Track Skid Steers Dismantled Machines

About Track Skid Steers

Sometimes referred to as “compact track loaders” or “multi-terrain loaders,” track skid steers feature rotating tracks designed to provide excellent traction and stability on difficult surfaces around golf courses, sports fields, clubhouses, and other areas under the care of turf management professionals. From rocky and sandy terrains to mud and snow, these machines’ extra ground contact makes them a better choice than wheel skid steers for jobsites where traction and flotation are concerns.

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Bobcat T450 Track Skid Steer

Track Skid Steer History

Although the first skid steer was built in the late 1950s, it’s thought that first track skid steer wasn’t produced until 1986, when Takeuchi introduced the TL150. Another big milestone came in the early 1990s when ASV introduced its Posi-Track loader, which featured rubber tracks that were lighter-weight, resulting in less ground pressure and minimal surface damage. 

Modern tracked skid steers are often equipped with rubber tracks, due to the greater versatility of the rubber material, but steel tracks are also available for jobs where the skid steer needs added counterweight, additional traction on hilly terrain, or harsh surfaces with jagged rock or debris.

An Essential Jobsite Machine

Track skid steers can accommodate a wide range of attachments, including augers, hammers, brooms, trenchers, grapplers, and forks, which makes them versatile across numerous industries. In addition to golf clubs and sports fields, track skid steers are commonly found on landscaping, construction, forestry, roadway, and agricultural jobsites.

Track skid steers are also good for entering and working in tight spaces. Their small size relative to larger tractors and other heavy machinery makes them ideal for golf courses, greens, and fields. In these and similar settings, track skid steers are often used for grading and leveling surfaces, clearing brush, seeding, aerating, applying fertilizer and insecticides, snow removal, hauling turf care products, and handling small construction jobs that require excavation and digging.

The reduced ground impact of rubber track machines allows skid steers to perform landscaping duties and work on other surfaces where you need high maneuverability and want to avoid ground damage.

Lift Type

Skid steers generally have either a vertical or radial lift mechanism. Vertical lift skid steers are often designed to move taller loads and to move loads to spaces not easily reached by radial lift skid steers. The radial lift design, however, has fewer moving parts and tends to perform better when digging dirt or leveling ground.

Size & Power

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) breaks down skid steers into three frame categories, defined by rated operating capacity and horsepower. 

• Large-frame skid steers are often equipped with engines rated for 70 horsepower (52 kilowatts) or more and have minimum rated operating capacities of 2,220 pounds (1,007 kilograms). 
• Medium-frame skid steers have a rated operating capacity between 1,750 lbs (793 kg) and 2,220 lbs and between 50 HP (37 kW) and 70 HP. 
• Small skid steers have less than 1,750 lbs of rated operating capacity, typically with horsepower ranges around 50 HP.

Find The Right Skid Steer

NeedTurfEquipment.com is a great resource for new and used track skid steers from leading brands like ASV, Bobcat, Case, Caterpillar, Deere, Kubota, New Holland, and Takeuchi, among many others.