Rental Equipment for Lawn Care

Lawn care and landscape contractors are constantly looking to improve their services to deliver better results at faster speeds for their customers. No two landscape jobs are the same, so the more versatile the equipment, the better. 

Lawn equipment rentals give business owners access to the most advanced, high-performing compact landscaping equipment and work tools. Renting opens up equipment options, and it also helps businesses keep their overhead costs low so they can grow their companies by taking on more projects.

Jump to a section:

• Top Lawn Equipment Rentals
• Top Attachment Rentals For Lawn Care
• Benefits of Lawn Equipment Rentals

Top Lawn Equipment Rentals

Lawn care businesses need multipurpose equipment that improves productivity, efficiency and profitability. Tough jobs also need durable machines that are guaranteed to perform. Renting construction equipment gives contractors access to this type of equipment whenever they need it, expanding their services so they can grow their customer list.

Below are a few of the most popular lawn equipment rentals that landscape companies can benefit from:

1. Skid Steer Loaders

Many startup landscaping business owners first turn to skid steer loaders as their workhorse, and for a good reason. Skid steer loaders are one of the easiest pieces of construction equipment to use. They have very simple controls and the right features for small-scale construction and landscaping jobs. 

With dozens of compatible work tools, skid steer loaders can complete the full range of lawn care tasks, from turf removal to soil conditioning to seeding to mowing. As loaders, they’re also invaluable for unloading, hauling and laying down soil. Their small frame and precise application make them ideal for grading and finishing jobs. This compact size is also beneficial in residential capacities — skid steers have the tightest turning radius of any of these lawn care equipment rentals. They easily navigate small lots, have good traction and can generally operate on dry soil without compacting it too heavily. 

Skid steers are also an easy machine for contractors to manage. Their light weight allows them to be loaded and unloaded easily, making transportation a breeze.

2. Compact Track Loaders

A comparable machine to the skid steer loader is the compact track loader. Instead of rubber wheels like the skid steer loader has, the compact track loader moves about on rubber tracks. Like skid steer loaders, compact track loaders are rigid machines. The combination of the rubber tracks and the rigid undercarriage make compact track loaders uniquely suited to tackle rugged and uneven terrain, as their design gives them great floatation over these types of grounds.

For landscapers specializing in lawn care, compact track loaders are a great machine for initial grading, helping to prepare the lot for seeding or laying down sod. Because they’re also compatible with a range of work tools, compact track loaders can tackle the same types of jobs as skid steer loaders, including aerating soil.

When it comes to lawn maintenance, compact track loaders can safely traverse a sensitive lawn, raking up leaves and debris. In the winter, a compact track loader can be used as a snow removal machine, helping to preserve turf below.

3. Multi-Terrain Loaders

Multi-terrain loaders are often confused with compact track loaders because they look similar and perform comparable tasks. For extremely sensitive surfaces, multi-terrain loaders excel in protecting the delicate ground beneath their tracks. Multi-terrain loaders are designed with a suspended undercarriage, meaning the machine’s rubberized components absorb the machine’s weight, transferring limited pressure to the ground. This allows multi-terrain loaders to easily float over terrain while maintaining sufficient contact when the ground is especially uneven.

For operators, the suspended and rubberized undercarriage makes this machine a smoother ride compared to rigid-framed models. It can also travel a bit faster than other compact loaders, adding to its productivity. Like its other compact counterparts, multi-terrain loaders can accomplish a wide variety of lawn care and landscaping duties with numerous specialty attachments. 

Multi-terrain loaders are equally as maneuverable as other compact machines, making them a good choice for small-space residential and commercial jobs. Though they’re compact, they can also take on larger jobs, like athletic fields and golf courses, with efficiency.

When deciding between the skid steer loader, the compact track loader and the multi-terrain loader, be sure to consult an equipment expert at The Cat® Rental Store.

4. Mini Excavators

Excavators are not the first machine that comes to mind when thinking of lawn care and landscaping jobs. That's because excavators are traditionally full-size, heavy-duty equipment that can’t compete with compact models. However, new innovations in equipment design have led to the release and popularization of mini excavators.

Compact excavators weigh anywhere from under a ton to up to 10 tons or more. The smallest models of mini excavators are ideal for tackling many common landscaping tasks, including lawn care and maintenance jobs. Like loaders, mini excavators can be coupled with the must-have lawn care work tools. Because of their tracks, mini excavators can easily traverse unfinished, uneven ground. Their buckets are useful for preparing for lawn work, whether that’s debris removal, backfilling or fine grading. Attach a lawn care work tool like a flail mower or a brushcutter, and trim back large grassy areas or prune away overgrowth.

Mini excavator operators benefit from 360-degree visibility, making this compact machine better to maneuver and operate in confined spaces. Like other compact machines, the mini excavator is easy to transport, operate and store.

Top Attachment Rentals for Lawn Care

Choosing the right equipment rentals for your lawn care business is only part of the equation. You also need to select the right attachments that enable your business to diversify your service offerings. Cat work tools add more capabilities to your equipment, giving them increased power and productivity. 

Most Cat landscape work tools are universally compatible with skid steer loaders, compact track and multi-terrain loaders, as well as mini hydraulic excavators. The following are some of the must-have lawn care attachment rentals available at The Cat Rental Store:

1. Augers

For a lawn care and landscaping business to thrive, contractors need powerful and efficient tools. Cat auger work tools deliver both speed and performance, drilling deep into the ground and churning up soil in a matter of seconds.

In the lawn care business, auger attachments come in handy for jobs like:

• Creating post holes to fence in a fresh lawn.
• Digging holes for new plantings or to transplant existing ones.
• Drilling footings for deck installations and other support structures.

Augers are designed to drill deep and uniform holes that deliver exact precision needed for new installations. Cat augers are hydraulic tools with a direct-drive delivery system, delivering between 815 and 5,000 foot-pounds of torque, depending on the model. A variety of drill bits is available for an auger attachment. Depending on the application, you can choose from drill head bit options like standard, tree, industrial and rock.

2. Brushcutters

Lawn care companies need a way to efficiently tame vegetation overgrowth in order to maintain a pristine landscape. Brushcutters do this and so much more. Cat brushcutter work tools come in two broad types:

• Standard brushcutters: Cat BR brushcutter models are ideal for managing private residential and commercial lawns or larger swaths of land, like recreational sports fields or golf courses. These closed-deck models are capable of cutting through unruly brush up to 4 inches in diameter. Cat standard brushcutters have a working width ranging from 60 to 78 inches, giving you the productivity option that best suits your needs.
• Industrial brushcutters: For heavier-duty needs, choose the Cat BRX models of industrial brushcutters, which have a front push bar that’s necessary to mow down thick vegetation before cutting it up. Industrial brushcutters are equipped with two more blades than the standard model and have a working width of 72 inches. 

Be sure to consult The Cat Rental Store local representatives to match the right model of brushcutter to your machine’s hydraulic rating.

3. Buckets

Buckets are a must-have tool for any landscape and lawn equipment rental because they take care of all the heavy lifting. When installing or maintaining a lawn and landscape, a bucket can take care of numerous jobs, including:

• Lifting topsoil out of the truck and hauling it to its site.
• Unloading rolls of turf from the truck and transporting them to site.
• Hauling away removed sections of turf, brush cuttings and other debris.

All compact Cat machines come equipped with a standard front-end bucket. There are a variety of other specialty buckets to choose from for your landscape equipment, including skid steer loader buckets, mini excavator buckets, loader buckets and more. 

4. Compactors

Compacting is an essential job when laying down new sod or as preparation for seeding in order to firm up the earth after it’s been graded, smoothed and leveled. To get efficient soil compaction, you need the right tool for the job. Among the Cat suite of work tools, you’ll find two types of compactors you can use in your lawn care business:

• Compactor drum: The first type is the compactor drum, which is compatible with your compact loaders, including skid steers, compact track and multi-terrain loaders. A drum is a vibratory roller that applies immense downward pressure to the soil to compact it firmly and quickly. 
• Compactor plate: There’s also the compactor plate, which is compatible with mini excavators. Rather than a roller, this attachment uses a vibrating plate that stamps down on the soil to compact it.

5. Flail Mowers

If you’re trying to revive an overgrown field or a neglected lawn, a flail mower is a powerful work tool to help you manage grasses and shrubs. A flail mower attachment takes the place of a traditional lawnmower when it’s not up to the task of challenging terrain. The flail mower is built with heavy-duty hammer teeth that swing independently while hinged to a steel drum, giving it optimal mulching power.

Attach a Cat flail mower to your mini excavator and tackle brush overgrowth on steep hills and embankments with the additional reach of the excavator arm. Cat flail mowers have a working width of 39 inches, helping you to cover lots of ground in one pass and saving you time and money.

6. Forks

As one of the more popular lawn care rental equipment options, fork attachments are convenient add-ons to your existing landscape equipment, whether that’s a skid steer loader or a compact track or multi-terrain loader. Giving you significant lifting power, forks allow you to pick up and place palletized goods. They’re multipurpose tools that can be used to haul a variety of job site supplies, from sod to heavy bags of fertilizer to other small landscape equipment or products.

There are a variety of different fork attachments to choose from. The most popular type for landscaping needs is the pallet fork. It’s built with a rigid carriage that supports and stabilizes heavy loads as you transport them about the site. Choose from three different tine lengths, including 36, 42 and 48 inches.

7. Mulchers

If you’re looking to maintain land in an environmentally sensitive way, a mulcher is one of the most versatile tools to use. Mulchers allow you to effortlessly cut down and grind up brush and overgrowth or turn pruned vegetation into biologically beneficial mulch. 

Cat mulchers contain a rotating drum equipped with a scattered and helical pattern of teeth. This scattered pattern ensures only one portion of the vegetation is ingested at a time and that each tooth impacts the vegetation independently. This allows for the finest possible mulch byproduct.

Cat mulchers are available for your skid steer, compact track or multi-terrain loader, with six different compatible models, depending on the hydraulic requirements of your machine. Working widths range from 48 to 67 inches in the standard mulcher models. 

8. Rakes

Lawn care maintenance efforts require a diligent rake tool to help separate, remove and dispose of unwanted debris and trash. Cat landscape rakes are the ideal attachment for professional lawn care businesses, athletic park contractors or golf course maintenance personnel. When installing new lawns, landscape rakes help prep and condition soil in preparation for laying down new sod or planting seed.

Cat landscape rakes are designed with a generous working width to pass over fields and lawns, picking up debris and depositing it into the attached hopper. These rakes can ingest items between 3/4 inch up to 6 inches high. The rake’s rotating drum of carbon-steel teeth rips up the ingested items, making it easier to tackle large jobs and dispose of the debris at the end of the job.

9. Stump Grinders

When revitalizing a residential yard or building a new recreation field or golf course, lawn care and landscape service providers may need to remove old or blown over trees. The stumps left behind need to be ground down, even below surface level, leaving a smooth finish.

Cat stump grinders deliver powerful grinding action so you can cut away at old stumps and leave them with an even surface. With their reinforced carbide cutter wheel, they’re able to tackle any size of root or stump, making them the perfect option when dealing with multiple trees and shrubs or various types. With two models available, Cat stump grinders are compatible with your compact equipment, whether they’re Standard Flow, High Flow or High-Flow XPS hydraulics systems.

10. Tillers

Being able to quickly and effectively till soil is a crucial task in the landscape and lawn care business. Adding a tiller attachment to your compact landscape equipment can help you get this job done. Tillers penetrate hardened soil, breaking it up and mixing it thoroughly. This allows for aeration and also helps with preparing the lot by assisting in grading and leveling the ground. Properly tilled soil will allow your newly laid sod or freshly planted seed to get the nourishment it needs to thrive.

Cat landscape tillers come in a 53-inch or 78-inch working width, giving you options for small residential projects or larger jobs, like ball fields and greens. The tiller drum contains tungsten-coated double-edged tines capable of penetrating and pulverizing hardened soil. 

11. Trenchers

Lawn care businesses need effective tools to dig up smooth, even trenches for laying irrigation lines for residential properties, golf courses, sports fields and more. A Cat trencher attachment helps you achieve this uniform trench quickly and effectively. Penetrating deep into the earth with a smooth cutting motion, the trencher’s blade churns up material while its auger displaces the dirt to the side so the trench remains smooth.

Cat trenchers can achieve a dig depth from 36 to 60 inches, depending on the model. They're compatible with compact equipment, and specific trencher models are suitable for Standard Flow or High Flow hydraulic machines. There are also two options for displacing trenched-up dirt — the manual or hydraulic side shift. 

Benefits of Lawn Equipment Rentals

Lawn care and landscaping businesses have multiple decisions when it comes to choosing the right lawn equipment rentals and the best attachments for the job. In addition to lining up the right machines and tools, business owners must decide whether to rent or buy their equipment. 

Equipment rentals provide contractors the perfect short-term, flexible solution so they can tackle in-demand projects without downtime. Explore more of the benefits of lawn care rental equipment below:

1. Seasonal Availability

The nature of lawn care and landscape work is that it’s highly seasonal. You need different equipment and tools from one month to the next. Come springtime, contractors need high-performing equipment available on-demand to meet the needs of the busy season. A reputable local rental provider helps contractors get the high-performing equipment they need right away. 

By wintertime, lawn maintenance turns to protecting and preserving vegetation from harsh winter conditions. Lawn care businesses can rapidly shift gears and respond to contract needs by renting the necessary equipment as needed.

2. Keep Overhead Costs Low

Renting your lawn care equipment and work tools is also a smart financial move. Renting keeps your overhead costs down because it doesn’t require a significant cash outlay to finance your purchase. Instead, pay only a rental rate that covers the term you need the equipment for. 

You’ll also forego the ongoing expenses, like maintenance and repairs, insurance and storage. With your rental rate, even your transportation costs are included in the fee. The only additional overhead you need to address is your fuel.

3. Take on More Jobs

Renting lawn care equipment is also a great solution for supplementing an existing fleet of equipment. When you’ve got a contract opportunity but you don’t currently own the necessary equipment, you don't need to turn the job down. Instead, turn to The Cat Rental Store to fill in the necessary equipment.

Rental providers have a wide variety of work tools and equipment designed to help you take on more jobs. Whether you need a specialized attachment or a different size of machine, The Cat Rental Store location nearest you can equip you with whatever you need to say yes to more projects.

Find Lawn Care Rental Equipment at The Cat® Rental Store

Renting lawn care equipment is a flexible and cost-effective way for small businesses to expand their services and get access to the best tools. With a wide range of compact landscaping equipment available and dozens of high-performing tools, lawn care businesses can find the equipment they need to keep their competitive edge.

For high-performance compact landscaping equipment and work tools, contact The Cat Rental Store. With over 1,300 global locations, there’s a local representative near you ready to assist your lawn care business in finding the right equipment.