A trackhoe is a tracked hydraulic excavator, and the word is a regional habit rather than a machine class, so ask a rental counter for an excavator by weight and you will be understood anywhere. A three-ton mini is roughly $250 a day, an eight-ton machine $400 to $650, and a twenty-ton excavator up to $1,200. Weekly rates sit near three day rates.
Ask by operating weight, not by name
Rental systems list excavators by metric operating weight, because that is what sets dig depth, reach, bucket size and the trailer needed to move it. Trackhoe, tracked hoe and excavator all reach the same page. Give the counter the weight class or, better, the depth and reach the job needs, and let them match a machine to it.
Dig depth is what you are really buying
A three-ton mini digs around ten feet, an eight-ton machine around fourteen, and a twenty-ton excavator past twenty. Trench depth, footing depth or the invert of a drain run sets the class before the price does. A machine that cannot reach the bottom of the excavation is not a saving, whatever its day rate looks like against the alternative.
Transport separates the classes
Minis up to about four tons move on a standard equipment trailer, which is why they are the ones customers collect. From roughly eight tons upward the machine needs a tag or lowboy trailer and a commercial driver, so it is delivered and the haul is billed in both directions. That charge is the real jump between a mini and a mid-size hire.
Attachments, thumbs and the fine print
The base rate includes a digging bucket. A hydraulic thumb, a breaker, a compaction plate or a grading bucket each carry a rate and each has to be on the truck. Rental agreements also cap hours on longer hires, commonly around forty hours a week and two hundred a month, with an hourly charge above that.
Questions people ask about trackhoe rental
Is a trackhoe different from a backhoe?
Yes. A trackhoe is a tracked excavator that rotates fully and digs with one arm. A backhoe is a wheeled tractor with a loader at the front and a digging arm at the back, and its rear arm swings through a limited arc rather than a full circle.
What size trackhoe for a house foundation?
Most residential footings and basements are dug with an eight to fifteen ton machine. A three-ton mini can do the work on a small extension but will spend far longer at it, which usually cancels the difference in the day rate.
Do I need to call 811 before I dig?
Yes, and it is free. Place the locate request the required working days ahead of the rental so the marks are down when the machine arrives. Hitting a marked line with a rented machine is on you, not on the yard.
Is there an hour limit on the rental?
Usually. Day and week rates typically assume eight hours a day and forty a week, with extra hours billed from the machine's own meter. If you are running two shifts, tell the counter and get a double-shift rate quoted instead.