The engine powered skid-steer loader consists of a small and rigid frame, equipped along with lift arms that could connect to numerous industrial attachments and tools to carry out several labor saving jobs. Normally, skid-steer loaders are four-wheel drive vehicles which have the left-hand side wheels functioning independent of the right-hand side wheels, though several models are outfitted together 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 would turn.
The skid-steer loader is able to perform zero-radius turns or "pirouettes." This added feature enables the skid-steer loader to maneuver for particular applications that require a compact and agile loader.
On a skid-steer loader, the lift arms are next to the driver along with pivot points at the back of the driver's shoulders. This makes them different than a traditional front loader. Due to the operator's closeness to moving booms, early skid loaders were not as safe as traditional front loaders, particularly in the operator's exit and entry. Modern skid-steer loaders today have many features in order to protect the driver like for example fully-enclosed cabs. Like several front loaders, the skid-steer model can push materials from one place to another, could load material into a trailer or a truck and can carry material in its bucket.
Many times a skid-steer loader could be utilized on a jobsite instead of a big excavator by digging a hole from the inside. To begin with, the skid-steer loader digs a ramp leading to the edge of the desired excavation, and next it uses the ramp to be able to excavate material out of the hole. As the excavation deepens, the machine reshapes the ramp making it steeper and longer. This is a very functional method for digging below a structure where there is not enough overhead clearance for the boom of a large excavator. For example, 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 traditional bucket of many of these loaders can be replaced with several attachments that are powered by the loader's hydraulic system, comprising mowers, snow blades, cement mixers, pallet forks, backhoes, tree spades and sweepers. Some other popular specialized attachments and buckets include angle brooms, dumping hoppers, wood chipper machines, grapples, tillers, stump grinders rippers, wheel saws, snow blades, and trenchers.
In nineteen fifty seven, the first 3-wheeled, front-end loader was invented in Rothsay, in the state of Minnesota by brothers Louis and Cyril Keller. The brothers invented the loader so as to help a farmer mechanize the method of cleaning turkey manure from his barn. This equipment was light and compact and had a back caster wheel that enabled it to maneuver and turn around within its own length, allowing it to execute the same jobs as a conventional front-end loader.
In the year 1958, the Melroe brothers of Melroe Manufacturing Company in Gwinner, N.D. obtained the rights to the Keller loader. They hired the Keller brothers to continue refining their loader invention. The M-200 Melroe was actually the outcome of this partnership. This model was a self-propelled loader that was launched to the market in nineteen fifty eight. The M-200 Melroe featured a a rear caster wheel, a 12.9 HP engine, a 750 lb lift capacity and two independent front drive wheels. By the year 1960, 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 soon 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 company continued the skid-steer development into the mid nineteen sixties and launched the M600 loader.
Various manufacturers have their own skid-steer loader model simply referred to as Skidsteer within the construction business. Gehl Company, LiuGong, ASV, Hyundai, JCB, Catterpillar, Bobcat, Komatsu, Mustang, John Deere, JLG and New Holland are some for instance, amongst some.