Which Should You Buy First - Skid Steer Or Excavator 

Link To Brock’s Channel Rockhill Farm youtube.com/@Rockhillfarmandhomes

Thanks for having me Adam. Nice job on putting the video together

Good collab and discussion with good perspectives

Appreciate the fact that you put little clips of the topic. You know some of us not to familiar with certain topics would be lost without them. Thanks great video

Awesome discussion. Topography and soil type (or lack of) plays a big part. Good to see y'all get together!

A very useful discussion on both machines. Thank you gentlemen.

Great segment, a lot of great information Thank you guys

very interesting conversation👍

A great interchange of ideas and thoughts on two critical pieces of equipment! Most interesting and valuable. Thank you both. Stay well, stay safe!

That was a very interesting conversation, I agree that it comes down to particular needs, thanks for the intro to Brock

Good discussion, guys. Enjoyed the collaboration.

Great points made by each of you.

Came over from Brocks channel, really enjoyed the talk, will visit regularly now.

Enjoyed the discussion! I like both channels for the differences that were talked about.

Great info Adam, thanks again for a great Vid and awesome content!!!

I’m a big fan of Brock and after watching this I just subscribed to your channel as well. This was a great conversation to hear and very informative, thanks for sharing.

Really cool video. I don't even have property and I love both these channels!

Thanks Guys. 👍👍

Great video guys! Very good points and pros/cons of both machines. Like you said, it really depends on what your specific needs are 👌🏻

Very good comparison video, guys. That is very helpful. I am looking at both. Thank you!

I think that both of you picked out the perfect machine for your needs and what you guys do with them

Great video very informative , I think it really does depend on your specific needs and knowing which machine can meet those needs . Take care

Id ask Doug!!! He knows EVERYTHING!!!

Very useful, though I am still in a quandary. I live in Bluestone territory so moving heavy rocks on a slope is my world. Tough call.

Great video Adam thumbs up.

Good to see my friend Brock on your channel. We went the way of a tractor and mini... Good discussion.

Adam, great interview.

Mecalac MCR - excavator and skid-steer in one package. Very compact boom design.

Great video- Good Job 👍

Great conversation, Guys! Enjoyed hearing more about a couple machines I would love to own in the future.

Good, rational discussion. I’m sure it helped many folks who are trying to make that decision.

Tractor, skid steer and excavator! Just get all 3. Gotta love toys…

When I bought my Cat 304 D2 excavator almost 2 years ago I went through the same trying to decide which to buy. My cousin that owned both knew what I was going to use it for suggested the excavator, (stump removal and firewood mainly) The only time I needed a skid steer since was when I built a 40" X 60" pad on a hillside for our shop. It took forever with the excavator. Nice vid as always Adam.

I like the reach the excavator gives you. The limited track movement for similar areas cleared , the digging ability, and tree removal.

We live in a ranch in South Dakota and finally ended up getting both but the skid steer was first by about 10 years. Both are on the smaller end of about 7k lbs but wouldn’t give either up at this point. Once you get one of either you don’t know how you lived without them.

Great video Adam.

Thanks Adam. I was watching another You Tuber at the Show and saw him in His Video. Mike M.

Great video!

Skid steer is much more useful overall but you definitely have certain needs where your mini excavator makes the most sense.

🙂KISS - It's simple.... You need both! Great conversation guys.

One of the things about buying used is knowing if you're getting a problematic machine or not. If you don't have previous experience or friends who know whatever type of machine you're looking at, you can miss the things you need to be aware of. I was in that situation when I bought my John Deere 26G. I wouldn't have minded a used machine, but I wasn't comfortable with the risk. And for what Brock bought, I imagine he rolled all those accessories into the loan, which is the smart way to go. There's no way you'd find a used machine with all those attachments, and adding them all after the fact would have likely been more expensive and not as easy to finance. And thanks for the link to his channel, looks like some more fun content to follow

Enjoyed the video Adam

Good pro's and con's video, fellows 👍🏻 I've been subscribed to both of your channels. Keep up the great work.

Good conversation guys! Topography and specific needs dictate which is the best machine and it sounds as though you each made the right decision. I would throw a full size construction backhoe into this discussion as well. It's the swiss army knife of heavy equipment!

Hi Adam Thanks for introducing us to Brock. (Now subscribed) I really enjoyed watching you guys chatting.

Great conversation... the real answer is both😂! I went with an excavator, due mostly to the reasons that Adam mentioned. Tractor handles track loader duties, granted at a limited capacity.

I watch both you guys.

Hi Adam, I found that a comparison comment made by “Mike Morgan” of Outdoors with the Morgan’s, when he stated “A Skid steer is designed around the Front End Bucket and associated attachments where as a tractor is designed around what you can attach the the Back of the Tractor” so one “Skid steer is a efficient Lifter and the Tractor is a efficient Puller”.

Love you videos. I know this is off topic , you made a video a while back on planting blueberry bushes, how are they doing. Sorry to go in a different direction but I just remembered it.

Honestly a really interesting discussion, will definitely check his youtube channel out!

Hey Guys good discussion, I have both skid steer and mini Ex as well as a mill, I do a little bit of everything but own a small excavation company so here is my two cents on the topic...My most versatile and useful machine is by far my 13k lb mini Excavator and I actually do alot of grading for driveways and such with it as well Adam (angle blade).

A grapple on the tractor n forks pretty much eliminated my need for a skidster so made the choice to get the mini super series. I missed the install of the laundry tub some how.it would just be nice to own one of each.lol

@Hometown Acres You might can fix that rattling window in your excavator by using some Frost King window foam in strategic places. There are varying thicknesses. I know for a fact that I would! good luck

So what skid steer would you get and what excavator would Brock get?

We have a tacheuchi tl.8 and we couldn’t be more happy with it. We use it for literally anything you can think of. digging, loading, clearing, lifting random things ect. If you want to clear and have a low flow machine a tree sheer is an awesome tool that doesn’t require a ton of flow. We have rented excavators and they are really exceptional for digging but Jt just seems like skid loaders do most other things better

Sometimes it comes down to the individual's specific situation, location, tasks. Nothing is for everybody

Seems the best answer is to rent or if a buddy has one to check them out?

I can think of multiple reasons to have both for having the ability to do certain projects in the most efficient manor, but can' afford either so I guess I'm stuck with a shovel. Oh wo is me!!

You need to make some wood interview chairs. The “interview” format is a winner for when the content slows down.

Love watching your show! Do you have any links on who to show how to live stream or record and download! Our church is small and learning! Any help would be great!

I love running my excavator. 60HP komatsu. It's a little big for transporting (15k lbs) but man that thing can do some work. The hours go by like minutes when I'm running it.

I think brock also is always driving his machine all over his property all the time so the skid loaders travel speed is a bonus.

Age old question, tractor vs ctl vs ss vs mini ex vs backhoe. Tuff choice w prices, I chose backhoe but still ponder

Mini-ex blade is primarily used as a machine stabilizer. Yeah, they work to push around some excavated soil as Adam says for ditches, but whenever you're digging more than a bucket or two, you should have the blade down to reduce the bouncing inside the cab, unless you're digging in sand or snow or something odd. I wouldn't own or rent a mini-ex without a blade due to the thrashing you take in the cab without one.

A good compact track loader in my opinion is far more versatile than an excavator ,excavators are good for digging but not for cleaning up, however get a backhoe attachment for your CTL and wallah job fixed because in a couple of minutes you can put the bucket back on and clear your spoil away, and then there is the multitude of attachments you can add After doing this for twenty years the best advice I can give is buy a hand and foot control machine and learn to drive it they are 10 yes 10 times as effective and efficient as a pilot control machine, THE USES ARE ENDLESS Cheers from Aus

That’s interesting that the rated capacity on the skid loader is only 30% of the tip weight.

If you want or need to dig holes or trench than get mini excavator. If you need to plow snow, grade property, load stones or dirt in volume/fast , or lift heavy stuff, than get skid steer. To me it’s apple to oranges debate. Get right machine for job.

One thing to consider when choosing is how slow excavators are to move around if you have a larger property. Not that skidsteers are race cars or anything but every one I've been in has been quite a bit faster than excavators. It's hard to argue against the versatility of a skidsteer, they have an even wider range of attachments and seem to be more common so maybe there's a better used attachment market? But an excavator sure seems like the better machine for firewood processing and larger digging projects. My biggest problem with skidsteers are that you can't get out of most models with the Loader at a comfortable height for bucking up wood or loading the sawmill. If I had to choose one it'd be a skidsteer but an excavator sure has its place in a big enough operation

The tractor is the Jack of all Trades and Master of None. With the right attachments it’ll sort of do the jobs of both other machines. I’ve always thought, in a perfect world, we’d all skip the tractor and just get the skid steer and excavator first. That’s just a big commitment of resources all at once, but likely the best approach. I do love my tractor, but there’s a reason landscaping and construction crews never have them. If that’s the type of work you’re going to do, that’s probably the best approach. My two cents. Great discussion, guys. Thanks!

We bought the excavator and then the tracksteer. Sold the tractor and wished I would had done it all much sooner.

Skid steer or tractor is a good debate. I've owned all 3. Skid, tractor and excavator. If I had to pick just 1. Excavator. All day.

Perhaps another debate would be between tractor and skid loader for the first piece of equipment for your property.

I have both a mini x and a skid loader and I much prefer using my mini to load the mill. The excavator is a much more precision tool for placing logs. Better for stacking logs, taking them off a trailer, and being able to get in and out of the machine easily. The mini is also much more useful for doing firewood. But when it comes to lift capacity you can’t beat the skid loader in comparable size machines. Speed too. Where my logs get dropped off is a good ways from the wood yard. I can run full blast 7-8mph with the skid, but the excavator only goes 3mph in high, and with how tippy it can be carrying a heavy log I stay In low at about 50% throttle, so we’re talking 1.5mph. Much slower. I think the mini is the better choice for what you do. But I wouldn’t give either up either of my machines.

Get a cabbed machine with conditioned air. Tractor/skid/excavator/whatever, you will giggle the first time you dig up a yellow jacket nest. Much less the comfort/dust factor. I always laughed at them. But after having one... I am a believer and want to upgrade at least one of my tractors if not both.

For general purpose without attachments, Skid steer is faster, Excavator is more versatile.

I have never seen on any RU-vid channel from the USA where the excavators are equipped with (Rototllt) a Swedish invention if you know it?

Both

Takeuchi or Kubota for quality, reliability 😊

Both.

One question, in a few years time when machines are fully paid for, would either of you consider buying the other machine to compliment what you already have or just stick with your current machine on its own?

The lift capacity of a skidsteer over a tractor sent me to a skidsteer.

You're not going to get a new 6-ton Deere mini ex for $75k. Not even close. Try closer to $100, if you could find one ~ (and yikes, that's really low flow for that Hyundai. But if you aren't running any attachments it doesn't matter. $55k was a good deal 😉)

so the answer is a mecalac 6mcr

Vote for wheel loader "farm model" with wider tyres, high capacity hydraulics, third and fourth function, hydraulic trailer hitch and extra hydraulics in the rear. JCB 409/413, the big Kubotas, Volvo L30-L50 and so on...

Get a mecalac and kill 2 birds with 1 stone and only one to service and run. ! Mcr tracked version very versatile

Skip the tractor. Get a skid steer first then an Excavator when you can afford it

Now that you have the excavator, how often do you use the tractor? Do you think you could get away without the tractor now? Same to Brock @Rockhillfarmandhomes. Could he get away without tractor now that he has skid steer?