Bobcat Buyer's Guide: Which Bobcat Machine Do You Need?

We picked up the Bobcat grounds maintenance line for one reason: it covers the whole span of what people around Collins actually need, from a 21 HP sub-compact tractor for five acres to a 73 HP utility tractor pulling a hay cutter, and it does it with a dealer network that can still get you a part.

The problem is that the lineup is 40 machines across five families, and the model names do not tell you much. CT2025, CT2535, CT4045 - those numbers are not horsepower, and the jump from one to the next is not always what you would guess. This guide walks the whole line and tells you plainly who each machine is for. Every price here is the current price on our site, and every one of these machines is priced and buildable at dykesmotors.com/bobcat.

Which Bobcat compact tractor do I need?

Fourteen compact tractors, from $15,086 to $56,291. Ignore the model numbers for a minute and sort them by the two things that actually decide the purchase: loader lift capacity and PTO horsepower. Loader lift is what limits how much dirt, gravel, hay, or feed you can pick up. PTO horsepower is what limits how wide a cutter or tiller you can pull through real growth.

There are four platforms:

CT1000 series - the sub-compacts. CT1021 at $15,086 (21 HP, 16.3 PTO HP) and CT1025 at $17,205 (24.5 HP, 18.8 PTO HP). Both weigh 1,521 lb and lift 700 lb on the loader. This is the one- to five-acre machine: mowing with a 4-foot cutter or a mid-mount deck, moving mulch, grading a driveway, keeping a food plot. It fits on a standard equipment trailer behind a half-ton and will not tear up a yard.

CT2000 series - the true compacts. CT2025 at $22,524, CT2035 at $28,653, CT2040 at $29,415. All three lift 1,631 lb - well over twice the CT1000 - weigh 2,634 to 3,005 lb, and run a 3-range hydrostatic transmission with a 9-gallon tank. PTO horsepower runs 21.8, 29.4, and 31.9. This is the sweet spot for most 10- to 40-acre places in South Mississippi, and the CT2035 is the single most useful all-around tractor in the line for a hunting property or a small cattle operation.

The cab versions of those same machines are the CT2535 at $41,173 (34.9 HP, same as the CT2035) and the CT2540 at $43,263 (39.6 HP, same as the CT2040). A factory cab costs about $12,500 to $13,800 over the open-station version and adds roughly 580 lb.

CT4000 series - the working tractors. CT4045 at $34,400 (44.9 HP, 32.8 PTO), CT4050 at $32,608 (50.3 HP, 39.3 PTO), CT4058 at $41,048 (57.7 HP, 45.1 PTO). Loader lift jumps to 2,716 lb and weight to 3,745 lb. Note the pricing quirk that surprises people: the CT4050 is less money than the CT4045 with more horsepower, because it runs a Synchro 8x8 gear transmission instead of hydrostatic. If you spend your day on a bush hog or a hay cutter at a set ground speed, gear is fine and you are getting more tractor for less money. If you spend your day on a loader, changing directions every fifteen seconds, get the hydrostatic. Cab versions: CT4545 at $45,414 and CT4558 at $49,846, both new for this model year.

CT5000 series - the big compacts. CT5545 at $46,887 (45 HP, 33.9 PTO) and CT5558 at $56,291 (57.7 HP, 48.3 PTO). Loader lift 3,177 lb, weight 4,685 lb, cab standard on both, 14.8-gallon tank, 75.6-inch wheelbase. These are for someone running a tractor most of the week - a real hay operation, a poultry farm, a commercial dirt job - who wants a compact frame with a cab and near-utility-tractor loader capacity.

See all of them side by side on the Bobcat tractors page.

CT1021 vs CT2025: which one is actually right?

This is the most common question we get, because on paper the CT1021 and the CT2025 are only about $7,400 apart and both are described as small tractors. They are not close.

	CT1021	CT2025
Price	$15,086	$22,524
Engine HP	21.0	24.5
PTO HP	16.3	21.8
Loader lift	700 lb	1,631 lb
Weight	1,521 lb	2,634 lb
Transmission	2-Range Hydro	3-Range Hydro
Fuel	6.7 gal	9.0 gal

The honest test is what you plan to lift and cut. If your list is "mow two acres, haul mulch, drag a driveway, pull a small food-plot disk," the CT1021 does it and saves you real money. If your list has the words round bale, pallet, 6-foot cutter, stump, or pond bank in it, buy the CT2025 - the CT1021 will run out of loader and traction long before it runs out of engine, and adding a bigger implement later will not fix that. A 1,521 lb tractor cannot safely pick up 1,200 lb no matter what the loader is rated for.

If you are cross-shopping brands, we also sell LS tractors in the same size classes, and we will put both quotes in front of you rather than talk you into whichever one we would rather move.

When does a utility tractor beat a compact?

Three utility tractors, and the line between them and the CT5000 compacts is not horsepower - it is frame, fuel, and loader.

• UT6066 - $48,114. 66.4 gross HP, 53.6 PTO HP, 3,594 lb three-point lift, 5,440 lb, open station, 22.4-gallon tank.
• UT6566 - $58,457. Same 66.4 HP, 51.1 PTO, factory cab, 25.1-gallon tank, 5,830 lb.
• UT6573 - $61,170. 73.1 gross HP, 56.3 PTO HP, 3,898 lb three-point lift, 5,960 lb, cab.

All three run a 3-range PowerShuttle transmission with an electronic clutch - you change direction with a lever under the wheel instead of a clutch pedal, which matters when you are loading a truck all morning. All three carry the FL10 loader with 129 inches of lift height and 2,614 lb of lift capacity (2,813 lb on the UT6573).

Buy a utility tractor when you need three-point lift over 3,200 lb, when you are running a 7-foot or wider implement, when you are lifting round bales high enough to stack them two-deep, or when you need 129 inches of loader height to dump over the side of a truck bed. Buy a big compact instead when you spend your day maneuvering in tight lots, barns, and chicken houses - the compact turns tighter and weighs 1,000+ lb less on soft ground.

Zero-turn or stand-on: which mower should I buy?

Ten mowers, $5,984 to $39,827. Sort them by how you cut, not by horsepower.

Ride-on zero-turns - the biggest group and the right answer for most acreage:

• ZT2000 - $5,984. Kawasaki FR691V, 42/48/52-inch TufDeck, 7 mph, 752 lb, 3-year/500-hour warranty. Homeowner and small-property machine.
• ZT3000 - $8,250. Kawasaki FT730V, 48/52/61-inch TufDeck Pro, 8 mph, 3-year/1,000-hour warranty.
• ZT3500 - $10,231. Kawasaki FX730V, same deck sizes, 10 mph, and a 7.8-gallon tank instead of 3.8 - that is a full day of mowing without stopping for fuel.
• ZT5000 - $11,074. Kawasaki FX730, AirFX deck in 52 or 61 inches, 11 mph, 1,043 lb. First of the true commercial frames, 3-year/2,000-hour warranty.
• ZT6000 - $12,852. 852cc Kawasaki FX801V, 15-gallon tank, 12 mph, 1,421 lb.
• ZT6100 - $14,833. 852cc FX850V EFI, 61-inch deck only. Fuel injection means it starts cold without choking around and burns noticeably less fuel over a season of full days.
• ZT7000 - $17,211. 999cc Kawasaki FX1000V EFI, 61 or 72-inch AirFX deck, 2-speed transaxle: 0-13 mph cutting, 13-19 mph transport. On a big campus or a cemetery route where you drive as much as you cut, that transport speed is the whole reason to buy it.

Stand-on and walk-behind - for tight, gated, obstacle-heavy work:

• ZS4000 - $11,887. Kawasaki FT730V EFI, AirFX deck in 36, 48, 52, or 61 inches, 10.5 mph, flip-up anti-vibration platform. The 36-inch deck goes through a standard 42-inch gate.
• WB700 - $8,707. Kawasaki FS600, 36/48/52-inch deck, 690 lb, optional sulky platform so you can ride it when the ground opens up. The machine for steep ditch banks and pond dams where you do not want to be sitting down.

Electric - ZT6000e at $39,827. A 20.4 kWh battery, 4 to 6+ hours of runtime, 6.3-hour charge on 240V. It is a specialty purchase: it earns its price on noise-restricted properties - schools, hospitals, HOA work with early start times - not on general acreage.

A rough sizing rule that has held up on our lot: under 2 acres, a 42 to 48-inch deck; 2 to 5 acres, 52 inches; 5 acres and up, 61 inches; over 10 acres or commercial routes, 61 to 72 inches with the 2,000-hour warranty frame. Full lineup on the Bobcat mowers page, and if you want suspension-deck commercial mowers we also carry Ferris.

What is the Bobcat utility vehicle towing capacity?

All four UV34 configurations tow 2,500 lb and carry 1,250 lb in the cargo box. Top speed is 35 mph on all of them. What changes is fuel and length:

• UV34 Gas - $20,650. 39.9 HP, 1,900 lb total capacity, 1,855 lb, 123 inches long, 110-inch turning radius.
• UV34XL Gas - $21,908. Same 39.9 HP, 2,075 lb total capacity, 155 inches long, 154-inch turning radius.
• UV34 Diesel - $22,397. 24.5 HP, 1,900 lb total capacity, 1,935 lb.
• UV34XL Diesel - $23,005. 24.5 HP, 2,075 lb total capacity, 2,165 lb.

The XL adds 32 inches of length and 175 lb of total capacity, and it is the one to get if you are hauling people and gear together - hunting camp, a work crew, a big place with a lot of gates. The trade is the turning radius: 154 inches versus 110. In tight barn alleys and between rows, the standard UV34 is a noticeably easier machine to live with.

That 2,500 lb tow rating is a real number for a small utility trailer, a water tank, or a feed buggy. It is not a substitute for a tractor drawbar on wet ground. See all four on the utility vehicles page.

What size Bobcat plate compactor do I need?

Nine compaction machines, and the choice is decided by the shape of what you are compacting, not by the price.

Rammers - narrow and deep. R60P at $3,718 (137 lb, Honda GXR120, 2,585 lbf, 17.7-inch compaction depth) and R68P at $3,929 (150 lb, 2,923 lbf, 19.7-inch depth). Use these for trench backfill, around pipe and footings, and behind retaining walls - anywhere you need force concentrated in a narrow foot and depth in cohesive clay soil, which describes most of the dirt around here.

Forward plates - flat work. FP10.33 at $2,099 (119 lb, 13-inch plate, 4,689 sq ft/hr), FP15.40 at $2,545 (176 lb, 15.7-inch plate, 6,975 sq ft/hr), FP15.50 at $2,783 (185 lb, 19.7-inch plate, 7,750 sq ft/hr). These are for asphalt patching, paver bases, and small pads. They only travel forward, so you turn them around at the end of every pass.

Reversible plates - production work. RP22.40 at $5,302 (220 lb, 5,171 lbf), RP30.50 at $6,817 (439 lb, 7,194 lbf, 8,396 sq ft/hr), and the diesel RP49.20D at $14,202 (1,049 lb, Hatz 1B50, 11,016 lbf, 16,953 sq ft/hr). Reversible means it walks backward under its own power, so it climbs out of a trench and you are not manhandling 400 lb at the end of each run. If compaction is a regular part of your week rather than an occasional chore, this is where to start.

Trench roller - TR75 at $46,199. 3,197 lb, Yanmar diesel, 25.2 or 33.5-inch drum width, 16,860 lbf, remote controlled. A utility-contractor machine for deep trench work where nobody should be standing in the trench.

Sizing shortcut: trench and confined backfill, get a rammer. Driveways, pads, and paver bases under about 5,000 square feet a day, get a forward plate. Anything bigger or repeated daily, go reversible.

What else comes with the line?

Beyond the five families above, we carry the Bobcat turf renovation equipment - sod cutters, dethatchers and overseeders, and aerators from 19-inch walk-behinds up to 72-inch tractor-drawn units - plus implements and attachments matched to these machines, each with a one-year warranty on serial-numbered attachments.

We also run a full Bobcat parts counter online at dykesmotors.com/parts/bobcat, so the machine you buy here does not become somebody else's parts problem later. Filters, belts, blades, and hard parts are searchable by part number.

Financing runs through the Bobcat equipment financing application, and it takes a few minutes.

How to actually decide

Skip the model numbers and answer four questions.

1. What is the heaviest thing you will pick up? That sets loader lift, which sets the tractor platform. 700 lb, 1,631 lb, 2,716 lb, 3,177 lb, or utility-tractor territory above that.
2. How wide is your widest implement? A 5-foot cutter wants 20+ PTO HP; a 6-foot cutter in real growth wants 29+; a 7-foot or a hay cutter wants a utility tractor.
3. How much of your mowing is open ground? Mostly open, ride. Mostly gates and obstacles, stand.
4. Are you compacting in a trench or on a flat? Trench, rammer. Flat, plate.

If you can answer those four, we can put you on the right machine in one phone call instead of three trips. Call us at (601) 516-7255 or send us a message - tell us the acreage, the ground, and the work, and we will tell you which of these 40 machines fits and which ones are more machine than you need.

Dykes Motors is an authorized Bobcat dealer at 3069 Hwy 49 in Collins, Mississippi, serving Covington, Jefferson Davis, Simpson, Jones, Forrest, and Lamar counties.