WESTERN PRODUCER —Skid steer loaders and their tracked equivalents have become common in many farm fleets. Although they offer versatility for material handling, they do have a few design drawbacks.
For one thing, operator visibility is restricted on the sides and especially to the rear, which can make avoiding obstacles difficult. Their low ground clearance can lead to problems in soft ground like in muddy corrals. And their slow travel speed makes it necessary to trailer them to locations that aren’t close to the farmyard.
Bobcat recently introduced a machine that has comparable lift capabilities to a top-end skid steer but overcomes those drawbacks. It’s the L95 compact wheel loader.
Jamison Wood, product development specialist at Bobcat, thinks it may be a better choice for many producers.
“Really, the first thing that stands out over a skid steer or compact track loader is the travel speed,” he said. The L95’s top speed of 38 km-h “is almost twice as fast as any skid steer we offer and a little bit more than twice as fast as what our track loaders can do.
“It avoids maybe having to trailer if you’re going to go retrieve bales. It can get across a yard more efficiently if you’re moving feed from one side to the other. In a farm or ranch application, the ground clearance is quite a bit better compared to a skid or track loader.”
The new L95 is the largest in Bobcat’s three-model compact wheel loader line, and it offers 75 horsepower and a 1.2 cubic yard bucket that can hoist a 1,805 kilogram load up to 3.2 metres.
“The improvements to the hydraulic capacity really help the machine perform with powered attachments under extreme loads,” he added.
Hydraulic flow rate is 27 gallons per minute.
he L95 is available with or without an enclosed cab, which can be equipped with a heated air-ride seat to smoothen out machine vibrations. The L95’s automatic ride control helps stabilize the bucket during travel over rough terrain to minimize spillage.
He said operators will find the visibility from the L95’s cab far better than what they could see in a skid steer.
“The other thing is where the operator sits in relation to the machine,” said Wood. “With a skid or track loader, you’re right on top of the bucket limiting your visibility when dumping into something like a feed wagon. With a wheel loader, the operator sits elevated with better visibility. You have a full glass cab all the way around you.”
A five-inch display screen inside the cab makes it possible to include an optional rear-view camera for more rear visibility. The L95 can connect with standard Bobcat attachments.
“We do have our power Bob-Tach design system on this,” said Wood. “So from the operator seat you can open and close the Bob-Tach lever. If you’re using non-hydraulic powered attachments, you don’t even have to get out of the cab.”
Bobcat’s in-house turbo diesel engine mates to a two-range hydrostatic transmission for smooth speed changes, but drivers must come to a complete stop before changing to high or low. A telematic package is available.
“We have multiple packages depending on what a customer is looking to get out of their telematics,” Wood said.
“We are open for orders and hoping to get product on the ground to our dealers late this year or early next year. Our base L95 starts at around US$100,00 and then our deluxe cab is about a $13,000 up charge.”
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