Tak tl12 vs t870/t770 for farm use

Hi all,

I am looking at purchasing one of these in the near future and wanted to get your thoughts on them, specifically for operating up and down steep inclines with a brush mower or mulcher. The CTL will be used mostly to clear old pastures, normal farm duties, and to landscape at my house moving dirt. I like all the attachments offered by Bobcat, but I am sure all of those are offered for the Tak as well, looking mostly as brush cutters, a mulcher, 4 in1, root rake, and an 8811 or similar backhoe attachment. My friend is the sales manager for the local Tak dealership and the Bobcat dealer has always treated me right with the E55 mini, so service will not be an issue. Another question I have on these is would I be better off going with a 2k hour machine since I will not be using it to make a living or should I just go ahead and get a new or demo model with warranty because I am not familiar with the life expectancy of the undercarriage and other wear items? Any pics or vids of these going up a steep hill?

Thanks
Mike

I have a T770 with a mulcher and brush mower. It is amazing what it can do with slopes. Did some fence line work a couple of years back and it didn't struggle with it. Any of the really steep stuff (30 degrees estimated) I was able to work from the top down. Only thing that got me nervous was when there was a vertical drop in the middle of the slope. I used to have a few pictures of the job, but cant seem to find them. Will keep looking.

I have used the T870 and didn't really notice much of a difference in power, but the extra width and length was obvious. I am glad I went with the 770. I have also notice the solid undercarriage over the roller suspension, makes a difference on comfort and feel while lifting. The solid undercarriage doesn't rock near as much and is better for grading.

Equip Junkie said:

I have a T770 with a mulcher and brush mower. It is amazing what it can do with slopes. Did some fence line work a couple of years back and it didn't struggle with it. Any of the really steep stuff (30 degrees estimated) I was able to work from the top down. Only thing that got me nervous was when there was a vertical drop in the middle of the slope. I used to have a few pictures of the job, but cant seem to find them. Will keep looking.

I have used the T870 and didn't really notice much of a difference in power, but the extra width and length was obvious. I am glad I went with the 770. I have also notice the solid undercarriage over the roller suspension, makes a difference on comfort and feel while lifting. The solid undercarriage doesn't rock near as much and is better for grading.

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Thanks for the input, how did it feel going uphill with the mulcher, I have heard the Bobcats are more tail heavy than the others?

I haven't found going up hill an issue. Obviously if it is icy or slick, you might loose traction, but that would happen on most machines. I have on occasion(hitting a bump) pitched back a bit while going up steep slopes. Worse time is when going on or off trailer. I drive on forward so I can see the middle of the trailer. If I have parked the rear wheel of the truck in a hole, the back of the trailer rides high, causing the angle of the ramp to be pretty high. Only thing that makes it uncomfortable is the pivot point when the track goes from the deck to the ramp. The angle of the ramp is easy just the pivot point. Ran a wheeled machine the other day for a bit and couldn't believe how often it would flop back on the bumper. Was glad to get my CTL back. Take them for a test drive on a slope if you can.