Which to choose? Mini Skid Steer

AmericanArborist said:
could you add a hydraulic ramp easily enough? that would be pretty sweet. might weigh a bit more.
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Probably.

I've looked (slightly) into mounting permanent bi-fold ramps on both sides, and adding stabilizers (to keep the truck from rocking so hard). So far though I have not followed through on anything.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
 
Measured the new truck today and it's at 44" as well. Don't know why I thought it was 54. I didn't get a picture of the chipper jack knifed but did get a couple loading. If my ramps were shorter than 12' they would be too steep and the platform would hit the ramps.
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You can see without the 2x4 the platform hitsIMG_0735.webp
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I can go up the ramps forward with the grapple tilted forward slightly but I much prefer backing up. I only load forward when there is a half load of chips +/-.
 
A chunk of wood or a couple rope bags on the end of the extended grapple would help your nose-first loading, with stuff you have on-hand.


Unloading uphill helps if your ramps are steep.

Lifting your bed a bit can help with the rock-over on tracked machines. Don't know if it would help on wheels.
 
Why not weld the lock to the bottom of the ramp where it sits on the ground so you can skip the step of finding the blocks?
 
southsoundtree said:
I move my 4400 pound chipper with my Boxer 532dx, routinely. The BMG has an insert hitch that accepts slugs. Not as rigid as a dedicated towing set-up, but pretty much does what I want most always. Takes a good operator. I wouldn't expect a newer operator to get all they can out of it, naturally.

I've pulled it up a 25 degree fresh-gravel driveway pretty well, until I lost traction on the loose gravel.

I move it around off-road. A tracked chipper is different, but you will be happy I think to have log, brush, trailer moving capacity. I have moved all my gear to the deep back yard in a trailer in one trip, chipped into the trailer, moved it to the dump spot, and tipped as high as possible (not dumping on its own, but greatly aids unloading). Moved all the wood to the wood shed. 100' fir by myself in a day.

BTW, my chipper has super light tongue-weight (maybe 100 pounds). a strong person can easily flip it onto its butt.
If you're in Olympia, let me know.
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What do you think of your 532DX?

Would you purchase it again if you had the opportunity?

What other machines can you compare it to?
 
evo said:
I truely appreciate that. How ever I want low overhead one employee. I am not able to drop the funds on a CDL truck with a mini platform. Perhaps it's putting the cart before the horse? My market generally involves large properties greater than 5 acres (county laws have it as you cannot subdivide less than 5). It's a heathly mix of forest management and urban style tree care. I need to find a effective and efficient way to get the brush to the chipper or the chipper to the brush. The latter would be ideal, but even with a 4x4 chip truck I couldn't be as effective as I would like.
My goal is to maximize efficiency with one maneuverable smaller sized truck (short frame 550 or smaller) have a mini on site, chipper and hauling wood would be a bonus. Thoughts are very welcome.

Also I should add that 90% if my work is less than 15 miles from base. Rarely do I have to dump mid day, if we are even hauling chips. One extra trip isn't too big of a deal, but two becomes burdensome. Frequently wood just needs to be moved from point a to b. I honestly only see needing this config 10-20% of the time.
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9bf0cf3c0f31a0c1d9179ecd899732d2.jpg


See this guy? [emoji1426][emoji1426][emoji1426][emoji1426]

This is your Answer.

He will start charging me, cause I've used the Chit out of this picture.
 
craneguy1 said:
Why not weld the lock to the bottom of the ramp where it sits on the ground so you can skip the step of finding the blocks?
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Honestly the 2x4's are cheaper than an aluminum welder. Lol. And I much prefer the two truck set up with the mini in the dump trailer. But the wife's car broke down again this week so I'm moving the mini in the chip truck for the next couple weeks while she has my nice pickup.
 
hseII said:
What do you think of your 532DX?

Would you purchase it again if you had the opportunity?

What other machines can you compare it to?
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I have had a bunch of problems with it. It kicks butt over no mini. When its working right, it rocks. It has expandable tracks 34.5-43.5" which is pretty important in my market. Narrow access and cross slope stability. Strong and relatively light compared to beefier built Ditch Witches and Vermeer.

Maybe they worked out some of the bugs. I got the last of the 32 HP diesels April 2014.
 
southsoundtree said:
I have had a bunch of problems with it. It kicks butt over no mini. When its working right, it rocks. It has expandable tracks 34.5-43.5" which is pretty important in my market. Narrow access and cross slope stability. Strong and relatively light compared to beefier built Ditch Witches and Vermeer.

Maybe they worked out some of the bugs. I got the last of the 32 HP diesels April 2014.
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They have discontinued it in favor of the spaceship 900 series.

Your machine is what I thought I wanted.

What are the bugs you speak of?
 
I don't have a local dealer. I figured buy new, should hold up fine.

Broke a weld on the curl cylinder off the bat. Fixed by friend, paid out of pocket.
Frame crack from improper manufacturing. Paid by warranty to be fixed at a local shop.
Loose track expansion limiting bolts.
Engine came loose. Fixed myself.
Maybe a defective hydraulic breather cap that caused the supply hose to collapse twice. PITA to drain the machine twice.
Exhaust flex-pipe broke- warranty part. Fixed myself.
A diode seems to burn out on more than one machine.
key switch came loose in housing. more staff time.
leaking hydraulic cooler hose. replaced myself with warranteed parts.
what else...give me a minute. oh yeah, the hydraulic pump shield vibrates until it cracks. design flaw.
what else...


Shielding over the front is important. Employees would ruin it in time. I've meant to have a shield built for it, as I've seen done. The battery and fuel filter/ lines are pretty exposed. Maybe put expanded metal over them, too.
 
southsoundtree said:
I don't have a local dealer. I figured buy new, should hold up fine.

Broke a weld on the curl cylinder off the bat. Fixed by friend, paid out of pocket.
Frame crack from improper manufacturing. Paid by warranty to be fixed at a local shop.
Loose track expansion limiting bolts.
Engine came loose. Fixed myself.
Maybe a defective hydraulic breather cap that caused the supply hose to collapse twice. PITA to drain the machine twice.
Exhaust flex-pipe broke- warranty part. Fixed myself.
A diode seems to burn out on more than one machine.
key switch came loose in housing. more staff time.
leaking hydraulic cooler hose. replaced myself with warranteed parts.
what else...give me a minute. oh yeah, the hydraulic pump shield vibrates until it cracks. design flaw.
what else...


Shielding over the front is important. Employees would ruin it in time. I've meant to have a shield built for it, as I've seen done. The battery and fuel filter/ lines are pretty exposed. Maybe put expanded metal over them, too.
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Wow.

Thanks For Sharing.
 
monkeylove said:
Has anyone (probably the Ozzies more than here) ever used a Kanga Loader? I saw a G520 for sale but never heard of them.
00T0T_eGw19JrLGfb_600x450.jpg
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Looks like it would be easy to maintain! More importantly than the manufacturer of the machine as a whole is the availability of individual parts. I.e. Kohler or Honda engine vs off brand.
 
flyingsquirrel25 said:
Looks like it would be easy to maintain! More importantly than the manufacturer of the machine as a whole is the availability of individual parts. I.e. Kohler or Honda engine vs off brand.
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Yep, that would be my first concern. Well that and it's 140 miles away so looking at it has to be a serious thought. It is only $4,000 though. And you can get a grapple like yours for it.
 
monkeylove said:
Yep, that would be my first concern. Well that and it's 140 miles away so looking at it has to be a serious thought. It is only $4,000 though. And you can get a grapple like yours for it.
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The picture gets blurry when you enlarge it but I'm not sure it has aux hydraulic connections. There is something on the right side but it looks small. I traveled 250-300 miles for my machine but it was a known commodity before I got in the truck. Brendon was very forthcoming with the machine.
 
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