A micro excavator, the 1 to 1.5 ton class that narrows to about 28 to 36 inches, rents for roughly $175 to $300 a day and $600 to $900 a week. It exists to get through a garden gate, a basement door or the alley between two houses, and every other spec on it is a compromise made to protect that width.
The width is the entire product
Nothing else about this class is remarkable. It is hired because a 3 ton machine will not fit down the side of a house and hand digging the same trench takes a crew three days. Measure the narrowest point on the route, subtract a couple of inches for the operator's nerve, and that is the machine you can have.
What a 1 ton machine will and will not do
Expect roughly 5 to 6 feet of dig depth, a bucket of 12 to 18 inches and enough breakout to handle soil, roots and light rubble. It will not shift compacted hardcore quickly, it will not lift a heavy manhole ring, and in dry clay it works slowly. For a footing over about five feet deep, hire the next size up.
Retractable tracks, and the two widths on the spec
Most machines in this class have an undercarriage that draws in to pass a gate and spreads back out to dig. Narrow is a travel setting, not a working one: on the narrow track the machine is far easier to tip sideways with the boom out. Get through the gap, then widen before you start.
Getting it into the back garden intact
At 2,000 to 3,500 pounds it will cross a lawn, but it will still print tracks and tear turf on a turn. Lay plywood or track mats over anything you want back, take the gate off its hinges rather than scraping the posts, and check for a soft drain run or a septic lid along the route.
Questions people ask about micro excavator rental
Will it fit through a 36 inch gate?
Usually yes, with the tracks retracted, but measure the opening between the posts rather than the gate leaf, and check for a step or a slope at the threshold. A couple of inches of clearance either side is what an operator wants; anything tighter turns into a slow, scraped afternoon.
How deep can a micro excavator dig?
Around 5 to 6 feet for most of the class, which covers garden drainage, a pond, footings for a small extension and most service trenches. Deeper than that and the machine is reaching past its comfortable geometry, so the next class up is the honest answer.
Can I tow one behind an SUV?
With a plant trailer and a rated hitch, often yes, since machine and trailer together are usually under 6,000 pounds. Check your vehicle's tow rating rather than assuming, and remember the ramps and the loading are the part people underestimate, not the drive.
Do I need experience to run one?
No formal card is needed to hire one on private property, and yards will run through the controls before it leaves. Give yourself an hour of clumsy practice on open ground before you start the actual dig, because the first hour is where the fence posts get hit.