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New Cat Skid Steers.

Vid tells a story. I read about those in OEM Off-highway before and wondered how they would REALLY be. Sounds like they might just be worth the cost in the long run. Keep us up on your impression as you use them more Vinny.
 
I hate skidsteers.I have a CTL and i can't stand the thing either.
They are dusty and noisy and bumpy and a PITA to get in and out,and they leave the yard or a lawn a war zone...give me an articulated wheel loader anytime, big or small.

my 2c
 
bison said:
I hate skidsteers.I have a CTL and i can't stand the thing either.
They are dusty and noisy and bumpy and a PITA to get in and out,and they leave the yard or a lawn a war zone...give me an articulated wheel loader anytime, big or small.

my 2c
Click to expand...

The 262C2 in the picture above is cleaner, smoother and as quiet as our L60E wheel loader. It's faster to get in and out of as well. Skid steers have their place. Our loader wouldn't be able to do most of the jobs we do with them effectively. In addition, who wants over $100,000 tied up into a machine when one for less than 40k can do it. If you are buying an old cheap loader its probably not going to be nice a quiet and comfy.

You cannot compare an old skid steer with no cab or with a poor cab. The new skid steers with pressurized cabs, air ride seats and ride control are very quiet and comfy.

If you just want to move dirt in the open there are much better options.
 
durallymax said:
The 262C2 in the picture above is cleaner, smoother and as quiet as our L60E wheel loader. It's faster to get in and out of as well. Skid steers have their place. Our loader wouldn't be able to do most of the jobs we do with them effectively. In addition, who wants over $100,000 tied up into a machine when one for less than 40k can do it. If you are buying an old cheap loader its probably not going to be nice a quiet and comfy.

You cannot compare an old skid steer with no cab or with a poor cab. The new skid steers with pressurized cabs, air ride seats and ride control are very quiet and comfy.

If you just want to move dirt in the open there are much better options.
Click to expand...
Wait till you're 60+ and say that.:rolleyes5:
Mine has a pressurized cab and dust still gets in.( i have a mulcher on it)
 
bison said:
Wait till you're 60+ and say that.:rolleyes5:
Mine has a pressurized cab and dust still gets in.( i have a mulcher on it)
Click to expand...

I dont think age has anything to do with my comparison. If something rides nicer than something else it rides nicer no matter how old you are.

What do you have for a skid? Mulching is dirty work.
 
I can see why you dont like it. Sit in one of tge c or d series cats or an m series bobcat. Those are nice truely sealedcabs.
 
Got in a set of Michelin's Bibsteel All Terrain's this week. Weren't ready to buy another set of Tweel's yet and wanted to see how these performed. Being steel belted radials they are more resistant to punctures to begin with. Most all other SSL tires are Bias ply. These were a little more than the Firestone Duraforce DT's but were half as much as the Tweels. We never got very good life out of the Firestones. Maybe 600hrs. The Michelins start with a little more tread and the Radial construction should help them run at least twice as long. With wheel loader tires I was always told 3-4 times the life with Radials over Bias and that was what the prices reflected as well. Tractor tires seem to wear at least two to three times as long in addition to other benefits.

If these last as long as I am hoping they should have decent tread for trade in time. These will be going on our 242B3 that runs in the barn, pushes up feed, scrapes manure, beds freestalls, jumps center alley curbs, moves bales, etc. I did disable the 2 speed on this machine however which should help some with the tire life. Our 242B3 for feeding will need tires next winter. By then we should know if we want another set of the Tweels or not I am thinking. Then we would just take the tires from the new machines and put them on the trade-in's and keep that rotation going. I do not know if we will want three sets of the Tweels though due to the fact we may trade down a size on the barn machine to a 226 which runs 10" tires and they do not make the Tweels in that size yet.

I also attached a picture of the Tweels after 150hrs worth of use. I made sure to not wash them in that amount of time. In the deep snow and mud they keep themselves cleaned out well and do not allow much buildup at all. I forgot to put a gauge to them when new, however Michelin claims 30/32" original tread depth. At this time they measure 29/32". If they continue this trend in theory we should easily see over 3,000hrs worth of life in the original tread. We typically run SSL tires down until the center is smooth. With the Tweels being flat across though it will allow slightly longer wear. I would not expect the retread material to last as long, however I do not know if Michelin will be supplied a pre-mold or custom mold tread or if they will be having people use an off the shelf retread material.

Michelin Bibsteel All Terrain 305/70R16.5

20130316_123415_zps96c7ee0d.jpg



Tweels after 150hrs. Rear squats due to how heavy the 262C2 is in the rear with no attachment.

20130315_123750_zpsab19b51f.jpg
 
I got some answers from Tweel on the life of the poly "casing".


They are working on their legal warranty right now, but they will essentially be covering it for the initial tread life.


They poly is rated for UV exposure to 30 years and millions of load cycles. It is rated to operate in temperatures ranging from -40*F to 266*F.


The Tweel can operate with many of the spokes damaged. There is not immediate fail if any one of them breaks. Diminishing performance will be noticed with each injury the Tweel sustains until it is decided to pull it out of service, but it will continue to operate with a lot of damage.


Making sure to get them retreaded before the tread is completely smooth is important as well to avoid hitting the steel belting.


He would not give any info on how soon other sizes will be available other than they are planning on adding more in the near future.
 
btfarm said:
What kind of price difference from new to retread cost is there?
Click to expand...

You mean if you wanted to buy a retread versus a virgin? Doesn't work that way yet. There would need to be a very large surplus for dealers to actually have retread's available. As of now, you just take your set to the local retreader and have them done for a couple hundred usually. However you still have to buy the initial set.
 
durallymax said:
As of now, you just take your set to the local retreader and have them done for a couple hundred usually. However you still have to buy the initial set.
Click to expand...
That's what I meant. What the cost is to have your old ones retreaded Vs buying new ones.
 
btfarm said:
That's what I meant. What the cost is to have your old ones retreaded Vs buying new ones.
Click to expand...

Oh after you already own them it is whatever your local retread shop charges . Dont have a real number but id guess depending on the tread you pick $100-300
 
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