Photo by Boom & Bucket on Unsplash
When it comes to choosing the most versatile earth-moving equipment, it’s no secret that wheel loaders often top the list. Not only can these machines perform a variety of tasks, but they are also utilised in just about every Australian working industry.
Furthermore, many project managers often opt to include some of the used excavators for sale in their fleet of heavy-duty machinery. Depending on where you work, you may know these versatile machines as skip loaders, scoop loaders or even front-end loaders. Will they work in your industry? Find out.
What is a Wheel Loader?
Essentially, a wheel loader uses an arm to lift and lower a front-mounted bucket to scoop, hold and even transport a variety of materials. Materials moved around may include:
- Sand
- Rubble
- Asphalt and rock
- Timber
- Pulverided materials
Furthermore, these machines are compatible with a variety of accessories that make them more cost-effective. Instead of buying or renting different machines to perform various tasks, simply switch out the front accessories. These can include scoops to pick up, buckets to transport and even auger-type accessories to dig and loosen the ground.
Various Wheel Loader Applications
When you’re considering whether or not you want to invest in a wheel loader for sale, it’s important to compare what you need it for versus the machine’s applications. Essentially, any industry in Australia that works with heavy loads utilises wheel loaders. Here are a few of the more significant applications.
1. Construction
Construction sites are quite possibly the most popular places where you can find wheel loaders. Since they are designed to lift and move materials such as rocks, asphalt and vegetation, they can easily be used to clear an area for construction.
With a variety of different tyres and accessories, these machines are versatile and durable. A project manager simply hires the various accessories needed to get specific jobs done and then swops them out as needed.
2. Waste Management and Recycling
Wheel loaders and the attachments designed to work in the waste management industry can effectively deal with all aspects of recycling. That means they can be used to collect, transport and sort.
In this instance, specialised accessories make them ideal for use in landfills or recycling centres. Having a machine move around large quantities of waste material gets the job done faster and more effectively.
3. Logging and Carpentry
No matter what size timber you’re working with, chances are you can easily move it around with a wheel loader and the right accessories. For the most part, the accessories used are designed to make cutting, lifting and hauling of timber considerably easier.
Additionally, logs and other forms of timber can easily be moved across any types of terrain. That means you won’t have to struggle to get materials moved on wet, uneven surfaces.
4. Warehousing
Warehouses are essentially made up of thousands of pallets containing items of various weights and sizes. These can be extremely difficult to move manually. With the right type of accessories, warehouse staff will be able to easily move pallets and other cargo to where it needs to go. This will also make the loading and unloading processes flow more effortlessly.
5. Steel and Metal Industry
The wheel loaders and attachments needed to work in steel mills take on some of the tougher jobs. In these environments, loaders have to work side by side with other machines in extreme conditions, such as:
- Intense heat
- Various types of dust
- Toxic fumes
In many instances, the loaders and accessories have to undergo heat-proofing or even thermal protection to get the job done.
6. Agriculture
Unlike their human counterparts, wheel loaders can work all day without getting tired. That makes it the ideal option to take on various indoor and outdoor tasks around your farm or agricultural business, where the Australian sun can quickly get the better of you and tire out the labour force.
Wheel loaders are efficient to remove foliage, trees, asphalt and rock from areas where farmers want to create crop fields. By changing the front-end accessories a farmer can also easily transport hay bales or even transport large quantities of feed.
Excellent for Cleaning After Projects
Getting your project done on time is one thing. However, in many industries, before you can hand a site over with a completed project, the area needs to be cleaned. Wheel loaders are excellent for moving construction or agricultural debris. With the scoop and bucket accessories, rubble and debris can simply be scooped up and either driven off-site or loaded onto a truck for quick removal.
Final Thought
Without wheel loaders, workers will have to spend countless hours doing manual digging. They would also most likely be moving the rubble and building material using wheelbarrows.
If you’re a project manager, you know how it can put your timeline under pressure. By using a wheel loader instead, your work will not only get done safely, but in time to meet your deadlines!
