Mobile excavators are hydraulic excavators mounted on rubber-tyred wheeled undercarriages which, unlike tracked excavators, are permitted to travel on public roads. Typical operating weights range from 7 to 25 tonnes, with reach lengths from 6 to over 11 metres.
Variants include dual-mode mobile excavators for track construction, walking excavators for steep slopes, and standard models with outriggers or dozer blades.
Common manufacturers include Liebherr (A-series), Caterpillar (M-series), Volvo (EW-series), Atlas (MH-series), JCB, Hyundai, Doosan and Wacker Neuson.
Mobile excavators are primarily used in urban civil engineering, gardening and landscaping, road construction, and for laying utility pipes. Common attachments include backhoe buckets, trench cleaning buckets, sorting grapples, hydraulic hammers, demolition shears and pulverisers. Quick-change couplers allow for rapid tool changes directly from the cab.