Skid Steer Attachment Review: Vibratory Plate Compactor

It's one skid steer attachment that doesn't get much consideration or recognition until you wish you had used it: the vibratory plate compactor.

You’ve been there. Walking along that sidewalk in your neighborhood with your kids in a wagon. And you come to a section of the sidewalk that, even though it’s supposed to be for pedestrians, forces you and your tots out into the street because you can’t go over it. It seems the construction crew was in a hurry that day, and, before pouring the concrete, must have neglected to properly compact the soil, the gravel, or both.

All they needed was to hook up the skid steer attachment known as the vibratory plate compactor. This amazing tool would have used its large steel plate and its formidable motor-driven shaker to settle all of the sub-surface materials. Then the concrete would find a secure place to cure, and would not even think of cracking, heaving, sinking, or leaving a gap that could swallow a kid on a Big Wheel.

Now, there are other skid steer attachments that roll across the surface gravel, soil, or sand. But the vibratory plate compactor is one of those special skid steer attachments that can be used in tight spaces. Roller-type vibratory compactors specialize in making short work of large areas, but when it comes to the sidewalk, street, driveway, or path that is close to a building or some other precious feature, the vibratory plate compactor skid steer attachment is the only one that can come close, literally.

For a 1200 pound, nine square-foot, 2000 vibrations per minute skid steer attachment to squeeze into tight spaces is quite impressive. But part of the equation is that it is simply easier to see around than other compactor models. Simply put, that means you can get your skid steer attachment closer to obstacles and features without worry.

The plate compactor is just like the skid steer machine you attach it to: it just works. It might be small, but it’s mighty and it gets the job done. These soil and material compactors have been around for years. Their construction is tried and true. It’s just that the old-timers remember lugging them around before they were this easy to use.

Posted on Monday, May 16, 2011