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Vac Tankers
Sucker Trucks
Sucker and Gernie Trailers
Electronic Locating
Vacuum excavation trucks, also known as sucker trucks, hydro excavators or vac trucks, safely and gently remove unwanted material from an excavation area or tank, making them ideal for excavating around cable networks, pipelines and other underground services, whilst maintaining their environmental area. iseekplant offers a range of vacuum excavation services, including radar utility location and non-destructive digging, from suppliers across Australia.
Below we cover the various costs and rates associated with vacuum excavations as well as the types of vacuum excavation services you can hire on iseekplant and the capacities of the vac trucks.
Below we highlight very general averages for vac truck rates. The only way to ensure accurate rates for your project is to use our Get a Quote tool and obtain rates from multiple local suppliers operating in the area.
Vacuum excavation trucks of most sizes have a minimum 3-hour call out for small jobs, regardless of the volume of materials. This includes travel to and from the destination unless it’s outside of 1 hour travel time (then they will charge extra).
Usually, vacuum excavators work in a circuit, excavating sodden materials to capacity, driving to dump those materials in an appropriate place (which depends on whether you're dealing with soil, spoil, sewerage or hazardous waste) then return for another load. If you have a large square-meter or cubic-meter area you are trying to excavate, then larger capacity trucks can use fewer circuits and provide better productivity (which always means lower cost).
All costs below are general averages and exclude GST.
Vacuum Truck Size | Dry Hire Rates (Per Day) | Wet Hire Rates (Per Hour) | Other Costs |
---|---|---|---|
1,000L Vacuum Trailer | From $500 | Enquire directly with suppliers | N/A |
3,000L Vacuum Truck | From $550 | From $170 or $150 to $175 for 1 operator, $200 for 2 operators | Water usage, waste disposal (typically $6 per cubic metre) |
6,000L Vacuum Truck | From $625 | From $200 or $200 for 1 operator, $270 for 2 operators | Water usage, waste disposal (typically $6 per cubic metre) |
9,000L Vacuum Truck | From $650 | From $225 | Water usage, waste disposal (typically $6 per cubic metre) |
12,000L - 18,000L | Enquire directly with suppliers | N/A | Water usage, waste disposal (typically $6 per cubic metre) |
Whenever you are hiring a vac truck, you need to consider the actual charges of dumping what you excavate - which is usually soil, spoil, sewerage or hazardous waste. Below are general averages for the cost of commercially dumping particular types of materials as well as council dumping charges and additional costs and useful information.
Type of Waste | Cost per Tonne | Minimum Charge | Cost per kL | Discharge Fee |
---|---|---|---|---|
Commercial & Industrial Waste | $275 | $137.50 | - | - |
Construction & Demolition Waste | $275 | $137.50 | - | - |
Low Density Waste | $660 | $330 | - | - |
Security Waste (deep burial) | $320 | $160 | - | - |
Asbestos Waste, Householder Transported | - | $125 | - | - |
Asbestos Waste, Type 1 | $250 | $125 | - | - |
Asbestos Waste, Type 3 | $250 | - | - | - |
Asbestos Waste - Packages > 1 metre high | POA | - | - | - |
Category C Contaminated Soil | POA | - | - | - |
Clean Natural Soil | $20 - $60 | - | - | - |
Contaminated Soil | $200 - $1,000 | - | - | - |
Sewerage Dumping (2022 - 2023) | - | - | $22.51 - $35.01 | $26.93 |
Sewerage Dumping (2023 - 2024) | - | - | $24.04 - $37.39 | $28.76 |
Special Disposal Tankered Waste | - | - | Varies | Varies |
Type of Waste | City Charge | Waste Levy | Total Charge |
---|---|---|---|
Asbestos per tonne | $288 | N/A | $288 |
Mixed waste per tonne | $120 | $115.50 | $235.50 |
Regulated waste (normal burial) – category 1 - per tonne | $196.50 | $203.50 | $400 |
Regulated waste (normal burial) – category 2 - per tonne | $196.50 | $148.50 | $345 |
Regulated waste (special/supervised burial) per tonne | $196.50 | $115.50 | $312 |
Sand, soil and rock disposal per tonne or part thereof | $120 | N/A | $120 |
Sand, soil and rock minimum charge per transaction (up to 150kg) | $18 | N/A | $18 |
Vacuum excavation service rates vary significantly depending on the project type, scale and duration. There are additional fees for water consumption as well.
Vacuum Excavators & Sucker Trucks: A vacuum truck, also known as a vac truck or sucker truck, is a truck that sucks up solids, liquids, sludge or slurry from one location and transports them to another for disposal. They are used for excavating in sensitive areas, or for cleaning out sewer systems, septic tanks, or catch basins, among other things.
Electronic Locating & Utility Locating: A service performed by a vacuum excavator in collaboration with ground penetrating radar (GPR) technology where high-pressure water is used to carefully excavate an area to expose electrical services underground.
Jet Rodders: A vacuum excavator fitted with a high-pressure attachment that can clear blocked pipes and sewer lines.
Sucker and Gernie Trailers: Lower-capacity trailers towed by a road-registered truck, that suck or expel water to excavate or clean.
Vac Tankers: A vacuum tanker, on the other hand, is generally a semi-truck equipped with a large tank and a pump system for suction. These are usually designed for specific industries or applications such as transporting larger volumes of liquid waste or hazardous materials from one place to another.
The following includes capacities of types of vacuum excavation trucks, sucker trucks and vac tankers.
Capacity | Average Horse Power | Tank Capacity | Water Capacity | Blower Output |
---|---|---|---|---|
Small Vac Trailers | 24HP - 30HP | 350L - 400L Spoil | 150 - 200L Water | 16-17 Cubic Meters Per Minute |
Big Vac Trailers | 30HP - 35HP | 1,000L Spoil | 150L - 200L Water | 16-17 Cubic Meters Per Minute |
1,800L Skid Mounted | 60HP - 70HP | 1,800L - 2,000L Spoil | 1,500L Water | 29-32 Cubic Meters Per Minute |
3,000L - Truck Mounted | 100HP | 3,000L Spoil | 1,500L Water | 34 Cubic Meters Per Minute |
6,000L - Truck Mounted | 100HP | 6,000L Spoil | 3,000L Water | 34 Cubic Meters Per Minute |
9,000L - Truck Mounted | 100HP | 9,000L Spoil | 3,500L Water | 34 Cubic Meters Per Minute |
12,000L - Truck Mounted | 100HP | 12,000L Spoil | 3,500L Water | 34 Cubic Meters Per Minute |
18,000L - Truck Mounted | 200HP - 300HP | 18,000L Spoil | 5,000L Water | 90 Cubic Meters Per Minute |
Our Get a Quote tool asks you a bunch of questions about your vacuum excavation job so it can be sent to a large number of local suppliers. Usually, your best results come from sending your job to about 10 local suppliers. On average, about 3 will respond and be available (depending on the quality of your job and requirements). Our goal is to try to get every Seeker on iseekplant 3 responses.
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- JAMES CORRYView profileHere's some tips & frequently asked questions on how to find the right vacuum excavation service for your job
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