Mini-excavators have evolved considerably over the past 20 years. They now offer more features than ever before, making it easier to rent a mini-excavator that meets your needs. Here are some features to consider when renting a mini-excavator.
- Size. Make sure that you rent a mini-excavator that can fit through any narrow passages necessary to get to your worksite. Some small mini-excavators can fit through a gate or door.
- Digging depth. Before renting a mini-excavator, you should know how deep you must dig. Some larger mini-excavator rentals can dig as deep as 14 feet.
- Dump height. Make sure that you can raise the bucket on the rented mini-excavator as high as you need to raise it to dump its contents where you want them. Smaller mini-excavators may have a dump height of only 6 feet, whereas larger ones may offer a dump height of about 15 feet.
- Bucket size. The size of a bucket on a rented mini-excavator usually matches the size of the mini-excavator itself. In other words, larger mini-excavators have larger buckets than smaller mini-excavators do. Bucket sizes typically range from 12 to 24 inches.
- Offset digging capabilities. Many rented mini-excavators offer offset digging, which means you can swing the boom away from its base to dig next to a structure. This feature also lets you position the mini-excavator’s tracks adjacent to a trench while digging, so that you can move forward to the next digging location easily.
- Operating weight. The operating weights of rented mini-excavators typically range from about 1,600 to 18,000 pounds. Make sure your working surface can support the weight of the mini-excavator.
- Tracks. Most rented mini-excavators come equipped with either rubber or steel tracks, but some wheeled models do exist. Steel tracks tend to tear up the turf and pavement more than rubber tracks do. However, steel tracks offer durability. Some mini-excavators offer tracks that you can retract to enter a worksite and then extend for working.
- Tail swing. When the cab of a rented mini-excavator turns 180 degrees, the maximum percentage of cab that extends over the tracks is its tail swing. Zero tail swing refers to the capability of a mini-excavator’s cab to turn 360 degrees without ever overhanging its tracks, which means if the tracks fit into an area, you can rotate without colliding with anything. Some mini-excavators possess reduced tail swing, but not zero tail swing.
- Dozer blade. Rented mini-excavators equipped with a blade can accomplish backfilling and grading options. The blade also serves as a stabilizer during digging.
- Attachments. You often can rent attachments for a rented mini-excavator in addition to the standard bucket used for digging. By doing so, you can accomplish a variety of tasks using one machine. For example, you could drill a hole with an auger, demolish concrete with a breaker or move concrete debris using a thumb.
- Comfort features. An enclosed cab with heating and air conditioning usually offers more comfort to an operator than a canopy. Ergonomic controls also can increase the comfort of the operator.
Contact your local, ARA-affiliated, rental store for information on available rental products and services to meet your mini-excavator needs. To locate the rental store nearest you, use the Rental Store Quick Locator above.
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