A Closer Look At

The Skid Loader

Alright Soldiers, welcome back from the Battlefield.

As some of you that have been deployed into new areas of operations, you might have come across the Skid Loader. Some of you might have gone Rambo and drove it into the heat of battle, and some of you might simply have ignored it. And others been run over by it.

Today we will be taking a closer look at the Skid Loader and its origins. And the several different attachments it can make use of, lets get to it!

The Origins of the Skid-Loader:

According to sources Doc.E and Marty, the very first three-wheeled front-end loader was invented by the brothers Cyril and Louis Keller in Rothsay, Minnesota in 1957. The Kellers built this loader to help a farmer mechanize the process of cleaning turkey manure from his barn. The light and compact loader, with its rear caster wheel, was able to turn within its own length while performing the same tasks as a front-end loader.

In 1958 the Melroe brothers, of Melroe Manufacturing Company in Gwinner, N.D., purchased the rights to the Keller loader and hired the Kellers to continue refining on their invention. As a result of this partnership, the M-200 Melroe self-propelled loader was introduced at the end of 1958. According to one of my sources, Doc.E, the M-200 featured two independent front-drive wheels and a rear caster wheel, a 12.9-hp engine and a 750-lb (340kg) lift capacity. Two years later they replaced the caster wheel with a rear axle and introduced the M-400, the first true four-wheel skid-steer loader. The M-440 was powered by a 15.5-hp engine had an 1100-lb (500kg) lift capacity. Skid-Steer development continued into the mid-1960's with the M-600 Loader.

Many manufacturers around the world now have their own versions of the skid-loader, such as: Volvo, LiuGong, Mustang, Gehl, New Holland, Bobcat, Case, JLG, Caterpillar, Hyundai, and more.

Various Attachments:

The more common attachment is the bucket as most of you have seen (It is the attachment used in Battlefield 3), but it can be replaced with a variety of specialized buckets or attachments, many powered by the loaders hydraulic system. The following are attachments available for the Skid-Loader: Backhoe, Hydraulic Breaker, Pallet Forks, Angle Broom, Auger, Snow Blower, Stump Grinder, Tree Spade, Mower, Trencher, Ripper, Tillers, Dumping Hopper, Tilt, Roller, Grapple, Snow Blade, Wheel Saw, Cement Mixer and a Wood Chipper Machine.

(Snow Blower attachment in Action)

Some models of the Skid-Loader now also have an automatic attachment changer mechanism. This allows the driver to change between a variety of attachments without having to leave the machine, by using a hydraulic control mechanism to latch onto the attachments. Hydraulic supply lines to powered attachments may be routed so that the couplings are located near the cab, and the driver does not need to leave the machine to connect or disconnect those supply lines.

Design of the Arms:

The original skid-loader arms were designed using a hinge at the rear of the machine to pivot the loader arm up into the air in an arc that swings up over the top of the operator. This design limits the usable height to how long the loader arm is and the height of that pivot point.

In the raised position the front of the loader arm moves towards the rear of the machine, requiring the operator to move extremely close to or press up against the side of a tall container or other transport vehicle to get the bucket close enough to dump accurately. At the highest arm positions, dumping the bucket may dump directly onto the top of the machine's cab. Which of course, is a bad thing to do.

In Battlefield 3 you are able to transport two soldiers (not including the driver) with the Skid-Loader. One person sitting in the bucket watching the front road, and one sitting in the back watching the back road. The passengers are very exposed to gun fire and it requires voice communication with all three people using the skid loader. If the person in the bucket misses a target, he/she needs to call that out so the person in the back can get a better chance in taking that enemy out. The drivers view will be limited if a person is sitting in the bucket, so good communication on whats ahead of them and where to go with the person in the bucket is a good way to stay alive!

That's all for this A Closer Look At. Join me next time when we will be taking a more Closer and Detailed look at the Main Battle Tanks.

Dismissed.