Utility vehicles and utility work machines are evolving with increased expectations

The Bobcat 2300 utility vehicle features the one-of-a-kind RapidLink attachment mounting system that decreases hand labor on a variety of tasks.

After a thunderstorm, a farmer discovers that a tree has fallen on a fence in an area not accessible by road. At a university, a buildings and grounds crew needs to transport chairs to the main campus lawn for graduation. On a new road construction project, stakes and ropes need to be placed to show the paving crew where to place the pavement, but the new roadway is more than two miles long. At a retail landscape facility, a customer wants to choose a tree to purchase and also plans to buy mulch.

In all of these scenarios, people, tools and materials need to be transported. While pickup trucks are jobsite staples, they are often too big or unable to access most work areas, such as the farmland not accessible by road or the retail landscape facility, or may harm the area they need to access, such as the university campus lawn or the new road construction project. Other types of compact equipment, such as skid-steer loaders, are good at performing tasks, but can only transport one person — the operator — and are not as good at transporting tools.

While there are values to having pickup trucks and skid-steer loaders on jobsites, there are many benefits to having a utility vehicle or utility work machine to assist with the tasks listed above, as well as hundreds of other jobs performed in agriculture, buildings and grounds, construction and landscaping markets. A utility vehicle can easily transport up to four people in the cab, depending on the model. Tools and materials needed to perform each of the tasks listed above can be put in the utility vehicle’s cargo box. The utility work machine is able to assist with tasks through the use of more than 40 front-mounted attachments. Bobcat offers two models of utility work machines. Both carry two people and one has a cargo box capacity similar to a half-ton pickup truck while the other model has a rear three-point implement hitch.

Utility vehicles

In addition to their use in agriculture, buildings and grounds, construction and landscaping, utility vehicles are also valuable in mining and personal use applications. Miners need a rugged piece of equipment to move employees and their tools, and many in the personal use market — including ranchers, hobby farmers and homeowners with acreage — need a utility vehicle because it is able to carry and tow more weight than an all-terrain vehicle.

A typical utility vehicle weighs 1,500 pounds, can carry up to 1,200 pounds of cargo and travels up to 25 miles per hour. There are different configurations of utility vehicles, from two- or four-wheel-drive two-passenger models, to four-wheel-drive four-passenger models.

A popular option on utility vehicles is a camouflage decal scheme. “Utility vehicles are machines that are used all week long,” says Rob Gilles, marketing manager for Bobcat Company. “Many contractors use the machines on their jobs during the week and then take the machines home during the weekend and use them while hunting or performing maintenance or improvement tasks on their property.”

Manufacturers offer a number of winch accessory kits and front and rear receiver hitch kits that allow push, pull and lift attachments to be used on utility vehicles. The most popular attachments are snow blades and mowers. While a homeowner might use a snow blade to clear off his or her driveway, a landscape company that removes snow in the winter can use the same attachment on the utility vehicle to make money by clearing snow from sidewalks. A university might use a mower on a utility vehicle instead of purchasing a lawn mower, which is dedicated to performing only that task. A dedicated lawn mower can only work during certain seasons, while the university could use a mower and snow blade on a utility vehicle and work year-round. “The more tasks one machine can accomplish means less is spent on buying many types of equipment,” says Gilles.

The front and rear receiver hitches aren’t the only places where attachments can be used. Gilles says that many owners of utility vehicles don’t know that the cargo box is an area of the machine that can be used in a number of ways. Bobcat manufactures a 50-gallon sprayer attachment that fits in the cargo box. This sprayer has a 10-foot spring-loaded lift for covering large areas and a spray wand for spot spraying in small areas.

Push, pull and lift attachments on utility vehicles have limitations in the amount of strength they can provide. Several thousand pounds of rock or dirt cannot be lifted with a winch-mounted bucket attachment. The demand by equipment owners to have their machines perform as many tasks as possible led Bobcat to introduce the RapidLink™ attachment system on the 2300 utility vehicle.

The RapidLink attachment system is a lift arm on the front of the 2300 that can lift up to 500 pounds as high as 2 feet. Five specially designed attachments, including a bucket, mower, pallet fork, snow blade and push broom can be used on the RapidLink attachment system to make the utility vehicle into an even more versatile tool.

Many users may need to switch between these attachments. For instance, a landscape company that provides maintenance services may mow a client’s lawn and then need to sweep the lawn clippings off a sidewalk. Using the joystick control of the RapidLink attachment system, the operator can connect the attachment onto the lift arm.

When the RapidLink attachment system does not need to be used, the lift arm and mechanism can be easily removed by a single person, with no tools required. The lift arm cylinder and hydraulic lines can be stored on the front of the utility vehicle so they are out of the way when traveling over rugged terrain.

Utility vehicle operation tips

One of the reasons utility vehicles are popular is because they are easy to operate. The steering wheel and accelerator and braking foot pedals make operating a utility vehicle similar to driving a car. However, just because the controls are familiar doesn’t mean that operators shouldn’t be trained to properly use the machine. “Training on the proper way to use a piece of equipment is important for anyone, no matter what type of equipment,” says Gilles.

The first thing Gilles recommends utility vehicle operators and passengers do is wear their seat belts. Wearing the seat belt while riding on a utility vehicle should be as automatic as wearing a seat belt in a car or pickup truck.

Along these lines, people should be transported only in the cab of utility vehicles, never in the cargo box. “Utility vehicles are able to move quickly,” says Gilles. “Make more than one trip to transport people if you have to.”

For many utility vehicle operators who place an attachment on the 2300 utility vehicle for the first time, safety becomes a greater concern. Utility vehicle owners should always be aware of what’s around them when driving or operating the machine with an attachment. And as always, they should familiarize themselves with vehicle and attachment owner’s manuals.

Utility vehicles in use

After purchasing seven acres of land outside of suburban St. Louis, Mo., Bob Amelung and his wife knew they would need a machine to help them take care of the property and their horses. Amelung considered utility tractors with front-end loaders and zero-turn radius lawn mowers, but neither machine seemed to be able to handle all the tasks he had in mind. At a tradeshow, Amelung saw the Bobcat® 2300 utility vehicle with the RapidLink attachment system, and knew the machine would meet his needs.

Amelung’s local Bobcat dealer provided him with a 2300 to try, and after 10 hours of use, he told the dealer he would purchase the machine, along with a bucket, mower, pallet fork and snow blade attachments.

Trees on the property were cut down to prepare the area for horses. Amelung used the pallet fork attachment to clear away firewood from the cut trees. “The 2300 has met all of my expectations for working in rough terrain clearing wooded areas for pasture,” says Amelung. “It goes into areas where I couldn’t get a pickup truck.”

He used the bucket to spread rocks in the paddock and around the stable, spreading almost 35 tons of rock with the machine. Amelung uses the mower to cut grass in his four acres of pasture and in his yard around his home. The utility vehicle easily moves around areas of the pasture with closely-spaced trees. “I wouldn’t have been able to maneuver around the trees with a tractor and mower unit,” says Amelung. “With this machine, I was able to save trees that provide shade for the horses.”

In the winter months, Amelung uses the snow blade to clear his driveway and other paved areas and the pallet fork to carry pallets of salt to melt the ice. Amelung uses the cargo box to haul hay, tree limbs and other debris and says he likes the fact that he can dump with the cargo box because it prevents him from having to handle material twice.

Amelung is one of thousands of utility vehicle users who have found that they can use every part of the machine during every part of the year.

Toolcat™ utility work machines

Utility vehicles were once thought of as “recreational” machines, simply transporting people and materials. The transition of this type of equipment into a vehicle that performs work is continuing to evolve. Bobcat is leading the charge, and the company’s one-of-a-kind Toolcat™ utility work machines are the next step in that evolution.

The utility work machine combines the features of a pickup truck, loader, compact tractor, utility vehicle and attachment carrier into one machine.

Like a pickup truck, the utility work machine has a cab capable of carrying two passengers and a rear hitch for towing trailers. The Toolcat 5600 also has a cargo box for transporting tools and materials, with a capacity similar to half-ton trucks. But the utility work machine accomplishes more than a truck. The cargo box has a hydraulic dump so that materials can easily be unloaded. The Toolcat is also capable of all-wheel steer, making the turning radius tighter than that of a pickup truck. The utility work machine can more easily move around obstacles or in confined areas than pickup trucks, compact tractors or utility vehicles. When the utility work machine turns, the all-wheel steer protects established turf from damage when working on grass and reduces tire wear when the machine is working on concrete or asphalt. The lighter weight of the utility work machine compared to most pickup trucks means that the utility work machine will not disturb sensitive areas of work sites.

The Toolcat 5610 utility work machine, a Bobcat exclusive, allows an operator to use two attachments at the same time, decreasing the time it takes to complete many tasks.

A loader lift arm on the front of the machine has a rated operating capacity (ROC) of 1,500 pounds, which is comparable to the ROC of small compact loaders. This lift arm has a lift height of 6.5 feet for dumping or placing materials.

More than 40 attachments can be used on the utility work machine lift arm, making it more versatile than a compact loader. These attachments include an auger for digging holes for new fence posts; a grapple for moving brush, broken concrete or other jobsite trash; a mower for cutting grass in large areas; and a snowblower for clearing snow, among many others.

Just like the utility vehicle, the cargo box on the Toolcat 5600 is also a place where operators can use attachments. Using a lift arm attachment and an attachment in the cargo box at the same time makes the utility work machine a time- and labor-saving machine. For instance, in the winter, a snow blade can be placed on the front of the machine to clear snow and spreader can be placed in the cargo box to spread salt or sand. The utility work machine performs two tasks in one pass, without having to stop and change attachments.

Bobcat has just released a new utility work machine model, the Toolcat 5610, that takes the concept of using two attachments at the same time to the next level. Instead of a rear cargo box, the Toolcat 5610 can be outfitted with an optional three-point hitch and power take off (PTO) drive. This three-point hitch accepts implements commonly used on compact tractors. As long as one of the attachments is not hydraulically driven, two attachments may be used at the same time.

Bobcat has also made the Power Bob-Tach™ attachment mounting system an option on utility work machines. This system allows the operator to change between nonhydraulic attachments on the front lift arm without leaving the cab.

Utility work machine operation tips

“Becoming familiar with the operator’s manual is the first thing anyone should do before working with the utility work machine,” says Gilles. The operator’s manual will clearly explain the differences between the various load capacities of the utility work machine. Understanding these load capacities will help the operator use the machine to its fullest potential.

As mentioned previously, the ROC of the utility work machine loader is 1,500 pounds. The maximum cargo box capacity of the Toolcat 5600 is 2,000 pounds. The Toolcat 5610 does not have a cargo box. Instead, if the Toolcat 5610 has a three-point hitch, it will accept and is able to use Category 1 implements up to 1,775 pounds.

These load capacities need to be kept in mind to determine two additional load capacities. The first is the machine rated capacity, which is 2,200 pounds for both the Toolcat 5600 and 5610. The machine rated capacity is the combined weight of the load on the front lift arm, the weight of the operator and passenger and the weight in the cargo box or the weight of the three-point implement. If there is a load of 800 pounds on the front lift arm, the operator weighs 200 pounds, and the load in the cargo box or the three-point implement weighs 1,200 pounds, then a total of 2,200 pounds has been placed on the machine and it is safe to operate. The utility work machine should not be used if any combination of front lift arm, operator and passenger and cargo box or three-point implement weights exceed 2,200 pounds.

The final load capacity to keep in mind is similar to the machine rated capacity. The total rated capacity of the utility work machine is 4,200 pounds. This is the combined weight of the front lift arm, operator and passenger, load in the cargo box and the tow weight that the utility work machine can handle. Because the Toolcat 5610 does not have a cargo box and a three-point implement cannot be used while towing, the total rated capacity for this model is the weight of the front lift arm, operator and passenger and tow weight. If there is no weight on the front lift arm, the combined weight of the operator and passenger is 400 pounds, there is no weight in the cargo box or no three-point implement, and the tow weight is 3,800 pounds, a combined weight of 4,200 pounds is in use.

Utility work machines in use

The grounds maintenance crew at the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio, used to try to turn dedicated summertime equipment into machines that could also work in the winter, with little success. “We had lawn mowing-type machines that we would convert into wintertime snow removal units with plows, brooms and cabs,” says Mike Young, grounds manager at the University of Toledo. “That equipment wasn’t designed for sidewalk snow removal.”

Not only was the crew trying to get equipment to perform a task it wasn’t designed to do, mechanics were spending a lot of time switching the equipment from one season to another. In the Midwestern spring, where the grass might need to be mowed one week and snow cleared the next, constantly changing the equipment between tasks was time consuming.

A new solution was needed to keep up with a growing campus. The university now serves nearly 20,000 students. “The number of buildings, sidewalks, parking lots — in fact, the entire area — has increased by about 30 percent the last 8 years,” says Young.

To more efficiently meet these challenges, the university purchased four Toolcat 5600 utility work machines. Young’s staff of 14 use the machines year-round in dozens of grounds maintenance projects, from hauling mulch to picking up trash. The utility work machines also make it easier for Young’s staff to move around the 600-acre campus. “We are always finding new jobs for these machines,” says Young.

A majority of the school year takes place over the winter months. Clearing snow so faculty and students can get to class is a priority. There are 25 miles of sidewalks on campus that need to be cleared of snow. If the snow is deep, the operators switch to snowblowers. In addition to clearing sidewalks, the utility work machines and snowblower attachments throw snow over the sides of each level of two campus parking structures.

“The utility work machines allow us to work smarter and more efficiently. The person sitting behind the wheel is now more productive,” says Young. “With the 5600s we can accomplish a lot of work in a short amount of time. Regardless of the season or the job, we are definitely doing more work with less equipment.”

Doing more with less is how utility vehicles and utility work machines are evolving to meet increased user demands. When one machine can perform more tasks, less time is spent doing the work and less money is spent purchasing multiple pieces of equipment. Equipment owners — whether they are on university campuses, construction jobsites or working on personal property over the weekend — are demanding that their machines make them more productive and more profitable. Utility vehicle and utility work machine design continues to change to keep up with that demand.