Support equipment

[Bruno of NH]

I fab'd my forks to also fit on the 3pt hitch. Was easy to do using the quick hitch. Just pick up and go. Helps a bunch to have the hydraulic top arm.



  

To convert the loader forks over to the quickhitch, added top hook brackets A & B, then round stock C for the lower quick hitch hooks.

Very nice Sir

[YellowHammer]

The heavier a tractor the more useful it is.  Horsepower, frame size, and hydraulic  cylinder size.  Bigger is better.

It's hard to lift 5,0000 lbs if the tractor only weighs 4,0000.

[Bruno of NH]

YH
You are right a heavy framed tractor will handle the big loads.
I like the heavy weight of the Mahindra I had , but I wouldn't buy one again for 2 reasons.
1st the dealer I had wasn't good at their after the sale job.
2nd Mahindra's quality is still not ready for prime time Sunday Football night in America. 
If anyone has questions I would be glad to answer them.
Quality is mid level at best.

[Bruno of NH]

I have a used Kubota L series coming on September 1st.
I buying it from my uncle.
Low hours not used hard.
It's mostly for non mill task , rear snow blower , brush hoging , light grapple work. 
Could load small logs in a pinch. 
It would never lift the packs of lumber I make now.
It's to good of a deal to pass up.
It's open station and will need guarding added for my tasks.

[thecfarm]

Hope your dealer is better getting parts on that Kubota than mine were.  >:(  >:(  :(
Yes, there is the internet, but dealers should be able to get a part before 2 weeks.  ???  
I went to 2 different dealers,  : 2 weeks!!!!!!  
I traded it in for a NH. There was a salesman in town, 3-4 days, part at my door step.  ;D

[Bruno of NH]

Ray 
We are very lucky with 2 Kubota dealers not to far from me .
Both have excellent parts departments.
My first tractor I got was a Kubota from one of them.
Didn't know how well I had it till I tried 2 other brands .

[moodnacreek]

The big difference between a 4x4 tractor and an equal h.p. skid steer [wo tracks] is the ground they stand over or some say foot print. Said another way the size of the mud hole. A s.s. will get stuck bad in a small mud hole and the tractor needs a bigger mud hole to get stuck.  In a small area [with no mud] a skid is very fast and handy. The one machine I liked for a sawmill yard is the backwards tractor fork lift.

[barbender]

One point I always try to make when this subject comes up is not all skid steers are the same. I realize not all tractors and forklifts are either, but when people read skid steer or "Bobcat" a lot of folks' minds go to a Bobcat 743 sized machine or even one of the older, smaller ones. The only similarity those bear to modern machines is you still have to crawl in the front to get in and they steer by driving and braking on opposite sides. If you compare the power and stability of a 743 to say Yellowhammer's Kubota SVL-95...well, they don't even compare.

[YellowHammer]

That is a fact, I researched every skid steer and track loader made, and settled on the one I have now.  Basically a 100 hp, will lift up the world, turn on a dime and give a nickel change.  Way fast, and super stable.  I personally hated skid steers for many years, until they came out with joystick controls and high flow system compact track loaders. These new generation are strong enough to lift up the logs and the trailer they are on at the same time...well, maybe not that much, but every person who's gotten in and driven it, has said "wow" and so did I.  Since it's heavily counterbalanced in the rear, weighs in at about 12,000 pounds, big loads on the forks just make it sit more stable and increases traction.

Its a second generation DEF system, SVL97-2, and with forks and a 4 way bucket will do things with dirt and logs that a monkey couldn't do with a hot banana.

One thing that comes to mind, I don't let anybody drive my T4.95 New Holland tractor.  It's a little too complicated, a little too tippy with big loads, has a few too many gears and a little too intimidating. It's easy to damage in the wrong hands and has almost the exact same HP as the Kubota.

Conversely, I let my daughter drive the Kubota, it's fun and very stable with big loads, and next generation easy.  That may be a consideration with hired help, not to mention I can basically remote control and monitor several functions from my cell phone and even set and activate a wireless geo fence so that with the track loader's on board GPS, my phone will sound an alarm, and I think even turn the machine off, (not sure) but certainly not start, if it's ever off my digitally geofenced property.  It's also got an onboard tracker so if it's ever stolen, I and every Kubota dealer in the country can find it.  Pretty cool.  

[Bruno of NH]

Tractors and hired help aren't a good combination. When I had the Mahindra 4550 I wouldn't let help run it. Things can go wrong quick on a tractor.

[moodnacreek]

I tried a  [have] a 6 cyl. Thomas skid steer/ forks here. The problem was stacking stickered and spaced packs of lumber.   If a stick or spacer moves you can't get out to fix it.    I think JCB made a machine with a side door however.

[alco424]

Just to add my two cents, something most people seem to not realize, is that a skid steer's operating capacity is rated at 50% of it's tipping load.  Therefore, the 763 should, and I repeat, should.....lift 3000 pounds before it wants to tip.  Now, that's all in perfect conditions, but just some food for thought.

[YellowHammer]

I looked real hard at JCB's with the side doors.  They are basically a tele handler without the "tele" or a very short one, maybe 6 feet or so. Trouble is, I had zero local dealers and the closest one around was going to charge me $1,000 for labor and mileage for a warranty call.  No bueno!

[barbender]

I've never been able to make much sense of the operating and tipping loads...out where I run my machine where the ground is not level and bumpy, you can be well under the tipping load and still end up on your nose with lumber all over the ground. With the short wheelbase, skids suffer far more from having the balance point shifted by a heavy load. A load that seemed totally under control tips the machine forward when you back over a piece of firewood you didn't see, that kind of stuff. I think a realistic load you can move around with is more around a third of operating load.

[Walnut Beast]

Just to add my two cents, something most people seem to not realize, is that a skid steer's operating capacity is rated at 50% of it's tipping load.  Therefore, the 763 should, and I repeat, should.....lift 3000 pounds before it wants to tip.  Now, that's all in perfect conditions, but just some food for thought.

And the tipping load is boom fully extended

[Ventryjr]

I tried a  [have] a 6 cyl. Thomas skid steer/ forks here. The problem was stacking stickered and spaced packs of lumber.   If a stick or spacer moves you can't get out to fix it.    I think JCB made a machine with a side door however.

Kubota CTL the doors open over your head inside the cab. It's still now easy if the forks are 4-5ft off the ground but I can wiggle out of the cab with the load in any position. 

[ladylake]

 
 Until a hose breaks and the forks come down on top of you.  Steve

[taylorsmissbeehaven]

I can still wiggle out of the cab in a pinch, but not like I could when I was 27!! :D

[barbender]

I won't get out of my skid with the loader raised unless the safety arm is engaged.

[Walnut Beast]

I'll get out of my loader all day long with a 4,000 lb log with the loader above me 

[Walnut Beast]

Might not be able to tell Barbender and ladylake if it doesn't work out 😂

[barbender]

Right!

[ladylake]

 I know of a farmer that got killed doing that.   My brother who is higher up in a big construction company said at a safety meeting that 10 people get killed each year climbing out under the forks.  At his company they are fired if caught doing that.  Steve

[Hilltop366]

Nothing has to break to get you, wouldn't be hard to catch a loose shirt or coat on the leaver while getting out. 

[moodnacreek]

On the old Thomas you have to hammer the one pin to lock the boom up. Thats what must be done.