Farm skid steer?

So, I have a small goat farm and I've been itching to get some equipment to get the load off my back. I picked up an old Case 995 w/FEL last year for a song and it does OK for my primary use (lets me use rounds instead of squares), but it's too big to fit in my barns, and, being a 65hp monster with a synchro trans, is unwieldy at best. Very useful for the right thing, yes, but has limited applicability. I've rented a Bobcat a few times to help me put in posts for fencing and they've always been much easier to handle. Having one would be preferable to my big tractor. Unfortunately, as the farm is more of a hobby than a money making business (we do OK, but break even to slight profit at best) I don't have a lot of money to burn. I've been keeping my eye on the market and have noticed a few relatively new skids with very high hours (7-8k) in my price ballpark. 2011 Cat 200 and a 2008 NH LS170 most recently. Given that I don't plan to put more than 100-150 hours/year on the machine, is this tolerable?

Applications are basically barn cleaning, round bale moving, gravel driveway maintenance, moving stuff on pallets, some digging, maybe run a rental auger enough to do some holes once a year at most.

Yes, I've considered a compact utility tractor. There are none in a 200mile radius of me that are in my price ballpark and are hydro + have enough horses to lift and carry rounds. I've spent months looking. I also am not going to need access to PTO driven attachments regularly.

Higher hours can be ok but you'll probably be spending the difference between it and a lower hour machine on repairs especially if it's been used hard. I'd recommend renting while you save up or find just the right deal. In my area it's a sellers market so everything is incredibly over priced and if they are a "good deal" they're usually worn out.

Local Dealer really makes a difference. My Dealer went to shyt and I now go 90 miles for parts.

Get a skid steer. Handy as a pocket on a shirt and extremely versatile. As for picking a unit, there are multiple things to address. Hand vs foot controls, dealer support, how big is big enough, tracks vs tires, the list goes on. Member @KSSS is a great reference of knowledge when it comes to skid steers.

From personal experience using skid steers for farm and construction applications, a 1500-1800# lift capacity machine on tires is extremely versatile. They're big enough to handle and stack large round bales, small enough to get into fairly tight areas.

Hours aren't a deal breaker, but how it was maintained is.

Some good models that I've personally run and would buy for myself: Case 1845C and Bobcat 753. Both mechanical machines, minimal electronics to worry about, robust designs, proven track records. They are older designs, but they were done right. The Case is by far my favorite. Hand controls, Cummins 4B engine and reasonable cost of purchase.
If you want newer, it's still hard to beat the Case line up. Inspection is key on any used machine purchase.

A 7,000 + pound skid steer is extremely useful. Much under that and they don't do enough work to justify getting your insides pulverized. Ag tractors are great for visibility and getting in and out. Skid steers are great for front visibility only, but with a bale out front? Never done it, never wanted to. Get one and you will be surprised how much you use it.
I would go with an older one, so long as it has a quick coupler and auxiliary hydraulics. Another reason to get a bigger one is they handle different attachments better.

I think the 95xt/465 make great Farm machines. Pretty simple, biggest issue is the safety switches which are easy to fix when they go out. They can lift large loads, heavy and powerful enough to move material at a high production rate. High aux flow rates so you can run about any attachment made today especially if you have high flow. Cabs are not great, but for as much time as you would spend in one in that application they are livable. They were designed and made when steel was cheap so there is plenty of it, you have to really work at it to tear one up. Perfect for a farmer!

Ive aquired a bobcat 743 for farm use for cheap. Well it was for cheap till i decided to change out the tired wore out engine. Its like poking at a pile of chit with a stick..the more you poke and deeper you dig...the more it stinks. When its all said and done ill have vested about the same as if id bought a skid in way better shape to begin with. That being said, these old bobcats are very simple compared to newer models. (less to break down less to f up) This particular model only has 2 fuses...and uses foot/hand controls vs. finger tip electronic controls. its rated at 1300 lift cap. and can get into tight spaces and has aux. for attachments. i paid 3k for it but will dump another 4k into it to get everything fixed plus repainted. vs 8-10k for a decent unit from the get go. Well this way i will know this one inside and out for future trouble shooting.

I like my Jcb 260
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Thanks for all the helpful commentary.

A question, if I may: I've been wondering how much I can skimp on ROC and still get away with it. The heaviest things I need to lift are round hay bales in the ~1000lb range, sometimes up to 1200. I've seen a few skids locally (NH LS140, Bobcat 743) with a ROC in the 1200-1300 range. Given that I'll need to account for about a hundred pounds +/- for the bale spear, should I ignore anything with a ROC less than 1500 or so, or can I get safely close to the limit? Yes, I know, the larger the better is generally true.

Of note, the most I'm doing with rounds is pulling them off a trailer, stacking 2 high, and moving them 2-300 feet over mostly level surfaces, of which over half will be concrete or gravel.

The tipping load for a skid steer is typically twice the rated operating capacity. So a machine with a 1200lb ROC would, in theory, be able to wiggle around a 2400lb load. I would say you should be fine occasionally moving round bales with a smaller machine on level ground but I've never done it myself.

Thraxeth said:

A question, if I may: I've been wondering how much I can skimp on ROC and still get away with it. The heaviest things I need to lift are round hay bales in the ~1000lb range, sometimes up to 1200. I've seen a few skids locally (NH LS140, Bobcat 743) with a ROC in the 1200-1300 range. Given that I'll need to account for about a hundred pounds +/- for the bale spear, should I ignore anything with a ROC less than 1500 or so, or can I get safely close to the limit? Yes, I know, the larger the better is generally true.

Of note, the most I'm doing with rounds is pulling them off a trailer, stacking 2 high, and moving them 2-300 feet over mostly level surfaces, of which over half will be concrete or gravel.

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From experience handling 1000-1200 lb round bales, no. I have used a Bobcat 743, and a 753, and both get tippy very quickly when you have the bale up high. Whether it's loading a trailer, unloading a trailer, or stacking them, I learned real fast that they just aren't heavy enough for the largest round bales. Too much of the bale weight is too far out in front of the machine. As soon as you hit a slight dip, you begin to quickly rock forward because you are too close to the rated capacity.

A machine with a slightly longer wheelbase handles them better, like a 773. Or, the Case 1845c, 60XT, or 430. I don't know other brands very well to make other suggestions. I'm personally on a quest for a Case 440-3 for a farm use machine. Solid machines, great power to weight, reliable and pre-emissions crap.

Well I can't talk from a farm point of view but from my experience with at least one Case 1845C used in a stone quarry mostly for clean up work. I would lean toward one of those if price was good and machine had been cared for.

The 1845C at the quarry I retired from in 2015 was a 1989 model and last I knew it was still going strong. I won't say it has never needed repairs but 99.9% of any repairs were due to outright abuse or lack of basic maintenance, what are those fittings on the linkage for? Funny how they fit a grease gun coupler!

Never replaced a hydraulic pump or hydraulic motor only a couple seals in either. Case/Cummins motor barely touched other than water pump at around 25 years. Major repairs other than the pins and bushings due to lack of grease were hydraulic cylinders seals probably due to the extreme dirt and dust in the quarry and then there were the drive chains! Those for the most part I would put off to operator abuse!

One other point I liked about the 1845C was the fairly easy access to repairs for a compact machine. Operators compartment and ROPS would slide forward to make access to pumps and drive motors pretty easy.

My Grandpa has been running 1845C machines since the 80s when they debuted. Awesome machine, very reliable and plenty of power. He racks up 10,000 hours or so, then sends them down the road when he finds a suitable replacement. Between 3 machines, he racks up around 5000 hours of skid loader use every year, cleaning barns, hauling hay, picking stones, everyday farm use. They have more than proven their worth.

I have had multiple people recommend the 1845C to me, so it must be quite a durable machine. Someone has a 1995 with 3100 hours for $8k not too far away that I may have to look into.

Figured that a lower-capacity skid was a bad idea. A rank amateur like me certainly shouldn't be intentionally cutting corners on weight.

Thraxeth said:

I have had multiple people recommend the 1845C to me, so it must be quite a durable machine. Someone has a 1995 with 3100 hours for $8k not too far away that I may have to look into.

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I throw in my vote for an 1845c. I've had mine for 22 years and it's been fantastic in every way. It's not fancy, but it does what it should and it's bulletproof. If you can find one in decent shape for $8k, that's a no brainer.

The down side to going lighter on ROC is where the weight is carried. The ROC rating determined with the weight close to the machine. A round bale is further away from the machine and you have the weight of the grapple. So depending on the type of grapple you will use (a spear would save you the most weight, but not always the best tool for round bale) you have to add that to weight of the bale. If you could get to 2500 or so plus ROC, it would give you more of a cushion for uneven ground and heavier bales.

I have a S250 for the ranch. If you think you will only put 100hrs/yr on it, I would at least double that figure. Like other have said, you'll find all kinds of uses for it. I can easily handle round bales and do so often. I just use pallet forks. The only downside is the visibility, I just look out the side windows to make sure I am still on the road, hopefully nothing is in front of me! I also have a Case 895 and it definitely has its uses, but like you said it is very big and cumbersome.

Sorry to leave this thread without update for a while, but I've been searching for the right piece of equipment for a while and I've had two pop up recently. Any thoughts?

First is a Case 1835C. ROC is 1200lb... Probably not enough for me, but the price is tempting. Also given that I have heard a lot of good things about its bigger brother the 45C. 2300~ hours, $5500.

Second is a 2006 JD 320. Hand/foot, no EH. Definitely big enough. Needs new tires for sure, will be going to look at it later this weekend to see what else it needs. They didn't know hours over the phone, but it has been a 1-owner machine with service records in hand. Very tempting as my neighbor is a JD mechanic. $6500

Although I am a CASE guy, I would pass on the 1835C. It was a price point machine and not very popular, the actual 1840 and 45C are worth waiting for. As for the Deere, Personally I cant stand them. That was the first model made after the 200 series which was really bad. The 3** series was better, and having a neighbor who is a JD mechanic would be a bonus, the price seems right. If it was exceptional clean, it might be worth considering.