I started with a shovel and bad sunburn.

no comparison...they each can do what the other can't...mini ex cab dig staright down...skid can level dirt/sand/gravel etc. more efficiently...my opinion is they make an awesome team

TRACTOR LOADER BACKHOE for me, in Minnesota it’s a year round tool. I’ve got a KUBOTA BX23S and it mows grass, digs trenches, grades driveways, cuts brush, grapples fire wood and snowblows and plows. One machine does it all. I love it!!! Great video! I like to see machines work.

Best thing is to have both but choosing only one should be an excavator. Buy a mini ex + a dump trailer= PROFIT

I’m currently at the T/L/B stage and I feel like making that unit perform and learning on inferior equipment makes you a better operator when you get into a dedicated machine. Great Videos!!!

I run equipment as well but love watching others. I’ve learned a lot just from watching others operate so I say let it play !!!

I think it depends on what type of work you do. For instance I’m into building and remodeling. We do a lot of additions and decks. I was having to subcontract out my light excavation. It always seemed like a headache to get the timing right and it was costing me more on my bottom line. I bought a mini excavator this spring and I pretty much had it pay for itself this summer by doing my own excavation. So next summer that’s a 100% profit in my pocket. I most likely buy an skid loader next summer. But my point is you need to figure out what will fit your needs the best.

I started with a TLB and I learned how to grade with the TLB. I even finished up a Airport with a TLB grading around Runways and Taxiways. It also had a set of pallet forks. It is about manipulating the weight of the TLB to get it to do what you need.

There better when they work together.

The machines definitely compliment each other. At the same time, the operators level of experience matters too

ive been opperating equipment for many years and ive been landscaping since i was 15 but i still enjoy watching videos of it all because maybe ill learn something new.

Love these videos! This will be my 3rd year landscaping. I use a Mahindra TLB now and looking to go skid or mini this year. This answered a few questions for me! Thanks!!

I started out 2 year's ago with a jcb 214 backhoe. I love the backhoe, but im definitely ready for a skidsteer and a min excavator.. But grateful for the jcb. It got me started.. Thanks for the video. I loved it..

Always fun to bring equipment off the flatbed

Long or time lapse is awesome cause it shows planning and maneuvers of the machines to beginner operators. The best skills of the trade are the ones you share.

I love the videos, but my toddler now has his favorite show. He is always excited to watch loaders and excavators. Love the extended sequence.

Oh, and watching guys spin circles on any track machine drives me insane. In rock or gravel, it is super hard on them especially so on rubber tracks

Great video! It depends on what you are doing. A drainage contractor might might want a min excavator. A general landscaping company might want a skid steer and rent a min x when they need one. It all depends on where you are, and what you are doing! Up north, dirt and snow- skid first Down south, clay and more clay- skid, or min x.

Interesting video. Both skid loader and mini excavator have there special purpose. And both are really handy machines to have. If starting out with a single machine I would go with a backhoe loader

Hello I'm an idahoan from Idaho and watch your videos every day even re watch and I love when you show equipment in action

I have owned a Gehl 5635 skid, Case 1845C skid, and now have a John Deere CT322. I also own a IHI mini-ex. my property is a 106 acre steep mountain side property in Oregon coastal mountains. Between my general contracting business and home. I would saying I am able to make 6x-10x time income with my CT322 but that is because of the attachments I own. 6' foot brush hog $185.00-$235/hr land clearing and mowing, extreme root grapple, pallet forks, 1/2 yard bucket with removable digging bar teeth, and my favorite attachment is the ABI SR3. I have own and sold my Bradco 609 backhoe skid-steer attachment with 3 bucket sizes. The hoe attachment are terribly clumsy, terrible to store, terrible to move around on the job site, terrible to transport from down the road from job to the yard. for the $12,000 price look for a used mini excavator you will be much happier. Around the house and farm the mini-ex get used 80% with the jobs I do for the land management, digging pond, trenches, cleaning ditches, building new access roads, taming slopes, culverts, and digging stumps ect. On my Job sites the Track-steer is used 80% of the time with the exception of the trenches and footings for the mini-ex.

I used a skid steer to trench for years, even in heavy clay. Actually does a nice job creating a level bottom trench.

My uncle started with a TLB like a lot of other people. He has been in business for many many years also and does also recommend the TLB for beginners. The first piece of construction equipment I ever ran was his TLB and I didn't hate it.

Good breakdown of the pros and cons of both. Gotta have both in my opinion 😊

id love to see long equipment running videos love all your videos either way but love seeing the equipment work since i'm out of the game now :(

Track loader wins all day just because it is so versatile. The amount of attachments are endless making it capable of doing anything. Jack of all trades and master of 1.

Longer sequences with voiceover or pip explanations of simultaneous views :) Love the channel. Thank you for making them.

Good vid, got the info I needed. Thanks guys

You need the both of them if just had to choose I would have to go with excavator

Wow, never seen a chipper/shredder like that at the end.

I started with a skid but quickly bought a mini. They each have their strong points.

I love the videos and they help me so much to find tools I could use for different things

I always love your videos but in this instance I think having the right attachments would have had a different outcome in the contests. Should have had a 4’ bucket for the mini x and a root grapple for the skid and they both would have done much better. I believe the mini x is the best first machine. Just my opinion. Still love the video. 👍

after 30+ years we still dont have a full size skid but have everything else

Cool brush shredder in background glad you showed it working

This was a super cool video, I am in between both pieces of equipment right now to level my slopped backyard- Also- that attachment chews up trees like if they were nothing lol

Is it the first time the guy operated the mini, about as smooth as an earth quake and I can’t figure out the way he approaches the dig. It’s frustrating to watch him and he’s slow and untidy

Disclaimer This video for entertainment purposes only

I want to see more equipment work in your videos i find it interesting to watch equipment work all day

One of my favorite videos you have done. well done!

Living in NH with some big hills on the property. A mini ex and a tractor for me. I wouldn’t dare drive a skid loader on my slopes

Love these vids...I'm saving up for a skid steer... Right now all I have is a 74 Chevy 3500 dump truck and shovel and pick... But getting the jobs done

It’s definitely cool watching the real whole work

Thanks for the video! Any thoughts for working on sloped terrain? Need to put in fence posts, grade paths and do general forestry clean up on varied terrain.

Skid with a few key attachments

One thing I saw was the lack of use of the blade on the mini-ex. When he moved the pile of dirt to the center he could have pushed a large portion of it into place as he repositioned. Also on the land clearing it would have been interesting to see the difference in blading vs digging out the palmettos. I guess that’s just me though because I got started on a dozer.

A backhoe loader in the best all rounder should have done a 3 machine comparison More machines working please and do like more long demos on latest equipment

My son and I like to watch the machines working.

Need a 4 in 1 bucket for that skid

Buy a good used TLB with quick attachs on both ends and rent the other pieces as needed until you can afford to buy them.

Love to see more equipment running

Unreal interesting video... Thinking about it myself.

18" Deep!!!! We have to go down 42" here to get below frost line (I live at 7000' in the Colorado Rockies)

Personally if I have compatible-equipment I would attach a excavator arm to the skid steer.

I started with a backhoe and im pretty happy with it. Its an old ford 555 and it does everything i ask of it.

I could sit and watch equipment run all day.

I love my mini skid steer! I started with it and grossed over 350k in 1 year my new toy is a mini x now! IN 1 MONTH MADE 10K WITH IT! Id start with a skid steer (mini) for residential work

They compliment eachother... not compete with.... 2 totally different machines for 2 totally different purposes. Also your operators blow

Great video! I bought a Gehl 4835sxt years ago for work around my house. Got lucky on a John Deere harley rake and a preperator for 3k for both back in 2008, when times were slow. Started getting people wanting some work done a couple of years ago here and there. Decided to add a brand new Kubota KX040-4 and now I'm turning work away. I only do side work because I have a full time job at a car factory, but I'd say they work like yeng and yang together. Love the channel. Love theses comparison videos and the trade show ones too.

Yes I love watching this from beginning to end!! I feel like you can get a better feel of the equipment!!

Hi based in ireland, No one runs a skid steer, every one runs a mini excavtor along with aarticulated mini dumper. i higher standard of work can be achieved with a excavator and we move soil with a low cost mini dumpers .

I'd like to watch the entire sequence to learn what I can and see mistakes as they occur.

Hands down make more longer videos 🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌 love your work mate 🤙🤙

I love it!!!! Long work to watch!

*VIDEO IDEA* What brand of equipment to buy if you wanna start your own business like case, cat, or JCB

Howdy, hard choice but minie ex.

I run a ditch witch xt850. It's small for alot if things but it's very handy for others.

I started with a mini TLB and I still have it. I HATE IT!! BUT! It got me started!

I’d like To see this test with a mecalac versus owning these 2 cats. Compare price and transport and labor as well.

Need some decent operators lol

Both machines are great. It all boils down to what you need out of a machine. I personally think all around machine especially if you take on jobs of all sorts is hands down definitely the skidloader. There's almost a attachment for any job that you'd ever want to take on. The quality of the work and time to get it done depends on how well the operator knows their machine and attachments capabilities. My hat off to operator's that know how to operate through the use of feel instead of only GPS or sensors because your a true operator.

We just got a mini excavator last year after 3 years full time demolition. Prior to that, only had a skid steer. For demolition. The point is, there's nothing you can't do with any machine if you're a good enough operator.

The fella in the skid steer needs more experience.

Why not get an excavator attachment for a skid steer? Seems like the “best” of both worlds.

Yo this video is great I really wish I could drive a skid steer one day I alway love your vids Stan keep it going

Great information love this video we have both and could not do without either you need the skid steer and the mini x to stay ahead of demand for work 🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲

buy a tractor, then a mini skid, then a mini ex. then a full skid. Best way to grow into what you got

I am 15 years old and I started on a Kubota l48 loader-backhoe

I like watching equipment run

Great video, thank you so much!

Interesting viewpoints. Down here (NZ) I would say excavators outnumber skid steer by a significant margin, with the latter mostly being on building sites to move material. Last related company I worked for had, with normal replacements taking into account, at least 20 excavators in their fleet from 1.3T to over 20T (over that, they'd just hire for the specific job)and NO skid steers, because they were not suitable for the work. All had trench, rock and weed (the larger, wide ones for loose material) buckets and some had picks for hard materials, etc. With quick hitches/couplers on all but the lightest machines, swapping out buckets was a speedy affair and so there wasn't really an issue with a small bucket limiting material transfer - and, remember, buckets are normally reversable for cleaner material pick up. There was a comment made about forks for the s/steer for shifting pallets, but they are also available for most excavators or, as we did for some special tools, make a set up - otherwise use strops, as we generally did. Oh, forgot, we did have a couple of small, articulated loaders for when there was a fair bit of material to be moved and, when there was a LOT of earthworks involved, we either hired machines or sub-contracted the work out. In the end, might simply come down to personal preference - and, perhaps, if s/steers are so common you could look at an excavator and do subcontract work for those who don't have one but still find it more economical to have someone do it faster and neater than have an operator in a s/steer messing around? Get on-line and check out some of the attachments available for each machine - you may be surprised just what is available for each, like rock breakers, auger drives for pilings/fencing, etc. that can add to the revenue earning potential of the machines. Oh, and check out the Duckgirl videos - wheeled rather than tracked, but same operating principle. Lastly, who the heck gave the thumbs down?

TWO DIFFERENT TOOLS

I love my 2018 310l John Deere jack of all trades!

Your doing great dude!

Step 1. Find “decent” operators Step2. Get equipment Step.3 etc

That was painful to watch two guys I have no idea how to run equipment making one hell of a big mess

Recently we needed a new septic drain field, they did the job with a late model TLB/4wd. 2 guys less than a day. Soil conditions were similar to beach sand. They had a track skid on site to skim out top soil at the end. TLB seemed like the right tool.

I started with a case 850B with a 4 in 1 bucket (45,000 lb) and a dump truck. Purchased for a specific job of moving a hill of 20,000 cubic yards of dirt. Now that I am retiring and doing fun projects for myself and family, I am getting a mini-excavator with a thumb that I can haul around easily on my utility trailer. Being able to get into tight places and work without making a huge mess is really nice.

He was digging the entire time off the drive gears. Its excavator 101 to not dig over drive sprockets po ut 2 actual operators in the machines and it will be fair

At least you pick to equal amateur operators.

How about all the quick attachments for the skid? I feel like they make a skid way more functional. What do you think? Grapples and trenchers, etc.

The end was insane

Great video but hard to judge the machines when the people aren't real skilled operators

A mini excavator can make you way more money than a skid. My skid is used for moving dirt and level the ground. This excavator operator is slow as fuuc lol

I have a new Holland ls125 skid with a bucket snow blade and forks and I love it

I have been thinking mini ex then skid Thanks for comparison vid Stan. Can you please do a mini skid comparison vid. Cheers

If Travis could operate that excavator worth a damn... Why not ever use the damn blade?

We all know this is just an excuse for a couple of buds to get together and play on some equipment. I would advise anyone who wants to buy equipment and get into the industry talk to someone and or read the comments below of people who own and have operated these two types of equipment and more to point you in the right direction. There is no one machine that does it all the most efficient at everything. Also renting is an option if you buy one and rent the others I get you have to be competitive in pricing but I do it time to time.

I started with a bobcat e20 mini excavator in hopes to purchase a skidsteer or ctl in the next few years

After years of only having a skid loader and now having a mini x and a Vermeer CTX 100 I don't know why we waited so long! You can do a lot with a skid loader, but having a mini just makes jobs go so much better