Skid Steer newbie needs pointers

[Spearchunker]

I have wanted one of these for a long time now. Finally pulled the trigger on a CAT 259D. I really like this thing. I see my self spending hours in it comfortably.

I need some pointers though.

What tools should I keep handy?

Grease gun suggestions and products?

Next purchase is a shredder for trees up to 8". Not a true mulcher. Machine is only 74 hp. I see several manufacturers and prices all over the place. Any suggestions here? Do I want a piston drive?

Most common safety concerns?

I see a hole on each side of the cab that looks like mud can easily pack into? I can get some pics later.

Haven't raised the cab yet. Kinda of intimidating lol. Has 50 hours so far.

Appreciate any advice here.

Sean

[Kong]

Keep it blown out very often, “Very Often” keep the filters cleaned and grease it properly. Keep on top of the maintenance and don’t hook up any tool you don’t know the background on or run the risk of ruining your pumps from metal soup. Working slowly but effectively is far better and more productive over the speedy Gonzales method that tears things up. Keep a set of bolt cutters and a small pry bar in the cab for those not so fun times of finding barb wire hiding in the weeds. Buy quality over cheap products or live to regret that decision eventually and overall take care of it because you’ll have a stroke when you tear something up and have to pay for repairs.

The must have items are a heavy duty brush cutter, quality grapples, a tree/post puller and a bucket along with a bulk fuel tank. With those items you can do 95% of the things you need to do. For new owners just take your time and don’t put you or the machine in a bad situation until you figure out what you and the machine are capable of, have fun and welcome to the world of the handiest piece of equipment on the planet

[mjhaverkamp]

When you are on a hard surface ie concrete, asphalt, rock , do not turn the machine on a dime, operate it much like if you were in a vehicle, those surfaces are hard on those tracks, you can scatter some sand or loose dirt on the hard surfaces so you can make those hard turns. Other than that keep it clean, greased and serviced regularly, great machines, I have 5 of those machines.

[dclifton]

Grapple and bucket grapple are a must. I have a Danuser intimidator and that thing has been great when needed. Hyd auger is handy also.

The Intimidator has been great for cleaning out sapplings and cedars in unwanted areas.

[OrangeBlood]

be careful moving tree limbs, they'll shatter a window pretty quick...so I've heard

[Pstraw]

#1 Keep a fire extinguisher on board!

#2 Carry the loads low.

#3 Fix/repair the small items/leaks, Don't let them accumulate and become a BIG issue.

[M16]

A battery operated grease gun. Grease before use.

[D4H]

Pistol grip grease gun or better yet a battery operated electric one. This will give you a free hand to hold the hose fitting on the grease fitting. The easier it is greasing a machine the more often you will do it.

If you are going to operate a brush cutter or any impact attachment, a Lexan front windshield is a must. Standard Cat windshields aren't cheap and will not give you the protection you need when running impact attachments. Blow out your air filters daily and that includes your air conditioning filters if you are running in dusty conditions. Keep the machine clean in the belly pan. Do not allow debris to accumulate in the bottom of your machine. It is a fire hazard, and they WILL burn to the ground. Buy a machine insurance policy on your machine to cover those unforeseen circumstances that Cat warranty does not cover. Buy a liability policy in case you start a fire with your brush cutter, and it spreads to neighbor's properties.

Buy quality heavy duty quality attachments. Do not go cheap on attachments. The better you get at operation of your machine, the more you will ask of it and your attachments. Cheap attachments are dangerous.

Get a Rezloh tooth bar for your bucket. Great for dirt work. Digging as well as grading. They are available at Rezloh.com. Basically indestructible. Every machine I've bought, this was the first addition.

Tell us what you plan on doing with the machine. (Cedar removal, dirt work, land clearing, etc.) There is a lot of experience on this forum and everyone is willing to help a new operator prevent the mistakes we've made.

[JeffJ]

Like docking a boat. “Slow like a pro”.

[wellingtontx]

Lube Shuttle grease gun.

[Old Bald Guy]

Bought my first bobcat about 45 years ago and don’t plan on ever being without one. Handiest machine I own. I like a cab & a/c, quick attach and 2 speed. 75+ HP. As someone pointed out earlier don’t hook anything hydraulic to it that you don’t own especially rental stuff. I have tons of attachments but some get more use than others.
My favorites:
Tooth bucket
5’ forks
Receiver hitch. Makes moving trailers around easy.
3 pt adapter for loading small farm equip. I use this with a 3 pt bale spear for loading hay.
Grapple bucket
Post/tree puller
Virnig rock bucket
Brush cutter/mower. 10X faster than a tractor w/shredder for mowing around feeders and blinds.
Auger. Don’t use it much but nice to have when needed.

[Old Bald Guy]

A battery operated grease gun. Grease before use.

Best invention since sliced bread.

[Pushbutton2]

[emoji33]I hope you didn't buy it from DD [emoji1787][emoji1787]

Add grease blocks were you can to make greasing it easier. I'll share with you what I shared with my foreman and co-worker at my new job about grease.
Grease it till it squirts, unless it's a u-joint than grease it till it squirts 2 times. Grease is cheap. Repairs ain't.

[Kong]

Add this to your new cordless grease gun you buy after you get tired of manually pumping it, best invention for equipment maintenance money can buy right after the cordless greaser

https://locknlube.com/pages/pick-your-grease-coupler

[Old Bald Guy]

Add this to your new cordless grease gun you buy after you get tired of manually pumping it, best invention for equipment maintenance money can buy right after the cordless greaser

https://locknlube.com/pages/pick-your-grease-coupler

I have those on my hand pump guns. IMO they suck. The coupler that comes on the DeWalt battery powered gun is way better than the lock-n-lube couplers.