The safe way to dig around buried utilities — how vacuum excavation works, water vs air, and how to spec the right machine.
High-pressure water (or compressed air) breaks up soil while a powerful vacuum moves it to a debris tank — surgical digging with no shovel contact with utilities.
Cuts faster in hard/clay soil; the standard for most municipal and utility work.
Air excavation (like the 185 CFM option on modern AllExcavate units) leaves spoil dry and back-fillable — preferred around sensitive utilities and for soil reuse.
The legal-safe way to visually confirm utility depth before mechanical digging.
Small precise holes at utility crossings — the day rate product.
Running trenches along known utility paths.
Tank capacity decides how long you dig between dumps — high-dump options (up to 75 inches) empty into roll-offs without leaving site.
One strike pays for the technique.
A damaged line: repairs, fines, outages, records — the math never recovers.
Nothing mechanical touches the utility — the defining feature.
Exposing a crossing takes minutes, not the crew-afternoon of hand digging.
Restoration cost scales with hole size — potholes are cheap to reinstate.
Every daylight becomes a verified utility record for the GIS.
Hot-water-equipped hydro units dig through frost that stops hand crews.
The market splits by chassis and boom.
Full-size units (like AllExcavate 811/1213) with large tanks and 8m+ booms — the fleet workhorse.
Trailer units serve light potholing and remote crews.
The AllExcavate 35 (introduced 2025) — 26,000 lb GVW, no CDL required: the class that opens hydro excavation to smaller fleets and municipalities.
Boom reach decides your traffic-control footprint — longer boom = fewer truck moves.
Raises the debris tank to dump into containers without traveling — introduced by Vacall in 2013, now a benchmark feature.
Modern units (2022+) offer air excavation mode alongside water — one machine, two techniques.
How we translate specs to your work.
Flow moves soil; pressure cuts it. Utility-safe work needs controlled pressure classes — we spec to your soil.
Route length decides dump frequency — the productivity lever.
Refill logistics on your routes — hydrant access matters.
Street work needs long-reach; pit work needs rotation.
CDL requirement is a hiring constraint — the non-CDL class removes it.
We sell and support in authorized territory — CT/MA/RI for the Vacall line.
Vacuum excavation safety from the people who spec and service the machines.
White-line the area, call before you dig — daylighting confirms, it doesn't replace locate.
Around known gas/electric: manufacturer's reduced-pressure protocols, always.
Soil types change tank behavior — clay needs water discipline.
Heated water systems and tank heaters are spec items in New England.
Every AllExcavate we deliver comes with operator training.
Boom work near traffic = signal discipline.
Who actually buys these machines.
Mainly daylighting, valve + service box exposure, catch basin work.
811 potholing programs are a full-time business for these fleets.
Dense below-grade infrastructure = no-dig policies.
The 2025 non-CDL class was built for exactly this market.
Our authorized territory for the Vacall line — demos available.
Ask about coverage.
Hydro excavation matured because manufacturers iterated for decades.
The AllExcavate line brought high-dump innovation (2013) and air excavation (2022) to the class — built by Gradall Industries in New Philadelphia, Ohio.
From the 1951 brand to today's Alamo Group manufacturing — we represent the line accurately and with respect.
Manufacturer imagery only on our pages.
Authorized dealer stated honestly; every brand repaired respectfully.
Equipment that works — sold by people who repair it, supported by people who answer the phone.