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JCB Skid Steer

durallymax

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2011
Messages
666
Location
Wi
Quiet engine is only a small part of the noise. The CNH machines have a very quiet engine, but the hydro noise is unbearable.

Manual controls may play a larger role in it as well. IIRC your Bobcat has manual controls or ACS. Our CNH machine that was loud also did.

A tight modular cab does help I think, especially when the machines get to be 10 years old with thousands of hours piled on them. The D series Cat cabs don't look a lot different, but they got rid of most of the joints by forming single pieces and that seems to have helped quiet the cab down even more.

I'd love to comment on the JCB but gave up on them. I'm not going to chase the salesman around and beg to demo one anymore. I tried, they dropped the ball multiple times. Oh well.
 

pafarmer

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2010
Messages
883
Location
Somewhere in the woods !
Occupation
Land clearing, demo, site prep etc. Ex Pro Motocro
Quiet engine is only a small part of the noise. The CNH machines have a very quiet engine, but the hydro noise is unbearable.

Manual controls may play a larger role in it as well. IIRC your Bobcat has manual controls or ACS. Our CNH machine that was loud also did.

A tight modular cab does help I think, especially when the machines get to be 10 years old with thousands of hours piled on them. The D series Cat cabs don't look a lot different, but they got rid of most of the joints by forming single pieces and that seems to have helped quiet the cab down even more.

I'd love to comment on the JCB but gave up on them. I'm not going to chase the salesman around and beg to demo one anymore. I tried, they dropped the ball multiple times. Oh well.

Its like I have always preached, the dealer and service before and more importantly after the sale is the single most important factor when purchasing any equipment. If the sales staff does have the time and common sense to even Demo a new piece of equipment then they surely won't be there for you after the sale of when a problem arises.

I agree the D series CAT are very awesome units in many regards, thatswhy I own and run CAT iron.
 

dave esterns

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2010
Messages
597
Location
madison
cat seems to be offering 242ds with cab and ac for 250 a month for 60 months. doesn't sound like a bad deal to me but 5 years is a long time!

so surprisingly the michelin tires have 700 hours on them, and still have more tread than new bobcat tires. i don't know how they do it, but the tires ride smoother, have more traction, and apparently last forever. got them for 300 bucks a tire so at this point they are a fabulous deal. no flats either. ic jcb is offering them on new machines now.

so i have logged almost 2000 hours on the jcb and my final analysis is it probably isn't as "good" as a bobcat in terms of reliability and toughness, but I don't see how i would handily be able to switch to another brand any time soon. the easy and just plain convenient side entry, visibility, fuel consumption, no effort controls, ergonomics, climate control, small size, ease of cleaning, and quiet and large cab seem to offset any of the problems i have with it like the less than perfect eh. i guess it comes down to price if the jcb is 10k more than another brand when i try to trade, it would be hard to pay that much of a premium. but i see 242ds are listed for 55k these days! outrageous!

our jcb dealer is excellent.
 

durallymax

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2011
Messages
666
Location
Wi
cat seems to be offering 242ds with cab and ac for 250 a month for 60 months. doesn't sound like a bad deal to me but 5 years is a long time!

so surprisingly the michelin tires have 700 hours on them, and still have more tread than new bobcat tires. i don't know how they do it, but the tires ride smoother, have more traction, and apparently last forever. got them for 300 bucks a tire so at this point they are a fabulous deal. no flats either. ic jcb is offering them on new machines now.

but i see 242ds are listed for 55k these days! outrageous!

We don't lease, the outright prices on them are very good deals especially since you are in Ag and should qualify for an Ag machine. Listed prices and what you will pay are two very different things. 242D is nowhere near 55k even without the Ag program. In some areas of the country they may sell plenty high, but thats irrelevant as you are in the same region here with good pricing.

The Bibsteels do last a long time. The 12" last substantially longer. The set of 12's I put on our 242B3 have just about 2,000hrs on them now. The first 1k they spent in the barn and on gravel the last 1k has been on a warehouse floor primarily. Still have a decent amount of tread on them. The 10" set I put on our 226B3 only made it about 1,200hrs. Putting a set of 12's on it now as long as the operators don't have any issues with the larger ones. The price difference is so small its worth it for twice the life.
 

RenegadeEnterpr

New Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2015
Messages
1
Location
United States
Occupation
Land Clearing, Tree Service
We don't lease, the outright prices on them are very good deals especially since you are in Ag and should qualify for an Ag machine. Listed prices and what you will pay are two very different things. 242D is nowhere near 55k even without the Ag program. In some areas of the country they may sell plenty high, but thats irrelevant as you are in the same region here with good pricing.

The Bibsteels do last a long time. The 12" last substantially longer. The set of 12's I put on our 242B3 have just about 2,000hrs on them now. The first 1k they spent in the barn and on gravel the last 1k has been on a warehouse floor primarily. Still have a decent amount of tread on them. The 10" set I put on our 226B3 only made it about 1,200hrs. Putting a set of 12's on it now as long as the operators don't have any issues with the larger ones. The price difference is so small its worth it for twice the life.



Hey, this looks like the site for me. Just finished reading through most of your guys posts. I see JCB has come out with a Forestmaster- any idea why the HP is so low?

I run a Cat 287c, and my drive sprocket keeps building up with ice in the winter. Anyone ever experienced this problem?

Either way- im potentially looking for a new track loader. Has anyone ran a JCB with a mulching head?

Thanks for any and all advice!
 

dan1973

New Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2015
Messages
4
Location
il
for what its worth , we had 13 260's and 3 160's for snow plowing and now we don't. just sayin!
 

StumpyWally

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2011
Messages
516
Location
Liv'in the Dream ---------------> in Ballston, NY
Occupation
PE Civil Eng'r, Computer Sys. Mgr., Retired
for what its worth , we had 13 260's and 3 160's for snow plowing and now we don't. just sayin!

So don't just stop there...give us some reasons & details...were they all or some of the "new generation" models??...what exactly was wrong with them or what went wrong with them??

And, what did you replace them with, & how are they in comparison??
 

pafarmer

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2010
Messages
883
Location
Somewhere in the woods !
Occupation
Land clearing, demo, site prep etc. Ex Pro Motocro
for what its worth , we had 13 260's and 3 160's for snow plowing and now we don't. just sayin!

Please expand on your comments ? What was the issue(s) ? It's a big statement to make without a basis Or explanation and really can't be taken seriously left open ended like you did.....so with that in mind, Please tell us more if you want to be taken seriously by the members here in the future...
 

cat320

Charter Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2003
Messages
913
Location
Stoneham,MA
Well I tried to buy 175 Eco that has been sitting on the dealer or since last summer with 15 hours on it that put on trying it out last summer and just could not buy it. They gave me crap for my trade and then didn't really discount the new machine. From what is see the price went way down on older machines that where used for 2-3 years.
 

dan1973

New Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2015
Messages
4
Location
il
Please expand on your comments ? What was the issue(s) ? It's a big statement to make without a basis Or explanation and really can't be taken seriously left open ended like you did.....so with that in mind, Please tell us more if you want to be taken seriously by the members here in the future...

overall poor design, the only option we liked was the side entrance. all the glass cracked. lack of power, the 160's were always our of service for one thing or another. we have stayed with bobcat ever since. by the way we had all new machines in 2009 and sent them all back and received all new machines in 2010 and ended up sending them all back. i hope this helps.
 

pafarmer

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2010
Messages
883
Location
Somewhere in the woods !
Occupation
Land clearing, demo, site prep etc. Ex Pro Motocro
Thanks Dan for the explanation. Sounds like they were some real POS machines. Glad you moved to the Bobcat's and never looked back....
 

StumpyWally

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2011
Messages
516
Location
Liv'in the Dream ---------------> in Ballston, NY
Occupation
PE Civil Eng'r, Computer Sys. Mgr., Retired
overall poor design, the only option we liked was the side entrance. all the glass cracked. lack of power, the 160's were always our of service for one thing or another. we have stayed with bobcat ever since. by the way we had all new machines in 2009 and sent them all back and received all new machines in 2010 and ended up sending them all back. i hope this helps.

Thanks for the additional info & reasons...but judging by the years you mentioned. it's quite possible all those "new" machines were the older Robot models, & not the "new generation" models, which I think came out in 2011 or so. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
 

mountainlake

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2014
Messages
136
Location
mn
Occupation
sawmill operator
I wonder what kind of operators were in those JCB machines, some who are pro Bobcat etc will beat the crap out a machine that doesn't have the big name while operating the big name machine the way it should be. Cracked glass points to that. A friend of mine has a JCB which works good.
 

mountainlake

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2014
Messages
136
Location
mn
Occupation
sawmill operator
Also give me a Bobcat or any brand and I can have it broke down fast if I want to, no machine is will last with a bad operator
 

mountainlake

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Joined
Apr 28, 2014
Messages
136
Location
mn
Occupation
sawmill operator
I have a friend with a 773 Bobcat and he showed me all the places where the arms broke, does that mean it's a bad machine, no just a rough operator. Far as resale I sure wouldn't buy a new one unless I planned on keeping it for 10000 hour but used ones can be a real good value due to the lower resale.
 

Digdeep

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2007
Messages
704
Location
Wisconsin
I have a friend with a 773 Bobcat and he showed me all the places where the arms broke, does that mean it's a bad machine, no just a rough operator. Far as resale I sure wouldn't buy a new one unless I planned on keeping it for 10000 hour but used ones can be a real good value due to the lower resale.

You would be one of the very, very, very few customers who runs a skid steer to 10,000 hours. I sold skid steers for a living and I can tell you that a one owner 10,000 hour SSL is few and far between.
 

durallymax

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2011
Messages
666
Location
Wi
Good operators can be hard to find. Especially in some jobs. Other jobs a good operator is over qualified. In a perfect world everyone would be a perfect operator that cared, but that's not the world. Hard enough to find people to work as it is. No machine should be expected to last forever when abused, but some hold up better than others and that can be a factor in some people's purchases. If buying a machine for yourself that will be your "baby" it's not a big factor but if you're buying it for a bunch of different people to jump in it that don't care, then it matters. Neither is really right or wrong, just different environments and perspectives.

10k is a rare number to hit. We have an old LS170 with 10,200hrs on it now, bought new in 01 and only gets about 20 minutes a day put on it now. You'd be hard pressed to find many machines with that high of hours especially outside of dairies. Even then most get rid of them before then and they go to a 2nd owner cheap that doesn't rack the hours up.
 
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