Do I need to hire a loader or a digger?

Loaders and diggers are powerful machines that are designed to dig, lift and cart their way through tough jobs with ease. Both types of machine use powerful hydraulics and smart technology to speed up the process of lifting, digging, moving or pushing material around.

So if you’re planning to hire a machine for your next job – how do you know if a digger is going to do the job better than a loader? Here’s our quick look at what each machine does well, and what models are available to hire in Hawke’s Bay.

What’s a digger good for?

Here’s our top list of what a digger does best.

Let your excavator do the heavy lifting

Adding the right attachment to a digger gives you a wide range of options and the opportunity to take advantage of an excavator’s power for more than just digging.

With a long reach and a powerful hydraulic arm, diggers are great for lifting heavy weights. Diggers combine tilt (of the attachment on the end of the arm) and swing (of the main body of the digger) so that once you’ve lifted an object, you’ve got all the manoeuvrability you need to put it exactly where you want it.

You can also combine the lifting power with your choice from a range of attachments that you can fit to the excavator’s arm. Different digger attachments offer you a range of ways to capture the material you want to lift, so you can easily dig, grab or scoop your way to a finished job.

Dig deep with a digger

The powerful reach of the hydraulic arm of a digger gives you the ability to dig to depth, quickly. The arm can be fitted with a range of buckets in different shapes and sizes, making it a great tool for scooping and moving earth to dig at depth or clear a wide area.

Auger attachments also make it possible to harness the excavator’s power for precise digging to depth which is perfect for retaining walls, foundations, fencing or drainage.

Designed for precision

Excavators are powerful trench diggers and make fast work of major drainage or groundwork.

An excavator may look like a huge cumbersome machine but in the hands of a skilled operator it’s amazing what a digger can do. The combination of a wide range of attachments that have been designed with specific functions in mind, and controls that put the operator in charge of every moveable part, results in the ability to work with precision for high quality results.

Tracks make everything easier on uneven terrain

If you’re working on uneven surfaces such as rural worksites, construction sites and roading projects, then you may not be able to guarantee a well-prepared, flat surface to operate your digger on. The tracks that come as standard on all the big diggers also give you stability to safely work hard on uneven terrain.

What’s a loader good for?

Loaders have lots of great features that make them a handy hire on your worksite.

Here’s what we think a loader does best.

Moving lots of material, fast

Running on wheels, the loader has a superior ability to travel. If you’ve got a lot of material to shift and you want to do it fast, a loader could be the right choice for you. Working on wheels with a large front bucket to capture the load, a loader can quickly pick up, manoeuvre, travel and drop, to move the material to where it needs to be.

Trying to decide whether to hire a digger or a loader? Talk our team through the job you’re working on. We’re experts in the best use of the machines we have available – we can help you make the best choice for the task on hand.

Loaders have speed on their side

Loaders offer a quick way to move material across a site with their combination of large front bucket capacity and wheels.

If speed, or being able to travel on the road, is important to your choice; a loader could be right for you.

Loaders are known for their ability to travel fast – mainly because unlike big diggers they have wheels and so can move quickly on even surfaces. That speeds up the process of moving material or working wherever there’s an element of back and forth involved. It also means they can travel by road between worksites, making the job of transportation a little easier.

Spread or smooth over large areas with a loader

The front bucket of a loader is a versatile tool and highly effective at moving and smoothing materials over large surfaces. Using a loader means you benefit from its speed of movement in distributing the material. The bucket can also be used in a back-scraping action to take off high points while levelling.

What loaders are available to hire in Hawke’s Bay?

Allways Hire has 7 different models of loader available to hire from our Hastings or Napier branches in Hawke’s Bay. Ranging in size and power from the 1.2T Giant Pivot Steer Loader to the 10T Hyundai HL730TM-9 Pivot Steer Loader, these loaders give you plenty of options if you’re looking to hire one for your next job.

What diggers are available to hire in Hawke’s Bay?

Diggers are a popular hire choice with our customers, so we make sure we don’t just have lots of models available, we also have plenty of each model available to hire. With 12 different types of excavator available to hire; you can be sure we’ve got the right machine for your next job.

Ask our experts for the right machine for the job.

Our focus is on making sure you’ve got the right machine for your next job. That means we’re always adding to our hire fleet so you have access to the equipment you need. It also means our team is trained to be experts in our equipment – so they can offer you advice and recommendations on what to use and how to use it to achieve the best results.

If you have a piece of kit you would like to hire, or you have a question about one of our machines: why not give our team a call today?