The inside scoop on compact equipment attachments

Attachments can be a design/build contractor’s best friend. Manufacturers and dealers share the advantages of several different attachments, such as four-in-one buckets, mulching heads and fork tines and how contractors can make the most of them.

Photo: Land Pride

Attachment: Four-in-one buckets

Advantages: “Four-in-one buckets, or combo buckets, are four tools in one. Allowing contractors to dig, drag, doze and clamp, it is more efficient and cost-effective than owning four different tools or swapping tools for different tasks. It saves contractors time and money because they don’t have to invest in multiple tools. They don’t need a dozer, grapple and bucket — one tool will meet all of their needs.” — Dee Warren, marketing manager at Land Pride

Additionally son’t overlook post-hole diggers, power rakes and seeders, says Warren.

“Post-hole diggers are useful not only for footing and fences but for other landscape projects, including tree planting,” he says. “Powered rakes create seed beds for seeding or sod, level and shape soil profiles and windrow rocks and construction debris. Last, and certainly not least, seeders … are great for contractors who are planting grass post-construction.”

Attachment: Mulching heads

Photo: Takeuchi

Advantages: “Design/build contractors can use drum mulchers and disc mulchers to reduce unsightly, overgrown hedges, saplings, underbrush, vines and overhanging limbs. Mulchers can turn these items into varying stages of mulched material. Using a disc mulcher will result in larger, less-refined material, while a drum mulcher will create more finely mulched material. Using a mulching head attachment can also help contractors be more profitable by giving them an additional revenue stream or simply making their land-clearing jobs faster and easier. Contractors need to use the right type of mulcher/tooth/blade combo for the job. For jobs where they are unlikely to come into contact with much rock, use a mulcher equipped with blades. Doing so will work best on lighter material/softer wood. If the job is going to have them in contact with more rock and other hard materials, they would want to have a mulcher equipped with carbide teeth, which handle more difficult mulching applications.” — David Caldwell, national product manager, Takeuchi-US

Caldwell also suggests contractors add grapples to their attachment arsenal.

“Thumbs or grapples on excavators work well for picking and placing materials and can be very handy on hardscape projects,” he says. “Augers are also a valuable attachment for contractors using a compact track loader or a compact excavator. Augers can be used for tasks like fence post installation, tree planting, footing and pile drilling, cement mixing and stump grinding.”

Photo: Caterpillar

Attachment: Fork tines

Advantages: “Pallet fork carriages and forks are used for a variety of material handling needs, such as moving pallet-sized or bulky loads on industrial and construction sites. Pallet fork carriages offer a notched rail-type design, allowing the fork tines to be easily spaced or changed and locked into place. A heavy-duty backrest structure is functional, durable and provides operator protection from shifting loads while offering improved operator visibility to the fork tips.” — Brock Bahr, senior sales support specialist with BDP attachments at Caterpillar