ForConstructionPros.com

If you're telling yourself and your customers that there's no need for compact wheel loaders — skid steers can do any job — you're likely steering your customers in the wrong direction.

Certainly, the versatility of skid steers is difficult for any machine to top. But, no one can be the best at everything. When it comes to being the best at loading and unloading materials, compact wheel loaders achieve the best performance. After all, that's what they are designed for, although they too can multi-task with the help of different attachments.

Because compact wheel loaders are still relatively new to the United States, manufacturers often find themselves needing to explain where exactly compact wheel loaders fit in.

"I think a big misconception is that skid loaders can do the same things that compact wheel loaders do," says Brian Rabe, product specialist, excavators/all-wheel-steer loaders at Gehl Co. While skid steer and compact wheel loader applications parallel one another, compact wheel loaders offer advantages in rental applications that can't be beat.

A top performer

Compact wheel loaders can lift about double what skid steers can lift. While a skid steer might have a tipping load of 3,000 to 3,800 pounds, a compact wheel loader might have a tipping load of 7,300 to 7,400 pounds, notes Eric Winkler, marketing manager, New Holland.