The Mighty Beast They Call A Mini Excavator

Have you seen those little excavators around your neighborhood? You can’t miss them, they fit on the back of a small trailer, towed by no more than a family wagon. If you ever see one in action, stop a moment and watch – for their size, they certainly pack a punch.

These mini excavators are generally used for digging trenches. They have a long arm so they can dig a fairly deep trench and with interchangeable shovels, they dig trenches from eight inches wide to two feet or more. It’s the power those little engines have that can be amazing. I noticed one mini excavator almost lifting its own cab and power plant off the ground – the only thing stopping it was the control of the operator.

Talking of cabs, they are tiny – just big enough for one person. Forget joining the operator as an observer to learn how to operate one. You will need to find a much bigger rig for that. Operating a mini excavator is not that different than operating a much larger excavator; it’s all a question of scale. Where many operators do go wrong is when they forget they are operating a much smaller piece of equipment.

Mini excavators, while small in size, still pack a decent punch when it comes to doing a day’s work. They are classed as part of the heavy equipment family so anyone trained to operate excavators through a heavy equipment training program can obviously operate a mini version of that equipment. Heavy equipment doesn’t necessarily mean ‘heavy’ equipment – even mini excavators qualify. They certainly look like a lot of fun – but then, it’s supposed to be work. I suppose you can have fun while you work.