Wheel loaders are mobile shovels that transfer material from stockpiles to trucks, characterized by a wide square bucket mounted at the front and used for scooping, lifting, loading and transporting heavy materials and objects around job sites. It can lift rocks, sand, and gravel and crushed earth. The versatile machine consists of an engine, cab, hydraulic and transmission components, a bucket connected to two arms that can move up and down, and wheels or tracks for movement around the work site. A wheel loader engine is set at the back over the rear wheels and serves as a counterweight for the load. Bucket sizes vary from around 1 cubic yard for small utility machines, to 20 cubic yards or more for large models in mining applications. Small and mid-sized wheel loaders frequently have an attachment coupler that allows them to use work tools such as forks, brooms, and lifting jibs. They're widely used in the agriculture sector, mining and forestry industries, where they scoop and move stockpiled loose materials such as earth, sand, debris or building materials for loading onto dump trucks for transportation.
There are two basic varieties of wheel loaders: tyre mounted and track mounted. The tyre mounted loader is the most popular since it provides better speed and mobility and does not cause damage to paved surfaces. On the other hand, the track-mounted loader is preferred on muddy and soft ground since they have better traction as well as work sites with sharp edged materials that would destroy tyres.
Wheel loaders are an extremely reliable, versatile machine that can lift huge masses of construction materials at one time, shovel the ground, and move materials from one place to another with minimal effort. If the job does not require heavy loads then it can be easily done by a compact wheel loader that will just do the work instantly. These machines are compact and lighter than the others and are very convenient for use in small and narrow areas. Their mobility makes them very desirable, as a wheel loader can easily be transported on backs of big trucks.
Wheel loaders are also extremely user-friendly. Manipulating it does not require much training as the controls are very simple to handle. Modern day wheel loaders have a fast walking speed, short working cycle time and high loading efficiency. According to the mine calibration data, the pre-installed speed of the bucket capacity of 5~8m3 can reach over 35km/h, 30~90 times faster than the electric shovel, each working cycle only needs 40~45s, the average production capacity of the shift can reach 3500~4000t, the average labor productivity can be increased by 50%~100%. The wheel loader is also much cheaper than another piece of heavy machinery - the excavator. It has an unparalleled climbing ability and good maneuverability and flexibility, giving it a significant edge over the excavator.
Another huge benefit of the wheel loaders are its removable buckets that can be replaced with other attachments such as a set of forks for lifting of heavy loads or a snowplow for clearing the ground during winter.
While diesel engine bucket loaders have dominated the market for a long time, today, there are fully electric models that come with huge ecological advantages such as lower noise levels, zero carbon emissions and nil soot particle pollution. This makes them suitable for use in inner cities, residential areas and enclosed work sites.
Interested in hiring a wheel loader for your next project? We've rounded up some of our favourite suppliers below.