I'm going back in forth on one of these or a mini ex.

 

I hear ya! Had the same conundrum in 2012. Now we have skids, X's, Dozer's....etc
Our experience is; DW is quicker to pick up than excavators by 2xs. Some we have trained have picked up the X quicker yet majority pick up skid quicker. Higher production using skid over X if only using one machine. Less manual labor needed to hand finish behind an X. Even though less manual labor needed to hand finish behind X production was still slower over skid. Of course my previous statements are all soil composition dependent. We work mostly in heavy clays which do not contain many rocks.

 

Yeah, no rocks in my area, roots are what I fight with. I've been using a box blade and if it's dry it works well, I'm just getting tired of twisting around and looking behind me all the time.

 

You can count me as someone who picked up the skid quicker than the ex.

I'd love to have one of these at the house (one of these days, I'm going to get around to building a trail through my yard).

 

Would love to buy one for 10k. Around here they are virtually non existent and used ones are like 20k

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This past fall I used a micro x and a trail dozer back to back, the dozer was far superior for pretty much everything, more stable, better able to set grade, and much faster. The only time I wished had a bucket was digging out boulders. We have very, very rocky desert soils, volcanic mostly.

A micro or mini x might be better in rooty terrain or steep side slopes that need to be cut before grading. The excavators are far mire tippy, not for lesser skilled users on side slopes. If you ain’t never tipped an excavator, well, you ain’t tried hard enough 

I thought about building an inexpensive mini dozer using a walk behind tracked skid with a 6 way blade, but the cost and complication of the blade is probably not worth it, so a 4way blade would good enough. The OP has a nice rig, I’d like to see pics of the blade...

I got some skills from running equipment over the years, not a pro by any stretch, but I can hop on a piece of equipment and dig.

 

This past fall I used a micro x and a trail dozer back to back, the dozer was far superior for pretty much everything, more stable, better able to set grade, and much faster. The only time I wished had a bucket was digging out boulders. We have very, very rocky desert soils, volcanic mostly.

A micro or mini x might be better in rooty terrain or steep side slopes that need to be cut before grading. The excavators are far mire tippy, not for lesser skilled users on side slopes. If you ain't never tipped an excavator, well, you ain't tried hard enough 

I thought about building an inexpensive mini dozer using a walk behind tracked skid with a 6 way blade, but the cost and complication of the blade is probably not worth it, so a 4way blade would good enough. The OP has a nice rig, I'd like to see pics of the blade...

I got some skills from running equipment over the years, not a pro by any stretch, but I can hop on a piece of equipment and dig.

What machines work best will be very dependent on what kind of soil you're in. Dozers don't work well in WNC where the root mat is 18" thick. These little walk behind skid steers are pretty good compromises for a lot of places. Mini-ex is still king for many types of trail in multiple terrains though. Put a thumb on a u17 and there are very few situations where you can't do what you want with that. Yes, sometimes a larger machine works faster if you're building a jump line, and sometimes a dozer is faster if you're just cutting flowy XC trail, but if I could only buy one machine, it would be a mini-ex.

 

What part of the world is this machine located?

Just curious. I have a project here on the Central Coast of California that would fit this kind of machine, possibly being dug this fall or winter depending on the organization we're designing it for now. Open, grassy rangeland. Unfortunately in many areas, very little side-slope. Clay with zero rock. In fact if we find an object the size of a bowling ball or bigger that doesn't get up and run away when we approach it, it becomes a control point it's THAT barren. A mini-X would be usable but overkill. I have already contacted Sutter about a 300 or 500 and bringing in as a rental but that would cost about half what your asking price is now.

 

Unless you want a 48" wide trail (the 500), get the Sutter 300 mini dozer, it's friggin amazing, like cutting cream cheese, you'll do a mile a day on those soils with minimal cleanup. Seriously, I'd buy one if I could afford it: Sutter 300 Single Track Mini Trail Dozer - The Ultimate Trail Building Machine

 

There is a reason why there is no pricing info on the Sutter web page.....$65800.00 plus shipping to buy or $4850/month for rental.

 

I rented one for a week, it was well worth the price, rental was about the same as a decent mini ex. If you can pick it up yourself, it's a lot less than having it delivered.

I'm lucky, their shop is fifteen minutes from my house

Keep in mind that they sell their rentals, which is s nice way to save a buck.

 

I'm digging this thread up from the dead. New member(can't make a new post yet) here looking to hire a pro to build a trail in central texas on a steep slope that goes down to a river. Do yall have any suggestions on who I should connect with?

 

Could someone list places that a Sutter 300 can be rented? I am coming up blank, and it seems like they should be available as rentals. I am in the Placerville area, but have an equipment trailer so I could pick up... This is a great, informative thread.

 

Directly from the Sutter distributor...IIRC, it was in Carson City area. I had a conversation with them about it. It's spendy for transportation but in the end, it panned out as worth it. Ended up the trail still hasn't been built due to funding.

https://www.sutterequipment.com/rentals

 

Call Sutter and get on their schedule, plan ahead, if you can pick it up then you don’t pay delivery.

I have used the 300, a mini ex, and a walk behind skid on my trails, though they all have their pros cons, the 300 is far and away the best for cutting trail in most conditions.

I will admit that I still prefer to cut trail by hand, but these something to be said for production. If I were a wealthy guy, I’d own a 300 and donate my time.