
The engine powered skid-steer loader consists of a rigid and small frame, equipped together with lift arms which can attach to several industrial tools and attachments in order to perform a wide variety of labor saving jobs. Usually, 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 outfitted along with tracks instead. On the four-wheel models, having each side independent of each other enables the rotation direction of the wheels and the wheel speed to determine which direction the loader would turn.
The skid-steer loader is able to execute zero-radius turns or likewise called "pirouettes." This added feature allows the skid-steer loader to be able to maneuver for certain applications that need an agile and compact loader.
On a skid-steer loader, the lift arms are next to the driver with pivot points behind the driver's shoulders. This makes them different as opposed to a traditional front loader. Because of the operator's proximity to moving booms, early skid loaders were not as safe as conventional front loaders, particularly in the operator's entry and exit. Modern skid-steer loaders nowadays have numerous features in order to protect the driver including fully-enclosed cabs. Like other front loaders, the skid-steer model can push materials from one site to another, could load material into a trailer or a truck and can carry material in its bucket.
There are many times where the skid-steer loader can be used rather than a large excavator on the jobsite for digging holes from the inside. To start, the loader digs a ramp to be used to excavate the material out of the hole. As the excavation deepens, the machinery reshapes the ramp making it steeper and longer. This is a remarkably helpful way for digging beneath a structure where there is not sufficient overhead clearance for the boom of a big excavator. Like for instance, this is a common scenario when digging a basement beneath an existing building or house.
There is much flexibility in the attachments that the skid steer loaders are capable of. Like for example, the traditional bucket of many of these loaders could be replaced with several accessories that are powered by the loader's hydraulic system, consisting of cement mixers, pallet forks, backhoes, tree spades, sweepers, mowers and snow blades. Various other popular specialized attachments and buckets consist of tillers, stump grinders rippers, wheel saws, snow blades, trenchers, angle booms, dumping hoppers, wood chipper machines and grapples.
The 3-wheeled front end loader was invented during 1957, by Louis and Cyril Keller in their hometown of Rothsay, Minnesota. The Keller brothers created this equipment so as to help mechanize the process of cleaning in turkey barns. This machine was compact and light and included a back caster wheel that enabled it to turn around and maneuver within its own length, enabling it to execute the same tasks as a conventional front-end loader.
In 1958, the Melroe brothers of Melroe Manufacturing Company in Gwinner, N.D. obtained the rights to the Keller loader. They employed the Keller brothers to continue refining their loader invention. The M-200 Melroe was actually the end result of this particular partnership. This particular model was a self-propelled loader that was launched to the market in 1958. The M-200 Melroe featured a a 750 lb capacity, two independent front drive wheels, a rear caster wheel and a 12,9 HP engine. By 1960, they replaced the caster wheel along with a rear axle and introduced the very first 4 wheel skid steer loader which was known as the M-400.
The M-400 immediately became the Melroe Bobcat. Often 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.
Various makers have their own models of the skid steer loader that is simply called a Skidsteer within the construction industry. Bobcat, Komatsu, Mustang, john Deere, JLG, New Holland, Gehl Company, LiuGong, ASV, Hyundai, JCB and caterpillar are some for example, among others.