A skid steer is roughly 36 inches wide in the narrowest mini frame, 48 to 60 inches in the small frame, 60 to 72 in the medium frame most yards default to, and 78 inches or more in the large frame. The bucket is usually wider than the machine, so the gate measurement that matters is the widest thing on the ticket.
Measure the machine, then measure the bucket
Manufacturers quote width over the tyres or tracks, and buckets are cut a few inches wider each side so material clears the wheels. A machine listed at 60 inches often carries a 66 inch bucket. Ask the branch for both figures, and remember the bucket comes off in a minute if the gap is tight, which is frequently the whole answer.
The widths you will actually be quoted
Mini and stand on loaders start near 36 inches and clear a garden gate. Small frame wheeled machines sit around 48 to 60. Medium frame, the common hire, is 60 to 72 over the tracks. Large frame passes 78 and needs a driveway rather than a path. Track machines are generally wider than the wheeled version of the same model.
Height and length catch people out too
Width gets the machine through the gap; height decides whether it clears the carport, the garage door or the branches, and most machines with the rollbar up stand between six and seven feet. Length with the bucket down adds several feet to the turning space. Take all three measurements to the branch, not only the narrow one.
If nothing fits, the counter has smaller machines
Where access is under three feet, the answer is a stand on mini loader, a walk behind tracked barrow or a micro excavator, all of which the same yard hires and all of which carry a fraction of the load. Two smaller machine days often beat one big machine that never got past the side of the house.
Questions people ask about how wide is a skid steer
Will a skid steer fit through a 36 inch gate?
Only the mini and stand on class, and only with the bucket off or a narrow bucket fitted. Anything a yard calls a small frame skid steer wants more like 60 inches with the bucket on. Measure the narrowest point of the run, including the post and the latch.
Are tracked machines wider than wheeled ones?
Usually, because the track frame sits outboard of where a tyre would be. Expect a few inches on the same model and more on a wide track option meant for soft ground. If access is the binding constraint, the wheeled version is the one to ask for.
Does taking the bucket off help?
Often it is the difference between fitting and not. The coupler face is roughly the machine own width, so removing the bucket takes the widest part away. Drive through and refit on the far side, a two minute job with a quick attach coupler and a flat spot to set the bucket down.