Forklift vs Skid Steer: Selecting the Perfect Equipment for Your Needs
While there are certainly commonalities between skid steers and forklifts, especially in the way they look when attached with forks, there are certain conditions where each type of equipment is more efficient, safe, and practical to use on-site. Typically, skid steers have more versatility and outperform forklifts in earthmoving projects while forklifts have more niche uses and outperform skid steers when handling and lifting materials.
Overview of Forklifts
Forklifts are a type of construction equipment that transports and lifts heavy loads up to a raised height. Commonly used in warehousing, manufacturing, and material handling, these machines are incredibly effective and have a great range of power.
Types of Forklifts and Operating Capacity
Forklifts can be sorted into three main buckets: electric, rough terrain, and heavy-weight forklifts. Electric forklifts are intended for indoor use since they have cushion or solid rubber tires. These non-marking tires have no tread and are only meant for use on concrete, asphalt, and finished surfaces.
Rough terrain forklifts have combustion engines and are intended for outdoor use. They have pneumatic tires, which look like car tires, and have greater lift capacities than indoor models. Their operating capacities, the amount a forklift can lift without toppling over, range from five to six thousand pounds.
Heavy-spec forklifts are the strongest type of forklift. These machines are much larger than other forklift types, so it's important to take note of any restricted spaces on site that the forklift needs to fit through, like gate entrances or personnel doors. Their operating capacities range from 12,000 to 60,000 lbs and their forks can be up to 8' long.
The three categories can be broken down further into counterbalance, side loader, and warehouse forklifts. Lift capacities on all forklift models typically fall into the 4,000 to 60,000 lb range.
Typical Applications
Forklifts can unload, transport, and lift heavy materials onto shelves with ease. That's why they're commonly used in manufacturing, warehousing, and construction projects. They're also used to carry large boulders or transport pallets of construction materials on site. You can even find forklifts performing these same tasks in recycling plants and shipyards.
Attachments and Benefits of Forklift Rental
There are many attachments that enhance forklift functionality. These include fork extensions, booms, pallet pullers, folding forks, buckets, and drum clamps, among others. Fork extensions extend the forklift's tines by a few feet while the tines on a folding fork fold inward so the machine can fit through tight spaces.
A huge benefit of forklifts is their impressive lift capacities. Machines capable of lifting significant loads are usually more costly to rent. Forklift rentals are on average $824 per week. For lifting heavy loads and packaged materials, forklift rentals are a great option.
Overview of Skid Steers
Skid steers are really the "jack of all trades" in heavy equipment. They can dig, transport material, landscape, lift, demolish, and clear snow.
Types of Skid Steers and Operating Capacity
Unlike forklifts, skid steers aren't grouped into clear-cut size categories. Generally, skid steers are compact machines, typically between 3 to 6 feet wide. Mini skid steers, which are only 36'' wide, are the only established sizing class. These skid steers need their own miniature-sized attachments since standard skid steer attachments are too large.
In comparison to other heavy construction equipment, especially forklifts, skid steer models are relatively light. They only range from 2,800 to 11,600 lbs in operating weight. Their operating capacities, which fall into the 760 to 4,200 lb range, are fitting for their smaller stature.
Check out our skid steer spec guide for more operating capacity information.
Typical Applications
There isn't much that a skid steer can't do. Land clearing, material transportation, excavating, grading, snow removal, and dozing are all tasks a skid steer can handle. Because of their size, they excel in residential, smaller earthmoving, and agricultural tasks.
Attachments and Benefits of Skid Steer Rental
Skid steers have a ton of compatible attachments which adds to the list of tasks they can perform. Sweepers, augers, root rakers, grapples, breakers, and brush cutters are among the many skid steer attachments available. These enable skid steers to perform different tasks like grabbing, ripping stumps, and clearing.
Skid steers are also a cost-friendly equipment purchase or rental, particularly for projects with short timelines. They cost between $200 and $600 per day to rent.
Comparing Forklifts and Skid Steers
Lifting Capacity and Height
Maximum fork height is the largest height a forklift can reach. It's measured by the distance between the forks and the ground when the forklift's mast, the vertical shaft that raises the fork, is extended to its maximum.
Some forklift models, like reach forklifts, can reach heights of up to 25'. Standard-sized forklifts can only reach heights between 10' and 15', while smaller models fall into the 6' to 10' category. Skid steers' lift capabilities are slightly lower than standard-sized forklifts. Lifts heights of skid steers typically range from 8'-12'.
The lift patterns on these machines differ greatly. Forklifts can only lift vertically, while skid steers have more range of motion while lifting. The two types of lift that some skid steer models can perform, radial and vertical lift, account for this range. The arms on a radial lift skid steer move from the back to the front of the machine in an arc whereas vertical lift skid steers can lift heavier loads in a vertical motion, similar to a forklift pattern.
In terms of lift capacity, heavy-duty forklifts, which can lift up to 60,000 lbs, are much more capable than skid steers. The lift capacities on smaller, electric forklifts are comparable to skid steers, which can lift between 4,000 and 6,000 lbs.
Generally, skid steers are used to lift raw, loose materials, while forklifts often lift packaged materials like bricks and pallets of merchandise. If you're lifting heavy loads up to high elevations, it's best to choose a forklift.
Maneuverability and Mobility
Because of their compact size, skid steers have great maneuverability. They can navigate busy job sites and fit through tight spaces like gates and narrow pathways. Skid steers also have the unique ability to turn around within the space they occupy, known as a zero-turning radius. This makes them incredibly mobile.
Even though forklifts are heavy machines, they can still be easily driven around a warehouse. For heavy spec models, it's important to be mindful of their width, especially when you need to pass through doorways and other restricted spaces on site. Designed for tight, indoor spaces, forklifts can fit into spaces just as narrow as skid steers.
Access to charging is another mobility consideration with electric forklifts. When renting an electric forklift, you also need to rent the charger that comes with it. Charges only last around three days, so charging access needs to be readily available, which may be an issue on some job sites. These factors tip the scales in favor of skid steers when it comes to mobility.
Terrain and Ground Conditions
Both skid steers and forklifts have a variety of models designed for operation on different ground conditions. Cushion and asphalt tire forklifts have great traction on smooth indoor flooring, concrete, and asphalt parking lots. Pneumatic tire forklifts work well on packed dirt and solid outdoor surfaces. However, forklifts aren't meant to operate on sludgy, muddy, and wet terrain, as their tires will lose traction in these conditions. The ground also needs to be level, otherwise, the forklift will lose stability and tip over.
Skid steers come in two base types: wheeled and tracked. Wheeled skid steers work well on flat, dry surfaces like concrete, while tracked skid steers have great traction in muddy, soft terrain. Offering skid steers in two variations ensures that you have a machine capable of performing in any ground condition.
Even though both machines offer models for different terrain use, it's more common to find a skid steer working outdoors as opposed to a forklift. Skid steers can handle sludgy, rough, and sloped terrain much better than a forklift can.
Operator Comfort and Visibility
Skid steers have sealed cabins with grates covering the side windows, while forklifts tend to have open cabins. Despite the slight restrictions, visibility is much better in a skid steer than in a forklift.
Forklift operators need to be aware of their blind spots while lifting loads. Large loads can block the operator's front view entirely, so they can't see ahead of them at all. Adding cameras to the forklift can provide additional stability. Other than visibility considerations, operator comfort is relatively similar in both machines.
Attachment Versatility
There's a wide selection of attachments that operators can choose from. Forklift attachments enhance lifting capabilities and help the forklift carry organically-shaped items like carpets. Skid steer attachments enhance earthmoving and clearing capabilities, along with bucket capacity.
If you attach a pallet fork attachment to a skid steer, that machine will act as a forklift, resulting in increased lift capacity whilst keeping the benefits of a skid steer. There isn't a forklift attachment that would enable a forklift to dig, so they can't take on any skid steer functionalities. However, even with a fork attachment, skid steers will never be able to lift to the capacity of a forklift.
Guidelines for Selecting the Appropriate Machine
Looking at job requirements and specs is the first place to start when choosing between these two machines. Skid steers may not have the operating capacity to lift the required load. After that, ground conditions are the next factor to consider since forklifts aren't as safe to operate on wet, non-level terrain. It's best to choose a skid steer over a forklift under the following conditions:
- In muddy, wet, or non-packed earth
- When the required lift capacity is no greater than 6,000 lbs
- When digging or earthmoving is required
- When lifting loose, non-contained materials
- When operating on sloped ground
- When lifting loads to lower heights
Choosing the Right Equipment for Your Project
In short, both forklifts and skid steers lift and transport loads from point A to point B. When lifting heavy, packaged loads on stable surfaces up to high elevations, choose a forklift. Whenever you need to excavate small quantities of loose material and lift it up to lower elevations, choose a skid steer.
For your next project, check out DOZR's equipment rental marketplace for forklift and skid steer rentals!
