Mini excavator

[cabover4us]

Woke my wife up with that one, that was really funny....!
Belly laughs in bed....

 

[DieselBound]

Get some quotes and THEN decide.

As noted, if you hire out there's no concern over broken equipment and grease etc..

7k lb machine should be able to dig foundation footings if the ground isn't rock hard. A larger machine will come with a longer reach, which might be necessary. But, again, if you hire out then it's on the contractor to deal with any issues.

I bought a dump trailer (materials specific) to help me on my fencing project. It pretty much paid for itself in this one project: allowed me to get materials for free. But, as others have mentioned, one can fill one of these things up pretty quickly- a lot less material than you might initially think: I could get four or five buckets worth (from my NX) in my trailer; turn around distance was about 1/2 mile (a good 110 trips!).

Buying new might mean having to deal with new machine issues, and although they should be covered under warranty they'll likely have you dead in the water.

 

[EddieWalker]

Not sure if this was mentioned, but it's super easy to dig a hole. The real work is in getting rid of the dirt. The farther you take it, the more effort it takes!!!!

 

[4570Man]

Get some quotes and THEN decide.

As noted, if you hire out there's no concern over broken equipment and grease etc..

7k lb machine should be able to dig foundation footings if the ground isn't rock hard. A larger machine will come with a longer reach, which might be necessary. But, again, if you hire out then it's on the contractor to deal with any issues.

I bought a dump trailer (materials specific) to help me on my fencing project. It pretty much paid for itself in this one project: allowed me to get materials for free. But, as others have mentioned, one can fill one of these things up pretty quickly- a lot less material than you might initially think: I could get four or five buckets worth (from my NX) in my trailer; turn around distance was about 1/2 mile (a good 110 trips!).

Buying new might mean having to deal with new machine issues, and although they should be covered under warranty they'll likely have you dead in the water.

What size is your dump trailer? My 1 ton dump truck can haul about 4 yards of dirt. It would probably fit 5.5 yards of a light material.

 

[Big Barn]

Must not forget when estimating moving the excavated material there is a big difference in volume between “tight” yards and “loose” yards.

 

[4570Man]

Must not forget when estimating moving the excavated material there is a big difference in volume between “tight” yards and “loose” yards.

I’m not sure how much difference it makes. Most dump trucks and trailers run out of weight capacity first. Although you’re right. The loose dirt is a lot bigger.

 

[DieselBound]

What size is your dump trailer? My 1 ton dump truck can haul about 4 yards of dirt. It would probably fit 5.5 yards of a light material.

I'm wanting to say it's 5/ x 8'. It's rated in weight capacity more than yards; I "think" it's 12k lbs. It's a "Best" (commercial/rental grade- I bought it, used, off my equipment rental guy). Also believe that empty it weighs something like 3k lbs. I was running what I figure was about 11k lbs total (estimated about 8k lbs of materials per run). Ran on paved road as well as uneven ground: from neighbor's property and on to a road and then to my property (deep in the bowels where I once managed to get stuck with a full load!).

To reply to Eddie's posting, sometimes a hole isn't all that easy to dig. Sometimes one is digging in a very precarious environment. The machine might be able to dig easily, but keeping it balanced and such might be a bit more tenuous: think "edge of a precipice and on soft ground: (I've gotten a 9k lb excavator horribly stuck).

Big Barn, I can never seem to realize that fluffed up material, I always seem to need more material to go back into a hole in order to fill it! (of course, the issue is that one tends to always lose material from being scattered on the ground!)

 

[bdog]

Hire it done. That is no job for a mini and a dump trailer.

I have a pond at my place. I dug on it for a couple of years with a full size backhoe, tracked skid steer, and a dump trailer and eventually a dump truck. Not working everyday but when I had time. Progress was very slow.

I hired a full size excavator, dozer, and two belly dump semis and it was completed in two days. I think for all that equipment together I was paying $400 an hour. So roughly 8k and I bet we moved over 700 yards of dirt.

 

[Henro]

How much time do you have to devote to digging and moving this dirt?

This summer I took on a project with my 3PH backhoe and a 5 x 8 dump trailer. Backhoe bucket is 16 inch. Ground was sloped so my smaller tractor, which I used to pull the trailer, ran out of traction even with dew on the grass. I could only carry about a cubic yard of earth each load.

I moved between 300 and 400 cubic yards of dirt. 150 yards max and 50 yards minimum travel distance. It took me two months to get what I was doing completed. I was changing the slope of some banks near my house and at my pond. I dug the dirt on my property and deposited it where I needed it.

Things take a lot longer than you expect. I had everything but the trailer before I started so my cash outlay was not bad. Do not think I would undertake a similar project if I had to buy the equipment.

This project increases my appreciation for the time a few years ago when I got 16 triaxle loads of good shale fill dumped on my property where I needed it for $10 per load. But those opportunities are rare.

Guess I am in the get some quotes first and then decide camp.

 

[crashz]

I've done this work for a long time (my father all his life). And never dug a foundation with a mini.

Even a large mini (~7 ton) will struggle with a hole that deep. It will require you to dig a vertical face excavation at the end of the tracks. Side slope stability will be questionable and dangerous as you are perched on the edge. Bottom grading will be tough. You could bench the entire excavation, however it significantly increases the size of the hole and spoils. And you will have an 8ft deep hole open for a while.

Shop around and hire it out. If you really want to do it, rent a good sized excavator. 15 ton or so.