KZN plant hire

KZN plant hire prices

Day rates for the machines KwaZulu-Natal hires most, excluding VAT. With an operator or driver unless it says machine only. Transport is its own line on your quote.

Hourly, weekly and monthly rates for every size are on plant hire rates. We have fewer price points for cranes, forklifts and generators, so treat those as a guide: the exact price for your job comes back in writing on WhatsApp.

Example: a TLB for two days in Port Shepstone

Port Shepstone is 123 km down the South Coast from Durban, so the TLB's travel is priced per kilometre, both ways:

KZN ground, rain and floods: what changes the job

Sand on the coast, rock in the north

Along the coastal plain, from the North Coast up to Richards Bay, most sites are sand with groundwater close to the surface. Trenches there fill with water and the sides slump, so plan a pump and keep trenches short. In northern KZN, around Ladysmith, Dundee and Newcastle, the problem is the opposite: hard dolerite boulders and sills that stop a standard bucket. Where the ground is known to be rocky, book the breaker TLB (R5,000–R6,550 a day with operator) from the start instead of paying for a second visit.

Summer rain, and the April 2022 floods

KZN is in South Africa's summer-rainfall east: the South African Weather Service notes that the rain normally falls between October and March. In April 2022, heavy rain outside that season caused floods so bad that the President declared a national state of disaster on 18 April. The road damage listed by the national Department of Transport shows where the water hit hardest:

• The N2 northbound at Umgababa, south of Amanzimtoti, became impassable.
• On the North Coast, the N2 bridge over the Mhlali River, the M4 bridges over the Mdloti and Tongati rivers (one Tongati pier settled, affecting two spans) and the R102 bridge over the Tete River all needed repairs.
• Near Pinetown, the N3 southbound ramp at the Peacevale interchange suffered pavement failure and severe erosion of the road fill around a culvert.
• The rail lines from Durban to KwaMashu, Umlazi, Pinetown, Stanger and Cato Ridge also needed repairs.

The pattern for any job: embankments and fills next to rivers and culverts fail first. Backfill in compacted layers, lead stormwater away from fresh cuts, and don't leave spoil heaps in a stream's flood line.

Wayleaves in eThekwini and the rest of KZN

Inside eThekwini (Durban, Pinetown, Phoenix, Inanda, Verulam, Chatsworth, Amanzimtoti, Queensburgh, Kloof and Hillcrest), digging in the road reserve falls under the Excavations By-law, 2022. How to apply is on plant hire in Durban. Three of its rules change how the machine works on the day:

• Hand-dig first. No mechanical excavation until the known services are identified and marked, and services are opened by careful hand excavation. The TLB starts once the hand-dug holes have found the pipes and cables.
• Deeper than 1.5 m: the trench must be shored or V-cut (battered back) and registered with the Department of Labour before work starts. A V-cut trench is wider at the top, so it moves more soil and takes longer to backfill.
• Water out the right way: water in a trench is pumped into the stormwater system, never a sewer manhole, and wet material at the bottom comes out before backfilling.

Breaking the by-law can mean a fine of up to R300,000, up to three years in prison, or both. Outside eThekwini, apply to your own municipality: the list is in the FAQs below.

South of Durban and the South Coast: Chatsworth, Amanzimtoti, Port Shepstone

Chatsworth

Chatsworth is a large residential area south-west of central Durban, with neighbourhoods such as Bayview, Croftdene, Havenside, Westcliff and Silverglen, many on sloping ground. Machines reach it from Pinetown.

TLB for hire in Chatsworth

Extensions, footings for second storeys, boundary walls and sewer connections. Where a stand steps down a slope, the retaining wall goes in before the extension, so the TLB often digs the wall footing and the house footing on the same visit. Chatsworth is about 15 km from Pinetown by road, inside our normal delivery area. The TLB drives to site, so travel is small and confirmed on WhatsApp with your price.

Bobcat hire in Chatsworth

Loading renovation rubble, spreading crusher run for driveways and levelling for paving: R2,400–R3,700 a day with operator, or R3,000–R3,600 a day with a breaker to take out an old concrete driveway first. Transport there and back is R1,300–R3,840.

Amanzimtoti

Amanzimtoti is eThekwini's main South Coast town, just south of the Prospecton and Isipingo industrial areas. The April 2022 floods closed Toyota's Prospecton plant until it reopened in August 2022, and cut the N2 northbound at Umgababa, further down the coast.

TLB hire in Amanzimtoti

Pool digs, extensions and retaining walls on the hillside suburbs behind the beach, and sand moves on the lower stands. In sand near the sea, trench sides cave in quickly, so dig, lay and backfill in short runs. Amanzimtoti is about 27 km from Durban by road, inside our normal delivery area. The TLB drives to site, so travel is small and confirmed on WhatsApp with your price.

Bobcat hire in Amanzimtoti

Moving sand, loading rubble, levelling paving beds and clearing silt from yards and driveways after a storm: R2,400–R3,700 a day with operator. Transport there and back is R1,300–R3,840.

Port Shepstone

Port Shepstone is the main town of the lower South Coast and of Ray Nkonyeni Municipality, at the mouth of the uMzimkhulu River, where the N2 turns inland towards Kokstad. Sugar cane, holiday homes and the Marburg industrial area keep machines busy.

TLB hire in Port Shepstone

Foundations for homes and extensions along the coast, farm roads and drains in the cane, and service trenches in Marburg. Port Shepstone is about 123 km from Durban by road. Transport for a TLB there and back usually comes to R10,580–R12,800, shown as its own line on your quote.

Crane truck hire in Port Shepstone

Delivering and placing tanks, steel, precast and machinery in Marburg and on farms: R2,500–R5,200 a day with operator for 8–10 t. A crane truck carries the load and lifts it in one trip, which saves a second truck on a long run from Durban. Port Shepstone is about 123 km from Durban by road. Transport for a crane truck there and back usually comes to R10,580–R12,800, shown as its own line on your quote.

Forklift hire in Port Shepstone

Warehouse and factory forklifts in Marburg: 2.5–3 t is R1,150–R1,600 a day and 3.5–5 t R1,600–R1,900, machine only, with our operator on request. The forklift comes on a truck, so transport there and back is R10,580–R12,800. For a hire of a few weeks, the weekly rate (about R8,500 for 3.5–5 t) spreads that transport over more days.

Northern KZN: Ladysmith and Dundee

Machines for the north come from Newcastle. Winters here are cold and dry and summers bring thunderstorms, so it's dolerite and hard ground in winter and slippery clay roads in summer. The full picture is on plant hire in Newcastle.

Ladysmith

TLB hire in Ladysmith

Ladysmith is the seat of Alfred Duma Municipality, on the Klip River, which has flooded the town many times. TLB work runs from foundations and trenches in town to factory yards, farm roads and drains on the farms around it. Near the river, keep spoil and open trenches out of the flood line. A long run like this suits a hire of several days, because the transport line is the same for one day or five. Ladysmith is about 100 km from Newcastle by road. Transport for a TLB there and back usually comes to R8,600–R10,400, shown as its own line on your quote.

Dundee

Forklift hire in Dundee

Dundee, in Endumeni Municipality, grew on coal from the northern KZN coalfield. Today forklifts here work at builders' merchants, agricultural depots and warehouses: 1–2 t is R940–R1,600 a day, 2.5–3 t R1,150–R1,600, machine only. Dundee is about 69 km from Newcastle by road. Transport for a forklift there and back usually comes to R5,940–R7,180, shown as its own line on your quote. On a short job the transport can cost more than the hire, so ask for a weekly rate or book other machines on the same truck.

Machines hired most across KZN

TLB hire in KZN

The province's most-hired machine: R3,900–R5,150 a day with operator, or R320–R410 an hour dry (operator included, you pay the diesel). City detail: TLB hire in Durban and TLB hire in Pietermaritzburg.

Bobcat hire in KZN

For tight stands, rubble and paving beds: R2,400–R3,700 a day with operator. See bobcat hire in Durban and the Newcastle section of plant hire in Newcastle.

Excavator hire in KZN

Bulk earthworks, deep sewer lines and flood repairs: R3,500–R5,600 a day with operator for 20–25 t, R6,500–R8,100 a day for 36–55 t. It travels on a lowbed, R6,000–R9,500 there and back inside a main centre. See excavator hire rates.

Tipper truck hire in KZN

A 10 cube tipper is R3,700–R5,250 a day with operator and a 14–18 cube R3,300–R4,000 a day with operator. Wet KZN clay and sand weigh more per cube, so a summer load is heavier than a winter one. See tipper truck hire in Durban.

Crane hire in KZN

about R4,500 a day for 20–25 t, about R7,600 for 40 t and about R22,000 for 80 t, with operator. Under the Driven Machinery Regulations, 2015, every crane needs a performance (load) test by a registered lifting machinery entity at least every 12 months, and its operator a certificate from an accredited training provider. Town pages: crane hire in Durban, Richards Bay and Newcastle.

Crane truck hire in KZN

R2,500–R5,200 a day for 8–10 t, R3,200–R5,200 for 12–15 t, about R1,900 an hour for 20–34 t. See crane truck hire in Durban.

Cherry picker hire in KZN

R2,400–R4,000 a day for 12–15 m and R4,150–R7,900 for 16–17 m, with a certified operator and a load-test certificate. Salt air on the coast corrodes signage and lighting brackets, so maintenance at height is steady work. See cherry picker hire in Durban.

Forklift hire in KZN

R940–R1,600 a day for 1–2 t, R1,150–R1,600 for 2.5–3 t, R1,600–R1,900 for 3.5–5 t, machine only. See forklift hire in Durban.

Generator hire in KZN

From R320–R520 a day for a portable unit to R8,500–R9,750 a day for 200–300 kVA, machine only. See generator hire in Durban and generator hire rates.

Side tipper hire in KZN

A 34 t side tipper with driver is R75,500–R92,000 a month with operator on monthly contracts, hauling to and from the Durban and Richards Bay ports. See side tipper hire.