the skid steer is everything i expected it to be.
Glad to hear you were impressed, Dave. I am also happy to report that out of the 3 demo's I've done so far, we have faired very well. One customer has comitted to purchase, the other is undecided, and the third just got his demo yesterday, but so far is impressed. Also worth noting, I am demo-ing a 260T OROPS, only because it is all I have avaiable right now(most of these guys have T300's or 332's)....so I am very eager to get the 300/320T's out there.
My personal experience operating the new units:
- The cabs are everything they said they would be. Huge volume, exceptionally quiet, A/C works great, visibility is impressive....just all around comfort.
- Pushing power on this 260T is impressive. It will easily boil dirt/rock/sand/road mill over the back of the bucket if you want to.
- Controls are very responsive. Only complaint there is that I wish the single speed would have about 1 mph more speed.
- Very stable in fork applications too. I tested this unit with a 1 yd concrete barrier, which should weigh around 3K lbs.....lifted it, moved it, carried it....didn't even hardly know it was there. This impressed me, because I have seen what the Deere machines can do lifting-wise, and I think we can hang with them.
- Very stable on slopes too. On my first demo, one of the first things the guy did was start climbing the side of a pretty steep bank, probably about a 2-2.5 to 1. Then he turned sideways on it and drove around to the level part.....I was nervous just watching him, but he said the machine felt very planted.
All in all, I am more than happy with how the new machines have turned out. Obviously, we have our challenges ahead, but I am very encouraged at how the units are performing, and excited for the rest of the line to come out at the end of this year.