Compact Earth Loaders Conquer Europe

Aw, of course: roughly translated - 'mini-diggers' versus 'bobcats'!

If you want to know and get the audience to participate, why not insert a photo of each type? I have never loaded wheels of any type, let alone compact wheel, same for skids.

Yes, I know they are not as I say, but why start a topic and block it at the same time?

As you can see, very few comments.

It would comedown to the cost and availability of each at the time of capital outlay, the space available, the material relocation distances, the number of operators at each site (traffic), what operators already have in their legacy fleet inventories, the terrain and what is actually being built.

In my part of the world there are hardly any "bob cat" type implements. Tracked vehicles are most common, and manual labour is widely exploited.

Whatever. It just needs doing at the end of the day.

If i may, i think it may be down to the fact that building sites here in europe get pretty boggy during the winter and so the use of compact wheel loader with its higher ground clearance may be one reason.I think that maybe also the fact that they are articulated and turning in tight spots would be easier.

Saying that a "Bobcat" can spin on itself but i should imagine that its turning is rather eratic if it loses grip then gains it when trying to try.

In the UK you tend not to see many wheel loaders on sites but rather mini digger/excavators and 4 wheel drive dumpers.

I've worked on a lot of constructions sites in the US, and it's clear to me that the preference for Bobcats comes from their maneuverability. The Bobcat can move around freely in tight spaces because of its independant left and right wheel controls. This feature combined with their short wheel base makes it possible to turn a Bobcat 360 degrees in a space that is only about 8 feet in diameter.

Something that others have called a drawback to the Bobcat is it's low head clearance. On the contrary, the low head clearance of a Bobcat is also an advantage because they can fit through a standard residential garage door and thus be used for indoor construction.

The trend in the US is to build steel warehouse-like structures that cover thousands of square feet of land for every commercial purpose that one can think of - department stores, grocery stores, schools, libraries, fire depots, barns, etc. In such large single-story facilities it is possible to put the roof on first and do most of the construction work under cover thus avoiding delays caused by inclement weather. Once the metal roof is installed on the building the versitile Bobcat is used for moving gravel, concrete, pallets, and just about anything else that will fit in a bucket around inside the structure.

The problem of a realtively low bucket lift is easily solved by dumping a little gravel on the ground to make a 3-4 foot tall ramp. This gravel eventually gets scouped up by the Bobcat and used when needed.

It seems also to be an issue withthe loading capacity and working distance / height.

Bobcats in most cases can move the load just infront of the driver. In many cases the driver can hardly see over the loaded showel. And the possible lifting height is limited as the machine itself is rather low.

Using a compact wheel loader the counter weight (motor of the engine) is far away from the joint for the showel and the loading capacity is higher. The lifting height & overview is also an advantage when unloading trucks. Bobcat drivers sit in most cases below the loading platform of a truck and the vision is limited.

As the driver sits higher he has a better view over the working area (also to the back which is rather limited with bobcat style vehicles). Another issue is that in most cases there is not a "bobcat driver" but everybody on the worksite can handle the wheel loader (with the sufficient licence!) So people hop and off the unit. In case of bobcats this is rather inconvienient if the showel is fully loaded..

But you can rent them and they are available also on many sites but might be the handling is the advantage for the wheel loader. In landscaping both are used but for critcal slopes etc. bobcats have real advantages..

I was wondering whether there were more farmers that did earthworks and material handling on the side in Europe than in the USA. Can drive to site over short distances.....

That compact wheel loader looked like an articulated farm tractor to me.

Then there is this possibility....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5GUF3TFsMwI