{ "type": "article-standard", "settings": {}, "author": "Simon Blackburn", "blog_id": "", "body_html": "", "created_at": "14.10.2022", "content": "<p>Just to refresh your memories or if you missed our other blogs, let’s quickly confirm exactly what we’re talking about here. A skid steer is a piece of machinery utilised often in construction, landscaping and agriculture for digging. They’re easy to manoeuvre as they’re light and small - however, their name is due to their difficulty to turn.</p> <p>Whether the machine has wheels or tracks, it just won’t turn. The only way to turn the machine is to increase speed on one side so the wheels or tracks skid, hence skid steer. Note: many know skid steers as bobcats, but bobcat is just a brand name!</p> <h4><strong>What are Skid Steers used for? </strong></h4> <p>There is a lot you can do with a skid steer! As mentioned earlier, the common use of skid steers is digging, but it’s great for all earthmoving tasks, including excavating and trenching. With the right attachments, skid steers can be useful for a whole list of activities, including;</p> <ul> <li>Roadwork</li> <li>Mowing</li> <li>Loading</li> <li>Grading </li> <li>Debris removal</li> <li>Demolition</li> </ul> <h4><strong>Do the hours on a Skid Steer matter?</strong></h4> <p>Simply put, yes, they do. It’s important to consider how many hours a skid steer has when purchasing or trading. The best way to explain this is to compare it to kilometres on a car. If you’re buying a second-hand car, you’ll assess how many kilometres the cars done. A car with 200,000 kilometres is less appealing than a car with 10,000 kilometres as the first car has been used more and therefore may have higher levels of wear and tear. However, it’s important to consider a few factors when looking at the kilometre’s on a car, or the hours on a skid steer to figure out how many hours is too many, so let’s get into the details a little more.</p> <h4>What is considered high hours on a Skid Steer?</h4> <p>It’d be fabulous if I could give you just one number, and anything above that is considered too high, but unfortunately, it’s a little more complicated than that.</p> <p>Firstly, it depends on the upkeep and maintenance the owner has performed on the machine and the size of the skid steer. You can assume that most small machines over 2,000 hours are getting up there. At the same time, you can extend that to 3,500 hours for larger machines. That’s not to say that skid steers with these kinds of hours are to be completely avoided, as you need to assess the specific machine itself! There is a rule of thumb for machines needing engine overhauls:</p> <ul> <li>80 horsepower machines won’t need an engine overhaul until passed 8,000 hours</li> <li>40 horsepower machines will need an overhaul around 4,000 hours</li> </ul> <p>So, you can feel safe under these numbers, depending on the condition of the machine that it’ll have some life still in it!</p> <p>A good thing to note when comparing machines is that older machines with fewer hours are normally better than newer machines with more hours. This is because the newer skid steers were worked a lot in a short period of time compared to the older machines meaning the wear and tear on the newer machines will be greater than the latter.</p> <h5 class="hr-2"><strong>Sources</strong></h5> <p><a href="http://info.texasfinaldrive.com/shop-talk-blog/tips-for-purchasing-a-used-skid-steer-plus-6-walkaround-tips">http://info.texasfinaldrive.com/shop-talk-blog/tips-for-purchasing-a-used-skid-steer-plus-6-walkaround-tips</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.hopenn.com/blog/things-you-can-do-with-a-skid-steer-skid-steer-applications/#what-can-you-do">https://www.hopenn.com/blog/things-you-can-do-with-a-skid-steer-skid-steer-applications/#what-can-you-do</a></p>", "excerpt": "<meta charset="utf-8"><span>It’d be fabulous if I could give you just one number, and anything above that is considered too high, but unfortunately, it’s a little more complicated than that.</span>", "excerpt_or_content": "<meta charset="utf-8"><span>It’d be fabulous if I could give you just one number, and anything above that is considered too high, but unfortunately, it’s a little more complicated than that.</span>", "handle": "the-himac-herald/what-is-considered-high-hours-for-a-skid-steer", "id": "559248933046", "image": { "alt": "What Is Considered High Hours for a Skid Steer?", "src": "//himac.com.au/cdn/shop/articles/himac-attachments-blog-what-is-considered-high-hours-for-a-skid-steer_1x1.jpg?v=1666749852" }, "published_at": "28.01.2022", "summary_html": "", "tags": [ "construction equipment", "earthmoving equipment", "maintenance", "purchasing equipment", "skid steer" ], "template_suffix": "", "title": "What Is Considered High Hours for a Skid Steer?", "updated_at": "2022-10-26 10:04:12 +0800", "user_id": "", "next_article": "", "previous_article": "" }