Providing landscaping services for residential and commercial clients in British Columbia may require using large heavy equipment to do certain tasks. You’ll use a wheel excavator as a grader for golf courses, and to dig into the ground to add fencing, playground equipment or trees. A track loader can be used to place down gravel for park paths or carrying mulch for plants.

When selecting the machines to rent for your business, you may notice that some come with tracks to move it about while other machines come with wheels. Yet which one should you select? Learn about the benefits and disadvantages of tracked versus wheeled equipment.

Tracked Heavy Machinery

Tracked machines have either steel-linked or rubber-linked tracks. The tracks have greater width, as they more evenly distribute the machine’s weight over a greater surface area. The tracks also offer stability when digging into the ground, especially for muddy and soft surfaces, as they provide greater traction. Track machines move slower across the ground, as they may top out at 4mph to 6mph.

Types of Landscaping Projects for Tracked Machines

Tracked machines, such as skid steer loaders, work well on projects where you want to minimize damage to soft and muddy surfaces where wheeled equipment would sink into the ground. They are suitable for golf courses, playgrounds and park spaces. These machines can help move landscaping materials about the jobsite, install plants and trees, and pull out thickets and brambles.

Wheeled Heavy Machinery

Wheeled heavy equipment possess rubber tires that provide more power and mobility to equipment. A wheeled excavator’s mobility allows it to move quickly over paved and hard surfaces. When looking for speed, a wheeled heavy machine can travel roughly 22 miles per hour and has the hauling capacity needed to move other equipment or materials to different locations.

Types of Landscaping Projects for Wheeled Heavy Machines

Wheel excavators, wheel dozers and articulated trucks are desired for large construction projects when moving the last building materials from the jobsite and for preparing the ground to be covered in lawn squares or grass seed. They also work well along hard and paved surfaces such as roadways and parking lots to provide landscaping services along hedge rows and flower beds. Wheeled machines can also be used for maintenance projects.

Getting the Right Machines for the Job

To figure out which type of vehicle to use, take into consideration the type of work that the heavy machine will perform, where the Vancouver landscaping project is located, and the ground conditions. Then you can narrow down your choices to select the best machine that offers the right stability, versatility, and power. Here is a quick review about the types of jobs that each machine excels at:

• Gravel pits, foundation backfilling and ditch digging: wheeled equipment
• Late winter or early spring landscaping on wet and soft ground, trenching, and lot clearing: tracked equipment

If either vehicle works in the situation, you may also consider one that has tires with a track that can be placed over them. Yet if you are only renting the vehicle for certain jobs occasionally, you may not want to deal with the extra time and parts needed to place on and remove the track.

For affordable heavy equipment machines, turn to Rent1. We have wheel excavators, articulated trucks, backhoes, skid steer loaders, and wheel dozers for your landscaping and construction projects. We also have operators who offer their knowledge and experience to your project. If your equipment breaks down, we offer a large selection of parts to ensure your equipment runs optimally. Speak with our company today to learn more about our equipment rentals.