Skid Steer Attachments: Which Ones Earn Their Keep

A good starting set of skid steer attachments is a bucket, a 4-in-1 bucket, pallet forks and a grapple, with an auger, broom or rake added when the work calls for it. Chupp Industrial, a family-run equipment business in Chouteau, Oklahoma, sells skid steer and mini skid steer attachments, mini excavators and excavator attachments, and this guide covers how to choose attachments and what to check before you buy.

Which skid steer attachments are worth owning?

The skid steer attachments worth owning are the ones that turn one machine into several jobs. A bucket, a set of pallet forks and a grapple let one skid steer or mini skid steer dig and load, move pallets, and clean up brush and debris without a second machine. The value is not in any single attachment; it is in how quickly you can swap between them and keep the machine working.

From there, add attachments for the work you actually do:

• 4-in-1 bucket for loading, grading and grabbing material with one tool
• Auger for post holes
• Broom for sweeping lots and pavement
• Rake (rock, landscape or grapple style) for clearing rock and debris or finishing dirt

What attachments make a mini excavator more useful?

A hydraulic thumb, an auger and a grapple make a mini excavator more useful, because each one turns a digging tool into something more. A thumb lets it pick up brush, debris and odd-shaped material. An auger makes it a post-hole tool, and a grapple makes it a demolition and cleanup tool. Each of those jobs needs a different attachment, not a different machine.

How do you choose which attachments to buy?

Buy attachments for the work you do every month, not the busiest week of the year. A landscaper clearing brush and grading dirt most of the year needs different attachments than a contractor who mostly moves pallets and backfills trenches. Think twice before buying for a job that only shows up once or twice a year.

What should you check before buying a skid steer attachment?

Check that the attachment fits your machine before you check the price. Several things decide fit:

• Hydraulic flow and pressure. An attachment that needs more flow than your machine's pump delivers will run sluggish or not at all, no matter how good it looks on paper.
• Coupler type. A quick-attach system that does not match your machine means an attachment that looks right in a listing but will not hook up in your driveway.
• Weight. A heavy attachment on a small machine changes lift capacity and balance, especially on a mini excavator working near its reach limit. Match the attachment's weight to what your machine is rated to handle.
• Build. A thin-wall bucket or a grapple with light tines may handle landscaping soil and still bend the first time it meets a buried root ball or broken concrete. Buy for the toughest material you will run through it.

Width matters for some jobs too. For sweeping parking lots, most people pick a 72-inch or 84-inch broom, because the wider broom covers more ground and the job goes faster. To match a broom to a specific machine, have your machine's make and model ready.

Do skid steer and mini excavator attachments do the same job?

No. Buckets, augers and grapples come in versions for both a skid steer and a mini excavator, but they suit different work. Skid steer attachments generally work best moving material across flat ground: pushing, carrying and loading. Mini excavator attachments work best where the job needs reach and a digging angle a skid steer cannot get, such as working below grade, digging a trench or footing, or reaching over an obstacle. If your work is a mix of both, the two machines and their attachments complement each other rather than compete.

Where can you buy skid steer and mini skid steer attachments?

Chupp Industrial in Chouteau, Oklahoma, about 40 miles east of Tulsa, sells skid steer and mini skid steer attachments, mini excavators and excavator attachments. Chupp Industrial ships nationwide by freight, and you are welcome to pick up locally in Chouteau. If you are working out which attachment fits your machine and your workload, look through our attachments at chuppindustrial.com or give us a call.