Bobcat loaders are quite popular in the construction industry. They are relatively compact and versatile pieces of machinery, used to scoop soil, rubble and other materials. When a loader's bucket contains material, it can be lifted and deposited into a truck or simply moved to another location.
As of September 2010, Bobcat offers skid-steer loaders, compact track loaders, all-wheel steer loaders and mini-track loaders. On skid-steer loaders, the wheels on each side of the machine are controlled independently to perform turns. Compact track loaders are designed with crawler tracks to reduce ground pressure. All-wheel loaders offer several modes of steering, giving them a high level of maneuverability. In mini-track loaders, the operator controls the machine from a platform behind the machine rather than by sitting in it.
All Bobcat loaders are designed with specific rated operating capacities. The website For Construction Pros defines "rated operating capacity" as the maximum weight that a machine can lift without raising safety concerns. Before attempting to lift any load with a Bobcat loader, the operator should refers to the machine's rated operating capacity to ensure that the load is not too heavy for the equipment to lift safely.