Editor's Note: Following is the latest installment in our annual series Renters' Review, where members of the staff at Rental magazine rent equipment and report on the experience.
Renters’ Review is always fun. We enjoy using and learning about equipment and it’s a unique opportunity to gain some insight into our audience and their critical issues. We’ve been doing this for several years now, and some rentals are better than others, but even the best ones reveal areas that could use improvement.
This was one of those rentals.
[VIDEO] Renters' Review 2017 - Can You Dig It?
The project
Not having anything to do on my own property requiring equipment, I turned to friends Ben and Trina Heussner, who are avid do-it-yourselfers, to see if they had anything going on. As luck would have it, Ben was in the middle of building a koi pond in their yard. He had already begun digging the shape of the pond by hand, but could use a compact excavator to do the heavy lifting, so to speak. Specifically, he planned to create a terraced effect on the edges of the pond to make room for aquatic plant life and he needed to dig a 5-foot deep pool on one end for the fish to hibernate in come winter.
Fortunately, Ben has years of equipment operating experience, so he was confident he has both the skill and finesse for such a project.
In search of an excavator
I told Ben I would handle finding the machine for the job. I had a place in mind, one of the only remaining independent rental companies in my area that I haven’t previously rented from. I called the branch closest to me and spoke to a friendly person who explained they didn’t have any compact excavators at their location, but referred me to a different branch not far away. I was surprised they couldn’t simply handle the rental from one location to another, but apparently, their system doesn’t work like that. So, they gave me the number for the other branch and I made the call.
The employee at the second location was also friendly and helpful as I explained the scope of the project. He told me he could offer a compact excavator with a 24-in. tooth bucket with thumb and a grading blade on the front. The machine has a 19-foot reach and weighs approximately 7,000 pounds, I was told. The cost would be $250 per day or $375 for the weekend. It turns out the machine was available that weekend and could be delivered within 20 miles for $130 or we could rent a trailer for $60 per day to haul the machine ourselves.
I reserved the machine for that Saturday and said I would call back when I knew if we needed delivery.
The employee explained the machine was equipped with an hour meter and eight hours equals a day, 12 hours equals a weekend. He also mentioned that we needed to bring the machine back with a full gas tank or we would be charged $6 per gallon for fuel. I agreed to all terms of the rental and looked forward to the weekend.
Transport challenges
Believing Ben had a truck large enough to haul equipment, I assumed we’d choose the trailer rental option. Ben asked me to find out if the rental company rents dump trailers as he needed a way to transport spoil from the jobsite. He wondered if the dump trailer could also be used to transport the excavator, effectively killing two birds with one stone. I called the rental company and asked about this, and they explained they do carry dump trailers for $125 per day but they could not be used for equipment transport. What’s more, Ben’s large SUV was not large enough and did not have an adequate towing package to tow an excavator, so we decided to have the machine delivered, which we scheduled for Friday afternoon. Ben rented a dump trailer from a different company.
Wait, what?
When I called the rental company on Thursday to confirm the details of the rental, I was told Ben had also called to discuss the machine and its capabilities. At that point, the person I spoke to explained the machine would be dropped off by an independent driver who would not be able to explain how to operate the machine.
What?? I thought to myself. The rental company employee apologized for not being able to be there to do any sort of familiarization, but noted that Ben had assured him he knew how to operate equipment.
I asked a few questions about the controls and general operation, which the employee did his best to explain.
Once again, the subject of fuel came up, however this time, the price he quoted me was $4.50 per gallon. Interesting…
It’s go time
I was not there when the machine was delivered but Ben was. He said the driver explained how to turn it on and went on his way.
The machine turned out to be a nearly new Bobcat E35, which is a 3.5-ton excavator and by no means a toy. Upon getting a good look at the machine, I simply couldn’t believe it is common practice to leave it with customers without a lengthy discussion about load capacity and safety concerns, let alone a simple demonstration of how the controls operate. Yes, Ben is a seasoned operator and might have made that clear when speaking with the rental company, but certainly there are many renters who are complete novices when a machine like this is delivered. Just from a liability standpoint, I would think a rental company would want to cover all the bases to ensure their customer’s safety.
As Ben later pointed out, at no point did anyone even point out the basics such as the need to call Diggers Hotline before digging, to ensure the area is cleared of bystanders before starting the machine, and the importance of locking machine functions whenever the machine is not operating.
The E35 did come with its operator’s manual, which was easily found next to the operator’s console. The booklet was simple and straightforward and would no doubt afford the novice user enough information to at least figure out how to get started.
But can you be productive?
As mentioned, Ben is comfortable with equipment and had no trouble jumping onto this machine and immediately moving piles of dirt. For my part, it was a challenge. We decided the best test would be to simply leave me alone in the cab to figure things out.
I started with moving the joysticks to see what happened. Ben had the machine in SAE (Caterpillar-style) mode. Operators also have the choice of running the machine in ISO pattern, but since I had no preference, I let Ben make the choice.
I say I’m a novice operator, but to be honest, I’ve had my share of opportunities to operate equipment over the years. It’s just that I never get enough time to make any progress toward becoming productive. So when I say I have no preference on controls, the truth is, I have enough knowledge to know when I don’t like a particular style of controls.
I recall from relatively recent equipment operating experiences that I feel pretty comfortable with the ISO pattern. The SAE-style controls just don’t come easily to me.
Needless to say, it took me a very long time to scoop a bucket full of dirt and dump it. Way too long, in fact. Sure, I might have gotten better at it with time, but the clock was ticking and we needed to get this project finished before the machine needed to be returned the next day.
So, I turned the controls over to Ben, who made quick work of excavating his koi pond and proceeded to peel layers of sod off his yard to make room for a driveway extension. I’m always impressed when watching skilled operators do their thing, as it appears the machine is truly an extension of the operator. And Ben was no slouch in this department. He was able to manipulate the bucket very precisely, effectively excavating the deep center of the pond without disturbing the carefully built terraces on the edge. I was impressed.
Meanwhile, Ben was impressed with the machine. For one thing, it appeared to be almost brand new. It still had the plastic wrap on the seat and barely a scratch on it.
Despite Ben’s satisfaction with the excavator, I wonder how many truly novice DIYers would have managed to be very productive with a day’s rental of this machine.
The final grade = B
Overall, this was a very successful rental. Customer service was friendly and helpful. Delivery was prompt. And the machine looked good and ran perfectly.
To Ben, the fact the machine was in great shape and delivered on time were the biggest factors in his assessment of the rental.
“It was excellent,” he says. “It was a brand new machine, very intuitive and very smooth; a nice machine.”
Regarding the timely delivery, he said: “On a project like this, it’s not huge but timing is still important. I’ve got a delivery of rock and if the machine is broken down and I don’t get ‘A’ done, then I can’t go onto ‘B.’ There are sequences here… so downtime is bad. But the machine was here on time and it ran well.”
When asked if there was anything he would suggest to make the rental more successful, he mentioned the need for more safety instruction.
“There was not enough emphasis on safety, both when the machine was delivered and when speaking on the phone with the manager,” Ben said.
I agree, and maintain it’s very important the driver delivering the equipment have enough knowledge to be able to instruct customers. Realistically, however, most renters judge their rental on how effectively they get their job done and in this case, we have no complaints.
As Ben says, “The machine came on time, it ran well, and we were able to complete the pond project in no time.”
