A typical residential site work job uses excavators (for digging and lifting), bulldozers (for moving large amounts of material and rough grading), wheel loaders (for loading trucks and moving material), skid steers (for tight-access work and finish grading), backhoes (for utility trenching), and dump trucks (for hauling spoils). The specific mix depends on the job — a small driveway might use just a skid steer and dump truck; a full development site needs the full fleet.
The main equipment categories
Excavators
The workhorse of any excavation crew. A hydraulic excavator with a bucket on a tracked base — comes in sizes from compact (used for tight residential lots) to full-size (used on larger sites). Most foundation excavations on Long Island use mid-size excavators. With different attachments — buckets, grapples, hammers, mulchers — an excavator can do far more than just dig.
Bulldozers
Tracked machines with a large front blade. Used for moving large volumes of earth, rough grading, and pushing cleared material. Indispensable on larger sites or any job where significant material has to be shaped. Sizes range from small dozers (residential) to massive earth-moving machines for major development sites.
Wheel loaders
Rubber-tired machines with a large front bucket. Used primarily for loading dump trucks, moving stockpiled material around a site, and handling bulk materials like crushed stone, sand, and topsoil. Fast and mobile, but doesn’t have the digging power of an excavator.
Backhoes
A combination machine with a loader bucket on the front and an excavator-style arm on the back. Versatile for smaller jobs — utility trenches, drainage work, light excavation. Often the right size for residential repair or installation work that doesn’t justify a larger excavator.
Skid steers
Compact, highly maneuverable machines that fit through narrow access points where larger equipment can’t go. With dozens of available attachments — buckets, augers, grapples, mulchers, brooms — a skid steer is the swiss-army-knife of site work. Especially useful for finish grading, working close to existing structures, and tight residential lots.
Dump trucks
The unsung heroes. Spoils, fill, gravel, sand, asphalt — it all moves on dump trucks. A serious site work company runs its own fleet so spoils removal and material delivery don’t bottleneck the schedule.
Other specialty equipment
- Stump grinders — for reducing tree stumps to chips during land clearing
- Plate compactors and rollers — for compacting base layers under driveways, foundations, and slabs
- Trenchers — dedicated machines for narrow utility trenches
- Concrete saws and breakers — for removing existing concrete or asphalt
- Pumps — for dewatering excavations with high groundwater
Why owning the fleet matters
A contractor who owns their equipment has a different operation than one who rents everything. Owned equipment means:
- No waiting for rental availability — work starts when scheduled
- No rental markup added to your project
- Crews who know each piece of equipment intimately
- Better-maintained machines (because the owner is paying for the maintenance, not the rental yard)
- Right-sized equipment for each job, not whatever the rental yard had
How DLI’s fleet works
DLI Contracting owns and operates a fleet of more than 35 pieces of heavy equipment — bulldozers, excavators, wheel loaders, backhoes, skid steers, and a full complement of dump trucks. The same crews have been running this equipment for years, which means jobs move efficiently and the right piece of equipment shows up for each phase of the work. Owned and maintained in-house means the schedule we promise is the schedule we can hold.