Another claim at being first
Perhaps one of the most significant milestones in the evolution of the wheel loader was the introduction of the articulated frame. Mixermobile Manufacturers in Portland, Oregon first pioneered this technology in 1953 with the Scoopmobile Model LD-5, In 1944, Hough went on to manufacture a loader with the first hydraulically actuated bucket tilt. This gave the machine the ability to control dumping and the operator could approach a bank in low gear and scoop a full bucket by tilting the bucket back during loading. In 1947, Hough would advance wheel loader development once again when the company developed the world's first four-wheel drive hydraulic wheel loader the HM Model. The model is still considered the forerunner for the modern wheel loader.
Mixermobile Manufacturing can be credited with introducing the first wheel loaders with hydraulic motors when it developed the Model H wheel loader in 1952 and the Model HP wheel loader in 1957. These loaders had a single centrally mounted bucket arm.
The Tractomotive Corp., founded by Van Dobeus, was another company to introduce the hydraulic wheel loader to the U.S. market. This involved fastening a hydraulic wheel mechanism with hydraulic power to the bucket crowd. This development transformed the wheel loader virtually from a re-handling machine to a digging machine.