Used to dig every post hole by hand until I rented a skid steer last spring

For like 5 years I was out there with a shovel and a clamshell digger, sweating through shirts on every job. Arms would be dead by lunch and I'd only get maybe 8 holes done in a day if the ground was rocky. Finally rented a skid steer with an auger attachment for a big fence line in Columbus and holy crap, did 30 holes in 2 hours. Now I'm thinking about buying a used one but worried about maintenance costs, anyone else make that jump?

2 comments

2 Comments

thea_chen13d ago

Shit, have you looked into what a used skid steer actually costs to maintain? I was in the same boat last year and almost pulled the trigger on a 2018 Bobcat with 2k hours, but then I talked to a guy who said his hydraulic system blew out and it was like $4k just for the repair parts. Plus the tires ain't cheap either if you're running tracks on pavement. You might be better off renting one for a couple days every time you have a big job unless you're doing fence work like every single week.

thomas_roberts12d ago

Wait, are you really thinking about buying one based on just hearing about one guy's bad luck with his hydraulics? I've owned two skid steers over ten years and honestly the repair costs are way overblown if you keep up with the basic stuff like changing the filters and fluids.