What is a grab lorry, and when should you use one?
If you’re planning a garden landscaping project or a driveway excavation, you might not be sure if skip hire is the right option for handling waste materials. Most people think skip hire is the only solution, even though grab lorry hire for rubbish removal exists.
So, what exactly is grab hire, and when is a grab truck needed?
What is a grab lorry?
A grab lorry, also referred to as a grab truck or wagon, is a waste-handling vehicle fitted with a powerful hydraulic grabbing arm that can reach over walls, fences, and hedges. They’re used to collect loose rubbish from a site and take it away to a suitable facility.
With grab hire, no skip needs to be placed - instead, the lorry simply arrives, ‘grabs' the materials, loads them into the back of the truck and drives away.
How does grab hire work?
Booking and arrival
The process begins by booking your grab hire truck for a date and time that suits you.
The waste management company, such as ourselves, will ask you for details about the rubbish that needs removing and the site layout to ensure you receive the most suitable-sized lorry for your project. Grab trucks can carry between 6 and 16 tonnes of waste, depending on vehicle size.
A qualified grab wagon handler will arrive on-site ready to shift the waste materials away, usually parking up on the road or your driveway. As the hydraulic arm is capable of reaching up to 8 metres, it doesn’t need to be placed right near the mound of rubbish or materials that need moving.
Grab truck in action and loading
The truck operator will get started with the waste removal - the extendable arm is controlled manually to ensure precision during the move.
The arm extends with the claw open, is lowered into whatever needs removing, clamping shut when full, and is lifted back over the wagon’s body, where the waste is released. This repeats until the truck is full or the waste is cleared - the whole process is typically quite fast and can be done in 20-40 minutes, depending on the project.
Waste is taken to a licenced facility
As soon as the job is complete, the lorry leaves and heads to a licensed waste transfer facility, where it’s sorted through and recycled where possible.
What can a grab lorry take?
Grab wagons are handy vehicles for a range of removals, but what materials can they actually handle? These trucks are usually used to take away:
Soil and excavated earth
Rubble
Sand, gravel and aggregates
Garden waste
Construction waste
What materials can’t a grab wagon take?
These vehicles can’t handle the following materials or substances:
Hazardous materials
Asbestos-containing materials (ACMs)
Liquids
If you’re unsure whether your rubbish is suitable for grab removal, we recommend getting in touch with one of our experts! We can also offer advice on alternatives for disposing of these kinds of materials.
When should you use a grab lorry?
Large trucks with hydraulic arms are normally hired for use in the following scenarios:
Where you have a large volume of heavy materials, such as rubble, that can’t be manually loaded into a skip
If you don’t have enough space on your road or drive for a skip to sit
You want the waste removed as quickly as possible, rather than a skip that sits around for days
The waste is spread across a wide area, such as after an excavation or demolition
Grab hire is a hugely popular service for both domestic and commercial projects, and can be used across various situations where significant volumes of loose waste need to be removed.
If you think a grab lorry might be right for your project, why not get in touch with TW Services today? Our friendly team will offer guidance and book in your waste collection at a time that best suits you.
