Skid Steer Loader (Bobcat) vs Tractor: Which One Is Better?

Should I Hire a Bobcat or Tractor? I wanted to write a review for people like contractors and people who work in the construction industry, as well as for people who may have just bought a new piece of property, or are considering doing so, and for people who want to build a house but want to do a lot of the work themselves. This review is for all of these groups of people. Therefore, the issue that arises is, which should I purchase: a tractor or a skid loader? As a result, it is going to be the focus of my discussion in this post.

For my part, I have a Kubota L3901 small tractor at my disposal. In addition to that, I have a Bobcat T650, sometimes known as a bobcat, which is a skid steer on tracks. I am aware that I am not making a comparison that is like apples to apples, but I will kind of cover it. To clarify, the tractor has a gross horsepower of 37 and a half, however, the bobcat skid steer has 74 horsepower, which is about twice the horsepower and lifting capacity of the tractor. There is virtually no comparison that can be made between these two different types of machinery. However, if you were to purchase a tractor of the same size and horsepower as that skid steer loader, then it would be possible to do a fair comparison between the two machines.

However, they are two very distinct pieces of machinery. However, they are both capable of doing many of the same tasks, if that makes any sense. Now, in order to acquire a tractor with the same range of horsepower as this bobcat, it is a really large tractor. This is because a bobcat is highly strong in relation to its size. It would be much too cumbersome to use with a tractor of that size. And now for something else you should be aware of, the question “Should I Get a Tractor or a Skid Steer?” comes up for everyone all the time.

I constantly tell people: everything depends on what it is that you are going to do. For instance, both my skid loader and I were riding on tires. And at that time, I made the first purchase of the land. And by this I mean that they are designed to dig, they are in fact designed to dig, they are quite effective at digging, and you can purchase a number of attachments for them. On the other hand, there are a plethora of attachments available for the tractor. Let’s take a somewhat more in-depth look at them, shall we?

The working portion of the skid steer is located exactly here at the front of the machine. You have a bucket, and other accessories may be purchased separately to connect to the front of buckets. However, as compared to tractor attachments, all attachments have a fairly high price tag. You also have a front loader attached to the tractor at this point. The most significant distinction between these loaders is that when you dig with a skid loader, your boom tucks in right up against the frame of the machine. This machine has roughly 9500 pounds of weight and 74 horsepower, and it is a powerhouse when it comes to pulling this bucket through the soil, rock, or anything else you are excavating.

Now, when you’re digging and pushing while riding on a tractor, things are a little bit different. Your loader arms are not supported by anything else at this time. All of that strain and pressure is going to be transferred back to your loader frame and your pins. This is not a negative aspect of the product, but unlike a skid steer, it is not specifically intended for digging. You are now aware of still another significant distinction, which is the rear of a tractor. You have one more business end all the way back here. Because of your power take-off (PTO) and your three-point hitch, you have the ability to attach a wide variety of implements to the rear of a tractor.

To return to the skid loader, the rear end of the machine is completely inoperable. The majority of machines have distinct benefits over their competitors, like as the bobcat’s superior performance on slopes and tracks. And much better for digging. It is steady, but it is not quick, and what I mean by that is that it is quick to turn in moving, grading, leveling, dumping dirt, and loading trucks, and very quickly at that. However, it is quick to load trucks. When driving over greater distances, the journey time of the tractor will be faster than that of the bobcat.

You have more flexibility, you’ve got the three-point hitch, the PTO in the back, you can put pallet forks on the front, something else on the back, I mean, you can do just so many different things with a tractor. Now, the advantages of the tractor are that you have more flexibility, you have the three-point hitch, and the PTO in the back. Therefore, I believe that what it all boils down to is this, and by both of these I mean in an ideal world. You will get a selection of accessories for a skid steer along with a large number of attachments for a tractor.

I performed all of the digging myself when I initially acquired my property. I dug the foundation, the drives, the pathways, and the place where I chopped all of my firewood, which was formerly a forest and was like a mountainside. With the use of a skid steer loader, I was able to level out the whole area. And everything turned out really well. But even after I had completed all of the preliminary work, I continued to use the skid loader for a few more years. And then I began to realize that, you know what, this thing is terrible in the yard, you’re trying to do some landscaping or anything, and I couldn’t mow with it. And then I started to get annoyed. I mean, you can purchase a front brush cutter for it, but in order to use the forestry head, which is awesome, you need the high-flow machine. However, you can buy a front brush cutter for it. They do a fantastic job overall. But when I had established myself, I found that I did not need the skid steer as much anymore. On the contrary, the grass was severely damaged as a result of it. Furthermore, it was not the appropriate machine.

After that, I decided to purchase a tractor since I’m now more focused on the upkeep and enhancement of my property. The tractor may still be used for excavating and grading, but the process will take much longer. However, I believe it more than makes up for that in its adaptability.

I thus sort of hope that some of your questions have been solved by this. This brings us to the conclusion that:

Initial work: Skid steer loader.
Upkeep and alterations: Tractor.

That is how I feel about it.

As I’ve said, this article is intended for contractors and landowners. If you are going to be excavating on a daily basis, you should probably rent a skid loader. If you mow your lawn on a daily basis, you should probably rent a tractor. However, as landowners, we engage in a variety of activities on a continual basis. I mean, you never know when you’ll find yourself excavating or grading a driveway. You start clearing brush from the field the next day. When you reach that position, it is time to start thinking about getting a tractor. In the long term, having both may be beneficial to you.