Well hey thar I got a tractor too

Bart Leetch

Member
Messages
3,206
Location
Clinton, Washington on Whidbey Island
Well sort of I got a Robert Cat

It's a 1963 been in the family since 1972 only has 50 hours on a motor overhaul & brand new reeves drive style speed changer the 2 small Hydraulic cylinders have been overhauled too. Here are a few pics. This was my Dad's 3 hand after I left home. I forgot there were a few attachments 2 buckets a headache rack to mount them on & a backhoe as well as a small un-sprung Bobcat trailer to haul it on & a big 8'x12' flatbed trailer which I hauled the bobcat & backhoe on to bring it 250 miles home & hauled the 2 buckets headache rack & forks & chipper/shredder on the Bobcat trailer with the side on it which come off.
 

Attachments

  • BC1.jpg
    BC1.jpg
    85 KB · Views: 63
  • TR2.jpg
    TR2.jpg
    103.6 KB · Views: 54
  • BCTR.jpg
    BCTR.jpg
    83.2 KB · Views: 57
  • BC8.jpg
    BC8.jpg
    83.9 KB · Views: 55
  • BC7.jpg
    BC7.jpg
    74.2 KB · Views: 55
  • BC6.jpg
    BC6.jpg
    116.5 KB · Views: 60
  • BC5.jpg
    BC5.jpg
    113.1 KB · Views: 54
  • BC4.jpg
    BC4.jpg
    123.5 KB · Views: 55
  • BC3.jpg
    BC3.jpg
    105.4 KB · Views: 60
  • BC2.jpg
    BC2.jpg
    106.7 KB · Views: 64
Last edited:
Well sort of I got a Robert Cat

It's a 1962 been in the family since 1972 only has 50 hours on a motor overhaul & brand new reeves drive style speed changer the 2 small Hydraulic cylinders have been overhauled too. Here are a few pics. This was my Dad's 3 hand after I left home. I forgot there were a few attachments 2 buckets a headache rack to mount them on & a backhoe as well as a small un-sprung Bobcat trailer to haul it on & a big 8'x12' flatbed trailer which I hauled the bobcat & backhoe on to bring it 250 miles home & hauled the 2 buckets headache rack & forks & chipper/shredder on the Bobcat trailer with the side on it which come off.

That is a really great unit with complete history..

That will do!

Nice
Garry
 
Very cool, Bart. :thumb: Those little skid steers are fun to operate, and they're handy for all sorts of things. I didn't realize Bobcat was making equipment that long ago.
 
Rex it is a model 444 the ID plate is on the panel right below & in front of the seat where the operators legs drop over the front edge of the seat.

I was just talking to my 89 year old Dad & he just amazes me I hadn’t even ask him anything about the model number & he told me where the ID plate was & that he thought the model number was 444. Of course there are a lot of things he doesn’t remember & then he does something like this & blows me away.

For obvious reasons this Bobcat will be treated with TLC not lifting to max weight all the time or turning in a tight turn when it can be done in an easier manner etc. I want to make it last.

It also has 3 sizes of trailer towing ball mounted to the headache rack so moving trailers around is easy. It also has a set of brackets welded to the top of the bucket arms that a small shop built 5th wheel would mount into so that it could be used to move a 5th wheel travel trailer around. I really hope I can have the place time & materials to repaint it & the backhoe someday. 1st thing is an oil change & grease the Reeves style speed changer.

A little Bobcat history.

http://www.skidsteerhistory.com/How it began.htm

I found out mine was probably manufactured in 1963.
 
Last edited:
...A little Bobcat history.

http://www.skidsteerhistory.com/How it began.htm

I found out mine was probably manufactured in 1963.

That's cool info, Bart. :thumb: I remember in the early '70s the local Clark Equipment dealer in Albuquerque would have a big Bobcat display/demonstration area at the NM State Fair. They had Bobcat Square Dancing in one area, and in another they would spend the first half of the fair digging a big hole, and the second half filling it up.
 
Very cool Bart, that has to make a guy happy!

I do have to admit that seeing a BobCat without a roll cage makes me feel a bit worried, I've seen them things flip over so many times :doh: :eek:

just saying :D
 
Very cool Bart, that has to make a guy happy!

I do have to admit that seeing a BobCat without a roll cage makes me feel a bit worried, I've seen them things flip over so many times :doh: :eek:
just saying :D

Stu

When I loaded it on the big flatbed with the backhoe attached I first tried to back it on that was very scarey & real tipsy, because of the weight on the front, I turned around & drove it on & set the backhoe bucket down in the middle area of the trailer tongue.

On this model you just put the regular loading arms all the way up & leave them there & run up to the backhoe & attach the hydraulic lines & using the stabilization pads lift the whole backhoe assembly & drive the Bobcat up against the back of the backhoe line it vertically using the backhoe bucket tip it to aline it with the Bobcat then let it down on the hooks using the stabilization pads & pivot the safety locks on the top hooks pick up the backhoe bucket & the stabilization pads & your read to move.

It was real fun loading & unloading it I had some long ramps from my cousin that they use for a much newer Bobcat but no way to hook them to the trailer, this wasn't a problem loading they just laid on the trailer & the Bobcat pressed then into the ground as I backed onto them. But unloading was a different story. My friend parked the front tires of his Explorer on the bottom ends until I got the back tires onto upper ends of the ramps & then he moved off of the ramps & came to direct me the rest of the way down.
 
They really are less of a "roll cage" as they are "material cage". They keep the material from landing in your lap. I got trapped in one with a mess from the bucket that landed in my lap and couldn't get out from under the gravel without help. Enjoy and be careful. Usually is best to back on, that way the loader bucket hits and stops forward movement.
 
They really are less of a "roll cage" as they are "material cage". They keep the material from landing in your lap. I got trapped in one with a mess from the bucket that landed in my lap and couldn't get out from under the gravel without help. Enjoy and be careful.

"Usually is best to back on, that way the loader bucket hits and stops forward movement."


On the Bobcat trailer I can back on with the backhoe attached but not on the big trailer which is higher off the ground it's safer to drive on front first.

To clarify the backhoe is attached on the same end as the loader bucket you just raise the loader bucket up out of the way & drive up to the backhoe & attach it & go to work with the loader bucket arms & attaching point above your head as you run the backhoe. The Hydraulic system has a valve that switches the hydraulic power from the loader to the backhoe cylinders sealing off one system from the other.

On a haul of 250 miles it was better to haul the Bobcat on the big trailer as the bobcat trailer is un-sprung & is ok to haul for short trips 10-12 miles.
 
Top