Bobcat
Bobcat S450
The bright segment is what Bobcat S450 is rated to carry; the grey run past it is the rest of its tipping load. Bar length is tipping load drawn to the same scale on every machine on the site, so a short bar is a smaller machine and not a conservative rating.
One caveat on this machine: we could not find a published tipping load for it, so the figure above is its advertised capacity divided by the fraction its maker rates at. That makes the grey run arithmetic rather than a measurement, and it is the number worth asking a dealer to confirm.
At 49 hp and just over 5,000 lbs, the S450 is the smallest radius-lift wheeled skid steer in Bobcat's lineup. Its non-DPF Tier 4 engine and low price make it a favorite entry point for homeowners, farms, and rental fleets that don't need mid-frame muscle.
Suits: Homeowners, hobby farms, and rental fleets wanting the cheapest true Bobcat that tows behind a half-ton pickup Its radial lift path reaches furthest at mid-height, for digging, grading and backfilling.
Lifting and reach
- Rated operating capacityWheeled rating convention
- 1,370 lbs
- Tipping loadDerived from the advertised capacity, not published
- 2,740 lbs
- Lift height to hinge pin
- 109.5 in
- Lift path
- Radial Lift
- Operating weight
- 5,370 lbs
Power and hydraulics
- Engine power
- 49 hp
- Engine
- Bobcat (Doosan) D18
- Auxiliary flowStandard circuit
- 16.7 GPM
- Flow type
- Standard
- Warranty
- 2 yr / 2,000 hr
Fitted or available
What this machine can be ordered with. Some of these are standard and some cost extra, and which is which moves between trim levels, so check them against the quote rather than against this list.
What owners report
Summarised from the sources listed below. Nothing here was tested by us.
Width is the whole argument. Owners who buy this machine are working inside fences, between houses and through gates that stop a mid-frame loader cold, and they accept a 1,370 lb capacity to get there. Landscapers, acreage owners, hobby farmers and rental fleets make up most of the buyer list, and the common thread is valuing access and a half-ton-towable weight over raw lifting.
By modern standards it is a simple machine, and that is deliberate — the 49 hp engine clears Tier 4 Final without a particulate filter, so none of the regen behaviour that frustrates owners of higher-output compacts applies here. What does need attention is hydraulic housekeeping: the documented failure modes are drive motors running hot or noisy, and the causes are almost always oil condition, filter condition or viscosity rather than anything structural. Dust is the other theme, with owners in dry conditions cleaning intake and cab filters far more often than the manual suggests. Repair economics are the real risk: the purchase price is entry-level, the parts and labour rates are not, and a major engine failure inside 1,500 hours has happened.
Width is the decider here - a gate, a side yard or a doorway setting it, with mostly loose material to move. Do not buy it expecting to load trucks with pallets or to run hydraulic attachments of any size — the missing high-flow option is a hard ceiling, not a budget decision. Before signing, price the machine the way you will actually use it: enclosure, heat, air conditioning and two-speed are all extra, and once they are added the quote sits close enough to the next frame size up that the comparison is worth making honestly. On a used unit, ask for hydraulic oil and filter history and look hard at the intake area for dust damage.
What owners like
- Under 60 inches wide and about 5,400 lb, so it clears a standard gate and tows behind a half-ton pickup — the buyers who choose it over a mid-frame machine almost always name that dimension first.
- The 49 hp engine meets Tier 4 Final with a non-DPF aftertreatment package, so there is no particulate filter to load up and no forced regen to sit through — a real advantage on a machine whose life is short, light-duty runs.
- Standard 16.7 GPM auxiliary flow, the Bob-Tach quick coupler, interlock, backup alarm and work lights are all on the base machine, so it runs augers, brooms and grapples without an options sheet.
- The used market is deep — dozens of listings at any given time across the trade sites, typically $16,500 to $55,000 — which makes both shopping and resale predictable in a way thinner-selling small frames are not.
- Radial lift geometry puts the bucket where you want it at mid-height for backfilling and rough grading, which is most of what a machine this size actually gets asked to do.
What owners complain about
- 1,370 lb of rated capacity is quoted at 50% of the 2,740 lb tipping load — normal for a wheeled skid steer, but it means a full pallet of sod or wet aggregate is out of reach, and owners doing regular truck loading say they should have bought the next size up.
- There is no high-flow option at any price, so the 16.7 GPM standard circuit rules out mulching heads, cold planers and the larger breakers permanently.
- Two-speed travel is an extra-cost option rather than standard. Without it, moving between work areas on a large property is slow enough to notice every day; with it the machine tops out around 9.2 mph.
- Cab enclosure, heat and air conditioning are each separately priced, and an S450 specified to be comfortable year-round closes most of the gap to a larger machine's base price.
- Owners running Tier 4 Bobcats in dust report the intakes pull in far more of it than expected — one describes cleaning the cab filter every single day because the intake sits down between the wheels.
- Drive-system overheating and unusually loud drive motors are the recurring service complaints, traced back to low or contaminated hydraulic oil, a plugged hydraulic filter, the wrong oil viscosity, trapped air or a stuck relief valve. Fluid discipline is not optional on this machine.
- Cheap to buy is not cheap to fix. One owner reports a six-year-old unit with only 1,100 hours needing an engine, quoted near $5,000 for the rebuilt long block and another $5,000 in labour — a bill that stings badly on an entry-level purchase.
Drawn from skidsteerloaderspecs.com, aglist.ca, constructionequipmentguide.com, carletonequipment.com, tractorbynet.com, machinerytrader.com.
What buyers ask
Will an S450 fit through a standard backyard gate?
Can a half-ton pickup tow it legally?
Can it run a mulcher, cold planer or brush cutter?
Is the 1,370 lb capacity enough for pallet work?
Does it need diesel exhaust fluid or regen cycles?
What should I check on a used S450?
Put the Bobcat S450 against
Machines in the same range
The rest of the Bobcat line
Bobcat
Bobcat S590
$53,934
- Engine
- 68 hp
- Aux flow
- 17.1 GPM
- Weight
- 6,649 lbs
A 68 hp vertical-lift skid steer that sits between the S450 and the S650 in Bobcat's Classic line, with 2,000 lb of rated capacity and a 26.7 GPM high-flow option. It is the value pick for landscapers who need vertical lift but not a 74 hp frame.
Full sheet & owner reports
Bobcat
Bobcat S650
$61,101
- Engine
- 74 hp
- Aux flow
- 23 GPM
- Weight
- 7,901 lbs
The wheeled half of Bobcat's 650 frame, with 74 hp, 2,690 lb of rated capacity and a 23 GPM standard circuit that already runs most attachments. It is the Classic-line workhorse for contractors who want the T650's capability without tracks.
Full sheet & owner reports
Bobcat
Bobcat S64-2
$62,918
- Engine
- 68 hp
- Aux flow
- 17.6 GPM
- Weight
- 6,855 lbs
Entry point to Bobcat's Pro line, a 68 hp vertical-lift skid steer carrying the same premium cab, drive modes and integrated tech as the bigger -2 machines. It suits operators who want the Pro cab and controls in the lightest, cheapest frame that offers them.
Full sheet & owner reports