Dirty Jobs
Contractors are getting their money’s worth out of skid steer cleanup attachments.
Constantly pressured to do more with less, contractors are using skid steer cleanup attachments – such as brooms, sweepers and plows – to efficiently tackle this necessary job.
And the cleanup market is expected to be on the upswing for the remainder of 2012, says Jerry Jelen, vice president of dealer sales, Paladin. “Municipalities and state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) are requiring road contractors to keep worksites clean on a continuous basis,” Jelen says.
This predicted growth is also because “cleanup is something that always needs to be done, whether you’re in a recession or not,” says James Truan, vice president of sales and marketing, SweepEx. “Cleanup is often a task that contractors aren’t paid for – it’s just part of the job – so they want to get it done as quickly as possible to start making money on the next project.”
Here are ways operators can get the most from their skid steer cleanup attachments:
Think outside the box. “Some contractors may not realize a brush or scrap grapple can help them keep their sites clean,” says Ashby Graham, skid steer/CTL product manager, JCB. Operators are also creating and tweaking their existing attachments to match project needs, instead of buying or renting an attachment for a specific task.
Match the attachment to the skid steer. Look at the weight, dimensions, capacity and hydraulic flow to get the optimal fit and function. For example, a fully angled sweeper should be wider than the tires of the skid steer, says Sean Bifani, skid loader product manager, Gehl.
Consider the surface being cleaned. If the machine will be running on mostly hard surfaces that require a sweeper, Graham says, an angle broom may be a good fit to move debris from side to side. If they need to collect debris, a sweeper collector that collects and dumps debris is ideal.
Be ready to replace. Most cleanup attachments have wear parts, such as bristles, that need to be replaced regularly. So, pick a brand that will be reliable and is supported by your dealer, says Curtis Goettel, brand marketing manager, New Holland Construction.
ROUNDUP
JCB
Clean up streets, parking lots and construction sites with JCB’s angle brooms. The manual or hydraulic angle adjustment provides a 30-degree angle left or right. The brooms are available in 60-, 72- and 84-inch models and have a 32-inch diameter wire and poly brush construction. Manufacturing 31 skid steer attachments, JCB has other clean-up attachments such as sweeper brooms, snow buckets, snow blades, snow blowers and snow pushers.
For product info, visit jcb.com.
Volvo Construction Equipment
For light and heavy-duty clean up, Volvo Construction Equipment’s hopper brooms sweep and pick up debris in forward and reverse directions. The broom has a replaceable bolt-on bucket edge, no front caster wheel and does not require chains.
For product info, visit volvoce.com.
CEAttachments
Manufacturing a variety of attachments for compact equipment, CEAttachments offers angle, hopper and push brooms. The SHB72 hopper broom has an overall width of 86 inches with a 26-inch brush diameter. This single-motor broom has 40 brush segments and operates in forward or reverse. A dust control kit and gutter brush are also available for the broom.
For product info, visit ceattachments.com.
Bobcat
Sweep, collect and dump dirt and debris with the Bobcat 72-inch sweeper attachment. The floating bristle head follows surface contours independent of the bucket, and polypropylene bristles deposit debris in the sweeper bucket to be dumped when full. With an 845-pound operating weight, the 72-inch sweeper has 36 bristle sections that travel in forward and reverse.
For product info, visit bobcat.com.
John Deere
The John Deere SB72 two-stage snow blower throws snow up to 45 feet. It features an electric or electric-over-hydraulic poly-lined chute and deflector for directing the snow, as well as a 25- or 36-inch shroud opening. The SB72 has adjustable skid shoes and bolt-on, wear-resistant, tapered, steel edges.
For product info, visit johndeere.com.
Terex
Available in two models, the Terex six-way dozer blade can be matched to the width of your machine. Hydraulic connections for power tilt and angle are via quick-disconnect fittings to the low-flow auxiliary hydraulics, and the switches for power tilt and angle are in the right-hand joystick. The blade can be used for plowing snow or moving dirt, making it operational year-round.
For product info, visit terex.com.
Arctic Snow and Ice Control
The Sectional Sno-Pusher, a product division of Arctic Snow and Ice Control Products, line of LD Pushers has 32-inch-wide individual sections with spring-loaded, trip edges. The pusher, equipped with the Slip-Hitch system, operates independently of the machine and automatically adjusts to the pavement grade. The LD pushers are available in four sizes, from the 8-foot LD8 to 14-foot LD14 model.
For product info, visit arcticsnowandice.com.
Paladin Construction Group
The FFC snow push by Paladin moves up to 21 cubic yards of snow at a time, and models range from 6 to 16 feet wide. An optional pull-back kit draws snow away from buildings, fences and confined areas, and the push can also be used for waste water, manure, feed, lot and food cleanup. The FFC snow push is available in 127, 3600 and 4800 Series models.
For product info, visit paladinbrands.com.
TrynEx International
With a 72-inch-long mainframe, the SweepEx – a product division of TrynEx International – Mega 720 broom attachment is the largest unit in the Mega Series line. The broom has no moving parts, a steel construction, 11 brush rows and a powder-coat finish. Operators can attach MegaWing 90 (9-inch) and MegaWing 180 (18-inch) extenders to each end of the broom, increasing the Mega 720 up to 108 inches. Other SweepEx Mega Series models include the Mega 480 (48-inch mainframe) and Mega 600 (60-inch mainframe).
For product info, visit trynexfactory.com.
Case Construction Equipment
Case Construction Equipment offers a variety of snow-fighting attachments for its Alpha Series skid steers. It has 11 snow brooms and blowers with the choice of high and standard flow, as well as a single-drive or dual-drive motor in sizes from 60 to 96 inches wide. Case’s six hydraulic angle snow blades range from 60 to 108 inches, and their four snow buckets are available from 84 to 108 inches wide. With a choice of poly, rubber or steel edges, their four trip-edge snow blades come in sizes from 72 to 119 inches, and snow push attachments range from 72 to 120 inches wide.
For product info, visit casece.com.
Hiniker
Hiniker’s Big Ox skid-steer mounted snowplow line includes conventional style snowplows, C-Plows, V-Plows, scoop plows and loader plows. The reversible C-Plow has a 30-inch blade height, works as a conventional and backdrag plow and is available in two sizes: Series 2881 and 2891. All of the plows have a free-floating blade with 15 degrees of oscillation. Accessories include wear bars, curb guards and rubber cutting edges.
For product info, visit hiniker.com.
Caterpillar
Caterpillar’s lineup of sectional snow pushes are available as four-, five- and six-section units for widths ranging from 10 to 16 feet. Each section’s replaceable, hardened-steel cutting edge can trip 45 degrees via a spring-and-tensioning-block system, and polyurethane blocks cushion the trip system as the edges ride over an obstacle. If the edge deflects more than 45 degrees, the section’s moldboard will move up to 9 inches.
For product info, visit cat.com.