Hiring Dumpers for Landscaping Projects: Make The Right Choice

All construction tasks come with their own challenges, no more so when calving a new landscape. A well-designed garden or area of land can serve many positive purposes. Planning for projects like this can take months, along with a similar amount of time to complete. No doubt, one thing you need to consider, is ways to be highly efficient during your task. Once you have your plans in order, you are going to need to consider the equipment you need. All landscaping jobs will require the movement of material or earth. Because of this, we want to help you address some tips for hiring the right dumpers for landscaping projects.

No matter the size or scale of your project, the information we will share with you in this resource is from first-hand experience with working with thousands of businesses throughout the UK. With over 25 years’ of experience, we are sure to help you nail your next landscaping project. Let’s get started by understanding different dumper types. 

Understanding Dumper Types

There are many different types of dumpers on the market, however, understanding your options will enable you to make the best choice considering your requirements. When hiring dumpers for landscaping projects, you may want to consider one or more types of dumpers to complete specific tasks.

The most common dumper types to hire are as follows:

• Mini dumper/skip loader
• Medium weight 1-3T articulated wheeled
• Medium to large 6-9T articulated wheeled
• Rigid tracked dumpers 2T+
• Swivel skips

Mini dumper/skip loader

These types of dumpers are small in stature but pack a punch for most garden landscaping projects. They are designed small enough through a standard garden gate or door frame. Meaning, that if you ever have an issue with access, then this type of machine is certainly worth considering. Generally, these machines can carry a weight of up to 1T gross of either materials, earth or waste at a time.

Medium weight 1-3T articulated wheeled

The medium-weight category of dumpers to hire for landscaping projects is often the most popular. Why? Well, this is normally because most projects in fact take place in the rear of a garden or in areas with a restricted amount of access. These machines offer high levels of control and off-roading capabilities suitable for most project sizes.

Large 6-9T articulated wheeled

Larger articulated dumpers resemble the same design as the medium-weight category. However, are much larger and can carry bigger loads at one time. Ideally, these machines are used in an area that has plenty of room to manoeuvre.

Large tracked dumpers 6T+

Large tracked dumpers are a bit of a speciality of their own. These machines operate on rubber tracks and carry their loads on a skip that is fixed to a rigid chassis. They are highly manoeuvrable, easy to operate, and best of all… reduce ground distribution overall. Unlike wheeled dumpers, they can make a huge difference to your clean-up cost. Especially if the area you’re working on is wet and muddy.

Swivel skips

The final type of dumpers to use for landscaping projects are swivel skip dumpers. Instead of being a type of dumper, this is more of a feature that you can expect from manufacturers. But what does it do? Well, swivel skips offer a further way of increasing your efficiency and productivity when operating. Any dumper that has a swivel tip feature, will be able to twist the skip through 180 degrees to aid in loading and offloading.

Assessing Your Landscaping Needs

During a project, it is important to be well-planned and prepared for the work that is about to take place. As we mentioned earlier, some planning and designs can take months to prepare.  Don’t ever rush, but ensure all parties involved are happy prior to work commencing. When assessing your landscaping needs you may want to consider the following:

Knowing your area

Knowing the area you are working in is essential for the start of any landscaping project. This includes access and exit points. It is worth measuring them so that you can optimize the size of equipment you can get in and out. This may even determine the speed at which you will be able to complete the overall task.

Themes

Getting the brief right for your landscaping project is also extremely important. Always ensure you are using the right materials and plans to create the desired theme. These types and qualities may determine the type of dumper hire for your landscaping project. 

Details that need highlighting

Along with your brief, there will be details that you may be tasked to highlight within the build. Therefore, it is essential that you use what is available to you to achieve completion. An example of this could be a pond feature.

Safety

Whenever undergoing any type of work, you must ensure the safety of yourself and anyone working around you. Even though you can hire a dumper for your landscaping project, we would always advise you to undergo training before operating. Nevertheless, if you are using a piece of equipment for the first time, always ensure you are confident before operating.

Budgeting for Dumper hire

When considering hiring a dumper, the most important question you are probably going to want to ask is, “How much is it?” Well, before jumping straight into the overall cost, it is important to understand which machine is going to be best suited. Once you have determined the correct size dumper for your latest landscaping project, then you can start to assess the cost.

Hiring a dumper is a very cost-effective solution to a wide range of tasks you may undertake during a project. Be sure to budget for each one individually. This could be earthmoving, concreting, material moving and more. Here are some examples of the costs that you may need to budget for a range of different dumper hires for landscaping projects.

1T Hi Tip

A 1T HI tip articulated dumper is an ideal choice for small landscaping projects that require offloading into a skip. You should expect to budget for £145.00+VAT per week.

1T Tracked Dumper

1T tracked dumpers are ideal companions when the space is too tight for the use of an articulated machine. These are small enough to pass through a standard door frame carrying up to 1T in weight. You should expect to budget £145.00+VAT per week.

3T Articulated

A slightly larger articulated machine that offered a significant amount more room for the transportation of materials. This machine size is commonly the most popular size for all landscaping size projects. You should expect to budget £175.00+VAT per week for a machine like this.

6T Articulated

For larger landscaping projects a 6T articulated dumper is a suitable match. These machines are popular for construction site work and for sizable landscaping projects. Units of this size are ideal for a large amount of earthmoving during your initial phases. You should expect to budget £230.00+VAT per week for a machine of this size

6T Tracked

For the most complex of material transporting, you may want to consider using a tracked dumper. These machines usually cost more than an articulated dumper to hire, however can save you money in the long run. How so? Well, the ability to work in tougher conditions allows you to keep working even when the weather is against you. Additionally, it reduces the overall compaction of the area your working in, potentially saving your hundreds of pounds in time. You should expect to budget £600+VAT per weekfor a machine like this.

9T Articulated

For the largest landscaping projects, where possible, you may want to consider using a 9T articulated dumper. These machines are designed to work in tandem with large excavators to move huge amounts of materials at one time. For a machine of this size, you will need to budget around £258.00+VAT per week.

Inspecting Dumpers for Safety

Inspecting dumper for safety faults and issues is essential to the start of any working day. You should take good care in checking the machine over before even starting your day’s work.  Here is an example of a daily operators checks for an articulated 3T dumper:

The key thing you need to take away from this tutorial video is that, if the machine is not in good working condition, DO NOT USE IT!. If you ever find a problem with your hired machinery, you should always contact your supplier immediately to resolve the problem. Failure to do so could result in serious injury while operating.

What happens next is down to your supplier. If you come across a problem, then an engineer will come and fix the problem on site. If not, the machinery is swapped for you. Please note that not all plant hire suppliers will offer the same service. Prior to choosing your supplier, you should consider the aftercare that is offered with the machinery.

Common Dumper Rental Mistakes to Avoid

There are several rental mistakes to avoid when hiring a dumper for a landscaping project. Hopefully by sharing these common issues with you, you can avoid any nasty hiccups when it comes to choosing your equipment.

Size

The size of the machinery you require is extremely important. We can’t stress enough that you measure all your entrance and exit points of your site to confirm your machinery will reach where it is needed. Failure to do so could result in additional hire fees, transport fees if the machinery is delivered and finally project delays.

Poor planning

Poor planning can be the downfall of any landscaping project. When choosing to hire a dumper for your landscaping project you should book the machinery in plenty of time. Last-minute hires can become very stressful and end up costing you more money than you may have originally budgeted. In addition, poor planning could eat into your profits and time.

Quality of equipment

Choosing poorly maintained equipment because it is “cheaper” is also a recipe for disaster. It is proven that if you stick to working with an organisation that provides up-to-date machinery, the less likely the chance of breakdown is. Choosing a supplier can be a head-scratching task, however, finding the right fit for you and your budget is crucial to your operation.

Problems starting the machinery

Inexperience with machinery can slow the efficiency of any project. One key issue many have trouble with is starting the dumper correctly. If you ever find yourself stuck, you should jump over to our resource “Common Problems Starting Your Hired Dumper. QUICK TIPS”

If you intend to use a dumper regularly, you should invest in professional training which you may have to prove to work on most UK construction sites.

Supplier

How your supplier operates needs to align with your values and operations. Understand what you are getting for your money. What manufacturer is the equipment you going to hire? What additions do you get, eg: on-site repairs? In-house engineers and not subcontracted? These are just a few of the questions you should be asking to find your ideal dumper hire partner.

Where to Find Reliable Dumper Hire For Landscaping Projects UK

If you are in need of dumper hire for a landscaping project then may be WHC Hire Services can help. For over 25 years we have been suppling landscaping teams and DIYers the best equipment available on the market. With a large fleet of Thwaites, Slanetrac, Takeuchi and Kubota dumpers to choose from, we are sure to have the right equipment to help you get the job done. Find out more about the dumpers to hire for landscaping here, or call us on 01684377977 today