Wacker Neuson

Wacker Neuson ST50

$92,000before options, dealer-quotedVertical LiftRubber tracks
Wacker Neuson ST50
Rated capacity of tipping load50%
5,000 lb rated10,000.2 lb tipping

The bright segment is what Wacker Neuson ST50 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.

One caveat on this machine: we could not find a published tipping load for it, so the figure above is its advertised capacity divided by the fraction its maker rates at. That makes the grey run arithmetic rather than a measurement, and it is the number worth asking a dealer to confirm.

The Wacker Neuson ST50 is the flagship of Wacker Neuson's compact track loader line, built in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. A 100 hp Kohler KDI 3404 diesel, 5,000 lb rated operating capacity, 10,000 lb tipping load, and 37.4 gpm high-flow option put it against the Bobcat T86 and Cat 285 at a notably lower price.

Suits: Heavy-attachment users and site-prep contractors who want flagship power and lift at a value price 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
5,000 lbs
Tipping loadDerived from the advertised capacity, not published
10,000.2 lbs
Lift height to hinge pin
136 in
Lift path
Vertical Lift
Operating weight
10,785 lbs

Power and hydraulics

Engine power
100 hp
Engine
Kohler KDI 3,404
Auxiliary flowStandard circuit
25.1 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.

Sitting at the top of a five-machine range, this one is the only model that changes engine family rather than merely growing. A hundred horsepower and 9,461 lbf of bucket breakout put it in a different working class from the 74 hp machines below it, and the gap to the next model down is almost entirely power - the ST45 weighs only 410 lbs less.

The practical package is strong and has one significant asterisk. Flow is 25.1 gpm standard and 37.4 gpm on high flow, uniquely with switchable 3,500 or 4,000 psi pressure, which makes it the only machine here properly specified for a full-size mulcher. Ground clearance is the best in the line at 10.5 inches, the hinge pin the tallest at 136.3, and fuel capacity 50 gallons. The asterisk is emissions: the KDI 3404TCR-SCR uses selective catalytic reduction, so this is the one ST that needs diesel exhaust fluid, despite range-wide literature about passive aftertreatment requiring no maintenance. Reach at full height is also the shortest in the range at 36.6 inches.

Production earthmoving and forestry attachments are its target work, for a contractor who wants flagship output without flagship pricing. Before signing, confirm you have a DEF supply plan, check what the nearest dealer can actually diagnose given how little fault-code information is published, and trailer the real weight rather than the brochure figure. If you do not need the 100 hp, the ST45 gives up the DEF system entirely.

What owners like

  • Bucket breakout force is 9,461 lbf, which is not just the highest in the line but 2,520 lbf more than the ST45 that sits only 410 lbs below it in operating weight. Almost the entire step up from the ST45 to this machine is muscle rather than size.
  • It is the only model in the range whose high-flow circuit has switchable pressure - 3,500 or 4,000 psi against a fixed 3,500 elsewhere - and 4,000 psi at 37.4 gpm is what a full-size mulching head actually wants rather than tolerates.
  • The 100 hp Kohler KDI 3404 makes its power at 2,500 rpm and drives a machine with 10.5 inches of ground clearance, the most in the line, which is worth real money working over stumps, debris and broken ground.
  • A 136.3-inch hinge pin with a 44-degree dump angle loads the tallest trucks on site without ramps or repositioning.
  • Kohler backs the engine for 4 years or 4,000 hours on top of the 2-year, 2,000-hour machine warranty, so the most expensive component carries the longest coverage - unusual at this end of the market.
  • A 50-gallon fuel tank keeps a 100 hp machine working through a long shift without a refuelling stop, which matters more than it sounds when the machine is the one holding up the crew.
  • Wacker Neuson publishes both rating conventions rather than only the flattering one - 5,000 lbs at 50 percent of tipping load and 3,500 lbs at 35 percent - so an honest cross-brand comparison is possible straight off the spec sheet.

What owners complain about

  • This is the one machine in the range that is not regeneration-free, and the line-wide marketing obscures it. The ST50 runs a Kohler KDI 3404TCR-SCR, and selective catalytic reduction means diesel exhaust fluid. Every other ST uses a passive oxidation catalyst with exhaust gas recirculation and no fluid to buy. Owners discussing fault codes note that SCR-specific codes exist only for the 100 hp machines, which is the same story from the other direction.
  • The 5,000 lb headline is taken at 50 percent of tipping load, where most brands headline at 35 percent. Less is held back in reserve at the same quoted number - the comparable 35 percent figure is 3,500 lbs, and the tipping load is 10,000 lbs.
  • Owners report that Wacker Neuson does not publish plain-language descriptions for machine fault codes, to the point that a dealer technician had to telephone in a code to have it translated. One buyer has described walking away from a new ST50 purchase over exactly that, and on a machine anchoring production work it is a fair thing to weigh.
  • Reach at maximum height is 36.6 inches, the shortest in the entire line - shorter than the smaller ST27's 39.2 inches. The tallest hinge pin in the range comes with the least reach out at the top of it, so you work closer to the truck than the lift height suggests.
  • Seventy-eight inches wide and 10,677 lbs before an attachment is a serious transport proposition, and the width rules out site access that the ST31 and ST27 handle easily.
  • Wacker Neuson's compact equipment dealer coverage is thin and uneven across the US, which is a different level of risk on the machine that anchors a crew's production than it is on a small utility loader.

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

What buyers ask

Does the ST50 need diesel exhaust fluid?
Yes, and it is the only machine in the ST range that does. Its engine is a Kohler KDI 3404TCR-SCR, and selective catalytic reduction runs on DEF. The ST27, ST31, ST37 and ST45 use a passive oxidation catalyst with exhaust gas recirculation and need no fluid and no regeneration. If DEF-free operation is why you are looking at this brand, the ST45 is the largest machine that delivers it.
Is the 5,000 lb capacity comparable to other brands?
Not directly. Wacker Neuson headlines at 50 percent of tipping load where most makers headline at 35 percent, so the same quoted number holds back less reserve here. Wacker Neuson publishes the 35 percent figure too - 3,500 lbs - and that is the one to compare against a brand using the conservative basis. The 10,000 lb tipping load is the cleanest common denominator.
Is the ST50 worth the step up from the ST45?
If you run hydraulic attachments hard, yes, and by more than the model numbers suggest. Breakout force goes from 6,941 to 9,461 lbf, high flow from 31.7 to 37.4 gpm, and only the ST50 offers a switchable 4,000 psi high-flow setting. The two machines are within 410 lbs of each other, so you are buying power, not size. If the work is lifting and placing rather than digging and mulching, the ST45 does it without the DEF system.
How high will it load?
A 136.3-inch hinge pin with a 44-degree dump angle clears the tallest trucks you are likely to meet. Note the trade-off though: reach at maximum height is 36.6 inches, the shortest in the range, so you position closer to the truck than you would with the smaller ST27, which reaches 39.2 inches out at the top.
What is the fault-code situation?
It is the most commonly raised frustration with the brand. Owners report that plain-language descriptions for machine codes are not made available, and there are accounts of a dealer technician having to call the code in to get it interpreted. Ask a prospective dealer directly how they diagnose faults and what documentation they can give you before you buy - it is a reasonable question and the answer varies by dealer.
How much warranty comes with it?
Two years or 2,000 hours on the machine, and Kohler covers the engine for 4 years or 4,000 hours. That engine coverage is genuinely strong for the class and applies across the ST range. Get the undercarriage terms stated separately, since tracks and rollers are usually treated as wear items rather than warranted components.

Put the Wacker Neuson ST50 against

JCB 3TS-8T TeleskidWacker Neuson ST45

Machines in the same range

The rest of the Wacker Neuson line
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
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 ST27

Wacker Neuson

Wacker Neuson ST27

$69,000

Vertical Lift · rubber tracks
2,700 lb rated50% of 5,401.3 lb
Engine
74 hp
Aux flow
19.4 GPM
Weight
7,350 lbs

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.

Full sheet & owner reports