The Bobcat 843 is a rubber-tyred skid-steer loader with an Isuzu diesel engine, built by Bobcat Company, an American manufacturer of farm and construction equipment based in West Fargo, North Dakota. It belongs to the 800 series of larger Bobcat loaders.
Bobcat 843 at a glance
| Maker | Bobcat Company |
|---|---|
| Type | skid-steer loader |
| Series | 800 |
| Traction | rubber tyres |
| Engine | Isuzu diesel |
| Headquarters | West Fargo, North Dakota |
| Skid-steer landmark | Melroe M400, 1960 |
| Owner | Doosan Group |
| Source | English Wikipedia, Bobcat Company |
Model-specific details (rubber tyres, Isuzu diesel engine) come from the accompanying video; the rest of the page is based on the single Wikipedia source on Bobcat Company.
History of the Bobcat 843
The first compact loaders
Bobcat’s history begins with Louis and Cyril Keller of Keller Welding and Repair near Rothsay, Minnesota. In 1956 the turkey farmer Eddie Velo asked for a machine small enough to work inside a pole barn and light enough for its upper floor, and the Kellers delivered a three-wheeled, belt-driven machine on 4 February 1957. Their clutch-based transmission, patented in 1958, became the basis of the Melroe M60 loader.
Melroe and the M400
Melroe Manufacturing of Gwinner, North Dakota, put the machine on the market after the Kellers’ uncle, an equipment dealer, recommended it, and introduced the four-wheeled M400 Skid-Steer Loader in 1960. The Bobcat trade name appeared in 1962 on the 440 loader, chosen by Les Melroe and the advertising agent Lynn Bickett, with the slogan “tough, quick, and agile”. The 800 series of larger loaders, including the 843, came later in the same tradition.
Clark, Ingersoll Rand and Doosan
Clark Equipment Company bought Melroe in 1969; Ingersoll Rand bought Clark in 1995 and sold its construction equipment group to the Doosan Group of South Korea in July 2007 for US$4.9 billion. Bobcat’s European headquarters moved from Waterloo, Belgium, to the Czech Republic in 2017.
Design and features
- Rubber tyres: the 843 runs on rubber tyres rather than steel tracks, which suits yard and road-edge work.
- Isuzu diesel: the machine in the video is fitted with an Isuzu diesel engine.
- 800-series size: a larger machine than the 700-series loaders in this collection.
- Skid steering: the machine turns by driving its left and right sides at different speeds.
Bobcat 843 versions
- Bobcat 863: the next number in the 800 series.
- Bobcat 873: the largest 800-series model listed here.
- Bobcat 773: the top of the 700 series.
The Bobcat 863 and the Bobcat 773 are its nearest relatives; more models are in the Bobcat collection.
Video: Bobcat 843 rubber-tyred skid-steer loader
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Bobcat Company, English Wikipedia: company history, product range, ownership
