Connect Four ... Or More - FOCUS: Skid-Steer/Loaders

The average machine leaves the dealer’s door with at least five attachments, pointed out Ken Lange, engineer, Ramrod Equipment, a division of Leon’s Manufacturing, Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada. "We no longer sell these machines by themselves," he said.

Since purchasing five attachments can cost as much as the machine itself in some cases, contractors need to know what attachments fit their application needs before making their purchasing decisions.

LIKE A GLOVE. When John Palasek, owner, Aspen Garden Designs, Yaphank, N.Y., purchased his skid-steer attachments, he considered which ones would perform multiple tasks to meet his various responsibilities. Palasek purchased a combo bucket with jaws because he could use it for land clearing and grabbing 6- or 7-inch tree stumps. He also purchased a set of bucket teeth for digging into harder, rockier soil and a regular dirt bucket with forks for trenching. "It mitigates my costs if I can buy something versatile," Palasek explained.

A common mistake contractors make is buying their skid-steer or compact utility loader before thinking about their attachment needs. If contractors know what attachments they need and the lift capacity, width and hydraulic requirements for those attachments before purchasing the loader, then they won’t waste money on a machine that doesn’t fit their needs, stressed Chris Faller, marketing manager, FFC, Lee, Ill.

"Landscape contractors go out and buy a skid-steer and they don’t realize that all attachments don’t work on all skid-steers," Faller explained. "When they go to buy the attachment they need they realize, for instance, it has a hydraulic parameter of 16 gallons per minute, but the machine only offers 10 to 15 gallons per minute."

To avoid this error when investing in attachments, contractors need to carefully assess the kind of work they’re doing first. "They need to ask themselves, ‘What is the task that slows progress down the most on the job? Is there an attachment that increases that efficiency and cuts time on that job?’ explained Paul Anderson, attachments manager, Bobcat Co., West Fargo, N.D.

Most attachments directly correlate to the hand labor jobs they replace, pointed out Marc Bowers, marketing manager, Toro Sitework Systems, Minneapolis, Minn., which makes relating specific jobs to the right attachments an easy task.

The hard part is matching the right attachment to the right machine. Most loader manufacturers make attachments to fit their machines, and attachment manufacturers design their products to fit different brand loaders. Even competitors’ attachments are reasonably compatible with other manufacturers’ machines, Lange said. But regardless of the attachment and the machine, hydraulic flow, pounds of pressure, attachment weight and size, and lift capacity need to be seriously considered.

For instance, contractors tend to mistakenly equate loader horsepower with attachment horsepower. "A user with a 50-horsepower loader operating a trencher does not have a 50-horsepower trencher," Anderson explained. "In reality, the trencher may be running at 2,500 pounds per square inch (psi) at 16 gallons per minute of hydraulic flow, which is roughly half of the loader’s horsepower."

To properly match attachment to machine, contractors need to examine the machine’s auxiliary functions and understand attachment and loader psi. "They should always know the auxiliary hydraulic flow and the auxiliary relief pressure capability and can use the following formula to calculate attachment horsepower: auxiliary hydraulic flow times auxiliary relief pressure divided by 1,714," Anderson advised.

SAFETY TOWN. Of course, safety always matters. "The attachments contractors use need to be approved for use on their loaders," Anderson advised. "Attachments also should match a loader for safe mounting and dismounting. Users should always be able to maintain a three-point stance getting in and out of the machine - users need two hands and a foot or two feet and a hand on the machine at all times."

Some attachments, such as landscape rakes, pallet forks and buckets, have rated operating capacity (ROC) measurements on them specifically designed for safety. "Users should ensure an attachment’s ROC is suitable for their loader’s ROC as well as the job at hand," Anderson stressed.

Size is also an issue, and choosing the right size attachment to match a loader can ensure safety for the machine as well as the contractor. "If the loader is too small for the attachment, a contractor won’t be able to utilize the attachment," Anderson pointed out. "Conversely, if the machine is too big, it can damage the attachment."

DO I OR DON’T I DEDICATE? Whether a contractor’s landscape needs require a skid-steer with many attachments or a dedicated machine for various tasks is based on the contractor. Regardless, contractors should plan on getting the most out of any equipment purchase.

"If I was a specialized contractor and my focus was installing irrigation systems, I’d buy a dedicated trenching machine," Faller said. "But if I make an investment in a dedicated backhoe that I use once or twice each year, it makes more sense to have an attachment or rent a backhoe when I need one.

"The advantage of an attachment is that there is a wider diversification of how you use it," Faller added, "but it doesn’t give you the ability to specialize."

"One skid loader with numerous attachments is much easier to transport to a job than many individual dedicated machines," added Randy Vargason, marketing manager, Mustang, Owatonna, Minn.

The cost of a dedicated machine vs. a loader with attachments can vary greatly. "With a trencher, you’re talking about the attachment costing about 5 to 10 percent of the cost of a dedicated trenching machine," noted Faller.

Robben Salyers, chief executive officer, Jake’s Garden, Maple Plain, Minn., went with a full house of attachments to fit his landscape construction needs for greater flexibility on the job.

"You can’t be one-dimensional in the landscape construction business," Salyers said, pointing out that his attachments include a grading bar, trencher, pallet forks, low-profile bucket for excavating, 1-yard snow bucket, snow plow, u-blade and an auger. "For us, having one piece of equipment for every job isn’t cost effective. We have a lot of attachments, but we didn’t buy all of them at once. We phased them all in based on priorities."

Justifying equipment costs is another way contractors can figure out what type of equipment or attachment is right for them.

"Dedicated machines carry a large price tag and are most often underutilized," Vargason pointed out. "Consider a dedicated machine only when you can justify using it on a regular basis."