Skid steers are some of the toughest, most versatile, and most valuable industrial machines America uses every single day. They have many valuable attachments that allow them to work on different types of job sites with ease, and help workers do tasks that would otherwise be dangerous and overwhelming. There are eight job sites where skid steers and their many attachments are used in a particularly regular fashion:
1. Landscaping Work
There are a ton of different landscaping operations that use skid steers daily. One of the most common attachments for landscaping jobs are landscape rakes, such as the incredible landscape rakes for John Deere machines that are endorsed by a huge percentage of American farmers. Chipping wood, tilling, grinding down debris, and getting a farm’s soil ready for farming are all key tasks that can be done much more efficiently with the help of the right skid steer attachments.
2. Debris Removal
Skid steers are commonly used to remove debris quickly from a wide variety of settings. City streets, lawns, construction sites, schoolyards, and more benefit from the powerful, versatile nature of skid steers and the attachments they can wield. After all, with that much flexibility, you can easily pick up all of the trash in an area in a matter of hours (especially in cases where doing the job by hand would have taken days).
3. Demolition Tasks
Skid steers are fantastic for any type of demolition work, whether it’s being done inside or outside. The various sizes of skid steers available allow workers to use them in nearly any setting, making them perfect for the varied needs of demolition tasks. They can help tear through existing buildings, build foundations, and break up already demolished material into dust if need be. The power and flexibility of skid steers also help to make demolition work much safer for workers.
4. Agricultural Work
Beyond landscaping, many of the attachments we’ve discussed already can be used for quality agricultural work as well. If you’re looking to till the soil on a farm, move material using bucket attachments, or need some hay bales moved using a fork attachment, the number of skid steer attachments out there have you covered. Without skid steers, farming in America would not be nearly as efficient as it is currently. These machines are even used to help install turf yards in homes and football fields across America.
5. Mowing Tasks
Mowing is a mind-blowingly massive industry. Just think of all the lawns that need to be mowed, and then add farms and other huge industrial landscapes on top of that workload, and you’ll begin to imagine how much work is out there in the mowing industry. For large-scale mowing tasks, skid steers have become the norm. The many attachments they have that make cutting down thick brush, and gathering mowing debris a breeze have revolutionized the industry for the better.
6. Heavy-Duty Backfilling
Backfilling is trying, difficult work, but it’s made much simpler with the help of a skid steer and quality attachments. Skid steers are used to scoop up rocks, move material, level foundations, and fill all types of holes. This work tends to happen low to the ground, which allows almost any size of skid steer to get the job done. The heavier duty the job is, the larger skid steer you’ll want to take on the tasks at hand with, however.
7. Loading Needs
Loading jobs require heavy machinery, quality attachments, and accurate workers to get done safely. Especially in hectic settings like warehouses, skid steers are used every single day to get packages and palettes moved around efficiently. Many warehouses are even using skid steers with fork attachments in place of traditional forklifts, which have begun to revolutionize the loading, packaging, and warehouse industries as a result.
8. Snow Removal
Especially if you live in a city where it snows consistently and constantly every single winter season, you’ve probably seen skid steers out in parking lots and on roadsides moving around massive piles of snow. There are snow-moving-specific attachments that are tailor-made for this important task. Without the miracle of skid steers and their attachments, snow days and sudden winter storms would be a much more chaotic event. Next time you’re able to get around town after a large snowfall, be sure to thank a skid steer operator for their hard work and dedication.
Skid Steer Jobs are Booming
With the rise in infrastructure spending, more and more skid steer-enabled jobs are becoming available. If you have a license, or if you’ve been looking to become licensed, with skid steer equipment, now is the time to take full advantage of any opportunities you come across. You can make yourself an invaluable part of making America’s infrastructure awe-inspiring to behold.