The difference between success and failure in the world of construction is the ability to adapt, and we take pride in our ability to support businesses through the use of innovative equipment from pioneering manufacturers.

One of these innovations is four-wheel steering, something that was introduced to front loaders by the Mecalac Group and something that has become increasingly popular in recent years, not only in specialist heavy equipment but in the consumer vehicles market as well.

The broadest definition of four-wheel steering is any system that allows all four wheels of a vehicle to turn, which helps to increase the responsiveness of steering and the overall feeling of manoeuvrability of vehicles.

There are various types of four-wheel steering, although many heavy vehicles will use crab steering, where all four wheels turn at the same time and at the same angle.

This is primarily used for manoeuvres where loads need to be moved at an angle, which can be necessary for precisely lifting and dropping particular loads whilst on-site.

Another, more versatile option is active four-wheel steering, where the front and rear wheels turn independently of each other, often by using a series of actuators and a computer-controlled system to ensure that advanced steering manoeuvres are as easy to undertake as possible, particularly where there is limited space.

It is popular in the agricultural sector, on smaller construction sites, for heavy machinery used indoors and even with more unusual use cases such as monster trucks, which necessarily require narrower turning circles as part of their competitions.

In recent years, four-wheel steering has been increasingly applied, albeit in somewhat limited forms, to road cars, typically as a counter-steering system to improve stability. Some of these systems are active and computer-controlled, whilst others use more passive systems.

It can provide comparable levels of manoeuvrability to caterpillar tracks, which can make extremely narrow turns by spinning the tracks in different directions.