Skid Steer Genius founder Robert Leib spent much of his career finding ways to make skid steer attachments work across different equipment brands. His first solution came in 2011, when he developed a system that enabled attachments from other manufacturers to run on Bobcat machines.
Customers soon asked for the reverse: a way to operate Bobcat attachments on machines from manufacturers such as Caterpillar, John Deere and Kubota. Leib began developing a digital solution in 2014, eventually creating a controller designed to overcome differences across each manufacturer’s control system.
“In 2023, I got serious about it,” Leib says. “The biggest problem is many machines don’t have enough controls. Bobcat controllers require up to 11 controls, while most other brands might have only four active buttons. The trick was making something like this work.”
Leib’s patent-pending system uses software to multiplex available switches. A button can function like a keyboard shift key, giving operators access to additional functions through the machine’s existing controls. Skid Steer Genius mapped button locations, functions and capabilities across machine brands, so operation remains intuitive.
The unit plugs into the skid steer’s 14-pin connection and connects to the Bobcat attachment.
“It lights up with the key power from the machine, and then takes the 12-volt, which is basically an on/off, like a car battery,” Leib explains. “When you touch a switch, it reads the switch being operated and turns it into Bobcat CAN language. It handshakes with the attachment and makes it think it’s connected to a Bobcat, then starts to operate it.”
The system works with a wide range of Bobcat attachments, including graders, tree spades, cold planers, soil conditioners, mulchers, mowers, snow blowers, brooms and stump grinders.
“It was a long haul and cost a lot of money, but we released them in August, and they’re becoming very popular. We’ve leveled the playing field,” Leib says.
Manufactured in Chandler, Ariz., the unit sells for $1,495 plus S&H. It’s available worldwide.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Skid Steer Genius LLC, Henderson, Nevada (ph 360-386-5841; support@skidsteergenius.com; www.skidsteergenius.com).