Any opinions on a mini skid. I would use it to snow plow 500ft of our gravel road, double stack IBC totes, and move rounds and splits around.
Just make sure the lift capacity can handle the loads you want to move around. You don't want to stand it on it's nose with you in it. My name is Mike, and I'm a hoarder in Ok. Lopi Endeavor and Republic 1250
I have used a Toro Dingo and a Vermeer. They can do an amazing amount of work, but it would take a big machine to lift a tote filled with wood. IMO once you get into the price of big minis why not just get a used traditional skid steer.
My tractor has lift capacity of a ton, and it's pretty tippy (rear tires are loaded with beet juice) without something on the back when picking up a 330 gallon tote of dry wood, let alone green wood. I'd recommend a full size skid loader or a 4 series (40HP+) tractor to safely move them around. Yes, a newer 30HP tractor will move them around but it's probably not the best thing for the front end.
Cheap old Ford tractor with forks on the back will get you 3,000lb capacity under 10k out the door. Just a thought.
Ohio dave I missed what your budget was? All of the large body units from Ditch witch/toro, Kubota, Vermeer, etc. will pick around ton. Ditch witch/toro has a large unit that will pick 3000#s. Those machines are all spendy. There are some good quality Chinese minis from Derette, and Rippa that will also pick over a ton. Which is enough to pick an ibc tote. Heck I used to move half full totes with my little wheeled 320 dingo. Used to plow a 600 foot driveway with it too. I’d upload pics but well we all know how that’s been lately. Tip load on that 320 was around 1,000. As someone with experience running a mini daily for several years I would say a mini excels at precision material handling. They are great for tight residential work with attachments like a grapple, bucket, plow, stump grinder, or brush mower. They are terrific for tree work and I’d much rather have one than a tractor. Having said all that, I wouldn’t want to use a mini to move ibc totes as its primary activity. They are kind of slow compared to a full size skid loader or tractor. A mini’s top speed is going to be in the 5mph range. Not much of an issue if your property is smaller. If your property is large I’d go full size skid loaders. If you’re handy there is always a lot of used full size skid loaders on the used market with a lot of life left in them.
It's not really a budget issue is more of a issue of space. My yard isn't big and storage is even less
Mini sounds like a good use case for a small yard. I bet you’d be pretty happy with one for general property maintenance and firewooding.
Any reports on how these Chinese machines last long term? Was poking around the Rippa USA web site, and they wanted $30k for a 25HP excavator, which is roughly half of MSRP for what a new Kubota excavator for the same size would be.
The problem most people have with them is getting service and repair parts for them. They are "fine " until you need parts. My name is Mike, and I'm a hoarder in Ok. Lopi Endeavor and Republic 1250
Not sure they’ve been around long enough to say how they hold up long term. There are a couple good big dealers for the Chinese excavators/skid steers. One in Texas (Rippa USA) and one in Ohio (gsa equipment). I’m sure there are others but those are two of the big ones. GSA Equipment in Ohio seems to carry a lot of them and keep parts in stock. At this point they are popular enough that I can’t see the more established companies like Derette and Rippa going away anytime soon.
