I have run many skids over the past few years in commercial construction and need to get one for a new house that I am setting, an old one that I am tearing down plus outbuildings. It will also be used to clear a 1300 foot driveway of snow, feed heavy round bales, grade etc plus run a backhoe attachment and auger that my dad has for his NH LX885.
I have pretty much narrowed it down to a NH L175 through L185 or a Deere 325. Here are my concerns:
1. First and foremost I love the deals that are around me on the L175's and I have been looking for some time. Money is tight for us and the deals, condition and age are better but they are only 17.2 GPM and 2550 psi and I am worried that that is running on the low end and I might be limited for attachments etc. The others I am looking at start at 19.5 and 3050 PSI...is this enough difference in the real world to notice or am I just splitting hairs and forget about it.
2. I am in love with the capacity of my dad's LX885 and it seems like a perfect balance plus it is stable, smooth and handles round bales with ease. The L175 is shorter, has 200 less capacity (2000lbs) and 2000 less breakout force (4312) then either my dads LX885 or the newer L180. Is this going to be a problem for 15-1600 lb round bales if I chose to go with a 175. I know it is rated at 2000 and I am talking about a 1600 lb bale but I understand sometimes the figures can be misleading. When I drove the 175 it seemed pretty dang powerful when shoving into the pile of dirt but I was not able to pick anything near the weight of a round bale. Will I feel lacking going from a large frame to a small?
3. I have good dealer support for both in the rural area I will be in and like the Deere on specs and power a ton but the one thing that drives me nuts is when the bucket is all the way down and tipped all the way back on the unit I just drove on Friday it took very little uneven terrain or bumps to have the bucket slamming into the ground and dragging all over. I had a feeling it was the bucket that was paired with the unit but who knows.
4. General opinion between the two makers and my choices. I need to get something fairly soon to work the weekends out there for demolition and cleanup for the summer build.
I am stuck here, any help is really appreciated.
I have pretty much narrowed it down to a NH L175 through L185 or a Deere 325. Here are my concerns:
1. First and foremost I love the deals that are around me on the L175's and I have been looking for some time. Money is tight for us and the deals, condition and age are better but they are only 17.2 GPM and 2550 psi and I am worried that that is running on the low end and I might be limited for attachments etc. The others I am looking at start at 19.5 and 3050 PSI...is this enough difference in the real world to notice or am I just splitting hairs and forget about it.
2. I am in love with the capacity of my dad's LX885 and it seems like a perfect balance plus it is stable, smooth and handles round bales with ease. The L175 is shorter, has 200 less capacity (2000lbs) and 2000 less breakout force (4312) then either my dads LX885 or the newer L180. Is this going to be a problem for 15-1600 lb round bales if I chose to go with a 175. I know it is rated at 2000 and I am talking about a 1600 lb bale but I understand sometimes the figures can be misleading. When I drove the 175 it seemed pretty dang powerful when shoving into the pile of dirt but I was not able to pick anything near the weight of a round bale. Will I feel lacking going from a large frame to a small?
3. I have good dealer support for both in the rural area I will be in and like the Deere on specs and power a ton but the one thing that drives me nuts is when the bucket is all the way down and tipped all the way back on the unit I just drove on Friday it took very little uneven terrain or bumps to have the bucket slamming into the ground and dragging all over. I had a feeling it was the bucket that was paired with the unit but who knows.
4. General opinion between the two makers and my choices. I need to get something fairly soon to work the weekends out there for demolition and cleanup for the summer build.
I am stuck here, any help is really appreciated.
