When snow needs to be cleared quickly from public areas, municipalities and landscape contractors often rely on skid steers with snow removal attachments to efficiently complete the job. However, poor tire traction can slow or halt work, and threaten safety.
Conventional skid steer tires can be prone to slipping or sliding in icy environments or heavy snow. When a skid steer loses road traction in these conditions, the operator can lose control of the vehicle and a collision, accident, or injury can occur.
“Typical skid steer tires, not built for snow and ice, can be up to 14 inches across so tend to stay on the surface, leading to poor traction and safety,” says Jerry Holman, president, SnowWolf Plows, a Minnesota-based manufacturer that offers various snow removal accessories such as snow blowers, plows, and pushers which are compatible with skid steers, compact loaders, wheel loaders, front-end loaders, tractors, and other machinery.
In response, industry innovators have helped to minimize wheel slippage and sliding with skid steer-specific snow tire designs that provide superior traction. The improved traction, in turn, translates into greater safety and productivity when clearing snow from public spaces. Enhanced safety provided by superior tire traction also reduces the risk of accidents and collisions as well as required repairs and maintenance, prolonging the usable life of the vehicle and snow removal attachment.
For example, skid steer specific tires such as WolfPaws by SnowWolf are designed to be narrower to penetrate ice and snow. Depending on the model, WolfPaws are 6.6” to 8.5” wide compared to most skid steer loader tires at 10” to 14” so they can exert nearly double the ground pressure, dramatically improving traction, snow clearing, and safety.
WolfPaws range from 28” to 36” in height and fitments are offered for machines as small as the Bobcat Toolcat, all the way up to the largest of skid steers. Some customers prefer to go with a larger diameter tire than what comes standard on their machine, which gives the added benefit of increasing the skid steers’ travel speed and a greater improvement in productivity.
According to Holman, the skid steer snow tires, which are made in the USA, are not retread and not a truck tire but a completely new tire designed for this one purpose. Due to the unique width and special tread, the snow tires come as a complete package, four tires installed on the correct wheels for your machine and aired up to spec.
“The specialized tread pattern is specifically designed and molded for use with machinery on snow and ice, and many of the models are compatible with carbide studs which you can add as an option. While the snow tires are designed to increase traction, ground pressure and productivity while eliminating sliding, slipping, and spinning in snow, add the carbide stud option will give you incredible traction even on ice” says Holman.
Testing and experience in the field have proven the snow tire design to be effective, and they will improve the productivity of machines. With full confidence in the product, the OEM offers a full refund to dissatisfied customers if returned to the dealer after the first use.
Skid steer tires with snow removal attachments play a key role in maintaining safety on roads and other public areas. However, using standard tires that offer poor traction can compromise snow clearing performance and safety.
As a solution, municipalities and landscape contractors that utilize skid steer snow tires specifically designed to improve traction will not only improve their snow clearing efficiency but also the safety of operators and the public.
about the author
Del Williams is a technical writer based in Torrance, California. To learn more about SnowWolf, visit www.snowwolfplows.com, call (800) 905-2265; or email info@snowwolfplows.com.
