The 7 Most Important Skid Steer Attachments
Whether you are involved in land clearing, forestry or mulching, at some point you’re going to need to add additional attachments to your arsenal of get-the-job-done equipment.
Today, I want to focus on some of you newer guys out there who are growing and expanding your business. Are you at the stage of really considering what is the next skid steer attachment that you need to purchase? This also applies if you run a preserve or maybe a farm. Buying attachments is a big investment and you want to make sure you are making solid choices.
It really is amazing to think that all of this started way back in the 1900’s in a Minnesota turkey barn. Skid steers have now become an irreplaceable piece of equipment in a variety of field service, construction, forestry and other different industries.
The beauty of a skid steer is not just its ability to turn in place, but rather all the attachments they can accept to make you more productive. These attachments help add value, and are easy to swap on and off before and after use. They can ultimately streamline your operations.
One often overlooked benefit of using heavy duty attachments for a skid steer is that you’re able to keep your foot print smaller. This causes less ground damage, erosion and impact on the land you’re working on. This was also one of the reasons we created our larger GT self-propelled machines…but that’s a story for another day.
What Are The Best Skid Steer Attachments I Should Use?
Below, we are going to take a look at some of the best skid steer attachments for professionals in forestry and land clearing, and after your standard bucket, what is the next logical attachment for you. Here’s our picks top five attachments that we strongly suggest you consider to take your productivity levels to new heights:
- Auger
- Seeder
- Combination Bucket
- Mulching Attachment
- Planer
- Teleboom
- Backhoe
Skid Steer Augers
Forestry involves managing and caring for forests. Noting this, there’s bound to be times when new trees need to be planted or even relocated. When this is the case, an auger is a necessity. Augers work to drill holes, and while these holes can be used for fencing and footings, augers in forestry are often used to dig holes for trees.
Most augers can drill up to six feet into the ground, and various types of augers are designed to work with certain soils. There are heavy duty bits for drilling into standard ground and soil, heavy duty bits for clay, frozen ground or more demanding conditions, and even rock bits for work in rock and/or concrete. Another type of auger is a tree bit, which is ideal to use when planting basketed trees.
Skid Steer Seeder Attachment
Depending on the services you plan on offering or currently offer, a seeder can be another useful and profitable skid steer attachment. If erosion and run-off will be an issue, or if you want to repurpose the land just cleared (seeding with grass, ground covers or other temporary quick sporting seeds), a mounted seeding attachment is invaluable to cover large areas.
Or, if you manage hunting lands or have a hobby farm, a front mounted seeder can make quick work of planting feed plots and deer corn.
Combination Bucket
Bucket attachments are accessories that anyone with a skid steer should have on hand and ready. In fact, when you think of skid steers and Bobcats, it’s these attachments that often come to mind first. They’re very practical attachments that can be used for a variety of different tasks.
They also tend to be among the most affordable attachments. Ideal for moving soil, hauling away debris and other routine tasks, buckets essentially serve as an oversized and more automated wheelbarrow.
In some instances, a dozer blade might be a more practical attachment, however, buckets can usually suffice for whatever you might need a dozer blade for and tend to be more versatile.
Skid Steer Mulching Attachment
You had to know a cutter head would be on the list! All jokes aside, there probably isn’t another skid steer attachment that can clear more brush, make more mulch and earn you more per acre than a mulching attachment for a skid steer.
I think one of the biggest take-aways from using a mulching head (besides the income it produces) is the cost savings from eliminating the need for other skid steer attachments. Particularly when it comes to land clearing and forestry, a mulching cutter head negates the need for a tree or root grapple or a rake attachment.
Of course, eliminating equipment also means you’re saving time and money by not needing additional gear or other stand-alone machines. Talking with experienced mulching company owners, the biggest increase to productivity (by far) is eliminating steps.
With a mulcher, you don’t need to cut down a tree and then remove it to a staging area to be chipped. The mulcher does it all in one spot and with one single effort.
Skid Steer Planer
If you are involved in any site prep work, a ground planer is a necessity. Along with the quick work of a bucket, a planer will give you that final grade to many projects.
There are a number of different style planers and graders and all of them can ease your work load in a variety of landscaping situations. Even though we focus on mulching, here at Gyro-Trac we have customers that use our cutter head in a variety of industries, so we get to see first hand not just the usefulness of a skid steer, but how a few attachments can accomplish a lot of work.
Skid Steer Teleboom
When we were discussing writing this article, a few of the guys laughed at me when I mentioned a teleboom, but when I gave my reasoning they quickly agreed. I have found a teleboom to be one of the most practical attachments for a skid steer!
Before you jump up and say you can raise a pole with a combo bucket, I ask you: have YOU actually done it? Probably not! Trying to use a standard bucket as a do-it-all attachment quickly goes south in confined spaces or situations that need more control.
If you have a skid steer, you know they can make you a lot of money by accomplishing many tasks. For things like raising trusses and lofting poles, for barn construction, large outdoor lighting or other building erection tasks, the teleboom makes sense.
Skid Steer Backhoe
If you ever need to dig trenches or perform any type of digging or soil removal, a backhoe attachment is the ideal accessory to have on hand. These attachments can usually extend up to eight feet in length and can dig up to six feet deep. They are easy to operate, and tend to be strong and productive.
They are typically offered with bucket sizes ranging from 9 to 24 inches. They’re an ideal attachment for skid steers and Bobcats because of how versatile the equipment is.
Being able to move the right and left side wheels independent of each other makes it easy to control and activate the backhoe for more precise digging. And the teeth are often durable, rigid and replaceable after they’ve become too worn down.
Hopefully this list of skid steer attachments gives you a few ideas of the different types of implements out there and how they can help your business. I wonder if there is an official count of every different attachment you can slam on a Bobcat? It would have to be over 150!
