Does Skid Steer Attachment Width Need to Match Machine Width?
When choosing a skid steer attachment, one of the most common questions is: Should the attachment be the same width as my skid steer?
Not always.
Matching attachment width to machine width is a good starting point for many attachments, but it is not a universal rule. In some applications, you actually want the attachment slightly wider than the machine. In others, going narrower can make the skid steer considerably more useful.
The right width depends on what the attachment does, where you are working, and whether the attachment needs to cover the machine's tire or track footprint.
Start With the Actual Width of Your Machine
Before choosing an attachment width, determine the actual overall width of your skid steer or compact track loader. Machine width can change with tire size, track width, wheel offset, over the tire tracks, optional undercarriage configurations, and manufacturer configuration.
What matters for attachment selection is usually the machine's actual outside width at the tires or tracks.
When Should an Attachment Be Wider Than the Skid Steer?
Attachments that work directly against the ground often benefit from being at least as wide as the machine because you generally do not want your tires or tracks running outside the area the attachment just worked.
A brush cutter is a perfect example. If your skid steer is 72 inches wide but your brush cutter only cuts a 60 inch path, approximately six inches of machine extends beyond the cutting path on each side. Along a fence, tree line, building, pond edge, or trail, that can prevent you from cutting as close to the edge as expected.
Brush Cutters Are a Great Example
Brush cutter width should be selected using more than acreage and hydraulic flow. Machine width matters too.
72 Inch CID TR1626 Tree Reaper Brush Cutter
72 Inch CID TR1730 Tree Reaper Brush Cutter
72 Inch CID XC3048 X-Treme High Flow Brush Cutter
These are all nominally 72 inch cutters, but width is only one part of compatibility. Hydraulic requirements, attachment weight, machine capacity, vegetation, and intended use still need to be considered.
The CID TR1626 is listed for 16 to 26 GPM, the TR1730 for 17 to 30 GPM, and the XC3048 for 30 to 48 GPM. Two attachments can be the same width and still be intended for very different skid steers.
Grading Attachments Are Another Case Where Coverage Matters
A land leveler is another attachment where covering the machine's footprint can be important. If the leveler is narrower than the skid steer, the tires or tracks can travel outside the graded path and leave marks along the edges.
JST currently carries CID Land Levelers in 60, 72, 78, and 84 inch widths.
Does Wider Always Mean Better?
No. A wider attachment can cover more ground per pass, reach beyond the machine's tires or tracks, improve productivity in open areas, and help work closer to fences and edges.
But wider attachments can also weigh more, require more hydraulic capacity, reduce maneuverability, be harder to use through gates and narrow trails, increase the load in front of the machine, and cost more.
The widest attachment your skid steer can physically connect to is not necessarily the attachment it should operate.
Sometimes a Narrower Attachment Is Better
There are plenty of situations where keeping the attachment narrow is more valuable than maximizing coverage. A wide brush cutter might cover more ground in an open pasture but become frustrating around trees, barns, livestock pens, gates, residential properties, construction sites, and narrow access roads.
Sometimes access determines width before productivity ever enters the discussion.
Grapple Width Works Differently
A grapple does not necessarily need to cover the machine's tracks in the same way a brush cutter or grading attachment does. The grapple's job is primarily to grab and carry material.
The best width is often influenced more by machine size, attachment weight, material being handled, desired capacity, maneuverability, and duty level.
JST's Glacier Extreme Root/Brush Grapple lineup includes 60, 72, 78, 84, and 96 inch models.
60 Inch Glacier Extreme Root/Brush Grapple
72 Inch Glacier Extreme Root/Brush Grapple
78 Inch Glacier Extreme Root/Brush Grapple
84 Inch Glacier Extreme Root/Brush Grapple
96 Inch Glacier Extreme Root/Brush Grapple
If you are handling brush and logs in open areas with a large compact track loader, a wider grapple may be useful. If you are working through timber, gates, and tight ranch roads, the extra width may become a disadvantage.
Buckets Usually Benefit From Covering the Machine
For general dirt work, grading, back dragging, and cleanup, a bucket that covers the tire or track width is generally useful. If the bucket is narrower than the machine, the machine can run over material the bucket did not collect or grade.
But a wider bucket usually means more bucket capacity and potentially more material in every load. That additional material has weight, so width and capacity have to be considered together.
Pallet Fork Width Is a Different Question
Pallet fork selection should focus more on fork tine length, frame width, fork capacity, load width, load center, and machine capacity. The fork frame does not need to match the skid steer's overall width in the same way a brush cutter or bucket might.
Wider Attachments Can Change Machine Stability
Width itself is not necessarily what reduces lifting capacity. The bigger concern is what often comes with additional width: more steel, greater attachment weight, more material capacity, a load positioned farther forward, and a larger moment acting on the loader.
The machine has to carry the attachment and the load.
Do Tracks Need to Stay Inside the Attachment Width?
For ground engaging and surface working attachments, keeping the tracks inside the working width is often beneficial. Examples include brush cutters, buckets, land levelers, soil conditioners, and certain grading attachments.
For carrying attachments such as pallet forks, hay spears, tree booms, trailer spotters, and many grapples, it may matter much less.
Ask whether the attachment is supposed to work the ground underneath the machine's path. If it is, covering the machine's footprint becomes much more important.
Measure Before You Buy
Before selecting attachment width, measure or verify the machine's actual overall width. Then consider the narrowest places where you regularly operate, including gates, barn doors, trails, fence openings, equipment storage areas, trailer width, and other restricted access points.
A few minutes with a tape measure can prevent buying an attachment that makes the machine less useful around your property.
A Simple Rule for Choosing Attachment Width
Instead of asking, “What attachment width goes with my skid steer?”, ask “Does this attachment need to cover my machine's footprint to perform its job?”
If the answer is yes, start around the machine's overall width and consider going slightly wider if the machine can properly handle the attachment.
If the answer is no, choose the width based on the load, working environment, machine capacity, and intended use.
The Bottom Line
Your skid steer attachment does not always need to match the width of your machine.
For attachments such as brush cutters, buckets, land levelers, and other tools that work the surface beneath the machine, covering the tire or track footprint is often desirable.
For attachments such as pallet forks, grapples, hay spears, and material handling tools, matching machine width may be far less important.
The best attachment width balances machine width, attachment function, machine capacity, attachment weight, hydraulic requirements, access, maneuverability, and intended use.
Do not buy a 72 inch attachment simply because your skid steer is approximately 72 inches wide. Choose the width that lets the attachment do its job while keeping the machine useful where you actually work.
Not Sure What Width You Need?
Send JST Attachment Sales your machine make and model, the attachment you are considering, and a little information about where you plan to use it.
We can help compare machine width, hydraulic requirements, attachment weight, and available attachment sizes before you buy.