Most powered attachments, such as augers, trenchers and brush cutters, run off the machine's auxiliary hydraulics – you need to match your mini skid steer to your attachment needs.
Small farms and acreages have a long list of chores that never quite justify a full-size skid steer or tractor: moving feed, setting fence posts, clearing brush along a fence line, spreading gravel in a muddy lane. More owners are turning to mini skid steers, the compact tracked loaders an operator usually runs from a stand-on platform at the rear, to handle that work.
The machine itself is only half the decision. What a mini skid steer can do on a farm depends almost entirely on the attachments it runs, and on whether the machine has the hydraulic flow and lift capacity to run them well.
"People tend to shop for the machine first and the attachments second, and it should be the other way around," said Braden Chupp of Chupp Industrial, an equipment company in Chouteau, Oklahoma. "Make a list of the three or four jobs you do every week, figure out which attachments do those jobs, and then find a machine that can run them."
Start with hydraulic flow
Most powered attachments, such as augers, trenchers and brush cutters, run off the machine's auxiliary hydraulics. Every attachment has a flow range, listed in gallons per minute (GPM), and a pressure rating. A small gas-powered mini skid steer may put out only around 5 to 6 GPM, while larger diesel machines put out considerably more.
An attachment that needs more flow than the machine supplies will run slowly, stall under load or heat up the hydraulic oil. An attachment rated well below the machine's flow can be overdriven.
"Hydraulic flow is the number we see trip people up the most," Chupp said. "An auger will still turn on a low-flow machine, so it seems fine in the yard. Then you get into hard clay and it just stops. Check the attachment's GPM range against the machine's spec sheet before you buy either one."
Then check lift capacity
Mini skid steers are rated by how much they can safely lift. On many compact models the rated capacity runs from roughly 500 to 1,000 pounds, which is far less than a full-size skid steer. That matters on a farm, where a wet round bale or a full bucket of gravel can be heavier than it looks.
The attachment's own weight counts against that rating. A heavy grapple or a pallet fork carrying a load can put the machine past its limit, especially with the load raised. Manufacturers' rated operating capacities assume the load is carried low and close to the machine.
Feed and bedding
For moving feed, bedding and bagged products, the standard bucket and a set of pallet forks cover most jobs. Forks move pallets of feed or mineral, and a bale spear can handle small square bales and lighter round bales within the machine's rated capacity.
"Know what your bales actually weigh," Chupp said. "A dry small square is easy. A wet round bale can be more than the little machines are rated for, and that's when they get tippy."
Fence work
Fence building is where an auger attachment earns its keep. A hydraulic auger drills post holes straight and to a consistent depth, and one person can drill a line of holes while others set posts behind.
Auger bit diameter and soil type both affect how much flow and torque are needed, so match the bit to the posts being set and to the machine. Before any digging, call or click before you dig through your local one-call service (811 in the United States) so buried lines can be marked.
Brush and clearing
A root grapple or brush grapple pulls brush, small trees and old fencing off a line without anyone dragging it by hand. Some owners add a brush cutter for overgrown fence rows, though those attachments usually need more hydraulic flow than the smallest machines can supply.
"Grapples are the attachment people end up using more than they expected," Chupp said. "Every farm has a pile of something that needs to be moved."
Gravel, dirt and lanes
For spreading gravel in a lane or around a barn, a bucket does the rough work and a leveling attachment or box rake finishes the surface. A trencher can cut a narrow trench for a water line to a stock tank or for buried electric fence wire, again after the one-call service has marked the area.
One plate, many jobs
Most mini skid steers in North America use a common quick-attach plate design, so attachments can often be swapped in a few minutes and shared between machines. Before buying an attachment, confirm it fits the plate on the machine you own.
"Once a farm has three or four attachments that fit their machine, it turns into the thing they use every day," Chupp said. "The key is buying the attachments for the work you actually do, not the work you might do someday."
Photo Credit: AGT