Four Mini Skid Steer Attachments Needed For Preparing Property For Grass

Skid steer attachments make a mini skid steer loader the go anywhere, do anything machine for construction and landscaping and all the jobs in between. And as the mini skid steer loader gets more popular, contractors of all kinds will be using it to get into tighter spaces and getting more work done more efficiently.

For any given job, however, because just one mini skid steer loader is needed, sometimes the hardest decision to be made is just which skid steer attachments will be needed on the work site? When it comes to preparing a building lot for grass seed or sod, there are four mini skid steer attachments that will really help to make the grade, as it were.

THE ROCK BUCKET Buckets of all kinds are needed whenever the skid steer is on the scene. And it is helpful to be aware of the different types: there are toothed and smooth-lipped buckets, reticulated buckets that hinge, and many others for specific applications in the field. But the rock bucket is different from all these other skid steer attachments. Like a sort of steel basket with abundant gaps between its tines, the rock bucket is essential to have on hand for sifting tilled or loose soil to capture all of the construction or natural debris while letting the soil sift through and return to the ground. These mini skid steer attachments are typically 48 inches wide, to help the operator save time and effort.

THE SCARIFIER The mini skid steer attachments known as the scarifier sound like a horror movie prop that Freddy Krueger wore on his hands. They are built with a heavy duty, solid steel deck lined with teeth, so these are skid steer attachments to handle with care. But they need to be, since they are used for breaking up hard as well as soft soils, turning it and preparing it for final grading. The scarifier is needed in the rough grading process to soften up the earth, making it more pliable. It is not a final grading tool, but it is needed just before. The soil will need to be broken and softened — like with a roto-tiller — so it can hold moisture and nourish fresh roots as sod is laid or seed is broadcast.

THE ROTO-TILLER Another of the ground-breaking skid steer attachments is a mini skid steer roto-tiller. A compact powerhouse, the roto-tiller skid steer attachments attach to the face plate of a mini skid steer loader, and soon makes quick work of the toughest, hardest clay and packed soil. Its enclosed tines turn rapidly, and unlike the scarifier, which has few moving parts and scrapes the ground as it is moved along by the skid steer, the roto-tiller digs deep and churns up soil from underneath. Some roto-tillers will feature an offset configuration, for those times when the mini skid steer gets into some tight spaces with tight tolerances. Most of them also have adjustable, replaceable skid shoes just like its larger siblings (for maintaining proper operating depths - tillers have a way of digging too deeply into the earth if they are not equipped with stops).

THE SOD ROLLER In areas of the project that won't be getting seeded, the sod rolling mini skid steer attachments make laying and fitting sod easier, once final grading and preparation is done with a scarifier or roto-tiller. These skid steer attachments can handle large rolls of sod ranging from 24 to 36 inches in width, and up to 800 pounds..

While many landscapers will have a large skid steer loader, mini skid steer loaders and skid steer attachments are a good way for new landscapers or landscapers on a budget to do the same work, but for less money.