In a former life I worked for the first West coast dealer to sell mini-excavators, we used a flatbed for demos and deliveries. Welded a flat bar across the back for the tracks to catch on and two small angle iron uprights on the rear side corners just in case they wanted to slip sideways. Put the bucket on the truck bed with the blade facing the truck, power down to get the blade above the bed, drive forward so the blade catches. Lift the bucket, spin around, get a good holt on the ground with the bucket and power down while pushing out. Once the machine is about level and slides forward to where the tracks will grip, drive slowly on while pushing out with the arm and boom down. Piece of cake. Mind you more than once after a demo with the machine and truck wet and muddy, it was a bit of a rodeo. But I was young and didn't know better. Track loaders are a whole 'nother story though.
I've loaded that way with my mini excavator many times before I added the dump kit. Now I can load my track loader the same way. The winch with the keyring remote is just insurance against a slip on the diamond plate.
I have no issue being able to load on my trailer, but with a 14' flat bed 4X4 F550 pulling the trailer, it's hard to get into some places; impossible with a gooseneck trailer since they don't track nearly as well. My smallest mini is a Tak 145. With a Dana 135s rear axle and G rated tires all the way around, I'm fine on weight and stopping power. Since I'm getting to be an older guy, I have no leaning on corners issues; I drive too slow.
My smallest trackloader is a Tak 150, so I don't have anything that is very small. Sometimes having jobs that are only about 4 miles out country roads from me, I can load the 150 on the bed and the little TB145 on the trailer and get both pieces of equipment there in one trip. With the bed tilted a bit, if I throw a scrap piece of plywood on the bed under the trackloader bucket, (so it can slide on the bed without doing any damage), and I can easily load it on the bed without any ramps.
I guess I just like the ability to load up a piece of equipment and get into small subdivisions without worrying about a trailer taking out stop signs when people are parked all along the side of the roads. With my "X-Treme Duty" 4 in 1 bucket on my TL150, it's about like having a JD or Case 450 dozer and high lift at the same time. After finding out how hard the 150 would push with that bucket (it's made with 1/2" steel and 3" hydraulic cylinders on the clamshell), I sold my old 450 dozer. I've seen guys haul in the beds of their dump trucks, but personally I never like taking that tailgate off my dump truck. My steel ramps weigh far too much for even 2 guys to handle so, unless an excavator is involved, they just can't be used. With the ease, and backup safety system of the winch, I don't need any ramps with the bed tilted a bit, so I don't need to spend money on lighter weight ramps. With 5 kids and a few collector vehicles, I already have 17 plated vehicles and 3 trailers. If I could eliminate a trailer or vehicle, it would save me some. I just wish some of these country power companies would get their dang lines more than 12' off the ground! I
thought they were supposed to be 13'6", but some around where I live definitely are not.