A mid size wheeled skid steer hires for about $250 to $350 a day and $750 to $1,100 a week. Put it on tracks and the same machine costs roughly $75 to $150 a day more, because a track loader is dearer to buy and dearer to repair. Two other things move the total: the hour meter, which sets what counts as a day, and the attachment, which is quoted apart from the machine.
Wheels or tracks changes the number first
A wheeled machine is cheaper, faster on pavement and kinder to a finished drive. A compact track loader floats on soft ground, climbs slope and works in wet without rutting, and every yard charges for that. On dry firm ground the wheels do the same work for less, so pick by ground rather than by preference.
The hour meter is part of the price
A rental day is commonly eight metered hours, a week forty and a month a hundred and sixty. Run the machine longer and the extra hours bill at an overtime rate, usually a fraction of the day rate per hour. If you plan two crews on one machine, say so when booking so the rate quoted is the one you will pay.
Attachments are their own line
The bucket comes with it. Pallet forks, an auger, a breaker, a grapple, a trencher or a mulching head are each hired alongside and each carries a daily charge, often $75 to $250 depending on the head. High flow attachments also need a machine plumbed for high flow, which is a different unit on the lot.
What a week actually costs
Take a tracked machine at roughly $400 a day. A week is nearer $1,200 to $1,500, plus haul out and back, plus fuel. Add a grapple and a set of forks and the invoice moves again. Booked as one week with the attachments named up front, that job prices better than five separate day tickets with two extra deliveries.
Questions people ask about how much does it cost to rent a skid steer
Can I rent a skid steer for half a day?
Some yards sell a four hour ticket on smaller machines, most do not on anything with tracks. Where a half day exists it is often close to two thirds of the day rate, so it only pays when the delivery is free or you collect it yourself.
Do I need a license to run a skid steer?
No state issues a driving licence for one. On a workplace the employer is responsible for training and authorising whoever operates it, and the yard hands over a familiarisation on the controls. A homeowner on their own land should still spend the first twenty minutes somewhere with nothing to hit.
Should I take pallet forks as well as the bucket?
If anything arrives on a pallet, yes, and it is the cheapest attachment on the list. Swapping later means a second delivery charge or a trip to the yard, which almost always costs more than carrying the forks you did not use.