Bob Moio’s lifelong dream of living in the country came true five years ago. He never imagined, however, that when he finally made it, he would be working around his property with a powerful Bobcat compact track loader and actually enjoying it.
His heavily wooded, 40-acre property is located near Johnston, R.I., a town where Moio owns a high-tech telecommunications company.
As he watched his new house being built, Moio became interested in what could be accomplished with construction equipment, such as taking down giant oak trees and digging the foundation.
“That’s when I got the idea that maybe I should have some type of machine to finish the work myself,” he said. “I knew nothing about equipment, but the contactor let me try his skid-steer loader a few times. That’s when I decided to look around for a machine of my own.”
Among the stops he made was at J.J. Gregory & Son, the Bobcat dealer in East Providence. He had looked at other brands, but the well-earned, long-term reputation of Bobcat made the decision easy.
“I had always heard good things about Bobcat and knew they had been in this business for a very long time, so they must know what they’re doing,” he said. “I purchased a T300 compact track loader ? equipped with Selectable Joystick Controls ? after the dealer assured me that I wouldn’t have any trouble operating it. I was still somewhat skeptical until I started operating the machine, and quickly discovered it was not only very easy to operate, but helped me do exactly what needed to be done around here.”
Do-It-Yourself Attitude
As soon as the bigger equipment finished working around his new home, Moio and his T300 took over.
“Those other machines did an excellent job of doing what I hired them to do,” he said. “But I was being charged $135 an hour, so I decided I could handle the rest myself. I probably paid for the compact track loader just by doing my own landscaping.”
The T300 is an 81-hp (60.4 kW) loader with a rubber track undercarriage for superior flotation, extra traction, substantially reduced ground pressure and low ground disturbance. That translates into minimal damage to Moio’s yard when he’s driving on it.
“I always thought I should install a radio on the T300, but I never did because I was always so interested in the work I was doing,” he said. “I enjoy operating the machine so much that I don’t need any background noise.”
Some of the jobs he has used the T300 for during the past five years include:
• Moving rocks, soil and trees that were taken down. Also removing stumps with a Bobcat grapple attachment.
• Building and maintaining a 1-mile nature walk around the property.
• Installing lamp poles along the driveway using a backhoe attachment.
• Landscaping the entire property, including placing rocks, planting shrubs and building a patio. Everything was planted with the help of the Bobcat digger attachment.
“It would have cost me a fortune to pay for all this landscaping, and I would not have had any control over the work,” he said. “Instead I use the T300 a day here and a half-day there, and the time just went by and I got the work done. I saved a lot of money by doing it myself.”
Complementary Machine
While Moio considers the T300 extremely valuable, last year he decided he needed something else to help maintain the grounds.
“I wanted a machine to get me around the property faster and for handling lighter chores,” he says. “A compact tractor seemed to be the answer.”
He again looked at several brands, including Bobcat. “I was very pleased with my T300 and Bobcat attachments, but I was a little hesitant because Bobcat tractors were relatively new. However, once I test drove the CT445, it was obvious Bobcat knows the compact tractor business, too. It was everything I wanted. It is a very good machine.”
Where does he keep his equipment when he’s not using it? He built a barn to store his compact track loader, compact tractor and Bobcat attachments.
The CT445 is a 45-hp (33.5 kW) tractor that offers expanded front-mounted attachment options, as well as many rear-mounted implement options. Standard features include telescopic lower links with telescopic sway bars and crank-style lower link adjustments for easy 3-point implement changes. Adding to driver comfort and operation are a suspension seat, hydrostatic transmission and steering brakes.
Moio uses the compact tractor to plow snow from his 800-foot driveway, maintain the walking trail, move soil and other light materials and get around the property quickly and effortlessly. “The CT445 has done a great job of helping me maintain my property,” he said.
He also points out that he doesn’t have to hire any grounds maintenance services.
“With the two machines there isn’t anything I can’t do around the property,” he said. “I would recommend this equipment to anyone with acreage, because these days it’s difficult to rely on other people to come out here for every little thing you want done and wonder when they will show up. It’s very easy to do this work myself with these two machines — and do it on my own schedule.”
Working around his property has been a great diversion for Moio. “It’s so different from running a high-tech company,” he said. “I never imagined I would be doing this type of work, but I really enjoy working around my own property.”
For more information, visit www.MyWorkSaver.com/CTL.
This article was reprinted with permission from WorkSaver magazine, early spring 2011 edition.
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