Short answer: yes — a compact mini skid steer like the TOVISEN S360 can strip the turf, level the ground, and place the gravel that a hot tub pad sits on. The tub itself never rides the machine; what it builds is the flat, drained, load-bearing pad underneath. Here is what the pad must achieve and how the machine gets it done.
What a Hot Tub Pad Has to Hold
A filled portable hot tub is heavier than it looks: Bullfrog Spas' installation guide puts the maximum filled weight at up to 6,000 lbs (2,722 kg), and lists approved foundations as a reinforced concrete pad at least 4 inches thick, concrete pavers, pea gravel, or crushed rock of 1.5 inches and up. Level matters as much as strength — no more than 1/2 inch of slope across an 8-foot run, no dips, and no shims under the shell, because damage from an inadequate foundation is excluded from warranty. That is why the ground prep, not the tub delivery, is the step worth doing properly.
Why the TOVISEN S360 Fits a Backyard Pad Job
The TOVISEN S360 mini skid steer loader is sized for exactly this: 900 kg (1,984 lb) operating weight, a 300 kg (661 lb) rated load with a 0.12 m³ bucket, and an overall width of just 980 mm (38.6 in.) at 2,070 mm long — small enough to work through side gates and between landscaping where a full-size skid steer cannot go. Gravel math works out cleanly: one cubic yard of crushed stone is four to five bucket loads, and the quick-change mounting system lets the bucket swap for forks or a rake when the job calls for it. EPA, CE and EURO V certification covers the US market, and an electric 72 V version is available for noise-sensitive neighborhoods.
The Pad Build, Step by Step
First the machine strips sod and rough-levels the footprint, cutting down high spots and banking the spoil. Then the base goes in: 4 to 6 inches of angular crushed stone spread in loose lifts, framed with edge restraints so the gravel stays contained, and compacted with a plate compactor between lifts — the machine places it, the compactor locks it. Screed the final surface to the level tolerance, check it in both directions with a straightedge and level, and the pad is ready for the concrete pour or a prefab spa pad. Keep the finished pad slightly above surrounding grade so water drains away, not into it.
Where the Mini Skid Steer Stops Being Enough
A 300 kg rated load means concrete work is out — a poured pad is mixed and poured by truck or mixer, not by the machine. And for a swim spa, which can approach 20,000 lbs filled, the engineering moves to a structural review and a concrete slab; the compact machine still does the excavation, but the pad design is not a DIY call. For a standard portable tub on a gravel or prefab-pad base, though, one mini skid steer plus a rented plate compactor covers the whole ground job in a day.
FAQ
Gravel or concrete — which base should the machine prepare?
Concrete is the only base every manufacturer endorses outright, and needs forms and a pour. Gravel is the budget route most makers accept if it is compacted, contained, and level — that is the version a mini skid steer builds end to end.
Can the S360 move the hot tub into position?
No. Deliveries use a dolly or crane, and the machine's rated load of 300 kg is far below a filled or even empty acrylic tub. Keep the machine for ground prep and material hauling only.
Planning a hot tub pad or other backyard base prep? Send TOVISEN the pad size, soil type, and gate width through the contact page — the factory team will match a machine to the site and quote direct. More machine photos and jobsite clips are posted on our TOVISEN Facebook page.
