Buying one size too small is the most expensive mistake in this category — you end up renting the machine you should have bought. Buying one size too big is the second. Here's how the classes actually differ.
Measure the tightest point the machine must pass: gate, side yard, basement door, dock. That number eliminates entire classes before you look at a single spec sheet.
Retractable tracks squeeze through a 36-inch gate, roughly 5 feet of dig depth, light enough for a half-ton truck and a standard trailer. Ideal for landscapers, homeowners with real projects, and anyone working behind houses.
The volume seller for a reason. Seven to eight feet of dig, enough breakout to trench through packed clay, still trailerable without a CDL. If you're doing drainage, septic or footings weekly, this is your machine.
Nine to eleven feet of dig and the stability to run a breaker all day. This is production equipment — it earns money on a jobsite and is overkill for a backyard.
A 1-ton class machine with retractable tracks fits a standard 36-inch residential gate. Anything 1.5 ton and up generally needs 48 inches or a removed fence section.
Roughly 5 ft for a 1-ton, 7–8 ft for a 1.5–1.8 ton, and 9–11 ft for a 2.2–3.2 ton machine. Dig depth scales with tonnage more predictably than any other spec.
A 1-ton excavator with attachments on a suitable trailer is generally within a half-ton pickup's rating. From 2 tons up, plan on a 3/4-ton or larger and an equipment trailer rated for the load.