Renting an excavator

I really like playing with a John Deere 135 because there is almost no tail to it and it seams to be right in the spot of not too big and not too small. I have wanted to try a Cat 314 which I think is the same size but the Cat rental yard by me is not very good. The nearly zero tail helps a lot, esspecially with beginners. What rental yards do you have by you and what machines are available?

The first pic is of when we dug a 11' deep 2000 sq ft basement. The second pic is of when we had to build a retaining wall and had limited room. Good luck and it is definitly worth renting a unit to play with.


Karl

If you do go the rental route make sure you inspect the machine thoroughly from top to bottom and note anything wrong; leaks, dings, scrapes, cracked glass, low fuel and or oils etc. Some rental outfits are good, some will try to screw you so make sure the inspection is accompanied by the rental agent and everything is noted in black and white, preferably in duplicate with YOU having a copy.

That being said, rental is a lot cheaper than buying plus it's a good way to find out what you do or don't like about a machine. Some outfits "detune" a rig but can ya blame 'em? They're less likely to get torn up that way so don't expect a rental to perform like a new one. . .

I have been able to rent reasonably sized machines from United Rentals before. The machinery was in pretty good shape and was available for single day, weekly and monthly periods. The machinery is pretty intuitive, so it's fairly easy to get the hang of operating and you will have some fun "playing" with it. There are a few services around that offer a fairly competitive price when hiring one of thier machines WITH thier operator. With today's economic problems, I am sure it won't be hard finding someone in your area who is more than willing to help you spend some money. The difference there is that you may suffer some collateral damage as the regular dirt jockey might not be too concerned about your wife's prized rose bush next to the old apple tree stump. On the other hand, if you are operating a rental, you may take out the garage wall when you swing right instead of left. I would say that you could/should have a lot of fun renting a machine and doing the chores with it, provided you are not too hard on yourself with the end results. The next problem with this line of reasoning is that after the weekend is up, you may find yourself shopping for a good used excavator. 😄

Come on guys!! Rent from your CAT dealer. The Cat Rental Store. Everything you need is there. One day or a year. Contractor or homeowner.

Please get the 1-800 "call before you dig" number for your area! If you rip out a telecommunications cable the costs can run into hundreds of thousands. If you don't call and you damage something the utilties will try to put the blame (and the cost) on you! Have them come out and mark all the utilities. Then if you have to work in that area, dig around them by hand first. Around here the utility locator people only guarantee their work to be +/- 2 feet accuracy. And the minimum burial depth apparently is considered just a suggestion by some people. So please get the markouts and if you have to work near any utility at all, potholing it by hand is always a good idea. Remember, a lot of pipes and conduits today are made of PVC, you'll never feel them with a machine. Good luck!

Good additional advice, and something that should accompany every digging job. And just from experience, there are a lot of other buried utilities that you won't even feel with a rental machine. I once had a customer complain that the toilet in the powder room kept backing up. We rodded the line and discovered that I had drilled a deck support right through the clay drain line and filled it with concrete. Utilitie locate will not find the buildings drain lines. You are on your own with that one. 😮 🙄

Thanks for all the replys!

I am going to be putting up a house for me and my wife either this fall or next spring. I'd kind of like to do the dirt work myself. I have been getting the D-8 fixed up to do the brunt of the site prep, but can't really dig a basement with it very well.

I have a united rental close to where I am building. I am not sure if they have a decent sized excavator though..... Mostly lift equipment on their lot.

No Cat store here yet. Funny thing is one is coming soon within 2 miles of my site. Not sure when its set to open. Nothing much going on at the site yet.

There is an RDO Dealer close by, but I never see much for excavators on the lot. Maybe they have some from time to time. Mostly They have dozers out there. Its a pretty small dealer.

I will have to call around when I get closer to actually needing the machine.

Thanks for the reminder to get the utilitys marked. There shouldn't be any where I am going, but I should still check.

I know I won't do the job as fast as a seasoned operator. Its been atleast 5 years since I was behind the controls of a excavator, and even then I did more hauling it then digging, but I figure, how often do i have a reason to rent one, and if the cost is a bit cheaper, or even the same, I can have some fun while getting the job done. 😄

A pipe dream is to find an older CAT 225 Excavator to go with my dozer. Anyone here have one?

I have wanted to rent a Cat 314 excavator to see how it compaires to the JD 135 but the Cat dealer by me is so snake like that I dont dare rent from them unless it saves me a ton of money. Has anyone played with a 314 before or have one? The last time I rented the JD 135 it costs me out the door with delivery $750 for one day. It does get a little cheaper per day if you rent it for the weekly rate or monthly.

When you go to dig the basement dont forget to shore it. OSHA says 4' vertical and 4' horizontal benches. Unless you are in pure rock with no cracks and then you are allowed to go vertical.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

Karl