A posi-track loader is a compact track loader that swaps a skid steer’s wheels for a suspended rubber track undercarriage, trading a little speed on hard ground for extra traction, flotation and stability on soft or uneven sites. Quotor lists posi-track loaders as a distinct category from wheeled skid steers, and this guide covers how the machine works, what attachments and applications it suits, and what to check before booking posi-track loader hire.
Understanding Posi-Track Loaders
What Is a Posi-Track Loader?
The name comes from Posi-Track, the patented undercarriage system that pioneered rubber tracked compact loaders. It has since become a general term in Australia for any compact track loader, sometimes written posi track without the hyphen and also known as tracked skid steers or posi-track skid steers, covering machines from Bobcat, CASE, Caterpillar and ASV alongside wheeled skid steers in the broader loader family. The defining difference from other loaders is the patented posi-track undercarriage: a skid steer chassis built to run on tracks instead of tyres, using the same skid-steering principle, where each side is driven independently to turn the machine, but suited to ground a wheeled machine would struggle to cross.
How Posi-Track Loaders Work
Instead of wheels, the machine runs on a rubber track undercarriage built from a series of roller wheels and a drive sprocket, an arrangement often called posi-track undercarriage technology. Posi-track loaders use an internal positive drive, where independent drive motors turn sprockets that engage the drive lugs on the inside of the rubber tracks. This delivers power straight to the ground instead of losing it to wheel slip, and conserves engine power for the hydraulics. A suspended, torsion-mounted frame lets the track flex over obstacles while keeping the track on the ground, for a smoother ride than a rigid axle. Wear on the drive sprocket teeth and track lugs is normal maintenance over the undercarriage’s life. Operating a posi-track loader feels much like operating a skid steer: joystick controls, hydraulic quick-hitch attachments and the same skid-steering technique, delivered through tracks instead of tyres.
Posi-Track vs Skid Steer Loader
The choice between the two comes down to ground conditions. On hard, flat or paved surfaces, a wheeled skid steer is faster, cheaper to hire and turns tighter within its own footprint. On soft, wet or uneven ground, a posi-track loader holds traction and stability that a wheeled machine cannot match, at the cost of a slower top speed and higher hire and maintenance costs from track wear. Our guide to skid steer loaders covers the wheeled side of that trade-off in more detail.
| Factor | Posi-Track Loader | Wheeled Skid Steer |
|---|---|---|
| Traction on soft or wet ground | Better | Weaker |
| Speed on hard, flat surfaces | Slower | Faster |
| Ground disturbance | Lower | Higher |
| Turning radius | Slightly wider | Tightest, near zero-turn |
| Hire and maintenance cost | Higher, due to track wear | Lower |
| Resale value retention | Generally stronger | Generally weaker |
Posi-Track vs Mini Loader
A posi-track loader and a mini loader both run on tracks or wheels and share some attachments, but they sit at different ends of the compact loader range. Mini loaders are lighter, narrower, walk-behind or stand-on machines built to fit through a standard gate and work in confined residential sites. Posi-track loaders are larger, ride-on machines closer in scale and lift capacity to a skid steer, better suited to bigger volumes of material and heavier attachment work.
Posi-Track Attachments
Buckets
General-purpose and mud buckets are the most common attachment, used for loading, backfilling and moving material on almost every job a posi-track loader tackles. Bucket width and capacity are matched to the machine’s operating capacity, so a supplier can help size the right bucket for the load.
Forks
Pallet forks turn the loader into a compact forklift for shifting pavers, turf rolls, bagged materials or landscaping supplies around a site, particularly where a full-size forklift can’t get close.
Augers
Auger attachments drill post holes for fencing, decking or tree planting, with interchangeable bits sized to the job rather than needing a separate machine for each hole diameter.
Trenchers
A trencher attachment cuts narrow trenches for irrigation, drainage or cabling faster than hand digging, and suits sites where a full-size trenching machine would be overkill.
Grapples and Other Attachments
Grapples handle bulky, irregular material such as branches, rubble or scrap that a bucket can’t hold securely, while brooms, rippers and levelling blades extend the machine further for site cleanup, ground preparation and finishing work.
Posi-Track Applications
Construction and Earthmoving
On construction and earthmoving sites, posi-track loaders handle material movement, backfilling and site clean-up in ground conditions too soft or rutted for a wheeled loader, without needing a full-size excavator or wheel loader for smaller tasks.
Landscaping
Landscapers favour posi-track loaders for their low ground disturbance, spreading soil, mulch and turf across finished lawns and garden beds without leaving ruts that a heavier wheeled machine would cause.
Agriculture
On farms, posi-track loaders move feed, clear yards and handle general material work across paddocks that stay wet or soft for much of the year, where traction matters more than travel speed.
Site Preparation
Before construction begins, posi-track loaders grade, level and clear vegetation from a site, working ground that hasn’t been compacted yet and would bog a wheeled skid steer down.
Demolition and Cleanup
After a demolition, posi-track loaders load debris, sort material and clear a site, with a grapple or bucket attachment handling most of the load-out work.
Benefits and Limitations of Posi-Track Loaders
Traction on Soft Ground
The undercarriage’s wide rubber track spans a large ground contact area and gives better traction than wheels, keeping the machine moving where a wheeled loader would spin out or sink. This is the main reason posi-track loaders exist as a category distinct from skid steers.
Low Ground Pressure
The roller wheels distribute weight evenly across the track’s length rather than concentrating it on a tyre’s footprint, reducing ground pressure and increasing traction. This lowers the risk of rutting on wet lawns, crops or freshly graded ground.
Stability and Manoeuvrability
A lower centre of gravity and wider track footprint give posi-track loaders better stability on slopes and uneven ground than a wheeled skid steer, though the trade-off is a wider turning circle at low speed.
Higher Undercarriage Wear and Cost
Tracks wear faster than tyres, particularly on hard or abrasive surfaces. When it’s time to replace a worn track, the cost generally exceeds a set of skid steer tyres, which is part of why hire rates for a posi-track loader often run higher than an equivalent wheeled model.
Choosing the Right Posi-Track Loader
Operating Capacity and Machine Size
Posi-track loaders span a wide size range, from small machines suited to residential and landscaping jobs up to large, high-flow models built for heavier attachment work and higher-volume material handling. Matching machine size and lift capacity to the job, rather than defaulting to the biggest unit available, keeps hire costs down. For jobs smaller than this range suits, a mini loader is often the better fit.
Ground Conditions
Ground conditions are usually the deciding factor between a posi-track loader and a wheeled skid steer. Wet, sandy, muddy or freshly turned ground favours tracks, while hard, dry or paved sites favour wheels. Our skid steer vs posi-track comparison breaks this down by specific site type.
Site Access
Check gate widths, overhead clearance and any transport restrictions before booking, since posi-track loaders are wider and heavier than a mini loader and need a suitable trailer and tow vehicle to get to site.
Attachment Requirements
Confirm which attachments the job needs before hiring, since not every supplier stocks every attachment for every machine size. Many attachments are shared with skid steer loaders, so availability is often good across both machine types.
Posi-Track Hire
When to Hire a Posi-Track Loader
Hire a posi-track loader whenever a job involves soft, wet or uneven ground that would bog a wheeled machine, or when a site needs low ground disturbance, such as a finished lawn or crop. For short jobs on hard, dry ground, a wheeled skid steer is usually the cheaper and faster option.
Factors to Consider When Hiring
Beyond machine size and attachments, check whether the job needs dry hire, machine only, or wet hire, with an operator included, the same wet and dry distinction that applies across most plant hire in Australia. On commercial sites, the operator is generally expected to demonstrate competency for the machine and task, which may be supported by relevant training, experience or a site-based verification of competency.
Posi-Track Hire Costs
Hire rates vary with machine size, attachment needs and whether wet or dry hire is chosen, so a single daily rate isn’t meaningful across the full range of posi-track loaders on the market. Quotor compares available suppliers and current pricing across the full range of loaders, so owners and operators can weigh options against budget and site conditions before booking.