Wacker Neuson

Wacker Neuson ST27

$69,000before options, dealer-quotedVertical LiftRubber tracks
Wacker Neuson ST27
Rated capacity of tipping load50%
2,700 lb rated5,401.3 lb tipping

The bright segment is what Wacker Neuson ST27 is rated to carry; the grey run past it is the rest of its tipping load. Bar length is tipping load drawn to the same scale on every machine on the site, so a short bar is a smaller machine and not a conservative rating.

The stiff uni-body frame design Wacker Neuson introduced in 2023 arrived on the ST27, the small-frame entry to its ST-series compact track loaders. Designed and built in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, it pairs a 74 hp Kohler diesel that needs no DPF with a 2,700 lb rated operating capacity and vertical lift path.

Suits: No-regen, no-DEF small-frame CTL with a big engine warranty Its vertical lift path reaches highest at full extension, for loading high-sided trucks and stacking.

Lifting and reach

Rated operating capacityTrack loader rating convention
2,700 lbs
Tipping load
5,401.3 lbs
Lift height to hinge pin
120 in
Lift path
Vertical Lift
Operating weight
7,350 lbs

Power and hydraulics

Engine power
74 hp
Engine
Kohler KDI 2,504
Auxiliary flowStandard circuit
19.4 GPM
Flow type
Standard
Warranty
2 yr / 2,000 hr

Fitted or available

What this machine can be ordered with. Some of these are standard and some cost extra, and which is which moves between trim levels, so check them against the quote rather than against this list.

Vertical LiftHigh-FlowEnclosed CabTwo-SpeedSelf-LevelingA/C & HeatTracksNo DPF

What owners report

Summarised from the sources listed below. Nothing here was tested by us.

Access with a real engine behind it is the proposition here. Sixty inches wide and under 80 inches tall puts this machine through gates and into yards that the rest of the range cannot enter, and unlike most machines bought for their dimensions it arrives with a full 74 hp and a 120-inch hinge pin rather than a compromised driveline and a short lift.

Some of its numbers are better than the size suggests and some are worse, and it pays to know which. Reach at maximum height, 39.2 inches, is the longest in the entire line - the flagship reaches 36.6 - so it stands back further from a truck than machines twice its price. Against that, bucket breakout is the lowest of the five at 5,404 lbf and the 37-degree dump angle is the shallowest, so it is not a strong digging machine and sticky loads are fiddly. Ground pressure is a middling 5.5 psi, which is worth flagging because buyers often assume the smallest track loader is also the gentlest on turf; within this range, the ST37 is. Hydraulics reach 29 gpm but only through the Premium Cab package rather than as a standalone option.

It belongs with landscapers, tree crews and small contractors whose limiting factor is getting onto the site at all. Before signing, price the Premium Cab package if you need high flow rather than assuming flow is a line item, measure your narrowest access against the bucket rather than the chassis, and ask the dealer what fault-code support they can actually give you.

What owners like

  • Sixty inches wide and 79.8 inches tall is the smallest package in the range and the reason the machine exists - it reaches sites where the 72-inch and 78-inch models in the same line-up stop at the gate.
  • It reaches further out at full height than anything else in the range. Reach at maximum height is 39.2 inches against 38 for the mid-range machines and just 36.6 for the 100 hp flagship, so the smallest machine is the one that can stand back furthest from what it is loading.
  • Seventy-four horsepower in a 7,350 lb machine is the best power-to-weight ratio in the line and considerably more engine than the 60-something horsepower machines it competes against on price.
  • A 120-inch hinge pin height on a machine this small is genuinely unusual, and it is what separates it from the stand-on and sub-compact machines it might otherwise be grouped with.
  • The Kohler KDI 2504 uses a passive oxidation catalyst and exhaust gas recirculation, so no regeneration cycles and no exhaust fluid, and Kohler covers it for 4 years or 4,000 hours against the machine's 2 years and 2,000.

What owners complain about

  • High flow is not a standalone option. The 29 gpm circuit arrives as part of the Premium Cab package, so getting the hydraulics you want means buying the cab specification that carries them, whether or not you wanted it. Price the package, not the flow.
  • Bucket breakout force is 5,404 lbf, the lowest in the range, and the dump angle at maximum height is 37 degrees, also the lowest. Sticky material needs more shaking out of the bucket than it does on any of the bigger models.
  • Ground pressure is 5.5 psi on 12.6-inch tracks with 53.2 inches on the ground - adequate rather than impressive. This is an access machine rather than a flotation machine, and buyers who conflate the two are often disappointed on soft turf.
  • The 2,700 lb headline is taken at 50 percent of tipping load where most brands use 35 percent, meaning less reserve is held back at the same figure. Wacker Neuson's own 35 percent number is 1,890 lbs, on a 5,400 lb tipping load.
  • The uni-body generation only dates to 2023, so there is almost no high-hour evidence about how the frame and undercarriage hold up over a long life.
  • Owners report that fault code descriptions are not published in plain language for these machines, with accounts of dealer technicians needing to call codes in for translation - awkward on any machine, more so on one bought for small-crew work where there is no second machine.
  • Rental fleet presence for the brand is small, so most buyers cannot easily arrange a day on one before committing, and the dealer network that supports it is thin in many regions.

Drawn from d12oqns8b3bfa8.cloudfront.net, wackerneuson.com, compactequip.com, skidsteerforum.com.

What buyers ask

How do I get high flow on an ST27?
Through the Premium Cab package, not as a standalone box to tick. The 29 gpm circuit is bundled with that specification, so the cost of the hydraulics is the cost of the package. Get it quoted explicitly, because it is a common surprise when buyers compare a base ST27 price against a rival that lists high flow as its own option.
Is the ST27 gentle on turf?
Less than people expect. At 5.5 psi on 12.6-inch tracks it is middling for the range - the larger ST37 is considerably better at 4.3 psi. The ST27 is built for access rather than flotation. If the requirement is genuinely to cross finished lawn without marking it, size down in width is not the same as size down in ground pressure, and the ST37 or a dedicated low-ground-pressure machine is the better answer.
Is 2,700 lbs really 2,700 lbs?
It is, on the 50 percent of tipping load basis Wacker Neuson uses. Most brands headline at 35 percent, which holds more back in reserve, so the numbers are not directly comparable. Wacker Neuson publishes its 35 percent figure as 1,890 lbs and its tipping load as 5,400 lbs - use those when shopping across brands.
What will it fit through?
Sixty inches across the machine and 79.8 inches tall, which handles most contractor gate access and clears low obstructions that stop the bigger models. Measure the bucket as well as the chassis, since the attachment is the wider part and the one that catches a gate post.
Does it need DEF or run regenerations?
No to both. The 74 hp Kohler KDI 2504 meets its emissions requirement with a passive diesel oxidation catalyst and exhaust gas recirculation, so there is no particulate filter regeneration and no exhaust fluid to buy or store. Only the 100 hp ST50 in this range uses selective catalytic reduction.
How does it compare with the ST31?
The ST31 is four inches wider, 891 lbs heavier, carries 400 lbs more rated capacity, is faster in both travel ranges and lifts 8.5 inches higher. Bucket breakout barely differs, 5,611 lbf against 5,404. If your access allows 64 inches, the ST31 is more machine for not much more size; if it does not, the ST27 is the one that gets to the work.

Put the Wacker Neuson ST27 against

Kubota SVL65-2sWacker Neuson ST31Wacker Neuson ST37

Machines in the same range

The rest of the Wacker Neuson line
Wacker Neuson ST31

Wacker Neuson

Wacker Neuson ST31

$67,000

Vertical Lift · rubber tracks
3,100 lb rated50% of 6,199.4 lb
Engine
74 hp
Aux flow
19.8 GPM
Weight
8,241 lbs

Volume mid-frame model in Wacker Neuson's ST-series compact track loaders, the ST31 moved to the uni-body frame design in 2024. Built in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, it carries a 74 hp Kohler diesel with no DPF or DEF, a 3,100 lb rated operating capacity, and a vertical lift path with a 10-foot-8 hinge pin height.

Full sheet & owner reports
Wacker Neuson ST37

Wacker Neuson

Wacker Neuson ST37

$76,000

Vertical Lift · rubber tracks
3,700 lb rated50% of 7,400.9 lb
Engine
74 hp
Aux flow
23 GPM
Weight
9,014 lbs

Largest of Wacker Neuson's new uni-body generation of compact track loaders, the ST37 joined the line in 2024. Built in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, it combines a 74 hp no-DPF Kohler diesel, a 3,700 lb rated operating capacity, and just 4.3 psi ground pressure thanks to wide tracks spreading its 9,014 lb operating weight.

Full sheet & owner reports
Wacker Neuson ST45

Wacker Neuson

Wacker Neuson ST45

$79,000

Vertical Lift · rubber tracks
4,500 lb rated50% of 8,999.3 lb
Engine
74 hp
Aux flow
22.1 GPM
Weight
10,315 lbs

A 4,500 lb rated operating capacity and 134.8-inch hinge pin height come out of a 74.3 hp Kohler diesel with no DPF. The Wacker Neuson ST45 is a large-frame vertical-lift compact track loader built in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin - the proven Series-II platform positioned just below the 100 hp ST50 flagship.

Full sheet & owner reports