Skid Steer Auger Attachments

Skid Steer Auger Attachments and Drilling Attachments in This Collection

Every item on this page is Star Industries, and the range covers the whole drilling package rather than just the drive head. The Auger Complete Assembly is the powered unit itself: a hydraulic motor and gearbox on a mounting frame, rated to a maximum of 3500 PSI and a hydraulic flow range of 5 to 35 GPM depending on the drive unit selected, with a maximum auger diameter of up to 36 inches. Three bit families follow it — the Single Flight Heavy Duty Auger Bit, the Rock Auger Bit and the T-Post Auger Bit — along with Fixed Length Shaft Extensions, Auger Racks for storing and transporting bits, and a Skid-Steer Trencher for continuous trench work rather than discrete holes. Prices across the collection run from $289 to $9,007, so a bit or extension is a very different purchase from a complete drive.

Matching an Auger Drive Attachment to Your Loader

The single most common ordering mistake is buying a drive the host machine cannot feed. Auger drives are sized by hydraulic flow, and a drive spec'd above your loader's auxiliary output will turn slowly and stall in hard ground; one spec'd well below it wastes available power and can overspeed. Check your machine's published auxiliary flow in GPM and its relief pressure before you shop, not after.

Note that the rock rating is lower than the dirt rating on the smaller drive. Diameter capacity is not a single number — it depends on what you are drilling through. The mount matters just as much: the Auger Complete Assembly is offered in skid steer, mini skid steer, telehandler and backhoe frames (SS, MSS, FL and BH). Frames are not interchangeable, and mini skid steer plates in particular differ from full-size loader plates by manufacturer. Confirm the frame against the machine you actually own, including the second machine you plan to share bits with.

Choosing the Right Auger Bit for Your Ground

Bits are where jobs are won or lost. The Single Flight Heavy Duty Auger Bit spans 6 to 36 inches, uses a rugged cast steel boring head with drive-in style replaceable teeth on a high-grade heat-treated shaft, and is rated for black dirt, clay, asphalt, frozen ground and fractured rock. A single heavy-duty flight clears spoil well in cohesive soils and is the general-purpose choice for fencing, decks and sign posts.

The Rock Auger Bit also spans 6 to 36 inches in high strength, heat treated steel, with three auger types available and replaceable carbide bullet teeth. Sizes from 8 to 36 inches get a reinforced head; the 6-inch does not. Reach for it when you hit consistent rock rather than the occasional cobble — running a dirt bit into solid rock wears teeth fast and puts shock load through the gearbox.

The T-Post Auger Bit (model 160A-TP2) is a narrow specialist: a 2-inch carbide pilot on a 1⅝-inch by 38-inch stress-proof steel shaft, spiral design, 30-inch drilling depth, rated for dirt, clay, concrete and solid rock. It is for driving T-post and small-diameter holes at volume, not for footings.

Drilling Depth, Extensions and Reach

Standard bit length sets your maximum hole depth, and loader geometry limits it further — the drive has to stay above grade. When you need more, Fixed Length Shaft Extensions insert between drive and bit with a 2-inch hex coupler in heavy-duty steel, available in 24, 36, 48, 60 and 72 inch lengths (models EXT-24 through EXT-72). Buy the extension for the depth you actually need: a longer shaft adds deflection and makes hole plumbness harder to hold, and it raises the drive higher in the loader's lift arc. Verify the 2-inch hex matches your bit and drive output before ordering.

Utility Locating and Operator Safety

Auger work is excavation, and it deserves excavation discipline. OSHA 1926.651(b) requires that the estimated location of underground utility installations be determined before excavation begins; the national 811 one-call system is how you request those locates. Call ahead of the job, mark every hole, and hand-dig or vacuum-excavate near marked lines — a bit gives no warning before it finds gas, fiber or electric.

OSHA 1926.602 covers earthmoving equipment used in construction, including seat belt requirements for operators. Beyond the regulation, the practical rules are simple: never dismount with the auger turning, keep bystanders clear of the rotating flight, and treat a stalled bit as a stored-energy hazard rather than something to free by force. Follow the machine and attachment manufacturers' operating manuals for hookup, flow settings and torque limits.

Storage, Wear Parts and Total Cost

A drive is a long-lived asset; teeth and pilots are consumables. Both the single flight and rock bits use replaceable teeth, so budget for tooth and pilot replacement as a running cost and keep spares on the truck — a worn tooth set is the usual reason a healthy drive suddenly "won't dig." For storage, the Auger Racks (models 160A-16, 160A-16-42, 160A-18 and 160A-18-42) hold up to 10 augers, or 8 on single-sided models, in a reinforced steel frame at 42 or 48 inches tall depending on model. They support 16-inch and 18-inch diameter earth augers with a maximum auger diameter of up to 28 inches, and the -42 models add an extended compartment for auger extensions up to 42 inches. Racked bits stay off the ground, stay straight and stay findable, which is a small purchase against the cost of a bent flight.