Compact, truck-mounted excavator can dig with air or water

Compact, truck-mounted excavator can dig with air or water
Compact, truck-mounted excavator can dig with air or water

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The HXX ParaDIGm truck-mounted vacuum excavator from Vactor Manufacturing is designed to dig holes with air or water for the installation, maintenance and repair of underground infrastructure and utilities.

“It’s designed to do quick pothole locates,” says Ben Schmitt, product manager. “The focus was on being able to pull up to the job site, start the application, finish the application as fast as possible, so you can do several potholes successfully without having to put a lot of time in-between each hole.”

The Park-n-Dig feature minimizes the time between arriving on the job site and excavation. The excavator features an extendable boom with a 6-inch vacuum hose. The vacuum system produces up to 2,200 cfm and is capable of digging up to 6 feet without additional pipe and hose.

“When you’re digging around unknown utilities, the only way to do it effectively and safely is with vacuum excavation,” Schmitt says. “It’s quick, easy, and the ParaDIGm with its 6-inch vacuum hose is much faster and clogs less compared to 3- and 4-inch systems on trailer units.”

Available on a Class 6 (non-CDL, state dependent) or Class 7 chassis, the excavator offers a maximum payload of 6,000 pounds.

“Weight capacity is a major, major issue in a lot of states,” Schmitt says. “Weight tickets are becoming more frequent, more expensive, so we’re trying to build something for the customer that allows them to maximize their payload capacity but still do it on a chassis that doesn’t require a CDL.

“It’s just a smaller size and scale compared to larger truck-mounted units, but for its size, it’s pretty powerful,” he says.

Since no special license is needed, the ParaDIGm also makes it easier to find operators and drivers.

“It’s getting harder and harder to find people who can drive a CDL truck and who can also drive manual transmissions,” Schmitt says. “So we’ve set out to have something that anybody can drive.”

A single-engine, PTO-design drives all vacuum, air and water systems. An onboard air compressor is able to power utility tools such as jackhammers and tampers. Additional storage space accommodates replacement parts, equipment and tools.

With the ability to use air or hydroexcavation as a digging method, the ParaDIGm can be used in a variety of applications.

“It comes standard with air excavation capabilities and hydroexcavation capabilities,” Schmitt says. “The reason for that is some areas don’t allow you to use water, and air allows you to use the material to put back in the hole when you’re done, for example.”  800/627-3171; www.vactor.com.



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