White Gold

[picframer]

Well I woke to this today, pictures are a little dark as it's pretty early and I have to head out to plow.

After watching the Olympic Hockey game last night I checked the forecast and they said 20cm which is about 10", the radio this morning said we received 60cm (24") with another 10" possible today, issue is the wind which is causing some interesting drifts.

Should be a fun day and I know the tractors are eager to get to it!

[Steve]

I would be shocked if you managed five years out of it

WOW I wouldn't have guessed that! That is amazing how the salt can be so damaging!

[picframer]

Kind of like the Rhino Spraying?

http://www.rhinolinings.com/

Yes that is it, I have seen a few trucks done with either this or a very similar spray and it is amazing, if and when we add another truck I would go this route rather than the liners we use, main reason is water and condensation can get under the liner and where I live rust is a major issue, for example if you bought a new vehicle that had no protection, I would be shocked if you managed five years out of it, there is salt in the air from the ocean not that you can smell or taste it and then massive amounts of salt on the roads, I have built trailers years ago and if I did not use an asphalt undercoat, they simply would be rusted out in a few years, it's so bad that I have to use never seize on the nuts and holts that hold wheels on all the vehicles and tractors, it's the first thing I do when I buy new gear.

[Steve]

Anyhow the Bobcat dealer is about 30 min from my house and I need a morning off from the workshop so I will probably check them out Tuesday. A box liner would be critical for what we so, there is a company in the city that will spray a box liner in for you and it's super durable and not that expensive.

Kind of like the Rhino Spraying?

http://www.rhinolinings.com/

[picframer]

We do not have a lot of buried cable here due to bedrock, I think that is also why we do not have Natural Gas ( it's just to expensive to get it below the ground) as there is one of the largest Natural Gas wells in the world about 10k from my home in the Atlantic just off Sable Island.

Our biggest issue is wells as they have a water and electrical line and for whatever reason they very in depth (should be 3 to 3 feet however I have seen some only 16")and not always a straight line from the well to the house, we do rent a unit that tells us where the cable is but it is still heart beating until we find it. I carry 3 million in liability which is a bit more than required but it's not that much different than 2 million which is required here to operate.

We have a lot of excavation companies however they want the big jobs which I do not, there are quite a few mini excavation companies but what happened is a lot of guys got into this and the quality of the work simply isn't there. What I did was start with mini and still have the excavators however I added an excavator that allows us to dig foundations and I am almost finished a course in building septic fields.

Anyhow the Bobcat dealer is about 30 min from my house and I need a morning off from the workshop so I will probably check them out Tuesday. A box liner would be critical for what we so, there is a company in the city that will spray a box liner in for you and it's super durable and not that expensive.

[lawncrafter56]

Oh yes! Bobcat Toolcats are white and mine is worth it's weight in gold.

[lawncrafter56]

thinking about renting the mini diggers if projects come along that suit me as a small operator. There are some excellent excavating companies in my area but @ times they are all booked up. Getting a license & insurance isn't a problem. The problem is i find mowing relaxing & low stress. Here in the loose soil of Iowa they are now putting fiber optic cable in with trenchless tech. which is pretty cool to watch. What wouldn't bee cool is hitting one of those cables. 10's of thousands in repair bills and down time for one little cable. the 2010 model is quite different than the 2009 with a smaller box with no box liner but i bet a handy thinker could modify that box with heavier sheet metal. Bobcat also makes the 5610 with rear pto and 3 point hitch. With 4 wheel independent suspension these are far more comfortable than a skid loader though I haven't tested them in the dirt yet. Paid up for mine but when I got it felt you could really utilize one too. It would probably be hard to keep the rest of the crew out of though. I hope you get a chance to check one out. mine was purchased from a John Deere dealer.

[picframer]

Thanks buddy, would love to see additional images, I didn't realize it was four wheel steer, the Deere unit I ran was not, I don't think they even have one that is. 56 hp, good lord that is a lot of power, I assume it's diesel? How hard is it on fuel? I bought a mid sized excavator late in the season, it's the Deere 60D, 6 ton and around 54 h.p., the thing IMHO is very hard on fuel, I go through around 10 gallons every 7 hours at 3/4 throttle, it's the only thing I don;t like about it. I have a 17D and a 27D and they seems to sip fuel.

These things seemed to be very well balanced, I was shocked this summer running one before potential clients arrived, I only had an hour to drive four pieces of equipment I had never operated before, all pretty simple, the only thing I ran that I really did not like is the skid steer's, I had a bad experience with one as a teenager and still do not care for them, loud, desperate rough and still fairly easy to upset.

If that thing is all wheel steer it must be like my x749 tractor with a hydraulic motor on each wheel, it too will almost go sideways, it's a real funny feeling to drive one for the first time.

Looking forward to additional pics, do you still run an excavator in your business? 2,000 pound payload is better than the Deere unit, we would use it to haul larger rocks, does it have a liner in the bed?

May have to take a run to the city next week and have a closer look at these as I have to add another loader in the spring and I suspect they are less in price compared to the tractor I personally drive which is $26,000 but closer to 35 with all the attachments.

[lawncrafter56]

No ballast at all andy. Lift capacity on the dump is rated 2000 lbs and 1500 on the front end. I think the ratings are light. It would be a real bulldozer with a little weight though it already is. Just like you like it, air conditioned too. 56 hp Turbo.. I will buy some turf tires along with a 90" mower for larger accounts this summer. With the four wheel steer this ought not leve a mark in the grass. I can crab the steering to darn near go sideways too. Having also run much excavating type equipment in my life I can say it is one of the most balanced, quickest pieces I have ever run. I can't tell you the weight or width but it does go 18 mph.
Another plan is buying a little aluminum trailer to pull my zero turn mower behind the toolcat or load the toolcat to pull behind my Ford Ranger. By an old farm fertilzer plastic tank cut it and mount it in the box for fall leaf removal. With over 40 money making attachments it will be a real$$$$$maker. I'll have a few more pics up soon.

[picframer]

Wolfy got a little Gold too Pic!

What do you have on that for ballast? Good lord I could lift that much but I am not sure the backhoe would be enough counter weight, I know these units lift differently than a tractor in that the weight is balanced better, discovered this last summer doing a demo for Deere with a unit they have which is similar.

Do you use this a lot on job sites? The dump on the back would be really handy, Deere wants me to try one out this spring and I think I will. How is it for tearing up the ground/turf and how wide are the Bobcats's?

Thanks for the pic, that is quite a load you have!

Andy

[lawncrafter56]

Wolfy got a little Gold too Pic!

[picframer]

I wouldnt have even thought of that but I have to admit just thinking about it, I agree. I'd be the same way too.

When you are out with your snow plow on your tractor, how often do you feel people call out to you or wave you down?

The last storm Wednesday 8 Driveways and 5 vehicles from the ditch. For driveways that is about average, sometimes more sometimes zero, when we get a big dump is when people stop you as their snow blower just can't handle it or they are tired of shoveling.

When you are out in the open, no cab, it makes you more accessable.

I probably could have picked up more clients but we are pretty much max'd out plowing snow for our regular clients which in many cases are yard care clients so they have to be on top of the list.

[Steve]

The other thing is people will stop you more often if you are driving without a cab, sometimes people will yell out their door for you to stop, with a cab you would never hear them.

I wouldnt have even thought of that but I have to admit just thinking about it, I agree. I'd be the same way too.

When you are out with your snow plow on your tractor, how often do you feel people call out to you or wave you down?

[picframer]

How has being out in the winter like this effected your view of getting an enclosed cab?

It would be very nice however they are a bear to take on and off, it's quite a job. We can't use cabbed tractors on job sites in the summer, we did try a demo from Deere as I was curious, no one liked it. Since snow removal represents a small fraction of our income, we just pass and if you have the righ snow gear on, it really doesn't matter.

The other thing is people will stop you more often if you are driving without a cab, sometimes people will yell out their door for you to stop, with a cab you would never hear them.

On top of all this is the cost, a cab for the tractor above is about five grand, that is a lot of snow removal just to brake even.

[Steve]

How has being out in the winter like this effected your view of getting an enclosed cab?