A skid loader or skid steer loader is a small rigid frame, engine-powered machine with lift arms used to attach a wide variety of labor-saving tools or attachments. Though sometimes they are equipped with tracks, skid-steer loaders are typically four-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4×4 is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...

 vehicles with the left-side drive wheels independent of the right-side drive wheels. By having each side independent of the other, wheel speed and direction of rotation of the wheels determine the direction the loader will turn.

Skid steer loaders are capable of zero-radius, "pirouette" turning, which makes them extremely maneuverable and valuable for applications that require a compact, agile loader.

Unlike in a conventional front loader

Loader (equipment)

A loader is a heavy equipment machine often used in construction, primarily used to load material into or onto another type of machinery .-Heavy equipment front loaders:A loader A loader is a heavy equipment machine often used in construction, primarily used to load material (such as asphalt,...

, the lift arms in these machines are alongside the driver with the pivot points behind the driver's shoulders. Because of the operator's proximity to moving booms, early skid loaders were not as safe as conventional front loaders, particularly during entry and exit of the operator. Modern skid loaders have fully enclosed cabs and other features to protect the operator. Like other front loaders, it can push material from one location to another, carry material in its bucket or load material into a truck or trailer.

Operation

The skid steering vehicle is turned by generating differential velocity at the opposite sides of the vehicle'

A Skid Steer loader can sometimes be used in place of a large excavator

Excavator

Excavators are heavy construction equipment consisting of a boom, stick, bucket and cab on a rotating platform . The house sits atop an undercarriage with tracks or wheels. A cable-operated excavator uses winches and steel ropes to accomplish the movements. They are a natural progression from the...

 by digging a hole from the inside. The skid loader first digs a ramp leading to the edge of the desired excavation. It then uses the ramp to carry material out of the hole. The skid loader reshapes the ramp making it steeper and longer as the excavation deepens. This method is particularly useful for digging under a structure where overhead clearance does not allow for the boom of a large excavator, such as digging a basement under an existing house.

The conventional bucket of many skid loaders can be replaced with a variety of specialized buckets or attachments, many powered by the loader's hydraulic system. These include backhoe

Backhoe

A backhoe, also called a rear actor or back actor, is a piece of excavating equipment or digger consisting of a digging bucket on the end of a two-part articulated arm. They are typically mounted on the back of a tractor or front loader...

, hydraulic breaker, pallet forks, angle broom, sweeper, auger

Auger

An auger is a drilling device, or drill bit, that usually includes a rotating helical screw blade called a "flighting" to act as a screw conveyor to remove the drilled out material...

, mower, snow blower

Snow blower

A snow blower or snow thrower is a machine for removing snow from an area where it is not wanted, such as a driveway, sidewalk, roadway, railroad track, rink, runway, or houses...

, stump grinder, tree spade, trencher

Trencher (machine)

A trencher is a piece of construction equipment used to dig trenches, typically for laying pipes or cables, or for drainage. Trenchers may range in size from walk-behind models, to attachments for a skid loader or tractor, to very heavy tracked heavy equipment.-Types:Trenchers come in different...

, dumping hopper, ripper, tillers, grapple, tilt, roller, snow blade, wheel saw, cement

Cement

In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...

 mixer, and wood chipper machine.

History

The first three-wheeled, front-end loader was invented by brothers Cyril and Louis Keller (manufacturer) in Rothsay, Minnesota, in 1957. The Kellers built the loader to help a farmer mechanize the process of cleaning turkey manure from his barn. The light and compact machine, with its rear caster wheel, was able to turn around within its own length, while performing the same tasks as a conventional front-end loader.

The Melroe brothers, of Melroe Manufacturing Company in Gwinner, N.D., purchased the rights to the Keller loader in 1958 and hired the Kellers to continue refining their invention. As a result of this partnership, the M-200 Melroe self-propelled loader was introduced at the end of 1958. It featured two independent front-drive wheels and a rear caster wheel, a 12.9-hp engine and a 750-lb. lift capacity. Two years later they replaced the caster wheel with a rear axle and introduced the M-400, the first four-wheel, skid-steer loader. It quickly became the Melroe Bobcat. The term "Bobcat

Bobcat (equipment)

Bobcat Company is a manufacturer of farm and construction equipment, part of Doosan Group of South Korea. Its American headquarters is in West Fargo, North Dakota, USA...

" is sometimes used as a generic term for skid-steer loaders; however, such uses are inaccurate because "Bobcat" is a brand of equipment. The M-440 was powered by a 15.5-hp engine and had an 1100-lb. rated operating capacity. Skid-steer development continued into the mid-1960s with the M600 loader.

Many manufacturers have their own versions of the skidloader (often referred to as a Skidsteer in the Construction Industry), including: LiuGong

LiuGong Construction Machinery, LLC.

LiuGong Construction Machinery Also known as, Guangxi LiuGong Machinery Co., Ltd. is China's largest construction equipment manufacturer and ranks 21st largest in the world. LiuGong both manufacturers and sells its construction equipment around the world...

, Volvo

Volvo Construction Equipment

Volvo Construction Equipment is a subsidiary and business area of AB Volvo. Volvo Construction Equipment develops, manufactures and markets equipment for the construction and related industries.- Overview :...

, John Deere

John Deere

John Deere was an American blacksmith and manufacturer who founded Deere & Company, one of the largest and leading agricultural and construction equipment manufacturers in the world...

, Case

Case IH

Case IH is an American mechanical company, one of the world’s largest brands of agricultural equipment. With headquarters in Racine, Wisconsin, it has a network of more than 4,000 dealers and distributors that operates in more than 160 countries...

, JLG

JLG Industries

JLG Industries, Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation Company, is a designer, manufacturer and marketer of access equipment...

, JCB

J. C. Bamford

JCB is a global construction, demolition and agricultural equipment company headquartered in Rocester, United Kingdom. It is the world's third-largest construction equipment manufacturer. It produces over 300 types of machines, including diggers , excavators, tractors and diesel engines...

, New Holland, Gehl Company

Gehl Company

Gehl Company is a United States-based corporation headquartered in West Bend, Wisconsin. Founded by four brothers in 1859, Gehl is a manufacturer of heavy equipment used worldwide in construction and agricultural markets....

, Mustang, ASV, Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc.

Caterpillar Inc. , also known as "CAT", designs, manufactures, markets and sells machinery and engines and sells financial products and insurance to customers via a worldwide dealer network. Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas...

, Bobcat, Komatsu, Hyundai

Hyundai Heavy Industries

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. is the world's largest shipbuilding company, headquartered in Ulsan, South Korea. The company is a subsidiary of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group...

, and more.

See also

• Compact Excavator
  Compact excavator
  A compact or mini excavator is a tracked or wheeled vehicle with an approximate operating weight from 0.7 to 8.5 tonnes. It generally includes a standard backfill blade and features independent boom swing....
  
  
• Backhoe loader
  Backhoe loader
  A backhoe loader, also called a loader backhoe, digger, or colloquially shortened to backhoe, is a heavy equipment vehicle that consists of a tractor fitted with a shovel/bucket on the front and a small backhoe on the back...
  
  
• Bulldozer
  Bulldozer
  A bulldozer is a crawler equipped with a substantial metal plate used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, etc., during construction work and typically equipped at the rear with a claw-like device to loosen densely-compacted materials.Bulldozers can be found on a wide range of sites,...
  
  
• Crane
  Crane (machine)
  A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...
  
  
• Excavator
  Excavator
  Excavators are heavy construction equipment consisting of a boom, stick, bucket and cab on a rotating platform . The house sits atop an undercarriage with tracks or wheels. A cable-operated excavator uses winches and steel ropes to accomplish the movements. They are a natural progression from the...
  
  
• Forklift
• Grader
  Grader
  A grader, also commonly referred to as a road grader, a blade, a maintainer, or a motor grader, is a construction machine with a long blade used to create a flat surface. Typical models have three axles, with the engine and cab situated above the rear axles at one end of the vehicle and a third...
  
  
• Front loader
  Loader (equipment)
  A loader is a heavy equipment machine often used in construction, primarily used to load material into or onto another type of machinery .-Heavy equipment front loaders:A loader A loader is a heavy equipment machine often used in construction, primarily used to load material (such as asphalt,...
  
  
• Amphibious vehicle
  Amphibious vehicle
  An amphibious vehicle , is a vehicle or craft, that is a means of transport, viable on land as well as on water – just like an amphibian....
  
  
• Skid-to-turn
  Skid-to-turn
  Skid-to-turn is an aeronautical vehicle reference for how such a vehicle may be turned. It applies to vehicles such as aircraft and missiles. In skid-to-turn, the vehicle does not roll to a preferred angle. Instead commands to the control surfaces are mixed to produce the maneuver in the desired...
  
  
• Tractor
  Tractor
  A tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...
  
  

External links

• "HOW THE BOBCAT SKID-STEER LOADER CAME TO BE, by Joe Keller
• How Skid Steer Loaders and Multi Terrain Loaders work - from HowStuffWorks.com
• U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
  The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is the United States’ federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injury and illness. NIOSH is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention within the U.S...
  
  Alert: Preventing Injuries and Deaths from Skid Steer Loaders. February 1998.
• Skid Steer Loader Safety, Kansas State University
• "8th-grade grads invented, Ph.D.s explained their inspirations," by Edward Lotterman, St. Paul Pioneer Press, July 15, 2010