maximize your Machines with Attachments
There’s a reason compact track loaders and skid steers are so popular. With a little help, they can efficiently handle a variety of materials and conditions. The key is finding the right attachment for the right situation. From tillers to grapples to augers to buckets and more, there are so many different attachments to help you get almost any job done right. The most common attachments are blades and buckets.
Depending on the size of the project, skid steers, and
compact track loaders can get the job of a dozer done with a blade attachment. With these attachments, operators can grade and excavate materials, push large amounts of material around the site, and do some reverse grading as well. With this attachment, you can save the equipment costs between a dozer and track loader by just turning your small loader into a mini-crawler.
Arguably the most commonly used attachment, there is a large range of bucket attachments. Some are more heavy duty allowing for the movement of bulkier materials like rocks, while others are smaller and lighter weight, making them better for soft materials like dirt and sand. Because of this, one thing to note is that bucket load capacity does change by the weight and traction of the compact track loader or skid steer, so not all buckets will be compatible with every skid steer.
With fork attachments, compact track loaders will operate similarly to forklifts. Able to work with pallets, these attachments are typically about 48 inches long and have a max weight capacity up to 5,300 lbs.
Land Clearing and Forestry Attachments for Loaders
In North Carolina, a staple for compact track loaders or a skid steer is land clearing and forestry. However, how efficient and effective they are will depend on what accessories are being used. Here are some of the best skid steer forestry attachments to use.
For either a compact track loader or mini-excavator, a mulching head is a brush cutter attachment that shreds trees to the ground. Tree mulchers are designed to clear dense, wooded areas, whether you’re trimming the top or pulverizing a whole trunk to ground level. Loftness is a leader in mulching heads because of its power, reliability, and durability. They have a robust cutting system that quickly and easily mulches wood. The mulching head works by rotating at high speeds and feeding the brush into the cutter blades. This action results in a finely chopped brush that can easily be spread or used as mulch.
Great for removing roots, vegetation, and weeds, they pulverize the dirt while ripping out all the stuff you don’t want. They’re also great for clearing materials from bushes or trees. Made in a variety of widths, they protect the front of the machine from any damage. No auxiliary hydraulic power is required for root rake attachments making them fairly interchangeable across models.
Aptly named for their ability to cut through large areas of grass, skid steer brush cutters operate much like a typical lawn mower. The attachments do require high-flow auxiliary hydraulics making them only compatible with similarly featured machines. However, brush cutters are quite cheap to rent and operate and come in widths up to 90″ allowing operators to get the job done in fewer passes than a typical mower. We are proud of our partner Blue Diamond Attachments offers a variety of units that have incredible power and versatility.
A tough assignment for clear-cutting is removing stumps. Trees and wood piles varies in size and toughness and can destroy machines. That’s why using compact track loader stump grinder attachments are so helpful. They remove tree stumps from the ground and grind them up into smaller pieces using carbide-tooth blades. Some stump grinders are only available for high-flow skid steers while others can be used on both standard-flow and high-flow. Make sure to check the compatibility before renting.
Mainly used for agricultural jobs, tillers are used to prepare the soil for farms or gardens. Skid steer and loader tiller attachments are very efficient tools for small and medium-sized land-clearing projects. Tillers easily break up rock and any dense areas of dirt and soil to make planting easy. They can also be used to mix any compost, manure, and mulch to create healthy soil for any plants or flowers. Sizes vary anywhere between 40 inches to 80 inches, allowing you to get a lot done very easily.
Digging small holes straight into the ground doesn’t need to be complicated. That’s why auger attachments are great. Used to drill holes in dirt or soft soil, augers are great for projects that require small but deep holes like fencing, putting up light poles, and even planting trees. Compact track loaders with auger attachments are available anywhere from 9 inches to 48 inches in diameter and can be used to speed up repetitive projects. Most auger attachments for skid steers require high-flow capabilities.
When people hear about trenching, they immediately think of back-breaking work. By getting a trencher for your track loader is fast, efficient, and easy on the back. Used to dig narrow but deep trenches, these attachments are useful when projects require piping, wiring, or irrigation underground. Capable of handling rougher, rocky soil as well, trencher attachments can dig up to 48 inches deep. They are perfect for electrical or plumbing contractors.
Grapples
Already mentioned before, track loader and skid steer grapple attachments like the grapple bucket are much better for moving materials like boulders, logs, and small trees than a regular bucket. Because of the way they are designed, grapple attachments are capable of holding larger materials and transporting them while filtering out any soil and dirt.
We hope that this primer allows you to think of your track loader or skid steer as a Swiss army knife – an attachment for specific jobs. Sound Heavy Machinery works with the top names in the business and has a large inventory of all these attachments that are ready for rent or sale.
Sound Heavy Machinery stocks a full array of attachments. We pride ourselves on partnering with the top names in attachments such as Loftness, Blue Diamond, Geith, Tag, Werk Brau, Erskine, and MB just to name a few.
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More information on all the Sound Heavy Machinery products and services can be found on www.SoundHM.com or by calling (888) 543-1263.
