Grab Hire — Bulk Muck-Away & Aggregate Removal

What is a grab lorry and how does it work?

A grab lorry is a tipper truck with a hydraulic crane and a clamshell or four-tine grab bucket mounted behind the cab. The driver parks on the road or hard standing nearest the muck pile, extends the arm (typically 5–7 metres of reach), and scoops the material directly into the back of the lorry. A single 6-wheeler load is around 12 tonnes; an 8-wheeler takes 16–18 tonnes.

Loading takes 10–20 minutes for an experienced driver. Once full, the lorry tips at a permitted recycling site or transfer station and you receive a weighbridge ticket and Waste Transfer Note. For repeat loads, you simply book another visit.

Grab hire vs skip hire

Use a skip when waste is generated gradually, you have driveway space, and the volume is under about 8 cubic yards. Use grab hire when you have a large existing pile of muck, rubble or aggregate (typically 6+ tonnes) on an open site, when there's no room for a skip, or when access to the load is over a wall or fence the grab arm can reach.

On a like-for-like basis, grab hire is normally 30–50% cheaper than equivalent skip hire for clean inert muck-away because the per-tonne tip fees at recycling sites are low and the labour is built into the lorry visit. The trade-off is that the load has to be ready when the grab arrives — there's no scope to fill it gradually.

Access requirements

• Road width — minimum 3.5m for a 6-wheeler, 4m for an 8-wheeler.
• Overhead clearance — minimum 4.5m, ideally 5m. The grab arm extends to roughly 7m vertically.
• Reach — the grab can pick up material within about 6m of the lorry. Anything further away needs the lorry repositioned or a skip instead.
• Hard standing — the lorry needs firm ground. Wet grass or soft verges aren't suitable for an 8-wheeler at full load.
• No overhead cables — overhead power lines must be at least 9m clear of the working area for safety.
• Parking suspension or council notice may be needed in busy urban roads.

What materials can be grabbed

• Soil, subsoil and topsoil (clean inert).
• Hardcore, concrete, brick rubble, broken paving.
• Sand, gravel, ballast and MOT type 1.
• Reduced-level dig spoil from foundations and basements.
• Green waste — but normally taken on a separate green-waste-only run for best pricing.
• Mixed muck (with some timber, plastic) — accepted but at a higher tip rate.