Why did Tier 4 Final have so much impact on skid steers? Three reasons. First, emissions standards for machines less than 75 horsepower are different than the standards for those with 75 horsepower and above. Skid steer models fall on both sides of this rating.
Second, skid steer customers are price sensitive, and Tier 4 Final machines cost significantly more than their predecessors. The cost of compliance (and resulting percent of increase in total machine cost) can vary significantly on either side of the 75-horsepower break. However, the difference is still substantial for any Tier 4 Final machine when compared to an earlier model of the same power rating.
Third, skid steers have a small form factor, and Tier 4 Final compliance requires stuffing additional hardware into an already-crowded envelope. Customers complain about service access on skid steers as it is. How can you add more components, while also maintaining access and the small overall size that makes skid steers so versatile?
In theory, all skid steers should now be Tier 4 Final compliant (see sidebar for timelines). In reality, they aren’t. Because of the stringency of the Tier 4 Final emissions standards, the EPA created the Transition Program for Equipment Manufacturers (TPEM) to allow OEMs more time to develop and produce Tier 4 Final compliant machines. There are rigorous guidelines for applying these “flex credits,” and not all OEMs opted to use them.
Wacker Neuson had no skid steers until launching two models (and two compact track loaders) in late 2014. These machines were designed, from the outset, to be Tier 4 Final compliant. “If you took off the drive systems and ignored the lift type, all four machines would be identical,” says Brent Coffey, loader product manager for Wacker Neuson. So, both of the company’s skid steer loaders are in full compliance with Tier 4 Final.
At the other end is IHI, also with two skid steers, neither of which will meet Tier 4 Final standards until late 2017. In the meantime, IHI is relying on the small volume allowance provision of TPEM, by which OEMs can produce and sell a limited number of non-compliant machines – for now. When IHI transitions to Tier 4 Final, they’ll evaluate engine options. Both the 21-horsepower AS-12 and the 82.2-horsepower AS-34 currently use Yanmar engines, as did both of their compact track loaders. When bringing their CTLs into Tier 4 Final compliance, IHI kept the Yanmar engine on the 67-horsepower CL-35, but went with Kubota for the 83-horsepower CL-45. “Our AS-34 needs to stay at or near its current horsepower rating to retain its performance,” says Michael Aubrey, product support for IHI Excavator Sales. “We’ll look at engine options to fill that need.”
