Skid Steer Loaders

Two Machines, One Attachment Standard

The S55 and the 380 are built around the same idea — a compact, tool-carrying chassis that steers by driving the left and right wheels (or tracks) at different speeds — but they answer different jobs. The S55 is the ride-on workhorse; the 380 is the small stand-on machine for spaces the S55 cannot reach. Both carry a universal quick-attach plate, so the same set of buckets, forks and augers moves between them.

We build both at our own plant rather than sourcing one and rebadging it, which is why the hydraulic couplers, mounting geometry and crating are consistent across the pair. A dealer or rental yard running both sizes carries one attachment inventory instead of two.

Buying factory-direct — rather than through a reseller or rental desk — is mostly about price transparency: the quote you get is our ex-works number plus freight, with no distributor margin folded in before it reaches you.

Which Size Fits the Job

The 380 is the small one, a skid loader on tracks. You stand on a rear platform, the rubber tracks keep ground pressure low on lawns and wet ground, and the 0.15 m³ bucket dumps at 1,450 mm. Crews needing a narrow machine for tight rows and gateways usually land in exactly this class: under 900 kg, fits on a light trailer, one operator, no cab to ship.

The S55 is the workhorse: a 36.8 kW machine — smaller than the 90-100 hp machines at the top of the skid steer market — but with an 890 kg rated load and ≥25 kN breakout force that covers most construction and landscaping work. If your lift and breakout targets are higher than that, tell us the numbers and we will say honestly where the S55 stops and a bigger machine is the right call, rather than oversell it.

Both machines carry the same universal mounting plate and auxiliary hydraulic couplers. That means one set of tools serves the whole yard — see our skid steer attachments page for the full catalog of augers, breakers, pallet forks, brooms and snow tools. An enclosed cab on the wheeled S55 and an open stand-on platform on the 380 cover the two ways crews like to run these machines.

Wheels or Tracks: Skid Steer With Wheels vs Compact Track Loader

A compact track loader (CTL) is the same loader concept on dedicated rubber tracks instead of wheels. On mud, sand and steep slopes the tracks win: more flotation, less rutting. We will say it plainly: ZHONGMAI does not build a full-size CTL today, and we are not going to dress one machine up as another.

Here is the honest counterpoint: most of the work buyers describe to us happens on prepared ground — concrete, asphalt, compacted yards. There a skid steer with wheels is the better money. Tires cost a fraction of a track set, top speed is 12 km/h instead of a crawl between piles, and tire swaps need no special tooling. If your jobs genuinely run on soft ground, the tracked 380 mini covers light-duty work at low ground pressure; for full-size CTL requirements we will tell you straight that we are not the factory for it — yet.

Operator stance is the other split. Most buyers want a ride-on or stand-on machine, but there is a genuine pedestrian segment too — true walk-behind loaders you steer from ground level rather than a platform. The 380 is a stand-on mini, not a walk-behind; that is a different build, and we will point you to the right machine rather than mislabel ours. Niche requests — remote control for hazardous demolition, or a backhoe arm mounted on a skid steer chassis — we spec to order; send the job and we advise honestly on whether it is buildable.

Skid Steer Use: Construction, Landscaping and Farm Work

Common uses split into three camps. On construction sites the machine hauls spoil, feeds mixers and runs breakers; in landscaping it grades, clears brush, augers fence posts and moves pallets of turf and stone; on farms and in stables it does the everyday yard and barn work a tractor loader would otherwise handle. The S55 is the better all-around choice for most of this, and the 380 slips into spaces a bigger machine cannot.

Because both run a universal plate, the machine is really a tool carrier more than a bucket loader: one diesel base that runs augers, breakers, brooms, trenchers, forks and snow tools off 55 L/min of hydraulic flow. Need more than standard flow for a cold planer or mulcher? A high-flow hydraulic kit is available per order on the S55.

Factory-Direct vs Dealers and Marketplaces

Most buyers arrive after comparing brands. The skid steer concept itself dates back to Melroe Manufacturing, the company that built the original Bobcat — most of the market since then has been Western brands with a dealer network and the margin that comes with it, plus a growing set of compact-segment specialists building smaller mini skid loaders.

Type the machine into an online marketplace and the results are usually resellers, not the factory — a trading company or rental desk adding margin on machines built the same way as ours. Aggregator sites and dealer directories are another layer between you and the welder. ZHONGMAI is that welder.

Buying direct means the attachment plate, hydraulic flow and crating are matched in one place, and the price you get is the factory number with no reseller on top. Units ship in steel-frame crates or loaded loose in container, with English manuals, a filter and spare-parts kit, and support over WhatsApp after delivery. Both loaders are welded, painted and assembled in our plant in Jining, Shandong, inspected and run before crating; the photos on this page are our own yard and assembly hall, not renders.