Buying a Small Earh Mover

April 11, 2007

Several things depending on your your limitations for machine size and $$ to spend.

1) Cheapest is a used skid steer loader with metal over the tire tracks. They can be small enough to carry in the back of a pickup. ex: Bobcat 440B or Case 1825 with loegering or grouser tracks. Find good used for $5-10K and tracks for $2-3,000.

2) A company called ASV Posi-trak has just built a small dedicted track drive loader that can be carried around in a 3/4- 1 ton PU. Around $20K.

3) Best and most entertaing in my opinion if you are lucky enough to have $40,000 + to spend is an 864 Bobcat track loader. 74 h.p. turbo diesel, 13
or 17 inch wide rubber tracks. has 2000# lift capacity.

You can buy a good used skid steer and put tracks on it as I said above. There are more options in the mid size machines ( Bobcat 740/750, Case 1838/1840, NH 400/500/600) than the little ones for used. They are big enough you’d have to trailer them. But even with tracks you’d only lay out around $12-$13K for something decent and much more versatile than the machine you are looking at which I think sell in that $ range.