I've been thinking about buying one of those Chinese mini-skid steers like Rippa or Derrette to help with a large landscaping project around a new house. Would also consider getting attachments for stump grinding, trenching, etc.

Any experiences with particular brands, sales outlets, etc. would be appreciated.

Might compare renting versus buying. But if the hours of use makes sense, go for it. They are pretty simple devices if you understand hydraulics. I've used a mini skid trencher before and it was kind of fun to drive around. It's not super fast but the hydraulics give you some good power to work with.

IMO Rent the machine or pay someone to do it unless it's a multi year project.
Or just buy the machine & rent the attachments as needed.
You're going to drop tens of thousands of dollars on equipment.

This.

Rent a small skid for a week and run the hell out of it. You'll be happier in the end.

schmellba99 said:

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This.

Rent a small skid for a week and run the hell out of it. You'll be happier in the end.

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The bigger the better - if your renting get a machine that will do what you want.

No experience with these Chinese versions. We used them some at a construction company I used to work for. It was a last resort thing. The one time we really used them was spreading rock under pipe racks. They could get into some spots a normal skid steer couldn't. I see on temu they are about $4k. A bit of a gamble, but it could work out for you. I would look into the ease of getting repair parts. $4k worth of machinery could become a hunk of junk over a $20 part if you can't buy one.

We run toro dingos and ditch witches. Your biggest issue if you buy is attachments are going to run you 5-6k each plus the machine. Depending on the size you are in the 40-50 k to buy. Resale is pretty good on them.

Not sure I agree with all the comments here but there's some solid feedback. I don't know much about a lot of things but equipment is my trade. I'm in the equipment rental industry and we have around 30 of these "stand-on skid steers". I'm about to put in an order for a handful more here shortly.

Our rental rates are definitely priced cheaper than full sized skid steers, however the purchase price between a dingo and a full sized skid steer is closer than you'd think when buying from a manufacturer.

I buy numerous of both each year. Happy to answer any questions.