Heavy equipment is essential for construction jobs of almost any size, from home building to large-scale commercial and civil projects. Earth-moving equipment covers a broad range of machines that can excavate and grade soil and rock, along with other jobs.
Earth movers and other heavy equipment help to speed not only earth work but also materials handling, demolition, and construction. Many types of heavy construction equipment are designed for multiple functions, making them indispensable on job sites.
Excavators
Excavators are large construction equipment that can be driven by tracks or wheels, but tracks are more standard. A conventional excavator has a long bucket arm attached to a pivoting cab that can rotate a full 360 degrees. The operator sits in the cab and from there has good visibility of the site. Excavators are highly versatile and can be fitted with special attachments for specialty jobs. The most common uses for an excavator include:
Material handling
Excavating trenches, holes, and foundations
Brush cutting with hydraulic attachments
Rough grading
Heavy lifting and pipe installation
Mining
River dredging
Backhoe Loaders
Backhoe loaders, often called backhoes, have a body that's similar to a farm tractor and include an adjustable shovel in front and a small bucket in the back for digging. Backhoe loaders are considered medium-sized construction equipment for smaller jobs and are capable of working in limited space to perform various operations. They can move dirt, backfill excavations, dig holes and trenches, and place pipes and other materials. One of the best attributes of backhoe loaders is that they are wheel-driven and can be used in urban areas. They can even be driven to a job site. The bucket in the back can be changed to dig trenches of different widths.
Bulldozers
Bulldozers are considered one of the strongest and most reliable heavy equipment used in the construction industry. A bulldozer is a powerful and extremely heavy machine used to move dirt along large open tracts of land. Bulldozers have a wide, flat blade in front that can be operated using two hydraulic pistons to move the blade in a limited range of angles and depths. They are normally used to push piles of earth and for rough or fine grading, depending on the size of the bulldozer. A bulldozer's considerable weight helps it crush large boulders, among other operations.
Skid-steer loaders are among the most versatile machines available in the construction industry. They are small and nimble and can turn within their own footprint, just like a tank, making them ideal for work in confined spaces or in areas where construction activity has been finalized. Skid-steer loaders are wheel-driven and offer good traction in snow and mud. The wheels also minimize soil compaction and damage to finished areas. These handy loaders come in a few different sizes and can be outfitted with a variety of attachments to perform digging, drilling, compacting, log grappling, snow blowing, jack-hammering, and other tasks.
Crawler Loaders
A crawler loader is a cross between an excavator and a backhoe or bucket loader. Its tracks give it excellent stability, and its versatile bucket makes it useful for moving soil and debris and for loading material onto trucks. Crawler loaders are also used for excavation on relatively small projects. For larger-scale work, a hydraulic excavator is often used instead of a crawler loader.
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