty just ended in May '09... is this something that will happen every 200 hours??? or did they really get the problem fixed with the motors... and is my entire system filled with metal shavings??? bernieg

[timm9]

BernieG,

Your post just about ruined my day. You are the first one I have heard of that has had two (2) different drive motor failures! I'm hoping that you have/are an isolated case.

Unfortunately the Drive Motors (made by Comer) had a major defect in the 'sleeves' and after a period of time (both of mine made it to about 350 hours) the sleeves start 'shedding' and eventually plug the filters, etc. I also have two 2005 'B' series. At first I thought I had dodged the 'bullet' and my 'B' series were not affected but it was not the case. There are quite few posts on another site (not sure if it is allowed to post the site) regarding this issue. Apparently it has developed in all of the series (B, C, & D) but I don't know about the 'A' series. When both of my TC's went down (in the middle of a large storm) I was well out of warranty and my dealer really 'stepped up' and went to bat for me with corporate. My dealer brought an 18 wheeler to me (two hours away), loaded the units and pulled everyone of their 'normal' work to address my units. They had both units done in 36 hours. The bill was over $14,000.00 and I paid for the initial transport.

I too was very concerned about the 'particles' running loose in my hydraulic system. I have been having samples sent out to a lab to check on contaminates. So far both units appear to be good. As I mentioned above, I'm not aware of anyone with drive motor failures twice. Your dealer had to have received 'new' defective motors for the repair. As you have already discovered, the first 'sign' is the large filter (under the bed at rear axle) plugging. The second filter (next to the battery) never did plug.

I would be very interested to hear more about your issue as I'm not real excited about going into another Snow Removal Season with the potential of more Drive Motor issues. If this is 'reacuring' I'd like to know now and not at Christmas.

[bernieg]

thank you so much for the info... i purchased in sept '05 and the first failure was in Jan of '07 but it took until Feb '07 before they wanted to believe something was wrong and they had the unit from Feb '07 until the first of April '07... this time i knew something was happening since the Jan '09 but i just kept dealing with it because it was bad enough for the service folks to find it... due the housing down turn i don't use it very much... i only have 500 total hours on it now... you were very fortunate they took care of you... they said i need to pay for the labor, fluids and filter which will be a $1k bill... i guess it is better than a poke in the eye... but i need to make a decision as to keep it and find the same problem in another 200 hrs or do the new motors really work... i really like the unit... it sounds like you have an excellent dealer and he will stand by you for service... i took my TC into Santa Maria two weeks ago and waiting for word to come pick up... if you have anything else that i should expect, please don't hesitate... thanks kindly for the info and help... bernieg

[bernieg]

oh... two points i forgot to mention... i did NOT have any filters plugging up... second point i am wondering if by chance in Feb-Apr of '07, if they knew of the problem with the motors or not and was it an honest mistake and/or did they have a fix with new motors??? i know they accused me of using NON-Bobcat fluids, abusing the machine and all kinds of things... i was getting ready to go the legal route for help.... bernieg

[timm9]

Bernie,

I can honestly tell you that my dealer had not even heard of the drive motor failures until I mentioned it. Just before I realized I had an 'issue' I noticed a 'D' series Toolcat (owned by a friend in town) being hauled off the hill by the dealer. I had called the service manager regarding something else and asked him what was up with the 'other' TC. After he explaned the issue I told him it was the Drive Motors based on several sites I belong to. Little did I know I would be the next one with the issue. Corporate did not 'advertise' or notify the dealers or the owners of the issue. While I have not confirmed this, I have read several posts that indicate that the drive motors (from Comer) are also installed in the Excavators as well.

While $1,000 is not cheap, it does not even come close to the $7,000 per uint to replace the drive motors. I have heard/read about other TC owners being told that the dealer/corporate would not help in any way...

[timm9]

Bernie,

I would be very grateful if you would post an update on your drive motor issue. I'm very curious if you accidently received replacement motors that were 'faulty' from the box, or if this is going to be a repeat issue for the rest of us as well.

Tim

[adam21584]

The company I work for has a tool cat, The drive motors where replaced at 900 hours and the parts counter guys made it sound like they had sold allot of the replacement motors. The narrow lift arms are a weak spot also, a result of hitting a curb hard with a big snow bucket. Front suspension springs replaced also. I don't think suspension is a good idea on a machine that loads trucks. Now the snow crew doesn't want the machine back on the job due to limited manueverability in tight spots

[timm9]

Very interesting...

I have two (2) 'B' series Toolcats and other than the drive motor issues (which is a OEM supplier defect) they have been relatively trouble free. They are only used for Snow Removal and 98% of the time are run with Blowers. I purchase the first one in the fall of 2004 and the last one in the spring of 2005. I did have a Comm Error (50-56) issue with one unit that was finally traced back to (another OEM defect) a bad connection in the wiring harness at the dash CPU.

I guess the 'second' drive motor failure could be the result of not completely flushing the system, but a second failure with only 200 hours would make me suspect the two new drive motors were defective out of the box. I'd be very interested to see the lab report (if there was one) after the first drive motor(s) replacement.

[bernieg]

folks... i am curious about the turn-around time of Bobcat dealerships for repair work... i am still waiting for my drive motors to be repaired on my TC... when they were repaired in '07, it took 13 weeks... they have now had the machine about a month... having had newholland stuff in the past, i am accustomed to 1-3 day turn-around on service issues, even major items never took more than a week... so, is this standard?? also, the service manager said i should be able to get 5000-7000 hours on these drive motors... is that the same expectations you folks have??? when i get it back i will let you know how it worked out... bernieg

[timm9]

Bernie,

My dealer had both units back to me within 36 hours but my situation was rather unique in that both TC's went down at the same time, and in the middle of a great big storm. I will say that 13 weeks does seem like a very long time. I'm wondering if they are having trouble getting the new drive motors due to the number of affected units. When you consider that all of the series (B,C & D, and possibly A's) came from the factory with bad drive motors, times 2 motors per unit, I could see the back log growing very quickly.

[powerjoke]

is this something that will happen every 200 hours???

maybe not quite every 200hrs but youre getting the idea

or did they really get the problem fixed with the motors... and is my entire system filled with metal shavings???

why, did you take the filter off and bypass it?

bernieg

i've got an '04 with 600hrs and its a handy lil peice of equipment around the farm and what not.......when the peice of **** is not in the shop that is:o . K.C. Bobcat put new drive motors in it, 20hrs later they put a drive controller and a F-N-R switch and i think a speed pedal,....long story short there just isnt enough of them out there for anyone to know their head from thier ass when it comes to working on them.

also the older ones had a horrible overheating problem ( it only took them 3 tries to fix mine :rolleyes: ) lol

i was thinking of buying another but,.......prolly not ;)

something else, the new 5610 sets about 6 inches taller than the older ones so hopefully it didnt lose the stability.

P.S. this thread needed a TC pic so here is one :drinkup

Pj

[bernieg]

i just sold my house and i am in the process of moving out of CA... i have decided to sell my TC and all implements as well... total hours about 525... just had new driver motors and really works well.. implements are a 4 way 72" bucket, 72" box scraper, post augar, finish mower, forklift forks and trencher... all in good condition... put it this way, there is only 525 hours on the machine so the implements have not been used very much... i am asking $37k for the Toolcat and all implements... bernieg