Skid Steer vs. Toro Dingo vs. Mini Excavator: Which One for Your Job?

Three machines cover most of the earthmoving that happens in a Denver backyard or on a small site, and people rent the wrong one every week. The short version: a skid steer moves material, a mini excavator digs, and a Toro Dingo is a small skid steer that fits through a gate. This guide goes through what each does well, where each cannot go, and what they cost by the day at our Wheat Ridge yard.

The one-table answer

You need to…	Rent	Not that
Grade a lot, spread road base, load a dump trailer, move pallets	Bobcat skid steer	An excavator loads slowly; a Dingo carries a fraction of the load
Do the same in a fenced backyard or across a lawn	Toro Dingo	A 66 in wide Bobcat will not fit a 36 in gate
Dig footings, a trench to frost depth, a French drain, an egress window, a pond	Mini excavator	A skid steer bucket only scrapes; a Dingo digs shallow
Dig in a backyard behind a standard gate	John Deere 17D (retracts to 39 in)	The Bobcat E32 and 325 need 5 ft of clearance
Trench for sprinklers only	Toro TRX trencher	Any of the three is more machine than the job needs
Break concrete, drill post holes, mow brush	The machine you already have, plus an attachment	—

Skid steer: the loader

A skid steer is a loader first. Our Bobcat S510 and S550 lift 1,750 lb, the T550 track loader 1,995 lb, and all three move dirt, gravel, rubble and pallets far faster than anything else on this page. Grading a driveway, spreading twenty tons of road base, loading a dump trailer from a demolition pile, carrying pavers to the back of a lot — that is skid steer work. With the auger, trencher, hammer or brush cutter on the front it also drills, trenches, breaks and mows.

What it cannot do: fit through a gate. All three Bobcats are 66 in wide and need a double gate or an open side yard, and a wheeled machine will rut a wet lawn. It also does not dig — a bucket scrapes and pushes, but a hole deeper than a foot or two is excavator work.

Wheels or tracks? Wheels (S510, S550) are faster and cheaper on firm ground. The T550’s tracks float on spring mud, climb slopes and leave lawns in far better shape. Rates run from about $350 to $390 per day with weekly and 4-week rates lower per day.

Toro Dingo: the small skid steer

The Dingo is a stand-on, tracked mini skid steer about 35 in wide. It goes through a standard 36 in side gate, down a side yard, and across a finished lawn without rutting, and it runs a full rack of attachments — bucket, forks, augers, trencher, breaker, soil cultivator. The standard Dingo lifts about 500 lb; the TX1000 lifts about 1,000 lb and dumps over the side of a pickup or dump trailer.

It is the machine for the paver patio, retaining wall, xeriscape conversion or fence line in a fenced Denver backyard, where access rather than capacity is the limit. On an open lot it moves a third of what a Bobcat moves per hour, so it is the wrong choice for a driveway or a big grading job. Rates: about $230 (standard) and $250 (TX1000) per day, and it tows on a 5×8 trailer behind an SUV.

Mini excavator: the digger

A mini excavator digs — that is the whole point. Footings to frost depth, deck and pergola piers, water and sewer service lines, French drains, egress windows, small ponds, retaining-wall cuts. Our Bobcat E32 reaches 10 ft 2 in, the Bobcat 325 8 ft 6 in, and the John Deere 17D 7 ft 1 in. All have a backfill blade, so they push spoil back into the trench when you are done.

What it cannot do: move material efficiently. An excavator loads a trailer a bucket at a time and swings between each; a skid steer does it in a fraction of the time. Access: the E32 and 325 are 5 ft wide; the 17D retracts its tracks to 39 in for a gate and widens to 51 in to dig. Rates: about $290 to $350 per day. The E32 and 325 tow on a 3/4-ton truck and an 8×18 deck-over; the 17D tows on a 7×16 behind a half-ton.

Renting two

Plenty of jobs want two machines: the excavator digs, the skid steer or Dingo hauls the spoil and brings the backfill and base. A foundation for an addition is E32 plus S550; a backyard patio behind a gate is 17D plus TX1000. Rent them on the same order and book delivery — we bring both on one trip across the Denver metro. Every trench and base also needs a plate compactor or jumping jack before you cover it.

Before any of them arrive

• Call 811 at least three business days ahead so gas, electric and water lines are marked. It is free and it is the law.
• Measure the narrowest point on the route in: gate posts, AC unit, downspouts, the space between the house and the fence.
• Know what your material weighs. A pallet of pavers is 1,500–2,500 lb; a yard of wet clay is close to 3,000 lb.
• Have a driver’s license (18+) and a card for the refundable deposit hold. Delivery orders need a valid driver’s license. We walk you through the controls, but we expect you to have run this class of machine before.