Used skid steers

The skid steer is bought for access and kept for attachments. As a loader it is unremarkable; as a carrier for breakers, augers, sweepers, trenchers and grapples it is one of the most useful machines on a mixed site.

Wheeled or tracked

Wheeled skid steers are cheaper to buy and run, faster on hard standing, and the sensible choice for yard work, block plants and paved sites. Compact track loaders float on sand and soft ground where a wheeled machine digs itself in, and do far less damage to finished surfaces. On UAE sand the tracked machine is markedly more capable; on hardstanding it is unnecessary expense.

Attachments decide the value

A skid steer's worth is largely in what it can carry. Hydraulic breakers, augers, sweepers and brooms, trenchers, pallet forks, grapples, mixing bowls and cold planers all mount on the same carrier. When buying, confirm the auxiliary hydraulic circuit's flow rating — standard-flow and high-flow machines take different attachments, and a high-flow tool on a standard-flow machine simply will not perform. Check the circuit actually works rather than merely exists.

Inspection

Loader arm pins and bushings, and the quick-attach plate for wear and secure locking — a worn attach plate is a genuine hazard. Drive motors and chain cases on wheeled units; rubber track and undercarriage condition on tracked ones. Cab controls and safety interlocks, which get bypassed on hard-worked machines. Hydraulic oil analysis. Skid steers are typically high-hour, hard-used machines, so condition varies far more within an hour band than on larger equipment.