The engine powered skid-steer loader has a rigid and small frame, equipped together with lift arms which can attach to various industrial attachments and tools so as to carry out many labor saving jobs. Typically, skid-steer loaders are four-wheel drive vehicles which have the left-hand side wheels working independent of the right-hand side wheels, even if some models are equipped with tracks instead. On the four-wheel models, having each side independent of each other allows the rotation direction of the wheels and the wheel speed to know what course the loader will turn.
The skid-steer loader could execute zero-radius turns or likewise called "pirouettes." This added feature allows the skid-steer loader to maneuver for certain applications which require a compact and agile loader.
On a skid-steer loader, the lift arms are beside the driver together with pivot points at the rear of the driver's shoulders. This makes them different than a traditional front loader. Because of the operator's closeness to moving booms, early skid loaders were not as safe as traditional front loaders, specially during the operator's exit and entry. Modern skid-steer loaders now have many features to be able to protect the driver including fully-enclosed cabs. Similar to other front loaders, the skid-steer model could push materials from one location to another, is capable of loading material into a truck or trailer and can carry material in its bucket.
There are several times where the skid-steer loader could be utilized in place of a large excavator on the job location for digging holes from the inside. To begin, the loader digs a ramp to be utilized to excavate the material out of the hole. As the excavation deepens, the equipment reshapes the ramp making it longer and steeper. This is a remarkably useful technique for digging under a building where there is not enough overhead clearance for the boom of a big excavator. For instance, this is a common situation when digging a basement beneath an existing structure or house.
There is much flexibility in the accessories that the skid steer loaders are capable of. Like for instance, the conventional bucket of many of these loaders could be replaced with many attachments that are powered by the loader's hydraulic system, including tree spades, sweepers, mowers, snow blades, cement mixers, pallet forks and backhoes. Various other popular specialized attachments and buckets comprise wheel saws, snow blades, trenchers, angle booms, dumping hopper, wood chipper machines, grapples, tillers and stump grinders rippers.
During the year 1957, the first front-end, 3-wheeled loader was invented in Rothsay, in the state of Minnesota by brothers Cyril and Louis Keller. The brothers invented the loader so as to help a farmer mechanize the process of cleaning turkey manure from his barn. This machine was light and compact and had a rear caster wheel which enabled it to maneuver and turn around within its own length, allowing it to perform similar work as a conventional front-end loader.
The Melroe brothers of Melroe Manufacturing Company in Gwinner, N.D. purchased during 1958, the rights to the Keller loader. The business then employed the Keller brothers to help with development of the loader. The M-200 Melroe was actually the end result of this partnership. This particular model was a self-propelled loader which was introduced to the market during the year 1958. The M-200 Melroe featured a two independent front drive wheels, a rear caster wheel, a 12.9 HP engine and a 750 lb lift capacity. By nineteen sixty, they changed the caster wheel together with a back axle and introduced the first 4 wheel skid steer loader which was known as the M-400.
The M-400 shortly became the Melroe Bobcat. Normally the term "Bobcat" is used as a generic term for skid-steer loaders. The M-440 was powered by a 15.5 HP engine and had 1100 lb rated operating capacity. The business continued the skid-steer development into the middle part of the 1960s and introduced the M600 loader.
Several makers have their own models of the skid steer loader which is simply referred to as a Skidsteer within the construction business. Bobcat, Komatsu, Mustang, john Deere, JLG, New Holland, Gehl Company, LiuGong, ASV, Hyundai, JCB and caterpillar are a few for example, among some.