The new loader has a longer wheel base, larger 3.5-litre diesel engine, and a 730kg lift capacity, according to Toyota.Brisbane-based P & E Francis Plant Hire manager Nev Shelley said the company was Australia’s largest individual consumer of the Toyota skid-steer loaders, purchasing 110 Huski loaders during the past 22 years.“We run up to 35 machines on a daily basis, across the range of 4SDK4, SDK5 – the very popular 4SDK8 – and now the new 5SDK9, as part of a comprehensive fleet of civil construction and earthmoving machines,” Shelley said.He said the new 5SDK9 was more comfortable to operate, had a larger fuel tank and more horsepower.“The extra power makes the machine quicker for jobs such as bulk pushing, which is what our machine is doing all day at the moment on areas the size of several football fields,” he said.“Toyota engineers visited us and talked to our operators when they were developing the new machine.“The new Huski 5SDK9 incorporates a number of our suggestions for improvements over the 4SDK8 model, which is the main machine in our fleet of 35 Toyota skid steers.”
