Which tonnage is suitable for wheeled excavators?

Choosing the appropriate tonnage for a wheeled excavator requires comprehensive consideration of factors such as the working scenario, terrain conditions, transportation convenience, and load requirements. The following are the applicable scenarios and selection suggestions for wheeled excavators of different tonnages to help you make more accurate decisions:

I. Core Advantages of Wheeled Excavators (Premise Affecting Tonnage Selection)

II. Applicable Ranges of Wheeled Excavators with Different Tonnages

1. Small Wheeled Excavators (Below 6 Tons)

• Typical Tonnages: 1.5-6 tons (e.g., 3 tons, 5 tons)
• Applicable Scenarios:
• Narrow space operations: urban alleys, interior decoration, courtyard renovation, basement construction.
• Light-duty operations: small earthmoving, crushing (such as small-area road surface breaking), landscaping (digging pits, planting trees).
• Low load requirements: agricultural irrigation projects, small municipal maintenance (such as sewer dredging).
• Advantages: Compact size (width is usually 1.5-2.2 meters), can pass through narrow doors or alleys; extremely flexible in transfer, even able to move by itself in residential areas.
• Limitations: Weak excavation force, unable to handle hard rocks or large-tonnage materials; small operating radius.

2. Medium Wheeled Excavators (6-15 Tons)

• Typical Tonnages: 8 tons, 10 tons, 12 tons, 15 tons
• Applicable Scenarios:
• Main force in municipal engineering: road maintenance (excavation of asphalt/concrete road surfaces), pipeline laying (water/gas pipelines), green belt arrangement.
• Medium earthwork operations: site leveling, small foundation pit excavation (depth 3-5 meters), short-distance transfer of construction waste.
• Light crushing operations: crushing of concrete blocks, excavation of small rocks (with the cooperation of a breaker).
• Advantages: Balances flexibility and working capacity, can be equipped with various attachments (buckets, breakers, grapples); suitable for long-term operations on hardened surfaces such as urban roads and factory areas.
• Limitations: Use on soft ground (such as farmland, muddy sites) requires caution, and steel plates need to be paved or outriggers relied on; some 15-ton models may require a special vehicle driver's license (depending on local regulations).

3. Large Wheeled Excavators (15-30 Tons)

• Typical Tonnages: 18 tons, 20 tons, 25 tons, 30 tons
• Applicable Scenarios:
• Heavy earthwork projects: large site leveling (such as industrial park construction), high fill operations, long-distance material transfer (cooperating with dump trucks).
• Auxiliary mining operations: overburden stripping in non-hard rock mines, short-distance ore transportation (requiring pre-blasting).
• Ports/logistics parks: short-distance container transfer, bulk cargo loading and unloading (with the cooperation of grabs).
• Advantages: Strong excavation force (bucket capacity is usually 1-2 cubic meters), high operating efficiency; suitable for long-distance transfers (such as from one construction site to another several kilometers away).
• Limitations: High requirements for road surfaces (large self-weight, easy to damage ordinary roads); attention should be paid to road weight limits during transfer (in some areas, over-limit permits are required for those over 20 tons); stability depends on outriggers, which must be properly set during excavation, otherwise, it is easy to tip over.

4. Extra-large Wheeled Excavators (Over 30 Tons)

• Features: Very rare. Because the wheeled structure is difficult to support the super large self-weight and has insufficient stability, it is usually replaced by crawler-type ones. They are only used in special scenarios (such as fixed-area operations in large ports with reinforced ground), and crawler-type ones should be given priority when selecting.

III. Key Reference Factors for Tonnage Selection

• Terrain of the work site:
• Hardened roads (highways, factory areas): Priority is given to 6-20 tons, which balances efficiency and road protection.
• Narrow spaces (alleys, indoors): Must choose below 6 tons.
• Semi-hardened/mildly soft ground (rural dirt roads, grasslands): 6-15 tons, used with outriggers; avoid using over 15 tons on soft ground.
• Frequency of transportation and transfer:
• High-frequency transfer (changing 1-2 construction sites per day, with a distance of 5-50 kilometers): 6-15 tons are the most practical, can go on the road by themselves, and save trailer costs.
• Fixed-site operations (such as a construction site lasting for several months): If the ground allows, 15-25 tons can be considered to improve efficiency.
• Load and operation intensity:
• Light operations (daily workload < 50 cubic meters): Below 6 tons is sufficient.
• Medium operations (daily workload 50-200 cubic meters): 6-15 tons.
• Heavy operations (daily workload > 200 cubic meters): Over 15 tons, but the stability of the wheeled type needs to be evaluated.
• Regulatory restrictions:
• Road driving permission: Some areas have restrictions on the on-road tonnage of wheeled excavators (for example, those over 10 tons need a yellow license plate, and drivers need a B2 driver's license), so it is necessary to consult the local traffic management department in advance.
• Site access: Some residential areas and factory areas have restrictions on the self-weight of vehicles (for example, the load-bearing capacity of underground garages is usually ≤ 10 tons), so it is necessary to confirm the site load-bearing standards.

IV. Summary: Core Selection Suggestions

• Priority is given to 6-15 tons: This is the "golden tonnage range" for wheeled excavators, covering more than 80% of municipal, highway, and small engineering scenarios, balancing flexibility, efficiency, and regulatory adaptability.
• Narrow scenarios/light operations: Resolutely choose below 6 tons, sacrificing efficiency for passability.
• Heavy-duty, fixed-site operations: 15-25 tons (need to confirm road bearing capacity and stability requirements), but it is necessary to compare the cost performance with crawler-type ones of the same tonnage (if there are few transfers, crawler-type ones may be more efficient).