Best compact track loader for general grading and clearing slopes/brush cutting

Good afternoon,

My question is which CTL/skidsteer is the most stable on hill sides. It will also be used for general grading on a farm. To be specific it will want to be used to grade (not professionally), and run a brush cutter of about 72 inches on steep hills. To describe the hills better, a old jeep truck can climb them in 4x4 straight up. When I used my old tractor going across them the ballasted rear tires on a 2 wheel drive tractor, it would dig in and I would need to use my split breaks to keep the front end up straight. I can not use the same method because white thorn have infested the area and will kill a rubber tire machine. I would not be cutting more than 2 to 3 inch, mostly less. I brush cut some of the hills with a TN70DA which I back up and go forward down. I have yet to find a youtube video that has a CTL on a hill that I want to use it on, all the videos are on slopes I would not consider an issue.

What I would like to know:
1 what is a good CTL/skidsteer on slopes and hills running a brush cutter, 72 inch
2 how would an experienced operator address steep hills/slopes
3 this machine will be used for mostly grading and farm use, maybe 30 hours a year on hills and slopes to cut brush.
4 I believe my price range is going to be in the 75hp range with standard flow hydraulics with an enclosed cab.

Thank you

My Answers to
1; Positrack PT75 or C75-----little or no electronics in them.Aftermarket Bolt on grousers are available for them if required.
2; Work up hill where ever possible ---it's no fun sliding down a hill into somewhere you would never want to go.
4; Get a hiflow machine if it's in your price range, you won't regret it.



No worries.

1 should read RC 75.

I agree on the RC model positracs. I have an ASV RC 30. For as little as it is, it climbs hills, like a mountain goat. I don't sidehill over 15º, but I know from experience, it'll climb 40º, straight up and then back down. I have a home made bush hog I made outta an old 4' 3 point bush hog, that the frame rotted out on. Will chew through about a 3" stump, any bigger, and it's quicker to use a chain saw on the tree. I also mow pond banks with it, occasionally I'll hit sand or a ground hog hole, get stuck, and have to disconnect the mower, then back up the bank, and use a chain to pull the mower back up. So far, I have over 2500 hrs, on the tracks. Your milage may vary, as road grading, and UV radiation eat them up faster...

I run a tl130 with a 72" mower mowing pond dams and all kinds of clearing stuff. It doesn't really like to sidehill, nor do I for that matter, but straight up and down it does much better.

John

I looked at the ASV 75. Found new at 72,000, used around 60 to 50,000 with the low hours I want. All reviews seem good on them with some common issues, and no service that I can find close to Nokesville, Va.

I have been talking to a case dealer and a New holland dealer as well as Bobcat. Price for a C227 New holland is 52,000 just the machine and bucket.
No price from Bobcat yet but recommend a T590, so we will see on price.

The Case dealer is telling me TR310. Included is a smooth bucket, tooth bar and a blue diamond 72 inch open front brush cutter for 52,900 plus tax.

Depending on what I hear from Bobcat, looks like case has the price.

I wonder with the blue diamond 72 inch cutter if the case 310 will be decent?

I do agree ASV is the best on just about any surface, I just can not afford the machine plus the Brush cutter.

Anyone had any issues with the TR310, if so like to hear good and bad.

Thank you for your advice and feed back.

I just got finished talking to Kubota, looking at a SV75-2. Might get it at or around 52,000 without a brush cutter. ASV is most definitely the best machine gor the job I need to do safely, just can not do the price. Which CTL would be better, the Case TR 310 or the Kubota SV75-2?

Thank you

usmc1775 said:

I looked at the ASV 75. Found new at 72,000, used around 60 to 50,000 with the low hours I want. All reviews seem good on them with some common issues, and no service that I can find close to Nokesville, Va.

I have been talking to a case dealer and a New holland dealer as well as Bobcat. Price for a C227 New holland is 52,000 just the machine and bucket.
No price from Bobcat yet but recommend a T590, so we will see on price.

The Case dealer is telling me TR310. Included is a smooth bucket, tooth bar and a blue diamond 72 inch open front brush cutter for 52,900 plus tax.

Depending on what I hear from Bobcat, looks like case has the price.

I wonder with the blue diamond 72 inch cutter if the case 310 will be decent?

I do agree ASV is the best on just about any surface, I just can not afford the machine plus the Brush cutter.

Anyone had any issues with the TR310, if so like to hear good and bad.

Thank you for your advice and feed back.

Click to expand...

Not sure why you think the ASV will do the best on any surface, there is a reason there arent more of them out there.

TR310 is going to be the machine with the most balls without having to use DEF. its just been replaced by the TV370.
price youre being quoted is actually a really good price for that machine. especially with the brush cutter included.
the < 74hp machines with radial lift are the lowest incidence of warranty claims we see in the shop among the skid steers and CTLs.
make sure the machine your buying has high flow or enhanced high flow hydraulics, and you'll want a cab for any kind of brush cutter / forestry mulcher applications.
only machine thats going to do a better job on slope will be the Minotaur thats supposed to be released this time next year, it will have steel tracks.

usmc1775 said:

I just got finished talking to Kubota, looking at a SV75-2. Might get it at or around 52,000 without a brush cutter. ASV is most definitely the best machine gor the job I need to do safely, just can not do the price. Which CTL would be better, the Case TR 310 or the Kubota SV75-2?

Thank you

Click to expand...

Both machines are more or less identical, the CASE is going to have more tip breakout on the bucket, and you'll have the option of being able to switch control patterns where the Kubota cannot.

The case is going to have more torque, better hydraulic flow (by a lot) in either standard or high flow, it will have better balance as its not as tall and is almost 12 inches wider over the tracks. The visibility from the cab is best in the industry.
The Kubota is going to have a DPF system which means it will need to regen cycle which, the CASE is a PMC which means it wont have to regen.

The TR-310 is made in Wichita Kansas
The Kubota.....isnt.

if you wanna pay more for a foreign made machine with poorer performance, youre free to do so.

Kubotas are good machines, but head to head with a TR310 the SV75-2 gets outclassed.

I agree the price is outstanding. No one has been able to even come vlose to that price with the brush cutter included. I like what I have read about the case, and the kubota spec wise. The Kubota has more traction force by 2000lb I think. Ignorantly I think that is traction or actual traction force pushing. I do understand real life is diferent than what is on paper. My bug concern is the front and rear casters. The kubota has a much wider front and back. I have ran a TL8 Tac which I de-tracked with the same setup. It was a rental, the track was probably too lose, and I am not an operator, just may only have 20 hours on CTL's in general. The case dealer is 2 hours away, the Kubota dealer is 15 min. The kubota access door is nice, but not something that will sale me. I do like the case being lower and wider, because I may have to go sideways at some point on a pretty steep slope, that is why I am concerned about the front and back casters being one thin piece to keep the track in place. Any one have a youtube videos of CTL's on slopes, I mean West Virginia kind of slopes.

Thank you

FWIW-

usmc1775 said:

front and back casters

Click to expand...

I believe you are referring to what is commonly known as idlers. And for what that is worth, in my part of the country (SE US with hills possibly like yours) Cat has gone to a triple flange idler. It has the center like you have, but also one on each outer edge of the track's teeth. Not foolproof, but much better at holding tracks on in steep ground, particularly when turning. You won't see a new machine on the dealer lot without them.

Case seems to still have the pizza cutter type idlers on the new machines as well. The deal I am getting with case is very good, only issue is they are 2 hours away. If I get a good machine then no worries, but a lemon will be 4 hours round trip each time.

usmc1775 said:

I looked at the ASV 75. Found new at 72,000, used around 60 to 50,000 with the low hours I want. All reviews seem good on them with some common issues, and no service that I can find close to Nokesville, Va.

I have been talking to a case dealer and a New holland dealer as well as Bobcat. Price for a C227 New holland is 52,000 just the machine and bucket.
No price from Bobcat yet but recommend a T590, so we will see on price.

The Case dealer is telling me TR310. Included is a smooth bucket, tooth bar and a blue diamond 72 inch open front brush cutter for 52,900 plus tax.

Depending on what I hear from Bobcat, looks like case has the price.

I wonder with the blue diamond 72 inch cutter if the case 310 will be decent?

I do agree ASV is the best on just about any surface, I just can not afford the machine plus the Brush cutter.

Anyone had any issues with the TR310, if so like to hear good and bad.

Thank you for your advice and feed back.

Click to expand...

Can I ask what dealer quoted you that on the Case? And was it an enclosed cab. I would like to contact that dealer and get a price on a machine, I think my local dealer is way to high? Thanks

Norwegian Steam said:

Not sure why you think the ASV will do the best on any surface, there is a reason there arent more of them out there.

TR310 is going to be the machine with the most balls without having to use DEF. its just been replaced by the TV370.
price youre being quoted is actually a really good price for that machine. especially with the brush cutter included.
the < 74hp machines with radial lift are the lowest incidence of warranty claims we see in the shop among the skid steers and CTLs.
make sure the machine your buying has high flow or enhanced high flow hydraulics, and you'll want a cab for any kind of brush cutter / forestry mulcher applications.
only machine thats going to do a better job on slope will be the Minotaur thats supposed to be released this time next year, it will have steel tracks.

Click to expand...

The 310 is not being replaced by the 370. The 310 is a medium frame machine, the 370 is a large frame. The 370 is made to provide 380 type lifting capacity without the SCR to go with it.

RTSmith said:

FWIW-
I believe you are referring to what is commonly known as idlers. And for what that is worth, in my part of the country (SE US with hills possibly like yours) Cat has gone to a triple flange idler. It has the center like you have, but also one on each outer edge of the track's teeth. Not foolproof, but much better at holding tracks on in steep ground, particularly when turning. You won't see a new machine on the dealer lot without them.

Click to expand...

Cat went to triples due to detracking issues they were having. I have not seen or heard of those issues with the CASE undercarriage. I would not worry about detracking due to a single idler.

As much as I liked the performance of my ASV 4810 that I had years ago, I did learn to stay away from their type of rubber track system for any type of side-hill work. And any type of heavy gravel/rock work as well. Straight up and down was not too much of an issue but for my work, I will never go back to that type of track system.

A steel-encased-in-rubber type track would be better for slope work. After 7 derailments in the first 70 hours on a new machine with the ASV, I was always cautious if on a side slope. While the anti-derailment kit solved most of the problems, I still saw excessively fast track component wear and occasional derailment issues when in less than perfect conditions. The Kubota SV-95 that I last ran had a superior undercarriage compared to my former 4810. No issues had with the Kubota, even working with large rock on rough terrain.

I'm sure that ASVs may have a much better system these days but for me, nothing works better than a dedicated land clearing machine that is purpose built for what it has to do. Steel tracks handle bad terrain and tough conditions better for what I do and have less maintenance.

You've probably purchased your machine already, but for anyone who comes across this post in the future, I thought I would throw my .02 worth in.
First I would suggest that you calculate your slope, it's really pretty easy, and it gives everyone a common reference point. To do this without fancy equipment, for those who may not know, place a stick at the top of the grade, tie a string on it, then place a stick at the bottom of the grade, tie the string to that stick so that it is level (check it with a string level if you can), then measure the distance from the ground to the string on the stick at the bottom of the grade - this is your "rise". Next measure the distance between the stick at the top of the grade to the stick at the bottom of the grade - this is your "run". The slope as a grade = rise / run * 100. So 5ft rise with a 20ft run would equal a 25% grade.

I've been running equipment off and on for more than 40 years and if that experience is worth anything, the first consideration (but not necessarily the most important) is what equipment does the dealer closest to you service. That said, as for brand, I will now always and only purchase Bobcat equipment in this class range. I have my own reasons, not to mention their support for veterans, but I've run plenty of older Bobcat equipment, not my own - which typically means lots of different operators, and they still simply just run and run well. I suppose if I really got into a crunch and could not for some reason obtain a Bobcat machine, I would next move to Case. I currently run a Case 1840 that was built in 1996 and a Case SV340, both have been used for excavation and grading/gravel work with the 1840 unit used for this purpose for at least 10 years and still running strong. Of course, proper maintenance of the machine is important for this longevity of service, the 1840 machine has about 5000hrs on it, again having been used by a multitude of operators, most of whom just throttle to the max and run it as hard as they can.

I used to like Deere, and have many, many hours running a wide selection of their equipment over the years, and while they do the job pretty well, I have been seeing a trend that I don't like... they seem to be getting more cheaply made with each generation of machine - and now they are not the solid equipment they used to be in my personal opinion.

With regard to all the other equipment, except CAT... I just personally stay away from foreign-made equipment in this class now, quite frankly because my experience has been they just don't last as long mechanically for some reason.

So in my opinion, for the compact class of machines - Bobcat, Case, and Cat are my go to's, in that order, and Deere if I have absolutely no choice, but I won't own any of the rest of them - regardless of how cheap they are or how far I have to travel for service or parts.