What Size Excavator Do I Need? WA Size Guide
Match the machine to the access first, then the job
The most common excavator hire mistake isn't size of the dig, it's the side gate. Measure your narrowest access point before anything else. A machine that can't reach the dig is worth nothing, and a machine one size up digs the same hole in half the time.
| Class | Our machine | Typical jobs | Day rate | Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.7t | Hitachi ZX17U-5 | Backyards, tight access, trenching, stump removal, plunge pools | $209 | $726 |
| 3.5t | Cat 303.5E | House footings, pools, driveways, drainage, landscaping | $286 | $1,320 |
| 4.8–5.5t | Hitachi ZX48U / ZX55U | Site prep, bigger pools, rural sheds, service trenches | $313.50 | $1,430 |
| 6t | Cat 306CR | Site cuts, demolition assist, dam work | $324.50 | $1,452 |
| 8–8.5t | Cat 308 / Hitachi ZX85USB | Demolition, bulk dirt, subdivisions, deep services | $357.50 | $1,650 |
| 21t | Sumitomo SH210-6 | Civil and commercial earthworks | POA | POA |
Sizing rules that hold up
1.7t fits through roughly a one-metre gate with the blade in. It's the machine for established backyards where fences and paving hem you in. It will dig a trench all day, but bulk dirt is slow going.
3.5t is the residential workhorse. If the access is a double gate or the fence panel comes off, this is usually the answer. Footings, pool digs and drainage move properly, and it still tows on a plant trailer.
4.8–6t earns its extra cost the moment there's real dirt to shift. Anything over about 40m³ of digging, or ground with cap rock, wants this class, pair it with our ripper or rock breaker.
8t and up is contractor territory: demolition, site cuts, deep sewer runs. It needs a float (we deliver), but nothing residential-sized outworks it.
Every PSG excavator to 8.5t includes GP, trench and batter buckets in the rate, augers, rippers, breakers and tilt buckets are listed with prices here.