Toolcat Machines Go Above and Beyond

After a devastating windstorm struck Seattle, Wash., last year, two Toolcat™ 5600 utility work machines were called upon to help utility crews with the cleanup efforts. Traveling on roads where other equipment couldn’t, the machines — equipped with Bobcat® grapple attachments — quickly lifted tree limbs and removed them from the roadways.

Utility work machines are changing the way cities work. Although these two machines belong to the City of Lakewood Parks and Recreation Department, the versatile Toolcat 5600s were utilized for emergency response needs. Today, the 5600s are completing tasks previously done with pickups and tractors.

While conducting research about utility vehicles, department employee Jay Anderson says he discovered the Toolcat concept on the Bobcat Web site. Representatives from Bobcat West provided a demonstration, and it wasn’t long before the machine sold itself. “After an hour of using it, we decided that the Toolcat 5600 was what we needed,” Anderson says. “It is more versatile than utility vehicles because of the front-mounted attachment abilities.”

5600 Outperforms Tractors

The parks and recreation department’s tractors are sitting idle more often because of the Toolcat 5600s and attachments. “We put fewer hours on our tractors today because of our Toolcat 5600s,” department employee Stefanie Coleman says. “When you have an attachment on the back, and you’re trying to scoop wet dirt or sand, the tractors are so light, they have a hard time,” she says. “The Toolcat 5600 does a much better job.”

Coleman says an advantage of operating a Toolcat machine instead of a tractor is its compact size and numerous attachments. “We don’t have nearly the attachments for the tractors that we have for the Toolcat machines,” Coleman says. “The 5600s can perform more work than the tractors — they save our backs and save us time.”

One example is sweeping a mile-long trail that surrounds a lake at one of the city’s parks. In the past, Coleman drove a tractor with a turbine-type blower, but she would run into problems when the leaves were wet. “When those leaves get wet, the tractor and blower didn’t stand a chance.” Thanks to the 5600 and angle broom, she can easily sweep the leaves off the trail in a lot less time.

Coleman says a spacious cargo bed in the Toolcat 5600 has been extremely beneficial. “The cargo bed is another key difference between the Toolcat 5600 and tractors,” she says. “There is nowhere to place hand tools or blowers in the tractors. With the Toolcat 5600, I can take whatever I need with me. I’ll place a string trimmer or hand mower in the back, or haul equipment on a trailer.”

When a storm threatened to keep Seattle residents without power, the city called upon a pair of Toolcat 5600s for help. Neither a pickup nor tractor could mount a grapple on the front and lift and carry limbs like the 5600s. It is another reason why the Toolcat concept is catching on so quickly.