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Finish Grading with Skiploaders

Sammarsh

New Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2010
Messages
4
Location
Central Oklahoma
I use a 4520 cab john deere cut for my work tractor with 6' Gannon on it top and tilt. I love the size but the tractor needs improving.
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JNB

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2012
Messages
823
Location
North Texas
Occupation
Flyin' low and rollin' slow...
Thanks for posting your skiploader experiences Carl. Skips aren't something you see a lot of discussion about on the web.

Growing up on the West Coast, fine tuning before pouring concrete or placing asphalt and finish / landscape grading using a skiploader where just how things were done. I ran a bunch of rental skips for contractors I worked for and then for myself for twenty years after I got my concrete license. I relocated to Texas a few years ago and can tell you that skips are a foreign piece of equipment here. Most finish grading is done using skidsteers which are absolutely everywhere. What I'd call rough grade seems to pass just fine for finish grade too. You can tell it does since most properties in my area of North Texas have absolutely terrible drainage.

I'd love to upgrade to a Deere 210 LE, but with the economy being what it is, I have to do brush hogging and a lot of other ag related jobs to stay busy, so I use what I have, a hydrostatic CUT. I continue to advertise and push drainage grading though. Maybe someday it'll catch on!
 

Sammarsh

New Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2010
Messages
4
Location
Central Oklahoma
Same here in Oklahoma the honey holes are gone. It's getting more competitive here too. The jobs that get the lower bid always have issues to deal with later after sod has been laid. I had a guy once tell me to teach guys how to do dirt work. I told him it takes years to develop the skills it takes. And you have to want to do dirt work or it will show.
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Queenslander

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2009
Messages
1,227
Location
Australia
Case Loader.jpg

So how do the Case loaders stack up?
Iam loking at a low hour 570LXT with a Gannon blade.
I need something to run onto the back of a single axle tipper, with the aid of alloy ramps, and this looks to be ideal.
There is also a Cat machine for sale here too, a little larger machine, but almost twice the price.
These machines (with the Gannon blade) are practically unheard of here in Aus.,this one has been imported from the U.S.
I thought it might be good for small,but distant, road repair jobs, save having to travel with the grader.
Cheers, Greg
 

JDOFMEMI

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2007
Messages
3,074
Location
SoCal
I love the Case Skiploader. They were the first ones (I think) to come out with a platform machine. The old Fords and Masseys you would sit astraddle of the transmission, and it makes working over the rear all the time hard for most. Especially the older ones with the gannon controls in front, between your legs.

Case figured it out, and raised the seat up so it can swivel, and put the gannon controls on the fender so they are easy to work while swiveled over looking back. I think it is much better that way. The John Deere 210LE's are the same way, and those 2 are the best chopices for skiploaders.

The other thing Case did right is offered hydraulic downpressure, instead of only float like the ag tractor conversion Ford and Massey's. I can remember running a Case and it would have enough down pressure to lift the rear tires off the ground. Not that you would want to, but that is also why they are 4X4 as well. You can still float the Case, and it has a detent to do so, but if you want to carry grade, it will hold where you put it. The Case is pretty rugged as well, and the tractor is basically the same as their backhoes.

I have seen them still running strong after many hours of use. The only trouble I have seen is a front planetary failure with many hours and operators who never took it out of 4X4 for travel or work on hard surfaces or asphalt.
For what you are describing, I would think it would work out perfect, and the longer you have it, the more you will find to do with it.
 

Queenslander

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2009
Messages
1,227
Location
Australia
Thanks for the reply Jerry.
Would you know what the hooks on the bucket are used for?
I've seen several advertised stateside with exactly the same setup.
Also this machine is only showing a little over 1200 hrs on the clock but the rear tyres would only have about 10% wear left, the fronts are brand new .
Do you think it would be possible to wear a set of tyres out in this amount of time?
Cheers, Greg

Bucket.jpg
 
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JNB

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2012
Messages
823
Location
North Texas
Occupation
Flyin' low and rollin' slow...
The rear tires being worn down like that is an indication that the previous owner used the machine on pavement quite a bit. Probably used it mostly in 2WD as well by the look of the fronts. The 570 is a nice skip.
 

JDOFMEMI

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2007
Messages
3,074
Location
SoCal
Looks like a good one to me.

You can get the forks that slip onto the hooks for material moving. They are a pretty cheap way to have a forklift around when you need it. Just another way to make a very handy tool even more usefull.
 

DPete

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2007
Messages
1,677
Location
Central Ca.
Real handy machine, I bought an 05' 570MXT a couple years ago for some tight base rock work. Also good for rock knock down if the trucks over run the grader Just keep the oil changed in the planetary hubs ( they don't hold much) and diffs, particularly the rear where the brakes are. Nice machine !
 

Queenslander

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2009
Messages
1,227
Location
Australia
The hooks are for floating forks. For picking up anything from pallets to pipe.

http://www.arrowforklift.com/bucket-forks.html

This is another idea that I haven't seen here.
There are plenty of backhoes with forks, but they are permantly mounted to the bucket and fold over the back of the bucket when not in use.
Nearly every farm in the country would have an ag tractor with a loader, but they all have forks on a frame which are swapped with the bucket.
How do they fare with O.H.&S. rules, which seem to be getting crazier by the day?
Cheers, Greg
 

CM1995

Administrator
Joined
Jan 21, 2007
Messages
13,247
Location
Alabama
Occupation
Running what I brung and taking what I win
I have a set of forks for my 953C like that, only a little beefier. Very good for carrying pipe and structures when you are running storm or sanitary in rough places. They don't get used much but when you need them they are priceless.

I don't know what our OH&S (OSHA) would think about them or if they have made a "clarification". I wouldn't feel comfortable using them to pick and place things that require finesse but for a pick and carry, I don't see anything unsafe about them.
 

JNB

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2012
Messages
823
Location
North Texas
Occupation
Flyin' low and rollin' slow...
The rear tires being worn down like that is an indication that the previous owner used the machine on pavement quite a bit. Probably used it mostly in 2WD as well by the look of the fronts. The 570 is a nice skip.

Or...My tractor is used mostly for gravel work and my fronts wear about 50% faster than the rear tires. The fronts have probably been replaced. That would make more sense.
 

JNB

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2012
Messages
823
Location
North Texas
Occupation
Flyin' low and rollin' slow...
Here's a job I've been doing off and on for the last few weeks. 1400 cu. yds. of compacted, select fill for landscape grading and the access and 200 cu yds of base for the driveway. I still have work to do on the road and landscaping as the subs get out of the way. The home was built 3'-8- above grade to take in the view.
Breshirs Before 01.jpgBreshirs Grading 02.jpgBreshirs Grading 16.jpgBreshirs Grading 14.jpgBreshirs After 03.jpg
 

JNB

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Joined
Feb 13, 2012
Messages
823
Location
North Texas
Occupation
Flyin' low and rollin' slow...
Yes it is. The owner says he's "gonna show" his brother in Ca. what he can build here in Texas for the same price. He's acting as his own GC / super. When I told him he'd need over 600 yards just to get in his garage he looked at me like I was crazy. He doesn't think so anymore. No plans or elevations for my end of the job, not much input from him either on what he wants. I just grade it out the way it works best and looks balanced and he loves it.
 

DGODGR

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2009
Messages
1,062
Location
S/W CO
I started out running a Kubota B7200. It had a loader and a Gannon box out back. Later I moved up to a 2wd Case 480LL (loader/landscaper?). It took some patience to move dirt w/o 4wd. I've run the Fords too (like yours Carl) and they felt very primitive. It must be the noise and sitting on the tranny like that. They were the first 4wd units that I ran though. They sure moved dirt compared to the 2wd units. Never could find a use for the draft feature though. Can anyone say what, if any, advantage that may offer? I saw the first Deere 210s come out, C model I believe. Again, a 2wd unit. I thought the "new fangled" down pressure was cool but very easy to loose traction w/o 4wd. Ford did also offer a platformed unit later on. It looked as though it was based on the triple nickel. I have never tried the Cat but I do like the Case 570s. Since I have moved to CO (from SoCal.) I have not seen many skip loaders. I know a guy who has a 570, and another who has a 210. There is a large paving contractor in town who has a couple 210s. I now do all my grading work with my 416 TLB (4x4 and 4-n-1 bucket) and/or my AWD skid steer.
 

JNB

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Joined
Feb 13, 2012
Messages
823
Location
North Texas
Occupation
Flyin' low and rollin' slow...
Actually in Sanger. They've been building some large homes near the lake the past couple of years.
 
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