Bobcat L35 Small Articulated Loader: Bobcat's Most Powerful Small Loader Yet

Bobcat doesn't usually double a machine's horsepower in one generational jump. The L35 small articulated loader does exactly that, and it's been picking up real recognition all summer for it — named to OPE+'s Landscape Twenty in July 2026 and winning an Editor's Choice Award from Green Industry Pros the same month, on top of an Innovative Iron Award when it launched. This is Bobcat's most powerful small articulated loader ever built, and if you've never seriously considered this equipment class before, the L35 is worth changing that.

Small articulated loaders don't usually make headlines the way a new skid steer or excavator does, and that's part of why the L35 is worth flagging: it's a genuine step forward in a category most contractors haven't given a second thought since the last time they rented one for a weekend job.

The L35 vs. the L28: A Genuinely Different Machine

Small articulated loaders (SALs) sit in an odd gap between a skid steer and a compact tractor — a telescoping boom, four-wheel articulated steering, and a tight footprint for working around landscaping, hardscape, and tight-access sites. Bobcat's L28 has anchored that category for years. The L35 doesn't just replace it, it more than doubles its power: 57 horsepower against the L28's 24.8. Rated operating capacity climbs from roughly 1,534 to 2,072-2,185 pounds depending on configuration, lift height increases from 104.3 to 114.8 inches extended, and travel speed nearly doubles, from 8.3 mph to 16.2 mph on the two-speed system.

Bobcat's senior product manager, Katie Redenius, described the design goal directly: "This machine strikes the perfect balance, offering heavy-lifting performance with a light footprint, all while prioritizing operator comfort with a cab built for long days on the job." That balance is the real story here — the L35 keeps the SAL class's tight maneuverability and light footprint while adding capability that used to require stepping up to a full skid steer.

Telescoping Reach Changes What the Machine Can Do

The L35's telescoping boom extends more than 9 feet, with dump height ranging from 7 feet 4 inches retracted to 9 feet 6.8 inches extended. That's a meaningful difference from a fixed-boom loader — being able to reach up and over a truck bed, a retaining wall, or a stack of material without repositioning the whole machine saves real time on a job where you're loading and unloading constantly. At 54 inches wide with a standard bucket, it's still narrow enough to move through gates and tight side-yard access that a full-size skid steer can't touch.

Who Should Be Looking at This Machine

• Landscape contractors and hardscape crews moving sod, pallets of pavers, and mulch through residential gates and tight side yards

• General contractors and remodelers who need loader capability on infill and residential lots where a skid steer won't fit

• Snow and grounds-maintenance operators running attachments like angle brooms and augers where the L35's telescoping reach and hydraulic flow (up to 25.3 gpm high-flow) matter

• Property and site-services companies handling material handling and light grading across multiple small-footprint job sites

If you've been renting a skid steer for jobs that are really better suited to a tighter, more maneuverable machine, the L35 is worth pricing out instead. A lot of tight-access jobs get bid with a skid steer rental built into the cost purely out of habit, when a machine like this one would move faster and do less collateral damage to a finished lawn or driveway in the process.

Rent vs. Own for a Small Articulated Loader

SALs are exactly the kind of equipment that gets rented piecemeal, one job at a time, because contractors don't always think of them as a core fleet purchase the way a skid steer is. But if your crew is regularly hauling material through tight residential or commercial access points, the L35 earns its keep fast, and every rental invoice you're currently paying for that capability is money that isn't building anything for your business.

BFC finances equipment in this class the same way we finance a skid steer or excavator — and we don't make you wait five-plus years until one machine is paid off before helping you add the next. Deposit terms scale with your credit: buyers with strong, established credit can sometimes structure a deal with little to nothing down, while others land in the 20-30% range or higher depending on the deal. The only way to know your real numbers is to apply and let us walk through your specific situation.

What the L35 Costs and What It Runs

Dealer pricing puts the L35 starting around $73,000, a real premium over the L28 it replaces but one that reflects a genuinely different machine, not a badge change. It runs a 26x12-12 tire package, a 7/8 cubic yard bucket capacity, and a 9.6-gallon fuel tank sized for a full day of the kind of stop-and-go loading work this class of machine is built for. As with any equipment number, treat this as a planning range — final pricing depends on configuration, attachments, and your dealer, and your actual financed numbers come from BFC once we've reviewed your credit profile.

Attachment Versatility on a Small Footprint

Beyond a standard bucket, the L35's high-flow hydraulic option (up to 25.3 gpm) supports attachments like angle brooms, augers, and grapples without the underpowered feel that smaller SALs sometimes have running the same tools. That versatility is the real argument for this equipment class: one machine that handles material handling, light grading, snow removal, and landscaping tasks across a season, instead of renting a different specialized tool for each job.

Building Out a Compact Equipment Fleet

The L35 pairs naturally with Bobcat's other compact-equipment offerings if you're building out a lighter-duty fleet alongside your skid steers and excavators — see our coverage of the Bobcat MT120 mini track loader for the walk-behind end of that lineup, and our Bobcat E63 compact excavator guide if a mini excavator is also on your list this year. And if you're timing a purchase for tax purposes, our guide to Section 179 and bonus depreciation walks through how financed equipment can still qualify for a full first-year write-off — confirm the details with your tax professional.

The L35 isn't a flashy machine, but the recognition it's picked up all summer, an Innovative Iron Award, an OPE+ Landscape Twenty nod, and a Green Industry Pros Editor's Choice Award, says the industry noticed the same thing we did: this is a genuinely capable step up for a category that hadn't seen one in a long time.

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