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When it comes to landscaping, the type of equipment you use can play a crucial role in the quality of the finished project. It is important to properly research each piece of machinery to ensure your business is buying or renting the best landscaping equipment for your application. In this landscaping equipment guide, you will learn which types of landscaping equipment may fit your company’s short-term and long-term goals. Using effective landscaping equipment and tools can help you keep your customers satisfied and coming back for more.
Before investing in heavy-duty landscaping equipment, consider what kinds of services your landscaping business provides be that commercial and/or residential. Caterpillar provides durable and reliable landscaping equipment that can benefit any landscaping business.
There are three main factors to consider before selecting equipment, and each corresponds to a question you must ask yourself:
After answering these questions you can narrow down the list of machinery options by filtering out equipment that doesn’t match your company’s services. There are certain types of equipment that are staples for landscaping businesses, including the following:
This type of landscaping equipment is small, lightweight, and typically used to transport material around the work site. It can be used for grading land, hauling gravel, and moving dirt. Skid steer loaders are compatible with a variety of Cat® landscaping attachments that greatly improve productivity, such as forks for unloading and loading pallets. This tool is extremely versatile and is well-suited for landscaping projects on sidewalks, curbs, asphalt, and pavement.
This piece of machinery is available with either wheels or tracks. Some landscapers like using wheels for their increased speed, but others prefer using the tracks for the ability to operate on a variety of different terrains and surface conditions. Excavators are able to rotate 360 degrees and can handle the most demanding landscaping jobs.
Excavators also come in a much smaller version. Mini excavators are easy to transport and allow landscapers to maneuver in tighter and more confined areas. Cat excavators are specially designed to handle digging whether it be a deep, wide hole or a small trench.
This type of landscaping equipment is primarily used on surfaces that are delicate, such as lawns. It handles tasks like clearing out thick brush, taking out rubble, and smoothing out material. A multi terrain loader can travel faster than a compact track loader and is compatible with many Cat landscaping attachments like blades, compactors, hammers, and backhoes.
This type of landscaping equipment is simple to operate and comes in handy when trying to maneuver around tight, small spaces. Its main feature is its huge load-carrying capacity that’s used to transfer material from one place to another. A main benefit of using a compact wheel loader is that it is quiet when in operation — a useful trait when working in residential areas and neighborhoods.
A compact loader is typically used for digging dirt, grading land, and carrying various types of plant materials. Compact track loaders work best in conditions where the ground is rough, and the area is wet, soft or sandy. Thanks to its tracks, this piece of landscaping equipment can handle a variety of different terrains and conditions with ease. Where tires would normally struggle, the tracks provide better traction and the ability to float over minor dips. This makes for a smoother grading performance.
This type of loader is great for handling larger jobs. These heavy-duty machines can move large volumes of material and big objects with ease. A notable feature of a backhoe loader is its two-sided design. One side has a bucket that lets you dig or backfill materials. The other side is useful for moving the dirt that was removed from the hole. This landscaping equipment is also useful for trenching in hard ground.
Telehandlers can reach and lift materials from high places with a crane-forklift hybrid. Caterpillar has several models of telehandlers with some lifting over 55 feet. This equipment is crucial for any landscaping job that requires lifting a large amount of materials like gravel, mulch, and paver stones.
A telehandler is compatible with many different types of attachments, such as the broom and brushcutting work tools. These types of attachments make clearing lots a quick and efficient task.
Dozers are durable machines that use tracks instead of wheels to push soil, gravel, and sand. This type of landscaping equipment is useful when you need to clear and grade land. The rotating twin tracks on a dozer help decrease the amount of pressure on the ground by equally distributing the equipment’s weight. This unique track design helps dozers easily navigate areas where the terrain is soft. Cat dozers are available in many sizes that can handle large commercial jobs or smaller residential projects.
Practically every landscaping job requires some sort of cleanup. That’s where the dump truck comes in. This piece of landscaping equipment is used to haul away excess materials and trash that shouldn’t remain on the job site. Dump trucks come in a wide range of sizes since every job may require something different.
This is another piece of equipment that helps clean up the job site. Water trucks are typically rented on a job-by-job and seasonal basis since not every landscaping project requires the use of water.
The easiest way to maximize your landscaping equipment is to use work tool attachments. These attachments make it possible for equipment to become multipurpose pieces of machinery that can perform additional tasks. The type of services your landscaping business offers and the jobs you take on will dictate which attachments best fit your landscaping equipment. Caterpillar offers a variety of high-quality attachment essentials, including:
An important decision to make when it comes to investing in heavy equipment for your landscaping business is whether to buy or rent. You must reflect on several factors such as the types of jobs you take and the scale of your landscaping business before making a choice. Both of these options have advantages and disadvantages, and there are several scenarios where one choice may be better than the other.
Buying landscaping equipment is a long-term option for business owners who plan to use their equipment frequently. If the services your business offers require a common rotation of equipment, buying the landscaping equipment may be the better choice than renting it for a limited time. Even though the initial investment is higher, the equipment can pay for itself quickly if used enough times. Equipment investments can set up your landscaping business for future growth and success by enabling you to take on the projects you want.
Despite the pros that come with owning your own landscaping equipment, there is a con to consider if you chose this route. Purchasing your own equipment means you are responsible for its upkeep. If your landscaping tools do not work efficiently, it can be detrimental to the quality of work you provide. You need to have a plan to manage the maintenance of your equipment to keep it running smoothly and safely.
Unlike buying equipment, renting is a short-term investment that is convenient if you know you will not use the equipment frequently. Renting is also a more cost-effective option if you only occasionally need access to certain landscaping equipment and tools. Renting equipment alleviates you from having to take care of your equipment’s maintenance. Renting also provides the perfect opportunity to try out equipment to see whether it is worth purchasing for your landscaping business in the future.
The most important factors for high-quality landscaping equipment are that the machinery is reliable, durable, and safe. Thankfully, Cat landscaping equipment checks all those boxes. Caterpillar has an established reputation of providing heavy-duty, reliable equipment for landscaping companies all over the world. Business owners have relied on Cat equipment as a trusted source for their landscaping companies since 1925.
The Cat commitment to innovation and advanced technology for improvements in safety, productivity and effectiveness has helped their landscaping equipment stand out among competitors.
Cat landscaping equipment prioritizes the safety of machinery, offering industry-leading safety features. Cat landscaping equipment also improves productivity given all the work tool attachments that allow a single machine to do more than what it is expected to do. The industry-leading quality and performance delivered from Cat equipment makes it well-suited to handle some of the most demanding landscaping jobs.
When you purchase equipment, you expect it to last the duration of the manufacturer-estimated life cycle. The Cat dedication to quality helps prevent their machinery from depreciating as much as competitor equipment might.
Using Cat equipment can simplify your business in a significant way. No longer will you have to go to multiple places to get parts, handle service repairs, or buy from a variety of dealers to rent different types of machinery. Buying from a Cat dealer provides a one-stop shop for all your landscaping equipment needs.
No matter if you are purchasing new or used equipment, Caterpillar delivers high-quality machinery that is safe, reliable and built to last. Cat equipment can handle all your landscaping needs while providing quality results for your customers every time.
Whether you choose to rent or buy equipment for your landscaping business, Blanchard Machinery Company is here to help. Our representatives are happy to address any questions or concerns you may have about our products and services. Contact us online or give us a call at 844-252-6242, and one of our representatives will reach out to you as soon as possible. If you are interested in receiving a cost estimation for your machine or project, you can request a quote. Find one of our locations, and stop by today!
