EQUIPMENT: Take a Load Off

Alan Mumford appreciated the value in saving man hours his first year in business. Jobs like planting trees and hauling heavy loads simply took too long and demanded too much from his crews. So the owner of Landscape Images in Jefferson, La., invested in his first skid-steer attachment, an auger, which quickly reduced man hours by 35 percent. “There’s nothing like being able to do something quicker and easier than you did it before,” Mumford says. “Labor is the most expensive part of any landscape business, so anything that cuts down on that cost is a great investment.”
 
The issue of quality labor vexes the landscape industry – businesses can’t operate without it and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find. To offset these labor needs, many contractors invest in skid-steer attachments. Attachments not only lighten the workload, but also expand a skid-steer’s capabilities and help contractors get the most out of their machines. “Skid-steers are the power sources for all attachments,” says Douglas Laufenberg, product marketing manager for attachments and compact wheel loaders, John Deere Construction and Forestry Division, Moline, Ill. “The variety of attachments available helps contractors get the most out of their skid-steers.”

ON THE RISE. The variety of attachments and their functions run the gamut, and include tried-and-true staples as well as new innovations. To make an economical investment, contractors must understand their contracts and determine which attachments will provide continued value in the future. “Depending on the types of jobs you do most often, most attachments will pay for themselves pretty quickly,” Mumford says. “I would be amazed if a contractor invested in an attachment for one job and never used it again.”
 
With much of the green industry buzzing about lean management, Mumford predicts skid-steer attachments will continue to retain their popularity with contractors. “Everything is determined by labor, and lean management is the direction in which many companies are moving,” he says. “Attachments are going to become more in demand for every company, regardless of its size.”
 
Here are 10 skid-steer attachments popular with landscape contractors and their time-saving attributes.

1. Bucket – Most skid-steers come with a bucket, so this is a useful tool that doesn’t require an extra investment. A bucket’s most basic use is hauling and dumping material from one place to another. After Hurricane Katrina, Mumford’s bucket played a key role in loading and moving debris, and is still used daily for moving dirt and mulch.

2. Pallet Fork – Primarily used to load and unload materials, this attachment also comes in handy when moving unloaded materials around a job site. The price of a pallet fork can range from $750 to $1,370, Laufenberg says, depending on if the machine is hydraulic.
 
With his pallet fork, Mumford can load and unload material in half the time it took him prior to owning the machine. “We use our pallet forks to move everything from pallets to pots to bagged mulch,” he says. 

3. Auger – Augers are ideal for any jobs that require a round hole, including planting trees and shrubs, driving posts and installing fences. “An auger can drill holes considerably faster than anyone can do by hand,” Laufenberg says. “A 36-inch hole that could take an hour to dig by hand could be done in minutes with an auger.”
 
Auger prices range from $1,500 to $2,600, Laufenberg says, depending on motor and bit size. There are two main types of augers: planetary and chain driven. Planetary augers operate with a hydraulic motor and gear box and are more costly, while chain-driven augers operate with a hydraulic motor and sprockets and cost less. Most contractors opt for planetary augers because they have more torque, Laufenberg says.

4. Multipurpose bucket – These attachments really live up to their name. “A combination bucket may be the only attachment a contractor needs to get a start in the landscape industry,” says Justin Odegaard, attachment product representative, Bobcat Co., West Fargo, N.D. The multipurpose bucket instantly increases a contractor’s versatility by allowing him to perform five functions – doze, dig, dump, grapple and grade – with one attachment and one machine.”
 
Multipurpose buckets have been widely used in the Southeast and Southwest for the past few years, and are beginning to gain popularity in the Midwest, Laufenberg says. “These attachments are becoming more popular as guys figure out what all they can do with them.” Prices for multipurpose buckets range from $2,450 to $3,750, depending on the bucket’s width.

5. Broom – Brooms, both angle and pickup, are mainly used for sweeping debris. Long a skid-steer staple among landscape contractors, new regulations have increased the tool’s’ popularity. “Local and state regulations require contractors to keep dust levels down and streets clean, so brooms have come more into play,” Laufenberg says.
 
Pickup brooms cost anywhere from $3,800 to $5,950 and angle brooms cost from $5,500 to $5,900, depending on broom width.

6. Landscape rake – Similar to tillers, power rakes are used to refurbish yards or fields. These machines work the ground’s top layer of soil, removing rock and debris, and leave a prepared bed for seed or sod. “Power rakes replace crews with rakes,” Laufenberg says, adding the machines cost from $7,150 to $8,975. “With machine power behind them, these jobs can be done in half the time.”

7. Grapple – This attachment is designed to pick up bulky materials that a bucket just can’t handle. A grapple attachment helps landscape contractors with general job site cleanup and disposal of demolition materials, and are also useful to transport rock, stone and other hardscape materials. Grapples range in price from $3,300 to $4,200, Laufenberg says.

8. Bale handler – This tool is designed to efficiently handle both wrapped and unwrapped square and round bales, such as trees and shrubs. Mumford uses his bale handler on a regular basis to load and unload balled and burlap trees from his Mississippi-based field growing operation. “My bale handler is worth its weight in gold for taking care of our trees,” he says, adding the part cost him between $2,000 and $2,500. “It also saves us the labor of having to handle such heavy items.”

9. Trencher – A must-have attachment for many irrigation contractors, trenchers are useful for installing water lines and drain tile, Odegaard says. Mumford combines his trencher with boring rods to install irrigation lines under walks and driveways. Depending on its features, a trencher attachment can cost between $2,800 and $8,500.

10. Hydraulic breakers and hammers – These heavy-hitting machines are most often used to break up concrete when removing or replacing it. Replacing the need for a jackhammer, these attachments save man hours and the hydraulic action gets the job done much quicker, Laufenberg says. Hydraulic breakers and hammers cost $5,600 to $11,000, depending on the hammer’s strength.
 
 
Like the list of functions they can perform, the variety of skid-steer attachments available to landscape contractors is great. “Stump grinders, rotary cutters, sod layers, soil conditioners, snow removal attachments and many others can quickly and easily increase a contractor’s productivity,” Odegaard says.
 
Investing in a skid-steer attachment is easy. Deciding which type of tool is most beneficial takes a little more time and effort. “In terms of time savings, investing in attachments is a no-brainer,” Mumford says. LL