Earth Moving
Bobcat E26 Mini Excavator
A 3-ton class Bobcat E26 R-Series with a thumb and two buckets. 61 inches wide, 9 ft 6 in of dig depth, and 3.5 in of tail swing overhang for working tight against buildings and fence lines.
Operator training available. If you haven't run one of these before, say so when you request it. We'll spend the time getting you comfortable — or take the job ourselves.
This is the machine most of our customers are actually looking for when they call. The E26 is a 3-ton class excavator - small enough to work a residential lot without tearing it up, and big enough to dig footings, run utility trenches, pull stumps and move real volume in a day.
The number that usually decides it is 61 inches. That is how wide the machine is across the tracks, so it will pass a five-foot-two opening and not a five-foot one. Measure your gate, the side of the house, or the gap between the shed and the fence before you book - it is the most common reason a rental turns into a wasted afternoon.
It goes out with a thumb and two buckets, at no extra charge. The thumb is the part people do not expect and end up using most: it turns the bucket into a grab, so brush, rock, logs and root balls get picked up and placed instead of shoved into a pile. The 24 inch smooth bucket is for grading and finish work; the 12 inch tooth bucket is for trenching and hard ground.
Tail swing overhang is 3.5 inches, which means the counterweight barely passes the tracks as the house rotates. That matters when you are working along a foundation or a fence line where a conventional machine needs three feet of clearance behind it just to turn.
It comes ready to work: fluids checked, tracks and hydraulics inspected, and a walkthrough of the controls before you leave with it. If you have never run one, say so when you book - we will spend the time to get you comfortable, or take the job ourselves.
What people use it for
- Footings and foundation work on outbuildings and additions
- Water, electric and drainage trenching
- Stump and root removal
- Pond and swale digging, culvert setting
- Grading and rough site prep before landscaping or a build
- Trail construction and brush cleanup, using the thumb
Before you book
Excavation is the one rental where the paperwork matters. A signed Safety, Operation & Maintenance Agreement is required at or before pickup, and utility locates need to be called in and marked before you break ground. Wisconsin’s Diggers Hotline is 811, and the marking window is not instant - start that call several working days out.
Figures above are Bobcat’s published specifications for the E26 R-Series. The plate on this particular machine reads 6,420 lb rather than the published 6,489 - a normal difference, since configuration, tracks and a fitted bucket all move it.
Specifications
| Make and model | Bobcat E26 R-Series |
|---|---|
| Weight class | 3 t |
| Horsepower | 24.8 hp |
| Operating weight | 6,489 lb |
| Bucket digging force | 5,652 lbf |
| Arm digging force | 3,547 lbf |
| Dig depth | 114.4 in (9 ft 6 in) |
| Reach at ground level | 192 in (16 ft 0 in) |
| Max dump height | 128.8 in (10 ft 9 in) |
| Lift radius | 118 in |
| Boom swing | 70 deg left / 55 deg right |
| Width | 61 in (5 ft 1 in) |
| Transport length | 170.4 in (14 ft 2 in) |
| Cab height | 96 in (8 ft 0 in) |
| Tail swing overhang | 3.5 in |
| Travel speed | 1.8 mph low / 3.2 mph maximum |
| Auxiliary hydraulics flow | 14.2 gpm, selectable |
| Auxiliary pressure | 2,611 psi |
| Fuel tank | 9.1 gal diesel |
| Configuration | Open canopy, straight blade, rubber track, quick-tach, engine shutdown |
| Equipped with | Thumb, 24 in smooth bucket, 12 in tooth bucket |
Comes with
- Hydraulic thumbTurns the bucket into a grab. Picking up brush, rock, logs and root balls instead of pushing them around - the single most useful thing on the machine for cleanup work.
- 24 in smooth bucketNo teeth, so it leaves a clean flat surface. Grading, backfilling, cleaning a trench bottom, and any finish pass.
- 12 in tooth bucketNarrow and toothed, for trenching utility runs and breaking into hard or frozen ground.
Request this equipment
Requesting online holds Bobcat E26 Mini Excavator for your dates — it doesn't guarantee delivery or pickup details, which we'll finalise with you by phone or email afterwards.