A skid steer ripper turns compacted clay, frozen ground and old asphalt from a job you subcontract into a job you do yourself. It is also one of the easiest attachments to over-buy — a five-shank ripper on a machine that can pull three just stalls and spins tracks.
This page covers skid loader ripper pricing, honest shank counts by machine class, and the specific ground conditions where a ripper pays for itself in one afternoon.
Rippers are mechanical — no cylinders, no hoses — so pricing is almost purely a function of steel weight and shank count. That makes them one of the best value attachments you can buy.
Ripping is a traction problem, not a hydraulics problem. Every extra shank multiplies drawbar pull required, and a loader that cannot pull it just spins in place and polishes the ground.
Rubber tires lose to tracks badly here. If you are on a wheeled skid steer, drop one shank from what the tonnage chart suggests.
A bucket is a moving tool; a ripper is a breaking tool. Trying to break ground with a bucket edge is how cutting edges get destroyed and loader arms get twisted.
The rule of thumb: if the bucket bounces or skips instead of loading, stop and rip it first. One pass with a ripper and the same bucket loads full.
Two rippers with the same shank count can behave completely differently depending on shank curvature and tip.
A single-shank skid steer ripper runs about $650 to $950, a three-shank ripper about $900 to $1,500, and a heavy five-shank ripper $1,500 to $2,400. Because rippers are fully mechanical with no cylinders or hoses, they are one of the cheapest high-value attachments you can add.
Shank count is limited by traction, not hydraulics. Run a single shank on stand-on and mini loaders, one to three shanks on a compact skid steer, three on a compact track loader, and up to five on a full-size track loader. On wheeled machines, drop one shank from what the tonnage would suggest.
No. A ripper is a fully mechanical attachment with no cylinders or hoses, so it works on any skid steer or track loader with a standard quick-attach plate, even machines with no auxiliary hydraulic circuit.
Yes — frost work is one of the main reasons to own one. Rip a grid pattern across the frozen area at shallow depth first, step the shanks deeper on the second pass, then load the broken material with a bucket as normal.
Not if you size it correctly and ease into depth. Damage comes from running too many shanks too deep and using the loader arms to pry. Start shallow, let the machine's weight set the shanks, and step deeper on later passes.