A grab lorry is essentially a lorry with a skip on the back, the lorry is also fitted with an arm to grab the waste and drop it into the waste area of the lorry, making for easier waste removal and transportation of the waste.
Due to grab lorries needing to be operated by a driver trained to use it, they are not self-operated and are generally hired out by waste disposal companies.
What sizes of grab lorry are there
There are a few sizes of grab lorries available, depending on your needs and the amount of waste you need clearing out. Though sizes and weight capacity may vary from company to company, the most common grab lorries you’ll see for hire are:
– 4 wheelers – carries up to 18 tonnes (including lorry weight)
– 6 wheelers – carries up to 26 tonnes (including lorry weight)
– 8 wheelers – carries up to 32 tonnes (including lorry weight)
What can a grab lorry hold
Grab hires can take most non-hazardous waste, much the same as a skip, such as:
– Muck
– Clay
– Wood
– Hardcore
– Concrete
– Green Waste
If you’re unsure if the waste you want removing can be taken away with a grab lorry, it’s best to get in touch ask the company you are dealing with.
Who would use grab hire
There is a multitude of different reasons that you would use a grab lorry. For example, where you need to remove large volumes of waste where there’s not enough space for a skip and site access is difficult.
There is also a range of businesses where they are an ideal solution for waste removal such as:
Construction sites
There is going to be large amounts of refuge such as building renovation parts of the building are stripped out and need removing such as concrete and steel, or even taking away old furniture that needs to be scrapped.
Gardeners
Grab lorries can be ideal for these situations, especially for access as it can be a difficult and time-consuming task to fill up a skip, a grab lorry would help simplify this arduous task. This can take away any landscaping waste as well as other refuse.
Advantages of grab hire over a skip hire
Both skips and grab lorries have their own advantages depending on the situation and both have their place in terms of waste management and removal.
In terms of what makes hiring a grab lorry more beneficial, they can hold more waste than a skip, for example, one of our 8 wheel (32 tonne) grab lorries holds the equivalent of two builders skips. This helps minimize visits and reduces cost.
The fact that there is a grab arm on the lorry means that it can lift the waste directly into it, meaning there’s less of a need for carting the waste round using wheelbarrows and doing it manually.
If you don’t have somewhere on your property to put a skip, you would end up needing a skip permit to have it on the road (in most areas, skip hire companies are responsible for getting the skip licences).
The skip permit limits the times you can keep the skip on the road, where the times it can be there, may not be the most convenient for you. Grab trucks, on the other hand, don’t need permits, the lorry turns up, collects the waste, and leaves. If there is an issue where it’s blocking traffic they are a lot easier to move.
