YARDMAX YD8103 Track Barrow, 660 lb. Capacity, Briggs CR950, 6.5 hp, 208cc

I am a contractor with occasional need for a power buggy. I couldn't justify the cost of the real contractor grade buggies that carry 3x the load and have fully hydrostatic drive systems. I read the other reviews and expected the notchy gear shifting thing. It's a bit frustrating to fight the transmission, but it only slows me down a few seconds. I found that nudging the drive engagement level just a bit makes it drop into gear easily. This is an easy thing to learn in 5 minutes of working with it and well worth the cost savings over the smoother hydrostatic drive found on real contractor-grade machines. I find that 2nd and 3rd gear are plenty slow enough and throttling down for lower speed actually works better than downshifting. Even at near idle speed, the engine has plenty of power to move and dump. The hydraulic system will kill the engine at the end of the stroke so be ready to release the dump control lever at both ends of the stroke. The lift cylinder has more power than will ever be needed to dump whatever you can put in the bin and it goes up and down plenty fast even with the engine at idle. Steering is simple skid-steer by squeezing a brake lever on either handle. Squeeze it just a little and it disengages the drive, squeeze it a little more and it applies braking. With a little practice, it's easy to point it exactly where you need it to go. If you get scared maneuvering it, just let go. The machine will stop instantly and the brakes apply automatically so it won't roll down a hill. In fact, you can't push this thing at all. I haven't figured out a way to move it unless the engine is running. The tracks work great on lawns and cause almost no damage. You won't even be able to tell it was there 2 days later.I know products live and die by reviews so I considered 4 or 5 stars. The reasons I considered removing one are: 1) The handles vibrate quite a bit so after a few hours of work your hands get pretty sore. Better rubber isolators would be a nice improvement. 2) The exhaust from the engine blows directly onto the back of the bin. This will leave a distinct dark spot on the paint plus the noise echos right back to the operator. Extending the exhause pipe down so it blows the noise into the grass or farther out the side would help with both. 3) The previously mentioned engine kill by the hydraulics. It probably needs a hydraulic system relief valve added or it needs the valve adjusted to a lower relief pressure. 4) This seems odd to complain about, but the hydraulic lift is a little too fast for me. I would prefer a slightly smaller hydraulic pump to slow down the lift speed. This would also help with the engine stall issue.Reasons I didn't remove a star: 1) The engine, transmission, and tracks are very well matched for power and speed. Hills and rough terrain are no problem at all. 2) Hydraulic lift with the pivot point all the way at the front makes placement and dumping a zero effort deal for an old man with a bad back. 3) The notchy transmission is normal and expected at this price level. 4) The automatic braking and easy steering makes it very safe to operate.

This is a first usage account, and I'll update and adjust if needed.Of note, this track barrow is hydraulically driven. If you don't have experience with hydraulics, the unit can break itself almost instantly. It is not built to the "over built" specifications as a Bob Cat or full blown heavy machinery.I bought this unit because I know the engine very well. The same power plant is on 5 other tools we have, so it was a no brainer to try it.Also, I know how to fix bike breaks, a key part to this system, and probably the weekest part.Overall the 8105 passed all my initial fears and has been a huge benefit to my wife and I. The welds (as of a 1 star review) look perfect and are well crafted. Having driven proper race cars, strait cut gears are hard to shift, but reading the manual gives tips to good changes, and the gear box is better than expected. The operation of the track barrow is almost perfect given the parts and methods used to make it at this price. I do run it exactly to the manual, and I can see many people distroing the unit if you don't take the manual to heart.It's impossible to build a unit that could dump 100lbs or 1100lbs with the gorilla protection a 10k cat has, and as such, the limits should never be tested with a consumer good like this.In moving 3cuyds of gravel down a very narrow path, I have no complaints, except for the hydraulic engagement lever having a pinch point without gloves. The 8105 has let us do jobs that either would have taken days only a few hours, or we would have spent the unit's cost on labor for. Absolutely a must have for anyone trying to speed up a jo, or save their back on a good sized property.

The media could not be loaded. The YD8105 is working out great! We live in a fire prone area of western USA, with 6 acres of forest downslope from our driveway. Years of drought have killed many big trees, so we need to take them down and remove the fuel, but it's been a challenge.At first I was carrying the logs up the hill, one by one, to a place that I can access with my tractor. But the deeper I go into the forest, the further down the hill I'm working, and it's taking more and more effort and time to extract all that wood. The YD8105 is a total game changer.The shipping crate it came in was both clever and frustrating. There was a hole punched in it during transit, but no damage was done to the track barrow itself. Everything was fully assembled, just needed to add oil and gasoline and follow the starting instructions. It started on the second pull, and I drove it off of the pallet it came on.I am super impressed with how well it works on the slope. I'm still wary of going across a steep slope while heavily loaded, but up or down even at an angle it's rock solid with as much wood as I can fit in the bucket. Now each trip up the hill I'm moving 3x to 5x what I used to carry, with far less effort.The user documentation was good, though I got two different engine manuals and it's not clear which applies. The transmission is a bit rough — shifting gears is not at all reliable, but it's not something you do often. Also, the gas filler cap is inconveniently positioned. So I would give it 4½ stars if I could, but it's closer to 5 than 4 so 5 it is.Only time will tell how it holds up to heavy duty usage, but so far it seems quite rugged and well built.

We received this product yesterday afternoon and my husband hasn't stopped using it. I love it because that means there is a lot of much needed work getting done! It makes it easier for him to move items that he normally would have to carry. We moved in last year after 30 years in our old house - we are on 2 acres that are mostly hills and woods and he is having no problems moving items from the garage to a shed located up in the woods. There is finally room for a vehicle after our move last year!