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Bobcat T595 vs T770 vs S76: which loader you should actually buy
Every Bobcat dealer comparison page reads the same way. Pad the spec sheet, highlight the biggest number, nudge the buyer toward the bigger machine. That is a sales funnel, not a review. I have spent the last month walking auction yards, reading owner threads on Heavy Equipment Forums, and cross-checking Bobcat's own spec PDFs for three loaders small contractors keep asking about: the Bobcat T595, the Bobcat T770, and the Bobcat S76 now rolling into its 2026 Pro-series update as the S76-2. Here is the honest call by job size, crew size, and where you land in the 2026 Classic-versus-Pro reshuffle.
The short answer before you scroll
- Under 1 acre, tight sites, landscape finish work or solo concrete prep: T595.
- 1 to 5 acres, truck loading, pad building, excavation sub work: T770.
- Hard-surface jobs, year-round tire wear, demo cleanup, and you want the new tech stack: S76 or the 2026 S76-2.
The rest of this piece is why.
Bobcat T595: the small-frame workhorse
The T595 is a small-frame radius-lift compact track loader and it is almost always the right answer for contractors who live on residential lots. Bobcat's own spec sheet, mirrored by skidsteerloaderspecs.com and Construction Equipment Guide, lists a 74 hp Bobcat Doosan D24 turbo-diesel (2.4L, 146.5 cu in), a rated operating capacity of 2,200 lb, a tipping load of 6,285 lb, and an operating weight of 8,055 lb. Auxiliary hydraulic flow runs 17.1 gpm standard, with a high-flow option pushing past 23 gpm for appetite-heavy attachments like mulchers and cold planers.
Why that matters: the T595 fits through a 6-foot gate with a standard bucket, leaves a tolerable footprint on finished lawns, and still swings a full pallet of sod or a half-yard of wet concrete. The 74 hp is the most horsepower in the class, which Construction Equipment Guide flagged at launch. You feel it most on grade work and when pushing snow at hydraulic max.
Where the T595 falls apart is truck loading. At 6 foot 5 inches of hinge-pin height, you are not clearing the side boards on a tandem dump. If you load trucks daily, skip to the T770.
Bobcat T770 specs and the site-prep argument
The T770 is a large-frame vertical-lift CTL. Bobcat and Construction Equipment Guide both publish it at roughly 92 hp, a rated operating capacity of 3,475 lb, a tipping load near 9,929 lb, an operating weight of 10,515 lb, and a vertical lift path of 11 feet. That is a structurally different machine from the T595, not a bigger version of it. The Tier 4 engine also meets emissions without a diesel particulate filter, which owners on Heavy Equipment Forums repeatedly call out as one less thing to regen in the middle of a dirt haul.
For site prep at 1 to 5 acres, this is the machine. The extra horsepower moves more material per pass, the vertical-lift geometry places pallets and hoppers cleanly at 11 feet, and the wider stance supports a grading beam or six-way dozer blade. Excavation subs running T770s pair them with a 5- to 6-ton mini excavator and rarely need a third machine for residential foundation prep.
The tradeoff is obvious. At over 10,000 lb you are bending irrigation lines and printing tracks into cured driveways, and you need a 14,000 lb-plus trailer to move it legally. A T770 is overkill for a landscaper working quarter-acre backyards.
Bobcat S76 and the 2026 S76-2 reshuffle
The S76 is the wheeled skid-steer counterpart that shares the T595's 74 hp Doosan D24 driveline but carries a 2,900 lb ROC and a vertical-lift boom, per Bobcat's North American spec page. That higher ROC is not magic; it is the 50 percent-of-tipping-load rating skid steers get versus the stricter 35 percent track-loader standard (White Star Machinery and Dig-Boy both explain this well). On tires, the S76 shines on pavement, inside finished concrete, and anywhere a rubber track would chew or get chewed up.
At ConExpo 2026, Bobcat split the lineup. Equipment World's coverage of the reveal confirms nine Classic models and eight Pro models across skid steers and CTLs, with the Pro skid-steer tier built around the S64-2, S66-2, S76-2, and S86-2. Classic keeps joysticks, two-speed travel, and the no-frills package buyers have always bought. Pro adds an 8-inch touchscreen, heated air-ride seat, four drive modes (Balanced, Agile, Dynamic, Charged), camera-and-radar detection, and the Jobsite Companion AI voice system that automates more than 50 machine functions. The flagship S86-2 now reaches 115 hp and a 12-foot lift height. Dealer availability starts summer 2026.
Should a small contractor wait for the S76-2 Pro? Only if the tech pays back. If you work residential with kids and pets, the camera-radar package earns its premium. If you are a two-truck operation chasing uptime and resale, a clean 2022 to 2024 S76 Classic-spec unit does the same ground work for less money and no first-year software bugs.
ROC vs tipping load vs operating weight, plainly
These three numbers trip up more buyers than any other spec. Quick decoder:
- Tipping load is the weight that lifts the rear of the machine off the ground. You never operate here. It is a physics reference number.
- Rated operating capacity (ROC) is the safe working load. For compact track loaders it is 35 percent of tipping. For wheeled skid steers it is 50 percent. Same chassis, different rating, because tracks plant the machine differently.
- Operating weight is what shows up on your trailer ticket and on finished surfaces. It drives ground pressure, traction, and how much driveway it will scar.
Match ROC to the heaviest single load you routinely lift, not the heaviest you have ever lifted. Buying a machine sized to your outlier job means overpaying and overcompacting the other 95 percent of the year.
Small vs mid vs large frame, by job
- Small frame (T595, under 2,500 lb ROC): solo contractor, landscaping crew owner, concrete flatwork prep under 1 acre, tight side-yards.
- Mid frame (roughly 2,500 to 3,000 lb ROC, S76 territory): three-person landscape crew, demo cleanup, year-round hard-surface work, rental-fleet logic.
- Large frame (T770, 3,000 lb-plus ROC): excavation sub, site-prep specialist, anyone loading tandems daily, 1 to 5 acres and up.
Used pricing reality check
Machinery Pete's T595 listings range roughly $26,500 to $56,500: 2016 units with 4,000 hours near $29K, 2018s from $26,500 to $41,900, 2020s in the mid-$30s, a 2022 at $53,000 with 484 hours, and 2024s at $47,900 to $56,500 with sub-700 hours. MachineryTrader shows a national average closer to $42,000. T770s clear $50K quickly and climb into the $70Ks for late-model low-hour units.
Retailers like bobcatforsaleonline.com aggregate used Bobcat inventory with nationwide delivery, which is a fair benchmark against Machinery Pete and IronPlanet before you commit. Check hours, regen history, final drives, and track condition before you chase a low sticker.
Who wins
Solo concrete or landscape under an acre: buy the T595. It is the most capable small-frame CTL on horsepower alone and holds resale. Excavation sub or site-prep shop: buy the T770; the 92 hp, 3,475 lb ROC, and 11-foot reach are not optional for your workload. Pavement and demo work: buy the S76 used, or wait on the S76-2 Pro if you genuinely want the AI and camera suite. Ignore the dealer reflex to upsize. The right loader matches your median day, not your worst one.
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