Wheel loaders, also known as front end loaders or bucket loaders,areused primarily for material handling, digging, road building, site preparation and load-and-carry. The earliest versions were actually small agricultural tractors outfitted with a loader bucket to transport light materials. Over time these machines evolved, first as rigid frame wheel loaders in the late 1930s, then to articulated wheel loaders in the 1940s.
Wheel loaders, also known as front end loaders or bucket loaders,areused primarily for material handling, digging, road building, site preparation and load-and-carry. The earliest versions were actually small agricultural tractors outfitted with a loader bucket to transport light materials. Over time these machines evolved, first as rigid frame wheel loaders in the late 1930s, then to articulated wheel loaders in the 1940s.
As wheel loaders increased in size, safety concerns arose, particularly concerning the positioning of the loader pivot arm. These concerns ledto the adoption of a front mounted pivot in the late 1950s. Hough was one of the first manufacturers to produce a wheel loader with a safer design, followed quickly by Caterpillar, Case and Allis-Chalmers.
Today's wheel loaders are comprised of a pivoted frame with the engine mounted over the rear wheels. A cab or canopy rests over the frame. The machine's pivot arrangement gives the wheel loader the ability to work in small turning circles.
Construction Equipment Guide's Used Wheel Loaders for Sale page includes links from more than 50 manufacturers, including Case, Caterpillar, Hyundai, John Deere, Kawasaki, Komatsu, Liebherr, Volvo and many more.
Wheel Loaders News and New Products
Fri September 01, 2017
Strategy Improves Total Operation for Britton Industries
Family-owned and operated Britton Industries, a producer of natural and dyed mulches, screened topsoil, leaf compost and aggregate products, has been servicing the landscaping and construction markets of central New Jersey and southern Pennsylvania for more than 28 years....
Thu July 12, 2018
Mecalac Group Takes Over Pichon Brand Production of Compact Wheel Loaders
The Mecalac Group, specialists in design, manufacture and distribution of construction equipment and based in Annecy, Haute-Savoie (France), will take over production of a range of compact wheel loaders, currently being manufactured by the French company Pichon, starting on Jan....
Fri July 06, 2018
Kubota R630 Wheel Loader Features Four Operating Modes
Kubota's R530 and R630 wheel loaders offer visibility, high power and productivity in a compact loader. Standard 4-wheel drive, 100 percent on-demand differential lock and rear frame oscillation provide increased traction, ride and stability on both Kubota R Series models, according to the manufacturer....
Fri June 29, 2018
International Paper's Cat 990H Reaches Big Milestone
Willie Keen is responsible for everything with wheels as the mobile equipment owner and manager of International Paper in Oglethorpe, Ga. He has been with the company, which is one of the world's leading producers of fiber-based packaging, pulp and paper, for 38 years....
Fri June 29, 2018
Wheel Loader Design Involves Nuanced Advances Over Time
It's blisteringly hot outside, dust and dirt is flying all around and noise is hammering your eardrums. Such is the environment at a typical construction site in the warmer months, particularly a big job requiring a lot of earthmoving; highway projects and manufacturing plants are perfect examples....
Thu June 28, 2018
Komatsu America Introduces WA480-8 Wheel Loader
Komatsu America Corp. announced the introduction of the new WA480-8 wheel loader. Equipped with an EPA Tier IV Final certified emissions regulations-compliant engine, this latest addition to the wheel loader family combines higher production with lower fuel costs, improved operator comfort and enhanced serviceability, according to the manufacturer....
Wed June 27, 2018
Volvo, LEGO Technic Team Up With Children to Create Wheel Loader of the Future
Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) and LEGO Technic construction toys have joined creative forces with a team of children to design a futuristic, autonomous construction machine. The result: The LEGO Technic Volvo Concept Wheel Loader ZEUX set, scheduled for release in toy stores in August 2018, and the digital prototype for a real-world autonomous machine....
Mon June 25, 2018
Five Star Hosts Dolomite Products at Deere Gold Key Tour
Five Star Equipment recently hosted Dolomite Products of Walworth, N.Y., at the John Deere Davenport Works Gold Key Tour in Davenport, Iowa. Dolomite Products is the first Five Star Equipment customer to purchase the John Deere 944K hybrid wheel loader, the largest wheel loader in the Deere fleet....
Thu May 24, 2018
Video: Hitachi Loaders America Introduces New Hitachi Wheel Loaders
Hitachi Construction Machinery Loaders America Inc. (Hitachi Loaders America) introduced the new Hitachi wheel loaders to their dealer network during a three-day Dealer Meeting, “Premiere at Lanier,” held at Lake Lanier Islands in North Georgia....
Wed May 16, 2018
Doosan Introduces DL280-5 Wheel Loader with Optional Guarding Package
Doosan Infracore North America LLC has extended its wheel loader lineup with the DL280-5 wheel loader. The DL280-5 is part of the popular category of 3- to 4-cu. yd. wheel loaders. The Doosan DL280-5 is designed to provide operators with enhanced performance and comfort as well as increased uptime protection when working in general construction, scrap and waste-handling applications, according to the manufacturer....
Fri May 04, 2018
A New Generation Transmission for Wheel Loaders to be Launched by Liuzhou ZF Machinery
On April 23, 2018, Chairman Zeng Guang'an of LiuGong Group presided over a BOD meeting at Liuzhou ZF Machinery Co., Ltd (LZZF), a JV of Guangxi Liugong Machinery Co. and ZF Friedrichshafen AG, in which the 2 sides signed an agreement to confirm the manufacture of a new generation transmission of the BP230....
