We finally got the call that my Bobcat T770 skid steer was ready to pick up, so I loaded it up, chained it down, and headed home feeling pretty excited. I’ve had this thing throwing codes like “right joystick no communication” and “left joystick no communication,” and it was also acting up on the brush cutter—stopping, refusing to run right, and at one point I couldn’t even turn the cutter off. On top of that, my fuel gauge wasn’t working, which is just annoying (and risky) when you’re out in the woods. Once I got it back, I went over what Bobcat found: they replaced the controller box and programmed it (that computerized joystick system), fixed cut wires on the fuel gauge, and replaced a broken exhaust clamp. “Just those repairs” came out to $1,696.41, and it’s a good reminder that these machines are awesome, but they’re not cheap to maintain—especially with wear items like tracks (they told me tracks can be around $6,000). Then I put it right to work clearing around my hunting spots with the Vail brush cutter… and it broke down again. The engine died, the hydraulics locked up with the cutter stuck in the air, and I was literally trapped inside because I couldn’t open the door. I ended up bypassing the fuel filter/water separator and limped it back—one of those “good day turned bad” ranch moments you can’t make up.