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Rugby Ontario Canada | I am wondering if Thomas skid steers are any good as there is a T153 at a local dealer with 895 hrs and they are asking $11,500 down from $13,500. According to Digger Data it has a 43hp Kubota diesel motor and 1500 lb lift . Should I just look for a NH or other brand if skid steer . Thanks for any help |
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Southwestern Ohio |
My brother had one years ago and it was junk. Maybe they've improved, maybe they are not all like that one. I never knew of the thing working a full day without a breakdown.
Larry |
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| we have a older thomas; 2000 hours; 133 i think is the model; 33 hp. very unstable. actually looked at a bobcat track one this morning. I would not touch a Thomas again. i guess it is okay but i think it is poorly balanced is my biggest complaint. it doesn't owe us anything though. i would rather have a name brand with more hours than a thomas. parts are a pita and expensive. mine was very cheap and that is why we have it. you get what you pay for.
i would keep looking namebrand. |
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central AB | I have a 175 Thomas with close to 4000 hours of which I have put on 1000 hours. Plusses: it is simple, dependable, gets lots of use and very little attention. Minus: the traction controls could be a bit finer, it is sometimes hard to get positioned exactly where you want to be.j
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East edge of The Palouse (where the timber starts) | My dad bought the smallest Thomas they make. He got it two or three years ago. He has a hay grapple on it and moves 10-15,000 small squares from the hay trailer into the barn. It isn't fast enough or stable enough to use out in the field. It then gets a snowplow and lives at the church to clear sidewalks and parking lot durning the winter. So it doesn't get a work out ever but does get some hours. It is very easy on fuel and starts easy (like was mentioned it has a kubota motor). I only run it on when I have to as I don't like foot controls. I think the only reason he bought it was it was listed at $12,000 for over a year and long story short he paid $4,000 for it with less than 300 hours. We have a Cat and and ASV skid steer loaders in additon to the Thomas. Its a decent machine for the money but I would hate to have to sit in it for more than a few hours at a time. I don't know how my dad can stand to uses it after loading hay with the CAT. Did I mention it was cheap? I have seen him set it backwards a couple times with the hay grapple up in the air I would have put it on its side but he manages to keep the right side up. Not very stable, but for a 44 in wide machine you don't expect it to be all that stable. We have had no mechanical issues at all with it just changed the oil and add fuel. It was cheap and does the job but isn't a CAT or a Bobcat etc. But it was cheap. |
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| My brother works for a commercial landscaper and they operate a number of skid steers, including, Thomas, Caterpillar, John Deere, and Bobcat. He reports that the Thomas skid steers are a decent no-frills machine. They are easier to work on that the other brands, which is very good, because you will be working on it. Definitely nowhere near the category of Cat, Bobcat, Deere, and New Holland in terms of price, quality, and performance. |
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Woodstock,New Brunswick.Canada | I think your best move would be to look at another brand if you plan on using it very much.If you only need it once in a while and could get it cheaper than $10,000 it might be O.K.
They used to be built about 25 miles from my farm.The company was started in the early 60's by a fellow named Thomas,he made a lot of potato handling equipment,then he was bought out by McCain Foods,every thing hummed along until about 6-8 years ago when McCain sold them to another company who started to shift production to China, but then the depression hit and they went into receivership.
They are a very basic machine,I find them very unstable,awkward to operate and hard to work on most components.You won't be able to get parts from the company,but most parts are just common ones that can be bought from any supplier.Needless to say but your trade in value would be next to nothing,but maybe that is not a factor for you.About 6 years ago I bought a new Deere after trying out all of the major brands around here,have been very pleased with it and would buy the same if I needed a new machine. |
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| we used to have them in Alberta in the 90's
axels didend last,otherwise not to bad. |
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Thomas Skid steers, Good or Bad
