Skid steer or payloader for Topsoil screening machine

[kc9ddy]

New here and I'm sure it's been asked before but im trying to figure out if I need to look for a smaller payloader or keep with my bigger skid steer to use with my screening machine it runs about 30yd per hr of cleaned dirt.

Right now we are running it with my case 95xt and a pc50 mr2. The pc50 is running a 3ft toothed bucket and the 95xt is running my reto fitted 4 in 1 from a deere 410c it's supposed to be a 1yd bucket.

I was thinking about looking for a deere 444 or something of the size. Or should I stay with a large frame skid steer like a tv620b or a deere 333g I know there's a size difference.

Just trying to get a game plan together because my 95xt has 4200hrs on it and I'd like to retire it back up duties
Thanks

 

[Welder Dave]

If you're running it all day a wheel loader will be less fatiguing and you'll have better visibility loading the screener. Also much nicer for getting in and out of. If it's windy out and the dirt is dry you'll be covered in dust in a skid steer unless you have a door and that would another pain in the summer.

 

[Simon C]

1 Yard every 2 minutes is what 30 yards per hour is. At 1 yard per bucket how far from pile to screen is the question. Your working the machine at close to full speed, so look for bigger equipment or expect less production. A 2-3 yard bucket will be working1/4 to 1/6 the itensity of the small machine.
I have a 2022 John Deere 332 G rubber tired skid steer and yes it can muck dirt pretty fast, but at your speed pin and bushings and tires are wearing out faster.
Good size loaders are not cheap to buy or maintain now a days.
The new skidsteers are expensive by the hour to maintain with DEF systems and Diesel Particulate filters and all the sensors that run them.
If you grease the crap out of all pins and bushings every 4 hours, you might get not bad life from a skid steer doing the work, but more prone to problems for production work.
Smaller Deere or Cat rubber tired loader might cost less , depends on the budget.
Remember salesman are not in love with you, just your wallet.
How much service you will get after sales is super important.
In first 500HRS of my machine needed a new Controller for emissions, New Sock filter and pump for DEF, coded out once for exhaust temperature.
That was Dealer laptop every time, just for your info. Warranty covered other than $500 for 2 of the trips for travel.
Just my opinion, you will have to make your decision.
Simon C

 

[Welder Dave]

A 2 or 3 yard bucket would speed up production and wouldn't have to work nearly as hard or fast as a skid steer. Like Simon said above, a lot less maintenance and wear on a wheel loader.

 

[DanDavis]

If you plan to run the equipment throughout the day, a wheel loader may be better. uh for what I know, wheel loaders generally have lower maintenance costs and slower parts wear...and according to your use time, purchasing a new one is reasonable. But larger ones like the Deere 444 could be expensive. but I'm sure it has better productivity.

 

[kc9ddy]

Thanks for your input I'll going to be looking into a smaller payloader this winter I think that will be the best bang for the buck in the long run.

 

[skyking1]

Welcome aboard and yes, wheels over tracks on a production pad. Skid loaders or track machines tear up the working surface and a wheeled machine can kinda heal it as you go, polar opposites that way.

 

[KSSS]

I think the question comes down to what else you want to do with the loader. If all you need is to move material on the screener than a wheel loader would make sense. However if your processing 30 yards an hour, I am guessing its not a service that your living off of and may need the machine to do more than just process the topsoil.

A 620 comes with a 1.25 cy bucket and it can handle a lot more (especially if its topsoil that tends to be pretty light). The ROI may be higher because you can do other things with it than just process the topsoil with the machine. Your basically handling 60 yards an hour, which is hardly working that machine. A 95XT is no slouch on handling material, a 620 could about double what your seeing now in productivity.

A 321 or 521 would be a good wheel loader match and a wheel loader would be more comfortable to run and use less fuel. Its just largely a one trick pony. It all comes down to how many boxes you want to check in my opinion.

 

[CM1995]

Welcome to the Forums kc! Glad to have you.


What other services/work do you perform other than screen topsoil?

 

[kc9ddy]

Welcome to the Forums kc! Glad to have you.


What other services/work do you perform other than screen topsoil?

We started out doing land clearing and earth moving back In the mid 70s I'm second generation and since I took over the family business I expanded into field tile, oil well location maintenance, lease roads, fire wall, brush mowing
So more less anything to make a dollar

 

[CM1995]

We started out doing land clearing and earth moving back In the mid 70s I'm second generation and since I took over the family business I expanded into field tile, oil well location maintenance, lease roads, fire wall, brush mowing
So more less anything to make a dollar

Good deal. We never know one's background until they tells us a little more about it.

So a small or mid range wheel loader to a large CTL will suit your needs and be a useful machine on your other projects. From what little bit I've loaded a screen or crusher I like using an excavator if the pile is close enough.

 

[skyking1]

You have to think beyond loading the screen. You have to think about what the products doing coming off the other end.
The reject Rock pile. All that stuff. It's easier to handle with a wheel loader. You can pack it away farther faster.
I spent a lot of time with crushers in my early years and I can't imagine doing it without a wheel loader.

 

[DDoug]

You have to think beyond loading the screen. You have to think about what the products doing coming off the other end.
The reject Rock pile. All that stuff. It's easier to handle with a wheel loader. You can pack it away farther faster.
I spent a lot of time with crushers in my early years and I can't imagine doing it without a wheel loader.

As a spectator sitting on the sidelines, i had the same thought as what you posted.

Is this a dead simple screener, where the loader is kept busy putting material in, running around back to take out the screened product as well ?

Maybe a conveyor or two for the out puts would allow larger piles, that only need
attention every 4-8 hours ?

 

[Welder Dave]

If the screener is high, like a dump truck, loading with a skid steer would get old fast. A wheel loader would be much more comfortable, faster, have better visibility and keep you out of the dust. It would also be a lot less wear and tear using a wheel loader.

 

[MG84]

What about a decent sized 4wd loader/landscaper tractor (skip loader), like a JD 210LE, Case 570N or the like? I think you can get a 1.25yd gp bucket on one and have a three point hitch for running other attachments. Might not quite be wheel loader productivity, but probably cheaper and more versatile. I've never loaded a screen plant, but for loading trucks I greatly prefer a tractor loader (backhoe in my case) over a skid steer or CTL. More comfortable, much better visibility, and doesn't tear up the ground. The last thing I'd want in your situation is a CTL, tears the living hell out of the ground and you're just wearing out expensive undercarriage.

 

[KSSS]

I agree with all those points. I have a 721G and when its wheel loader time, nothing can touch it in what it does best, move material. However me being small enough to also realize, if I am side hussling topsoil at 30 yards an hour (basically just over one side dump load an hour}, I couldn't afford to own a wheel loader just for that purpose. So while a wheel loader is the best answer, the reality maybe that the ROI isn't high enough to justify the expense just for that purpose. Thats why whatever else he has in mind for the wheel loader or large CTL is important, at least in my mind.

 

[kc9ddy]

so i know its not a big screening plant by any means but it was the budget would allow for we just finished up running approximately 2000 yds through it. Been loading with both the pc 50 and the 95xt and the tailings has been mainly done with the pc50 and clean product been loaded out with the 95xt into the pan to be carried and spread back out over the soccer field. I know it's not ideal setup but it's what I had to work with because using my 977l would have tore up to much of the other soccer fields. Then cutting it all back to grade with my 762a champion grader instead of my d7f.
We're going to see if we can't find a payloader this winter to run with a plant and load trucks at the yard too.

 

[MG84]

I may be off base here since it's hard to tell from one pic and a description, but that material that you're screening looks like some pretty nice stuff already. Would it not be faster/more efficient to just spread it as is then go over it with a harley rake to get a nice clean, smooth finish?

 

[CM1995]

I may be off base here since it's hard to tell from one pic and a description, but that material that you're screening looks like some pretty nice stuff already. Would it not be faster/more efficient to just spread it as is then go over it with a harley rake to get a nice clean, smooth finish?

Might be a line in the spec's requiring the re-spread be screened with only a certain size of rock or other debris allowed. See it often.

 

[Welder Dave]

What about a decent sized 4wd loader/landscaper tractor (skip loader), like a JD 210LE, Case 570N or the like? I think you can get a 1.25yd gp bucket on one and have a three point hitch for running other attachments. Might not quite be wheel loader productivity, but probably cheaper and more versatile. I've never loaded a screen plant, but for loading trucks I greatly prefer a tractor loader (backhoe in my case) over a skid steer or CTL. More comfortable, much better visibility, and doesn't tear up the ground. The last thing I'd want in your situation is a CTL, tears the living hell out of the ground and you're just wearing out expensive undercarriage.

An industrial tractor loader wouldn't be a bad option. You could probably find one in decent shape in the $10K range, maybe less. You want an industrial tractor with a transmission that allows fast direction changes.