The John Deere 320 P-Tier: The Mid-Frame Skid Steer General Contractors Overlook

We've already covered how the 318 P-Tier compares to the 318G and what changed on the 330 P-Tier. Sitting between those two in Deere's skid steer lineup is a machine that hasn't gotten its own look yet: the 320 P-Tier — a genuinely useful mid-frame skid steer for general contractors who need more than an entry-level machine offers without stepping up to full mid-size capacity.

The Numbers

The 320 P-Tier is rated at 66 net horsepower (69 hp gross), with an operating weight of 7,150 lb and a rated operating capacity of 2,190 lb. It runs a vertical-lift boom geometry — the configuration that maximizes reach and lift height at full extension, which matters for loading trucks and hoppers rather than digging or prying at ground level. Standard hydraulic flow comes in at 21 gallons per minute, with an optional high-flow package available at 30 gpm for attachments that need the extra output.

On the predecessor comparison: Deere's dealer network has largely moved past carrying detailed spec sheets for the outgoing 320G, which makes a precise number-for-number comparison harder to pin down with confidence. What's well documented, from Deere's broader P-Tier rollout and from our own coverage of the 318 P-Tier's update from the 318G, is the pattern this generational shift followed across the whole skid steer line: electro-hydraulic joystick controls replacing older mechanical or pilot-hydraulic setups, an updated cab with better sightlines and a sealed switch panel, and refined hydraulics — changes to how the machine feels to operate more than a wholesale reworking of the base chassis. It's reasonable to expect the 320 P-Tier carries the same category of improvements over its own G-Tier predecessor.

Where the 320 Fits

General contractors doing a mix of site cleanup, material handling, and light grading are the core audience here — the 320 P-Tier has enough lift capacity and hydraulic flow to run real attachments (pallet forks, a grapple bucket, a landscape rake, an auger for fence and post work) without the bulk of a mid-size machine that's harder to maneuver on a developed residential or light-commercial lot. Fencing and hardscape crews, landscapers doing anything beyond the lightest residential work, and general contractors who need one skid steer to cover a wide range of daily tasks tend to land in this frame size specifically because it's the point where capability and maneuverability are both still strong.

If your work regularly pushes past what a 320-class machine can handle — heavier material handling, more demanding attachments, or larger-scale site work — it's worth looking at the 330 P-Tier next up in Deere's wheeled skid steer range, or stepping into tracks entirely with something like the 335 P-Tier compact track loader if traction and flotation on soft ground matter more than tire-based mobility and lower running costs.

Wheels vs. Tracks, Briefly

It's worth a quick word on why you'd pick a wheeled skid steer like the 320 P-Tier over a compact track loader in the first place, since the two categories often get lumped together. Wheeled machines are generally lighter, faster on hard or paved surfaces, cheaper to maintain (no undercarriage or track replacement costs), and easier on finished surfaces like driveways and parking lots. Track loaders win on soft, wet, or uneven ground where flotation and traction matter more than speed. For general contractors working primarily on developed sites, driveways, and hard-surfaced commercial lots, the 320 P-Tier's wheeled configuration is often the more practical and lower-cost choice — tracks are worth the added cost and complexity mainly when the ground conditions genuinely demand it.

Cab and Controls

The electro-hydraulic controls that came with this generation give operators the ability to tune joystick sensitivity to their preference, which matters more than it sounds on a machine that's frequently changing hands between crew members on a general contracting site. A sealed switch panel and improved cab sightlines round out the practical upgrades — less debris intrusion into the electrical system over the machine's life, and better visibility for the tight-quarters work this size of skid steer is usually asked to do.

Comparing Against the Competition

If you're cross-shopping brands in this size class, our 324G vs. Bobcat S650 vs. CAT 260 shootout covers the best-selling machines in the broader mid-size loader category and is worth reading alongside this spotlight, even though it covers a slightly different frame size — it gives a useful sense of how Deere's skid steers stack up against the two brands most contractors cross-shop against.

Florida General Contractor Work

South Florida's mix of hard-surfaced commercial parking lots, developed residential neighborhoods, and paved job sites plays directly to a wheeled skid steer's strengths — the 320 P-Tier's lower running costs and reduced surface impact compared to a tracked machine matter on the kind of finished-surface work that's constant in Miami-Dade and Broward's ongoing commercial and residential buildout. And with South Florida's hurricane season bringing recurring debris-clearing and site-cleanup demand, a mid-frame skid steer that's already owned and ready — rather than competing for a shrinking regional rental fleet when storm season hits — is a real operational advantage for general contractors who take on post-storm work alongside their regular scope.

Attachment Economics

One of the strongest arguments for financing a skid steer at this size is how much a single machine can do once you account for its attachment ecosystem. A 320 P-Tier with a set of forks, a grapple, and an auger effectively covers material handling, debris cleanup, and post-hole work — three or four separate jobs' worth of capability riding on one financed asset. For a general contractor weighing whether to finance one well-equipped skid steer or rent a different piece of equipment for each task as it comes up, the attachment math consistently favors ownership once the machine is being used more than a handful of times a year.

Own It Instead of Repeatedly Renting It

A skid steer in this class is often the single most-used piece of equipment on a general contractor's site — which makes it exactly the wrong machine to keep renting instead of owning. Every week spent on a rental agreement instead of a financed purchase is a week of payments that build no equity and leave you back at the rental counter, subject to availability, the next time a job starts. Financing the 320 P-Tier instead means the machine is on your lot whenever a job needs it, it's a depreciable business asset — potentially eligible for first-year Section 179 treatment depending on your specific tax situation, worth confirming with your tax professional — and it's building toward trade-in value on your next machine rather than disappearing into a rental invoice.

Skid steer and general equipment financing through BFC comes with deposit terms that flex with your credit profile and business history, from as little as $0 down for well-established operations up to a larger deposit for newer businesses. And because BFC isn't tied to a single manufacturer's captive finance arm, you're not locked out of financing your next machine — Deere, Bobcat, CAT, or otherwise — just because this one's still on the books.

Ready to Put This to Work on Your Jobsite?

BFC Equipment Loans structures financing and leasing for contractors across Florida and the country — real terms based on your business, not a one-size-fits-all captive-finance formula.

Visit our home page to see how we work, apply for financing to get started today, browse our buy/sell equipment marketplace if you're looking to buy or list a machine, or subscribe to our newsletter for more equipment and financing insights like this.