Bobcat

I was also told to watch the bobcats coming from quarry work, they are used/abused and even if it doesnt look like it. If it was in a quarry it was used more then most.

I wouldn't buy one used on a construction site, in a quarry or from a dairy farm or any other farm. Used and abused. I bought mine from the guy who bought it new, another beekeeper. I had experience using it while it was his and I saw how he used it.

You can find Loaners from a Dealer/Rental Shop. Low hours and not new prices.

[QUOTE=Anybody use one w/ tracks instead of tires?[/QUOTE]

I have had a 722 and 743, now have an S185 and a T190. I like the track machine better, will go anywhere. On pavement it has a constant rumble and vibration from the tracks. And it does tip when going over a ledge. It also is more stable and capable with heavy loads even though it is the same machine as the S185. I have never moved bees with them, I use them for landscaping.

There is no better loader for moving bee's than a pre-1984 Melroe Bobcat equipped with a tail wheel and a mast. the reason i say pre '84 is because that is when the drive of the wheels was still belt and clutch driven. Meaning it can coast when you let go of the sticks. Unlike all these giant hydro static machines that stop abruptly when you let go of the stick. i can load a semi with the lightest of touch on the sticks. minus the fact that i am freezing all the time i would want nothing else. we have some of the roughest bee yards anyone could imagine and the old 610 has plenty of power and she only weighs 3,000 lbs.