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“It depends on what your customer base wants and expects,” says Moore. “You’ll have to research your customers like we do ours. Some contractors might just want a basic machine to get that day’s job completed, others might want a more deluxe version for a longer rental period. You might end up with both types of skid steers in your fleet.”

Getting bigger & growing tracks

Another trend for skid steers over the last decade is the preferred size of the unit - skid steers are getting bigger. “Contractors seem to be migrating toward larger machines,” says Moore with Gehl. “The 1,900- and 2,000-pound-capacity machines are more prevalent now. It used to be the most popular sizes were the 1,600- and 1,800-pound-capacity units, which are mid-size skid steers. The trend is definitely toward larger machines.”

The reason for the change in size preference? More performance and more productivity, says Moore.

According to several sources, another big trend for skid steers is the growth of the compact track loader (CTL) market. “Compact track loaders were being sold in the market prior to 1999,” says Rostberg. “But they never gained much favor in North America.”

Their popularity has exploded and the market has been flooded with CTL models in the last 10 years. “Compact track loaders are sometimes supplemental machines, sometimes replacement machines,” says Moore. “We’re starting to see more brands and more varieties of models in the market today.”