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Mon–Fri 6am–6pm · Sat 7am–1pm Newcastle upon Tyne · Covering the North East
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Tracked mini excavator standing on cleared ground at sunset on a North East England site

01 / Services

Self-drive excavator hire

Hire the machine and run it yourself. Both Kubotas go out well maintained, with three bucket sizes on the trailer as standard.

2 machines
1.7t & 2.7t
3 buckets included
0.99m
What self-drive means

Your site, your machine

We deliver the digger, position it where you want it, walk you round the controls and leave you to work. You keep it for the period agreed and we collect it when you are done.

Self-drive suits competent operators, builders and landscapers running their own programme, and confident homeowners tackling a driveway, a soakaway or a garden re-level. If you would rather have someone in the seat, take a look at operated hire.

Compare operated hire

What the hirer provides

  • Training and competence Appropriate training to operate the machine safely on your site.
  • Your own cover Hired-in plant insurance while the machine is in your keeping.
  • Fuel and safe working Fuel through the hire, service checks before you dig, safe practice on site.
  • A secure site Somewhere the machine can be left safely overnight.

Full detail is in our terms of hire.

The machines

Kubota compact excavators

One sized for gates and gardens, one for drainage runs and footings. Figures are Kubota’s published specifications.

Compact 1.7 tonne excavator working in a narrow gap between a house and a boundary wall
1.7t Kubota U17-5

Mini excavator, zero tail swing

A metre of transport width and no overhang on the slew. It fits through a standard gate, works alongside a boundary wall without the counterweight catching, and leaves a garden intact.

Garden access Drainage Small foundations
Operating weight 1.7 tonne
Transport width Approx. 0.99 m
Max dig depth Approx. 2.31 m
Max reach Approx. 3.93 m
Tail swing Zero tail swing
Cab type Canopy
Buckets supplied Three sizes, included

Specifications are subject to confirmation.

Quote the 1.7t
Kubota 2.7 tonne excavator with enclosed cab standing ready on a prepared site
2.7t Kubota U27-4

Compact excavator, enclosed cab

More reach, more breakout and a cab for full days in northern weather. This is the one for drainage runs, strip footings and shifting real volume.

Foundations Drainage runs Site clearance
Operating weight 2.7 tonne
Transport width Approx. 1.50 m
Max dig depth Approx. 2.83 m
Max reach Approx. 4.72 m
Tail swing Compact tail swing
Cab type Enclosed cab
Buckets supplied Three sizes, included

Specifications are subject to confirmation.

Quote the 2.7t
Which machine

Access usually decides it

Measure the tightest point on the route in before anything else. If the machine cannot reach the work, nothing else on this table matters.

Kubota U17-5 compared with Kubota U27-4, by operating weight, transport width, dig depth, reach, tail swing and typical jobs.
Specification 1.7t — Kubota U17-5 2.7t — Kubota U27-4
Operating weight 1.7t U17-51.7 tonne2.7t U27-42.7 tonne
Transport width 1.7t U17-5Approx. 0.99 m2.7t U27-4Approx. 1.50 m
Max dig depth 1.7t U17-5Approx. 2.31 m2.7t U27-4Approx. 2.83 m
Max reach 1.7t U17-5Approx. 3.93 m2.7t U27-4Approx. 4.72 m
Zero tail swing 1.7t U17-5Yes — works flush to a wall2.7t U27-4Compact tail swing
Cab 1.7t U17-5Canopy2.7t U27-4Enclosed cab
Typical jobs 1.7t U17-5Gardens, soakaways, patio dig-outs, fence lines2.7t U27-4Footings, drainage runs, site clearance, muck shifting
Three buckets 1.7t U17-5Included2.7t U27-4Included

Specifications are subject to confirmation. Not sure? Tell us the job and the access and we will say which one fits.

Included as standard

3

Bucket sizes, no extra cost

Every hire leaves the yard with three bucket sizes on the trailer. Change from a narrow trenching bucket to a grading bucket on site, in minutes, without a second call-out and without a second charge.

Trenching bucket Narrow — drainage and services
General purpose Everyday digging and loading
Grading bucket Levelling and backfilling
Change-over On site, no return trip
Delivery & collection Quoted on your postcode

Competitive rates for trade and domestic customers.

Broken-out hardstanding on a cleared plot, the kind of work the breaker attachment takes on
Attachment

KM155 breaker

For concrete, hardstanding, old bases and rock — anything a bucket will not move. It fits either machine, and it is quoted separately, on top of the hire. Mention it in your enquiry and it goes in the quote.

Attachment Kubota / Epiroc KM155
Fits U17-5 and U27-4
Typical work Concrete, hardstanding, rock
Availability Quoted separately
Add it to your quote
Getting it to you

Delivery in brief

Delivery & collection

Our own trailer

We bring the machine and all three buckets ourselves. Nothing for you to arrange and nobody else to chase.

Quoted on distance

Delivery and collection are quoted on your postcode, and confirmed with the hire cost before you book.

Access first

Check the tightest point on the route in, and that the ground is firm enough for tracks and a trailer.

FAQ

Self-drive, answered

The five things people ask before they book a machine. If yours is not here, the phone is quicker than the form.

You need appropriate training and competence to operate the machine safely, and your own insurance while it is on your site. If you would rather not, take operated hire instead — the machine arrives with an experienced operator and our insurance, and you need no ticket at all.

The 1.7t U17-5 is around 0.99m wide with zero tail swing, so it passes through a standard garden gate and works flush to a boundary wall. The 2.7t U27-4 needs about 1.5m. Measure the tightest point on the route in — a gate post or a corner, not the driveway.

Three sizes with every hire at no extra cost — trenching, general purpose and grading. They travel on the trailer together, so you can change over on site without waiting on a second call-out.

The machine arrives ready to work, and fuel during the hire is down to you. Tell us the job when you enquire and we will set out exactly what is included in your quote.

Yes. Daily, weekly and longer-term hire are all available, for trade and private customers alike. A one-day garden job is quoted the same way a site is.

Still not sure which machine? Call 07454 799566 and we will tell you straight what the job needs.

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Free, no-obligation quote

Ready to get started?

Tell us the job, the site and the dates. We will confirm the full hire and transport cost before you book.

We aim to respond to enquiries within one working hour.

07454 799566 Mon–Fri 6am–6pm · Sat 7am–1pm
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