Talk:Skid-steer loader

Skid loader

what does it do? -- Tarquin 20:11 Jan 20, 2003 (UTC)

Exactly. what's it useful for?  :-) Koyaanis Qatsi

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All kinds of things! You can put various implements on the front, but I have personal experience only with the bucket and pallet fork attachments, which in themselves are very usefull. A New Holland LS-180 is what I have used.

With the bucket as shown on the Bobcat you can load, dump, dig, grade, carry, etc. It makes for an excellent oversized wheelbarrow, particularly when there is are one or more extra persons to load the bucket.

With the pallet forks, you have an all terrain forklift, but they are good for so much more than just pallets! The forks are positionable from between six inches apart, to the full width of the attachment.

Pushed close together they can break up dirt when digging holes in hard ground making the task much faster than with hand tools alone (strictly speaking this is what an auger or small excavator attachment is for, but you work with what you have.) Great for starting small holes in hard ground when planting trees. Just the other day I used the forks in this configuration to quickly and easily remove some medium shrubs that we wanted to transplant.

With the forks spaced wider you can even do demoliton! Then spread the forks, or put on the bucket to haul the debris. Then you can use one of these attachments to compress the contents of the disposal dumpster in order to fit as much as possible into it. --Knife Knut 03:28, 31 July 2005 (UTC)

I've seen them used for snow removal. It tends to be for smaller spaces and only when the snow banks are already so high that regular snow plows can't pile it up anymore, but I'm not sure about the precise conditions under which they are used for snow removal. Bostoner (talk) 02:50, 24 January 2013 (UTC)

Removal of copyedit tag

I read the article and it is much improved since the January version. I have therefore removed the copyedit tag. Mmoyer 20:54, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

Historical content

Does anyone else feel that detailed product line histories would be best placed on separate articles? I could provide a Melroe/Bobcat history which would run as long or longer than the Case/Uni-Loader history, but I would rather put that information under the Melroe Manufacturing Company or Bobcat_(equipment) page.

I propose that after the initial text for how the skid steer loader came to be, major timeline events (company entries into the market, new technologies, etc.) be listed with their dates, instead of having detailed histories for particular product lines. For example:

Melroe had the 1st hydrostatic drive in 1970
Melroe introduced the "Bob-Tach" quick attachment system, which became the industry standard, in 1970
New Holland entered the market in 1972 with the first vertical path liftarm
Case introduced its first hydrostatic models in 1975
Melroe sold its last clutch drive products in 1982
ASV introduced the first rubber-tracked skid steer loader in 1987
Caterpillar entered a partnership with ASV in 1999 and began selling ASV-tracked "multi terrain loaders" in 2001

etc... (Dates and information may not be correct and my format might not be the best, but you get the idea)

Ptschett (talk) 02:24, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

other compact equipment

should not be included here. It could be under further reading, but it's not the subject and could even confuse. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 159.134.94.21 (talk) 14:13, 21 October 2008 (UTC)

I took the liberty of deleting this section, as it is unrelated to this material, you wouldn't include a section on cars in the truck article because they both use four wheels and are use to transport things, and this is a similar situation. Moskevap (talk) 03:13, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

My opinion —Preceding unsigned comment added by 159.134.94.21 (talk) 12:25, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

Bobcat

Is there an article on Bobcats? 70.24.244.248 (talk) 06:17, 23 December 2011 (UTC)

Yes: Bobcat Company ptschett (talk) 15:22, 23 December 2011 (UTC)

History section needs accurate images

This article needs some proper historical images. Here is what is needed, but we need free images of these uploaded to the Commons, to put into the article:

• Google image search: Bobcat M200 - early form, two wheel with caster
• Google image search: Bobcat M400 - evolved form, skid steer as we know it.

Note the awesome minimalism of driver protection, either a tiny grille by the arms, or none at all.

The people that invented the skid steer have their own online museum and physical. Perhaps they'd be willing to contribute an image or two?

• www.skidsteerhistory.com

DMahalko (talk) 21:28, 27 December 2011 (UTC)