ForConstructionPros.com

Attachments provide the opportunity to boost the productivity and flexibility of your equipment. But select the wrong attachment for the machine size and/or capabilities, and you can actually reduce operating performance - or worse.

"Undersizing and oversizing work tools for the application and machine - i.e., buckets that are too large or too small to address the need - can lead to poor performance on the jobsite and also, in some instances, instability of the machine," says David Kweram, sales support consultant, NACD Work Tools, Caterpillar Inc.

To avoid common pitfalls when pairing up equipment, it's important to be aware of the limitations of both the attachment and the carrier.

Keep it stable
"Probably the most important specification for any type of machine is its tipping load or lifting capacity," says Bill Sauber, business development manager - attachments, Volvo Construction Equipment. But you also need to understand how this is measured for the particular type of machine, since that can have a significant affect on the size of attachment that can be used.

For example, with wheel loaders and skid steers, tipping capacity is rated by measuring the load in the center of the bucket when it is fully rolled back to its carry position. Moving the load center away from the machine will affect its tipping capacity.