Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Help Tractor/skid steer dilemna, opinions needed

I am looking for one piece of equipment to do a lot. My 3 choices are a traditional tractor, an articulating tractor, and a skid steer. Priorities are fetching logs in tight spaces, mowing, and planting food plots. Skid steer is the safest with the logs and fun with all the attachments but can it plant? Articulating tractor can't mount a front end loader, looking at a John Deere 20a? Small utility tractor is unsafe with logs and big turning radius in the woods, but cheapest probably.

J3, why not a tractor for logs? they can be pulled quite easily. A small (<50hp) tractor (or mules) is the only thing that will skid logs on my place! I would think that a skidsteer would be exceptionally unstable with logs EXCEPT for pulling them. Articulation is used only because of the tractor size, so unless the logs are 20ton + or you use a 40 foot disc for food plots, that sounds like real overkill.

There are lots of EXPENSIVE, relatively small atachments for the skidsteers. Most are available for tractors at one fifth the price.

I guess I vote tractor.

I posed this question to some loggers and some sawmill guys on other forums. Tractors were universally considered unsafe. The big thing was you could pull the tractor over if the log hangs up and things could get you in the open cab. Skid steers have the full cage so nothing can get to you, but you have to carry the log on the forks through the trees. The JD 20a is a compact 4wd utility 21hp diesel articulating tractor.

The 20a is cool, but very expensive for a 20 hp tractor. I looked at the 20a for mowing between narrowly-spaced Christmas trees because of the narrow width but just could not justify it when you can get a 4wd compact utility tractor (CUT) at twice the hp for the same price. A CUT does not have the manuverability of the 20a, but catagory 1 equipment is readily available. A good no-till food-plot planter will set you back some bucks though. Depending on the type of food plot you want to plant, you can spin it on by hand if you work up the ground with a plow and disk, or a rototiller.

J3, how big of logs do you need to move? For firewood purposes, I cut logs to anything up to 12' and haul on a set of forklift-type 3 point round bale forks. A front end loader is very nice to counterbalance the load with small/short pieces.

Anyhoo, for flexibility, acquisition price, accessory price/availability, and (I believe) maintenance costs - tractor.

What stage is your food plot in? Bush,grass or is it and existing food plot allready broke. I needed a 60hp tractor to pull a disc and cultivator to break the sod since it is a new plot but from now on I will be able to do all the tasks with my quad. I think a skid steer would spin in the loose soil pulling. Tractors are cheap if you shop around

One plot is barely there after being rooted up by hogs, one is in a bare area but new, and a third may be going in a heavily grassed/shrubbed area. I figure the last area will take a bigger tractor than I need; so I am hitting up the neighbors for potential sodbusting in exchange for sawmill services. It will also be trailored to other places to collect logs and needs to be small/light enough to go on a gooseneck with some logs(where skid steer fits in well).

This is my first crack at the food plot thing and it is very exciting. We have a skid steer on our farm and they are an amazing peice to have around. with all the attachments you can do any job. You could buy a couple and rent the ones you only need once and a while. Good luck

other than planting. No doubt rather have my skid steer. I have found so many issues I never even thought about before I had it. I used my skid steer forks to break ground then teeth on bucket to smooth out a bit for a food plot I built few years ago not as easy as disk but it worked. The tractor I bought (thanks again for the advice)has been used little but plan to put to use when I can find time to plant. Oh and if you can get the skid steer on tracks mine can get stuck pretty easy with the tires.

I have a tractor and a skid steer.I would have to vote skid steer.

Is the 20a available in the U.S.?
You can get a full ROPS for any small tractor.
I would vote a skid steer and rent a tractor when you need to plant something.

Here's a nice attachment for a skid steer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeanPDO-D6M

What a great toy!!

I know this will be a very difficult decision. Over many years, I've been fortunate to own and "store" a lot of equipment.

From my perspective, I'd drop the thought of the articulating tractor.

Skid Steer vs. Tractor is difficult. I have opted for a tractor as my main machine, but I also have easy access to a skid steer when needed. A small crawler can also be invaluable.

For logging, I sure find that a tractor is pretty versatile, but a small track machine is real hard to beat. I grew up logging with a team of Belgian horses that could pull a pretty big sledge, so I feel that Horse Power should not be a significant consideration. Weight/traction mean far more. I've been hauling large skids out of the forest for nearly 50 years with tractors. It is reasonably safe, if done correctly. But, logging, in general, is just plain dangerous. From the time I was about 3-years old, I was taught to log in the winter, when you can see the "widow makers" and the bugs and snakes are asleep.

There are a lot of great small 4-WD tractors out there that can pull several cords of "sticks" in one load. All can be outfitted with cages and cabs. You might be surprised what a 20 HP 4WD diesel tractor can do if properly outfitted. A tractor of this size can have incredible traction, sips very little fuel in a day, and can still run a brush hog, front-end loader, backhoe, and lots of other relatively inexpensive implements.

If you can, volunteer to store equipment. Try them all.

From my perspective, I'd still opt for a 4WD diesel tractor. I'd rent a skid steer, dozer, track loader, or trackhoe when needed.

Good luck with your decision,
Ken

My 2 cents - I had the exact same dilemna. I decided I needed a 27 hp tractor and a skid steer. They both do such different things. I use the tractor with dump trailer for hauling stuff, a tiller, bush hog, spreader, drag harrow, and mower for field work. I use the skid steer for digging and any heavy lifting/dragging. Without tracks a skid steer will often get stuck in the woods unless you have all very high solid ground. A tractor with loader will never out dig a skid steer. So while I really wanted just one machine it didn't work out so I have two main machines.