Wheel loaders, also known as front end or bucket loaders, are used primarily for material handling, digging, road building, site preparation and load-and-carry. Starting as small agricultural tractors outfitted with a loader bucket to transport light materials, these machines evolved, first as rigid frame wheel loaders in the late 1930s, then to articulated wheel loaders in the 1940s.
As wheel loaders increased in size, safety concerns arose, particularly concerning the positioning of the loader pivot arm. These concerns ledto the adoption of a front mounted pivot in the late 1950s. Hough was one of the first manufacturers to produce a wheel loader with a safer design, followed quickly by Caterpillar, Case and Allis-Chalmers. Today's wheel loaders are comprised of a pivoted frame with the engine mounted over the rear wheels. A cab or canopy rests over the frame. The machine's pivot arrangement gives the wheel loader the ability to work in small turning circles.
As you prepare for another winter of snow removal, perhaps you're tuning up your skid steer or compact track loader or adding a blade to a truck.
Choosing the right wheel loader is about more than ticking boxes on a spec sheet. For contractors and fleet managers, it's about maximizing ROI every time the machine goes to work.
For several decades, the professionals at Southern Concrete Materials (SCM) in Asheville, N.C. have relied on Charlotte-based Carolina Cat to provide them with the machines they need to get the job done.