Ensuring you have the right size bucket for your project is important for proper production and reducing wear and tear on the equipment. There are several factors to consider and calculations to perform to determine the correct bucket. Generally, you'll use OEM specifications, including the maximum lift capacity, bucket weight and bucket capacity. Find more information and how to calculate whether the capacity of your bucket will work in the Project Uptime article, How to Choose the Right Bucket for Your Excavator or Wheel Loader.

• Excavators are heavy-duty diggers. Typically, the deeper the hole, the bigger the machine required. They can drill, break rocks, create trenches or dig large holes for foundations. A compact excavator is ideal for heavy digging in a tight space.

• Loaders are perfect for scooping up loose material and depositing it elsewhere. They move well in soft soil but cannot dig very deeply.

• Bulldozers' giant blade attachments can push large quantities of dirt, debris, shrubs or building remains to where you want them. A bulldozer can also be outfitted with a rear "ripper" that can tear through rock and soil.

A backhoe is a piece of excavation machinery comprising a tractor placed between a loader at the front of the unit and a digger at the rear. A backhoe can also refer to the digging arm rather than the machine itself, and other earthmoving machines can have backhoe attachments. Backhoes are commonly used for digging, demolition, landscaping, road paving and more. Please visit our backhoe rental page for more information on our fleet of backhoes.

Bulldozers have a blade attached up front for pushing materials like dirt, sand, rocks and other debris. A bulldozer blade can come in straight, universal and combination configurations, each of which has its own ideal applications.

• Straight Blade (S-Blade): The S-blade is the shortest blade type and has no wings on the sides. This blade type is best for stripping and ditching applications on medium to hard materials.
   
• Universal Blade (U-Blade): The U-blade has large side wings and a curved shape to make it easier to transport materials while in motion. Universal blades are best used for pushing and handling various materials.
   
• S-U (Semi-U) Blade: This blade combines the straight blade's grading and stripping power with the universal blade's material-handling ability. It is ideal for pushing material across medium to large distances.
   
• Angle Blade: The angle blade is known for its ability to angle up to 30 degrees left or right so that operators can push material to the side. This blade is best used for shaping and stripping soft to medium-hard materials like gravel, sand and snow.
   
• Power Angle Tilt (PAT) Blade: This multidirectional blade can be controlled from the cabin and angle, tilt and lift in many different directions. Since these blades are so versatile, their ideal applications vary. However, they are commonly used for scraping, leveling, backfilling and land clearing with soft to medium materials.

Engine hours refer to the length of time the engine of a piece of equipment has been running. This metric measures when predictive or preventative maintenance needs to occur, similar to the mileage on a personal vehicle. Just as a car will need a tire rotation about every 5,000 miles, your equipment will need to undergo maintenance procedures at certain engine hour milestones. Keeping track of engine hours is vital to keeping your machinery in good working order and keeping your crew safe.

The end of an excavator's arm is secured with the bucket or other attachment (breaker, auger, grapple, hydraulic hammer, etc.). The operator can control how the boom, arm and bucket move with two joysticks. Each of these excavator components serves its own function.

• Rotating Boom: More simply referred to as just the boom, this sturdy mast connects the arm to the rest of the excavator frame.
   
• Digging Arm: Also known as a dipper arm, an excavator's arm is what attaches the boom to the bucket or alternative attachment.
   
• Bucket: The bucket is the metal scoop at the end of the arm that does all the digging, lifting and earthmoving.

Horsepower and torque are different ways of rating the effectiveness with which an engine accelerates. Horsepower measures the amount of power transferred from a machine's engine to the ground, whether by wheels or tracks. Torque, on the other hand, is a measure of the rotational force of your machinery engine at the crankshaft. In general, torque is more critical for towing and moving heavy machinery, while horsepower is more important for hitting and maintaining high speeds.

OSHA stands for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. It is a regulatory agency that enforces safe and healthy working conditions. OSHA also provides training, resources, education and assistance.

A sweeper, also known as a road broom or road construction sweeper, is excellent for efficiently removing debris and clearing a space. They come in different configurations, including ride-on, handheld and walk-behind sweepers.

Skid steers and track loaders are both used for various material handling applications. They are engine-powered machines equipped with lifting arms typically attached to a bucket. The main difference between these two types of loaders is that skid steers ride on wheels while track loaders have their weight evenly distributed by way of tracks. Both loaders can be outfitted with different labor-saving attachments like forks, high lift buckets, hopper buckets, augers and more. Please visit our skid steers and track loaders rental page for more information on our fleet of backhoes.

A trencher is a valuable piece of earthmoving equipment that utilizes a trencher blade to dig clean, uniform trenches for pipelaying, cable installation and more. Trenchers vary in size, from portable compact trenchers to trenchers that must be towed behind tractors or other heavy equipment during use.

A wheel loader, also known as a front-end loader, is comparable to a larger, more heavy-duty version of a skid steer. They are excellent for jobsites that require a high volume of material handling. Wheel loaders load waste into dump trucks or remove things like feed, asphalt, gravel, wood chips, or snow. Also known as front-end loaders, wheel loaders have wide, high-visibility cabins for reduced operator fatigue and unrivaled productivity. Additionally, for versatility, accessories like pipe carriages, forks and extendable booms can be added to any wheel loader. Check out our earthmoving attachments for more information on our available earthmoving accessories.