[PSUscaper]

Hello,

I bought a used bobcat 864 earlier this year. What a great machine.

The machine spoils you rotten with what it can do...........I mean, muddy sites, steep hills, etc. are generally no match.......It does what no wheeled skidsteer can, and probably what most rubber tire backhoes can do.

I would of been shut down completed on one job without it.

As for problems.....well. Its had a few....but most are associated with it being a bobcat...not being tracked. Supposely, the machine was the first tracked bobcat in the state of NJ, and one of the first off the production line. So, overall, I'm pretty happy.

Before I had the machine, the tracks were replaced twice (machine has about 1200 hours now) One set of tracks the excavator destroyed on a job that was all rock.........so make a note........DO NOT OPERATE rubber track machine on shot rock as it = new tracks = big $.

The other set lasted about 900 hours.........now I have the 3rd set which were brand new when I purchased.......so I hopefully won't have a report on track wear for a LONG TIME.......

The only major problem that went wrong with the track system was the replacement of both grease cylinders. These are like hydraulic pistons filled with grease that tension the track......over time, mud works its way into the pistons and eats away at them.
They were replaced right before I bought it about 1100 hours.

One of the big keys is to clean the machine routinely......many times this machine is working in a foot of mud, and it builds up inside the udercarriage.......frequent power washing is a key to keeping the whole thing working.

My major problem with the machine is this............if you don't have it, you don't want to operate anything else......and I mean it.
It just spoils you rotten. The last time I jumped in a regular skidsteer, I got stuck in a few minutes and couldn't figure out why. There's no comparison.

Oh ya, and one more note........if freezing temperatures are upon you......BE SURE to clean undercarriage completely.........believe me, two hours with a torpedo heater and hammer out in the cold on a brisk december morning is not a good time.......

By the way, have you guys seen the new 'turf' tracks by ASV. There like 'slicks' for a skidsteer....no traction....just a smooth belt all the way around...........Probably 100% useless for most construction, but for a golf course application I would think they'd be a real asset.