I Tested 7 Skid Loaders...5 Were A Total Waste.

I think this guy was from the future because when he said this machine was imperfect, it was almost like he knew exactly what he was talking about because right here, coming up, the machine freezes up and traps the operator inside of it with the boom arms partially up in the air. The color the lever >> There you go. Now you guys know what I know. Let's keep a search out for new products. Thank you, Todd. Yeah, I see a nice big fat white step on this. This machine was a mechanical flipping nightmare. I absolutely hated that machine. I got the uh roller coaster lap bar, the old school. I love that. History has a way of teaching us the best lessons. That's why they say hindsight is 20/20. And we're going to use that to our advantage today. We're going to look at some equipment that I've examined over the years, but then we're going to put it into a modern twist, a modern perspective, and see where they came from and where they are right now, and how that impacts you and I. So, let's dive into this one right now. Look online for used models, and if you see a a number of used models with 50 to 100 hours on it, there's a reason why those machines are getting sold so fast because people buy [music] them with their expectations here, but what they're experiencing may not be quite the same. Now, this first company we're looking at has been around since 1947 making farm equipment, and that's good and bad because it fal- it falsely misleads people to think this company knows what they're doing. And when I say good and bad, let's just take a look at this piece of equipment. And then, afterwards, let's discuss the good and the bad with it. Howdy. Howdy. How you doing? Excellent, thank you. Uh Kioti, where is Kioti from? So, our parent company is in South Korea, and then um we are based out of Wendell, North Carolina. Okay, so they're built in South Korea? Yeah, and then we assemble them in North Carolina, ship them out from there. How long have they been around? So, Kioti that themselves been around for a long time, but uh this is our first year selling uh construction equipment stuff. What did you sell before? Uh we are primarily an egg tractor company, subcompact tractor company. Ah, okay. Okay. So, who actually makes your construction equipment if you were an egg egg equip egg company? >> The same company, so Oh, so they started to make this? >> Yep. When did they start making construction equipment then? Uh it's about a year about a year ago now. About a year ago, okay. Yes, so we started releasing our dealers in August. So, they really started then, and then we're ramping up production this year to get more out to our dealer network. And what are the components you guys use that guys may be familiar with? Uh standard industry components in terms of the hydraulics. So, uh Danfoss uh motors and pumps on our track unit here, and then we use Bosch Rexroth on the skid steer unit. So, standard components you see really across the industry. Those are the two big players in hydraulics. In terms of the engine, it's our own engine. So, Daedong's been making engines for decades, so anything that >> Ooh. Daedong? Daedong, I have heard of Daedong. >> Yep. Yeah, so that's our parent company. Uh based out of South Korea. They've been making engines for a very long time. We've also made engines for other manufacturers as well. Uh this is the same engine. It's a 74 horsepower. Uh it's same engine we've used in our RX tractors, or larger utility tractors. So, it's an engine we've proven out on the market before. And uh so, in the construction end end of it, are you stuck with Are you just limiting to skid loaders? Do you do excavators? Do you do pay loaders? What else do you do besides skid loader tools? >> we just have Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I almost crushed your hand. >> That's all right. Well, it's not all right by me. I don't want to crush anybody's hand. So, as of right now, we just have, uh, the the two models, the the skid steer and the track loader, but we are working at expanding that portfolio. So, we're looking to become a full-line compact equipment dealer somewhere down the road. So, excavators we're evaluating, wheel loaders, mini track loaders, all those such products we're evaluating now and and figuring out where that fits in with the the Kioti brand. What's the warranty like in Kioti? 3-year 3,000 hours. So, a year and 1,000 hours above the usual industry standard. >> 3-year? 3-year 3,000 hours. That's not a bad warranty. All right. I'd say the big thing for us is the controls right now. So, you know, the industry's kind of been moving to that electro-over-hydraulic for a lot of the machines. We went with pilot hydraulic controls. Uh, so what that does is for a lot of operators, it gives them more haptic feedback. So, that they feel gives them better control of the machine. You especially see it when you go to shake out a bucket. Yeah. Awesome. Is it on this one now? Yep. Well, let's go inside. How about price point? Yep. What's the price point on a machine like this? So, on this machine here, a cab unit is sitting around that 72,000. For a cab skid steer, it's sitting around that 62,000. So, a cab track loader 72, cab skid loader 62. Same horsepower, same everything else. Yep. Just the difference between track Is there any difference in the gearing or anything like that to compensate for it? Um, there is the the skid steer does travel faster. Um, and the skid steer does also include ride control. work on getting right control for the track loader down the road as well. Okay. Uh but otherwise, yeah, common common features and components going across the two machines. Awesome. Excavator style roll-up door. And the one thing that works really well for me on this unit is I'm a bigger guy. I don't fit compact equipment usually very well. This is a very wide cab. >> Reminds me of my Kubota. Yep. Really it it's a little bit bigger, a little bit more comfy comfy. So like I said Awesome. And that is by Ki- Coyote. Coyote, yep, that's it. Coyote, awesome. All right, thank you, sir. Absolutely, thanks for stopping by. All right, so this skid loader is the first year it's come out was 2023, making this a first generation. So although the company Coyote has been around since 1947 making farm equipment, that doesn't mean they've been making construction equipment since then. So they do have manufacturing experience, but you guys got to realize this is a first generation machine. And even a company like Ford or Chevy or GM, whenever they come out with a brand new model, we've always said don't buy it because they're working the bugs out. Well, this is not just a brand new model, this is a whole brand new line to this company. So this is still the first generation equipment coming out, which means you're still ironing out the bugs. And do you guys want to be the experimental guinea pig for a brand new company with a brand new supply chain line for this line. Although they've got it established for the farm industry, this is not a piece of farm equipment such as a tractor. This is a completely new to this organization. Personally, I would say I'm going to watch it and let other people spend their money. I'm going to let other people be the guinea pig until I know whether they've got things dialed in or whether they've got things spot-on. I'm not going to risk my dollar bills when every single dollar is getting harder to earn right now being that experimental guinea pig for these guys. So So, at best they have two to three years of experience with this category of equipment. And that doesn't raise my confidence level. I don't care how long you've been around. Kohler has been around making faucets for a long time, but when they started making engines, it didn't mean I want to jump on the bandwagon and get myself a Kohler engine until Kohler was able to prove themselves that yeah, the quality they made with their faucets, they were able to transfer over into their engines. So, do you guys want to be the experimental guinea pig? You tell me in the comments down below. You maybe you love the Kioti tract farm tractors and you're like, I'm all on board with Kioti, which is awesome. If you are, great. But if you're not familiar with the brand name, you might want to look at a different brand altogether until Kioti gets more experience under their belt in this line of equipment, in this in this category cuz they're they're brand new to the category. But we've got another piece of equipment to look at right now. The KATO skid loader and I'm with Doug. >> Yes. Doug Doug's from KATO. Is this out yet? This is our CL35 track loader. It's the only model that we offer right now. Is it actually out on the market? >> on market. It is. How many horsepower is it? >> 62 horsepower Kubota. 62 Kubota. Okay, so it runs a Kubota power plant. Okay. Right. It's a 8,000 lb class track loader. Mid-size frame? >> Mid-size frame. Okay. That's frame. Um I should tell you it's Japanese made. Uh we got Two things that are a little bit different. Uh travel motors up a little bit higher, little bit better angle on here for uh, for clean out for your dirt and uh, a little bit more power by having that uh, Okay. uh, segmented sprockets on the travel motor. So, you can replace You can replace, take that off halfway and you able to pull the track off fairly >> Okay. Um, it's got you can the uh, the lift right on it is so you can have tracks on the truck. You'll be able to load the tracks out. It's Okay. 13-ft Okay. span on top. Great. How's the access on the back? It's good. Does this swing out? No. >> That does not swing out. Okay, so your Kubota's in here. >> Mhm. Okay. And the cab lifts up for uh, maintenance also. What about service? Service fairly easy on this. You got your hydraulic tank over there. All your filters, water separator, everything's kind of up front on the What about a dealer network? So, if a guy has a problem and he's not going to want to service himself, >> Right. is there a dealer network set up in >> We've got dealer network across the US. All across the US. Okay. Uh, Kato, why would a guy want a Kato and not a Kubota? You got a Kubota engine in it. Why would you want to go with a Kubota rest of it? Well, uh, it's Japanese made. Japanese made. Kato actually Kato purchased the IHI. So, we were IHI back in the day. That's still not convincing me why I want to buy one over a Kubota. >> well, availability one. Okay. Right now, we've got strong availability. Strong availability >> And uh, good dealer network. How about a warranty? Warranty on that is 2-year 1,000-hour warranty. 2 years what? So, what's the price point on something Price point on this, you're in that 50-60,000 range depending on the put options So, it's not really cheaper than available Kubota. >> Right. That's right. Now, we're we're competitive with everybody on that. Let's go inside of it real quick. And you don't have anything bigger than that. >> Yeah, I see a nice big fat white step on this. Sit up, huh? I got the uh roller coaster lap bar, the old school. I love that. That's just my personal preference. Some guys don't like it. They like the flip-ups, but I don't mind the old school lap bar cuz you don't bust your elbows. Used to. Uh so, we got a foot plate. We don't have a foot throttle here at all. Elbows. >> we've got a throttle right here. All right, that is the KATO skid loader. You guys tell me, what do you think of the KATO skid loader? Thank you, Don. Much appreciated, sir. Thank you. Much appreciated. If guys uh If guys wanted one, where would they go? Is there a dealer network? Yeah. So, they can uh reach us at compacttrackloadersales or uh katoces.com. Okay. And uh we've got a dealer network working on the website. Perfect. All right. Thanks, Don. >> Richard, have a great day. Yeah, you too. I'm going to tell you I simply wouldn't buy this machine. Uh not because it's a bad machine, but because I don't see the advantage of going with this machine over something that's more established. Now, KATO has been around since 2020. So, unlike Kioti or Coyote or whatever, Coyote came out in 2023. So, they're still kind of in that first generation. They've only been out for a couple years now. KATO is going on more like 5 or 6 years. So, that's a benefit to it. But, there isn't any strategic price advantage to this machine. It is a very old school machine. Yeah, it's got the lap bar. And yeah, I like the lap bar, but I'm not in love with the lap bar. I mean, flip that. Who cares? Especially if you got a big belly, the lap bar sucks, okay? Um The other thing is I I asked about that dealer network a number of times, and there really wasn't a very clear answer. But, the the clearest answer you can get from Chat GPT and you ask it about the dealer network and Chat GPT will specifically tell you that it has a smaller dealer network than Bobcat, Kubota, and Deere. And what Chat will tell you is that means that you're going to get you can have slower parts depending on location. Resale is typically lower and it's not every mechanic is familiar with them. Which is exactly the things that I was thinking in my head. Like, you know, as I'm asking him these questions, I'm trying to get a definitive answer >> [snorts] >> because, you know, there needs to be an advantage in price. There needs to be an advantage in parts. There needs to be some kind of an advantage for me to go ahead and pull the trigger on a model that doesn't have as many creature features as I would like and I'm not a fancy bells and whistles guy by any means, but I also don't want to crawl into a 1970s piece of equipment. I want something that is a reflection of work quality in today's standards. I don't want all of these features that I'm never going to use with buttons and mechanical and electronic issues that are going to be a problem down the road, but I want just enough to make me feel like if I need them, I can turn this machine into a production monster. And also the 65 category is not the biggest machine, so it's really not meant for the highest production. Like if you're going to go out and load trucks every single day, you're going to want a bigger machine. You're going to if you're going to buy this machine, you're going to buy buy it with a specific style of work in place and that's where you want to make sure you understand what you're getting into with this name brand. So, that's my two cents on this thing, but you guys tell me what you think of it in the comments down below. Now, let's hit the next one up. So, this is the the newest by New Holland? Yes, this is the New Holland construction. This is the and then I think we have one outside a B75 the back out it's also new. So when did this come out? Uh we introduced it to our dealers to Motosport last fall start shipping it in and a few one two two this year. Oh this year, okay. So this tell give me the specs on this thing here. What's your name? My name is Todd DeBock. Todd, okay. What's the specs on it? >> Uh well 115 horsepower it's got a unique emission system on it. It's selective catalytic reduction and DOC. Uh diesel oxidation catalyst. 3.4 L engine smooth running it's it's a family engine from Fiat powertrain within our within our company and 6200 lb of ROC is the highest highest you're ever going to find in a compact track loader. So So that that that uh bad boy. Beast. How you doing? So this is technically the biggest compact track loader not the most powerful but Uh with the 6200 lb of ROC is top dog right now. So that So that's what you're actually referring to but I was actually referring to the horsepower. So that that horsepower 115 horsepower it's it's there's some that are a little more than that. Right. >> Uh but it's it's how you use it and and what you what you can do with it. We can do a lot. You can get high flow hydraulics on this with 4000 PSI 40 4 gallon minute hydraulic flows power anything. What's the price point on something like this in the market? >> Uh it's about 140,000 dollars. >> 140, yeah. And this is where I want these red flags to stand out to you guys. This machine comes in at 16,000 and has 114 horsepower. The Cat 299D comes in at around 98 horsepower and right between 11,500 lb. This New Holland has the biggest fattest booty of all of the machines out there. It by far is the heaviest. So, even though it has the most horsepower, that doesn't necessarily translate to that butt feel. That feel you get when you hop in a machine and everything blends together and you're like It does not give you that feeling because compared to its its power to weight ratio just isn't there. Although they don't want to tell you that. They're not out there telling you, "Oh yeah, it's 16,000 114 horsepower." It really the the power to weight ratio is where the it makes the operators excited. The Kubota 97-2 that I bought, that has an insane power to weight ratio. That's unreal. I freaking love that machine. I love the Kubota 97-2. And now Kubota has a 97-3 out there which I have not had a chance to operate, but they've taken the power to weight ratio in the Kubota 97-2 and upped it even more. I would it would feel to me that would feel like you just hopped on Superman's back, you grabbed his cape, and now you're directing Superman what to do if the power to weight ratio is there. Versus this Kubota would feel more like you just hopped in an old Sherman tank and you're stuck in the mud and you're trying to crawl out, but it's booty's too fat and it doesn't have enough horsepower to get itself unstuck out of the mud. I've been in that scenario before with a Terex skid loader I I That thing couldn't climb up a bank. It was like freaking operating a turtle. So, getting the power to weight ratio is absolutely critical. You can come out and say, "Oh, yeah, we've got the most power." But, if you're glossing over the fact that you are the fattest machine on the market, that power is not going to move that machine and make it feel nimble. It's just bragging rights at that point, and I feel that that can be misleading. But, now we're going to go into another category of machines. So, let's do this one. The second thing that's new is Yanmar. You now have an RT50. Can we go over here? Your RT50 is powered by a Yanmar engine. Is that right? >> Our RT50. Okay. The RT50 and the RT40. This is 8% more horsepower than our previous model. 8%? When did that come out? Uh, this came out this summer. This summer. Okay. Is this available now so guys wanted this RT50, could they get it with the Yanmar engine? Cuz they're going to want that 8%. That's a huge difference. >> They're being manufactured right now. Okay. So, one of the things I want to show you guys about the 50 uh, that I I've used this 50. One of the things that I want to show you is underneath. And it's right here. This is the magic of this machine, and it doesn't look like much from this point. But, do you see that track right there? That is the fattest track on the smallest machine you can get, and that basically means you're going to float. And when you look at the ground clearance, is there anybody that has ground clearance like this in the market right now? I think we're the leading in the industry Right. So, the ground clearance is huge. You're not going to find a machine that's going to float better than this little one right here. And this is one of our our inside of our company, this is one of our preferred machines, the RT50. I don't know why we haven't bought one yet, but we love it. So, that's just something that I wanted to point out to these guys. All right, we got Jeff from Quality Equipment. You guys actually have my ASV in shop right now, but there's two things about ASV that people don't know. The first…