[KSB]

Looking for a new wheel loader for our small feedlot. Right now we have a dresser 510J and it's been great but it is on it's last legs. We like the size of it and want to stay in the same range.
We are looking at a Volvo L50G 2013 with 380 hrs, 5620hr/4.5yr warranty for $115000.
Deere 344K 2014 0hrs 6000hr/ 5year warranty for $137000
Case 521 2014 0hrs 3000hr/ 3year warranty, still waiting on a price but was originally quoted $160000 until they heard the price of the Volvo.

All 3 dealers seem very hungry to get our business.

Whichever one we buy would get either a EFI feedlot bucket and grapple or a Craig's feedlot bucket.
Just looking for opinions on what you guys have used or would like and pros and cons of any of them? Tia

 

[farminflyboy]

344 is smaller isn't it? They all make a good loader but I would lean toward the l50

 

[kendalwpg]

There is lots of room to move on the 521 Case....bought a new 2013 last yr....fully loaded with high lift....about 125g....came with a standard bucket. We put our old Weldco grapple bucket on it also so have 2 buckets.....a industrial grapple bucket will be at least 10k premium over a standard bucket.
The Brandt salesman called last week and said they had a bunch of new 524's on the lot in Regina that were feedlot spec....he was talking under 140k but he hasnt got back to me with a quote yet. We used to have a 444 Deere....sold with 15000hrs. The Case is a good machine but has lighter diffs and no diff lock...also no declutch pedal which is the biggest thing I dont like about it. I think you should stay away from the 344 Deere...its a little too small.

 

[madcow]

couldn't pay me to buy a new case "construction" piece of equipment, no matter how nice they seem in the long run they are not in the same league as deere, cat, Volvo.

without a doubt I would look at them. I run a new 938K series cat at work and I am simply in love with it. after running that machine I cant figure out how any larger animal lot is not using one.

 

[mark 1056]

if you have a good jcb dealer near you look at jcb there wheel loaders can be speced ag or construction spec

i see southern counrty jd in regina are now stocking jcbs

 

[Lempey8430]

if the deere was bigger id go with deere

 

[farminflyboy]

if you have a good jcb dealer near you look at jcb there wheel loaders can be speced ag or construction spec

i see southern counrty jd in regina are now stocking jcbs

I'd rather put my manhood in a vice! When our jcb is running it is nice to run, but they are expensive to fix and have some some design features, like the rear diff that the pivot pin goes through the case. If the seal leaks a little on the pin, moisture can intrude into the diff and wreck it!

 

[joshja]

Probably the same L50G I was interested in, sitting in Grand Prairie? Has had a problem with that transmission in that 381 hrs, and is currently leaking, once it has a new owner they will replace it under warranty. I was very much interested in it but decided on an L60G instead, as I wanted to jump to the bigger frame size (handling big squares, some contract work). That L50G doesn't have the high speed option either.

I've ran a CAT (938G) and a Deere (544K) at work, and drove a Volvo for the first time last week, though have always been looking at them. In my opinion, after running the Volvo it would be hard to purchase anything else.

Huge benefit of the Volvo to me, even if you don't care about the comfort, is the boom design. It's a hybrid of sorts, combining a tool carrier and a z-bar. It is the same boom design from the little compacts right on up to the huge mining loaders, so that should say something about it's versatility. Cat finally same out with a similar setup with the K-series as well, to eliminate the IT series (integrated toolcarrier). Boom suspension has 3 settings ([dig/grade/off], yarding, and roading. I can see my quick attach, I can see my pallet fork tips at all times. Nicest cab on a payloader, ever. Smoothest ride. Best visibility in all directions, even behind. Volvo has a park brake on the dash, a toggle switch. I hate emergency brake levers. We have them in 2 tractors, we all get in and drive 5 feet before realizing its on. Now you need to crank them tight to get it to hold the tractor. Park brake is nicer in my books!!!

Deere has 4 different booms that I'm aware of (TC,24,44,24HL). TC is a tool carrier machine so it looks like the front end loader on a tractor. Designed for pallet fork work, capable of bucket work. 24 is a non-parallel linkage, where-as the 44 is. And they have a high lift option. Deere doesn't have a universal quick-attach, it's basically like excavators where you can spec it with a few different common styles. The Deere 544K, I can't see my quick attach, I can't see my pallet forks. Vibility is TERRIBLE as far as I'm concerned.

Cat is probably worse than Deere, they can't make up their mind on a boom design either, changes with each new series, and from size to size. On their mid-size (924-938K they came up with a universal hybrid design to have the same benefits of the Volvo. Cat K-series cab probably rivals the Volvo, but that's new and Volvo has had it for a long time. Volvo has room for two people, don't believe the CAT does. Your kid gets to sit on the emergency brake (used to, new K-series has park button like the Volvo now).

Case wouldn't even be a consideration to me, I've talked to too many people that have owned them, were die-hards all through the models, and now the last few generations have lost all reliability and durability.

I'm not sure, but the L50G may accept the attachments for the bigger machines as well, in case you want a big snow bucket or bigger forks, etc.

 

[harsh]

Cat has a couple of new models, 910K and 914K. They are both available in a standard and high lift version. Should be in the ball park of the new units you have listed. The K series loaders have been awesome.

 

[KSB]

Thanks guys for the input. We ended up going with the Volvo L50. It is the one in Grand Prairie. It should be here Tuesday or wedsneday. Hopefully it will be good to us.

 

[joshja]

Great, now let's see some pictures of it in action! I've always had a soft spot for the L50F/Gs.

 

[Willy Nilly]

Wheel loaders baffle me. They are hellish expensive and have hardly any power for what they weigh and what they can lift. No wonder they last so long, they've not go enough grunt to break anything.

 

[kendalwpg]

Wheel loaders baffle me. They are hellish expensive and have hardly any power for what they weigh and what they can lift. No wonder they last so long, they've not go enough grunt to break anything.

You obviously have never owned or used a wheel loader....they have their limitations but if used for the job they are designed for you cant beat them.

 

[durallymax]

Good choice on the Volvo, expensive, but top of the line. Comfortable, efficient and reliable.

Wheel loaders baffle me. They are hellish expensive and have hardly any power for what they weigh and what they can lift. No wonder they last so long, they've not go enough grunt to break anything.

You sound like an American (I know i'm one lol). All about numbers.

A semi has 600hp and an AMG E63 has 580hp. Which one does 0-60 in less than 4 seconds? Which one can haul 150,000lbs up a mountain?

Power is not everything. If the number is taken out of context it means very little. Drive a wheel loader and you will see. They don't need very much power to do their job.

Heck look at a bulldozer and tell me they have power for the type of work they do.

 

[bent]

Willy, you need to use an industrial wheel loader for a while. You will then want to throw rocks at any farm tractor with a loader attachment you see.

A wheel loader is a low speed machine. They only need enough power to spin the tires when loading (0 mph), any more is wasted. Also, you won't understand the power of a torque converter on an automatic transmission until you drive one.

 

[offroadnt]

Willy is thinking old school, today's loaders are way more nimble then loaders from the past. Plus there are way more Ag spec loaders today.

 

[Willy Nilly]

Good choice on the Volvo, expensive, but top of the line. Comfortable, efficient and reliable.



You sound like an American (I know i'm one lol). All about numbers.

A semi has 600hp and an AMG E63 has 580hp. Which one does 0-60 in less than 4 seconds? Which one can haul 150,000lbs up a mountain?

Power is not everything. If the number is taken out of context it means very little. Drive a wheel loader and you will see. They don't need very much power to do their job.

Heck look at a bulldozer and tell me they have power for the type of work they do.

I know all about horses an courses. Compared to a telehandler, they look much more heavy duty, but they would need to last twice as long because they are twice the price. When I've been around them they seem to work like a fat person, just waddling about, huffing, puffing and sweating.

They also look like a one trick pony too. Great if you have hard, heavy materials to dig out and move, not so good for moving and stacking bales.

Willy, you need to use an industrial wheel loader for a while. You will then want to throw rocks at any farm tractor with a loader attachment you see.

A wheel loader is a low speed machine. They only need enough power to spin the tires when loading (0 mph), any more is wasted. Also, you won't understand the power of a torque converter on an automatic transmission until you drive one.

I've been using telehandlers for 25 years and not sure I could go back to something so slow.

Willy is thinking old school, today's loaders are way more nimble then loaders from the past. Plus there are way more Ag spec loaders today.

We had our digger man bring his CAT loader to do some work on a job we had. Yes, it had no bother at all digging into a heap of gravel, but with it's puny 120hp in huffed and puffed around the job site like a fat person. Early this week I was shifting bales in the field and stacking them in the building with our Manitou. I just trying to comprehend how long it would have taken with a machine that weighs twice as much and has less power. It would have been tedious with a wheel loader. Looks like wheel loaders are great for digging into hard material where the distance between where the stack is and where it's getting tipped is very short.

 

[Big Red Tractor]

We have a a old school 78 930 cat wheel loader a it 12 a 06 930G and a 06 TH 330B telehandler. They all have there place the telehandler cannot be beat in the yard for unloading semis stacking bales in the yard cause it's the only thing that can stack high enough in the shed. Use to use it for other things that's it's not designed for like loading trucks with gravel but couldn't afford to keep it running like that fixing it all the time not built at all for that. Have 3 front wheel assist farm tractors with no loaders on any of them cause a tractor is not built for a loader wheel loaders in my opinion should be on any farm doing any kind of lifting.

 

[Big Red Tractor]

As for willy nilly them huffing and puffing they will out load any telehandler and farm tractor working together loading a truck doing any kind of real work. And it's just fuel and at ten end of the day your gallons ahead with the wheel loader for yards loaded and so much less stress on the operator.

 

[offroadnt]

That's not true Willy, we have an old 621B that no telehandler could keep up with for production loading, we can lift two or three big square hay bales and up to six straw bales with it, you don't slow the engine to change directions, the hydraulics are twice as fast as any telehandler I've experienced. Two of it's biggest advantages are 1. articulation, with articulation and the loader out front the way they are you can swing your load sideways to fit the bales and move them around on deck, yes you can do similar with extending and retracting your boom but you don't get near the force. 2. Visibility, you have the advantage of a 360 degree view and it is the same to the right or left of the machine you don't need to try and compensate for the right side of the machine all the time.
The 621 is a beast, has only 140hp but you don't notice it. It's heavy but it doesn't matter in gravel pits, stack yards, most corrals grain sheds etc. Today's loaders are lighter, more powerful, have more tire options, more efficient drivelines and more options for reach and attachments. At the end of a long day stacking or loading trucks you will feel far better then doing the same with a telehandler.

All this being said, telehandlers still have their place, they are far more versatile, smaller, probably weigh the same if you compare capacities and very convenient for many jobs. They can't load as fast but can load over a fence, lift higher, go under lower poles, wires etc., push themselves out of a hole, knock that very high silage down, push that grain/fertilizer high up onto the pile, stack higher, are easier to enter/exit, the limit is your imagination.

If I had to choose between the two a telehandler would win for the farm hands down but for for pure production loading it cannot do anywhere near what an articulated loader can do. Also, I think prices are allot closer then you think, price out two machines the same capacity I'll bet you'll be surprised.