Which skid-steer attachment should you use for each job?

One skid steer, many machines: the coupler

A skid steer earns its keep by what it carries up front. Bobcat's Bob-Tach quick coupler switches from bucket to breaker, auger or broom with no tools: in under a minute, according to Bobcat. Power Bob-Tach picks up and drops non-hydraulic implements without leaving the cab, and 7-pin control runs complex attachments, such as angle brooms, planers and trenchers, from the joysticks.

Bobcat states more than 190 attachment models for its compact loaders and that the Bob-Tach plate set the industry standard, so its attachments usually fit other brands' skid steers with a universal plate. «Usually» isn't «always»: before buying, confirm your model's plate, flow and controls.

From job to attachment

Start with the job, not the catalog. Outside the flow are the blade or dozer blade for pushing, the grader for finishing, the backhoe arm for spot digging, the grapple for debris, the hopper for hauling and the cutter and wood chipper for brush and branches.

Earth and grading: buckets, blades and grader

The bucket is the everyday attachment. There are construction, multipurpose and 4-in-1 buckets: the last one opens in the middle, so it loads, pushes, levels and grabs without switching implements three times a day.

To push, the angle blade moves material to one side as it advances, and the DB-96 dozer blade, with a 96-inch (about 2.4 m) blade according to Bobcat, turns the machine into a small dozer. For finishing, the grader—Bobcat's HG-84 has an 84-inch blade, about 2.1 m—gives a fine finish even on uneven ground and leaves the platform ready to pour or pave. Rule: the grader goes after the bucket, not instead of it.

Trenches and digging without bringing another machine

For a long, continuous trench for pipe, cable or irrigation, the chain trencher leaves a vertical wall and the exact width: less material to remove and replace. According to Bobcat, the LT313 digs 36 to 48 inches deep (about 0.9–1.2 m) and the LT414 50 to 62 (about 1.3–1.6 m), both 4 to 12 inches wide (10–30 cm). If you need to cut pavement or rock, the wheel saw cuts where the chain can't, and needs high flow.

To dig a few hours a day, the backhoe arm turns the skid steer into an excavator: the 8811 reaches 135.7 inches deep (about 3.4 m), according to Bobcat. For posts, spot footings and planting, the auger with bits of several diameters.

Demolition: the breaker by thickness

Choose the breaker by what you'll break and by your machine's flow. According to Bobcat, the HB680 breaks 2 to 4-inch (about 5–10 cm) pavement and masonry at 7–13 gpm; the HB980, 6 to 14-inch (15–36 cm) hard rock at 12–21 gpm, and the HB1380, the most powerful for skid steers, 10 to 18-inch (25–46 cm) concrete and rock at 17–32 gpm. A big breaker on a low-flow machine doesn't deliver more: it runs slowly.

In the group's catalog, the breaker works on a standard-flow skid steer, but at half capacity; from the S590 up it's put to full use. To pick up the debris, the industrial grapple closes each claw separately and grips irregular pieces—rubble, scrap, logs—that a bucket can't hold.

Pallets, hauling and concrete

Pallet forks, with adjustable tines, turn the skid steer into a jobsite forklift, right where the ground won't let a smooth-tire forklift in. They're for moving pallets in a yard; to stack high in a warehouse all day, a forklift is still the right machine.

For hauling, the dump hopper is loaded, driven and emptied where trucks can't go, and the dumper box dumps high over a container without climbing ramps. For concrete on hard-to-reach sites, the concrete pump reaches, per its datasheet, up to 75 m horizontally and two floors vertically, without driving the mixer truck over lawns or buried utilities.

Cleaning, green areas and farms

The bucket sweeper sweeps, collects and dumps with a single attachment; the angle broom pushes dirt to the side you choose, for streets and yards without collecting in a hopper, and the side brush cleans edges and gutters. In green areas, the rotary cutter keeps lots with dense brush in check, and the wood chipper shreds branches up to 5 inches (about 13 cm) on site and, according to Bobcat, cuts their volume 10 to 1. On farms, the 3-point adapter lets you use the farm implements you already own with the skid steer.

Careful: the flail cutter and the wood chipper need high flow. On a standard machine they spin slowly and lose the cut.

Standard or high flow: the most forgotten rule

Every hydraulic attachment works within a flow range, and your machine's flow has to fall inside it. Bobcat publishes it in gallons per minute (gpm): 1 gpm is about 3.8 L/min. If your machine delivers less than the bottom of the range, the attachment runs slowly or stalls under load, just when you need it.

An example with datasheet figures: the PM-40 planer needs 29–50 gpm, about 110–189 L/min. The T770 delivers 87 L/min on standard flow—short—and 138 L/min with high flow, which falls within the range. By contrast, the LT313 trencher needs 15–24 gpm (about 57–91 L/min): there a T590's 64.7 L/min standard flow is enough. Even with the right flow, the advisor confirms pressure and controls before selling you the attachment.

Where to get them: Bobcat in El Salvador and Panama, Komatsu in Guatemala and Nicaragua

Grupo ConstruMarket offers Bobcat skid steers and attachments in El Salvador (Zaragoza, Antiguo Cuscatlán and San Miguel) and Panama (Panama City). Other families in Bobcat's catalog, such as stump grinders, vibratory rollers or plate compactors, are quoted on request. According to Bobcat's table, implements and attachments carry a 12-month standard warranty.

In Guatemala (CMARKET: Mixco, Río Hondo and Xela) and Nicaragua (Managua), the group's skid steer is the Komatsu SK820-5E0, with a universal coupler for sweepers, augers, forks, breakers and more, per its datasheet. Ask the advisor which attachments are available for your SK820-5E0 and its hydraulic flow, and apply the same coupler and flow rule. Price depends on the attachment, your machine's model and the payment method; an advisor will contact you during business hours.