The thumb and the coupler

A hydraulic thumb mounts on the stick and closes against the teeth of the bucket, so the machine grips whatever is between them. With a thumb, a mini excavator handles rock, brush, stumps, and pipe that a bucket alone can’t hold, and the thumb folds back out of the way while you dig.

A coupler sits between the stick and the attachment. Instead of knocking the bucket pins out to change attachments, you set the bucket down, release the coupler, and pick up the breaker. A hydraulic coupler locks and releases with a cylinder, and a mechanical one takes a bar to release. If you’re renting, ask what’s on the machine you reserve.

Which breaker on which rental mini excavator

Each Kent breaker is listed in our 2026 rental rate guide for a range of excavator weights. These are the five that fit compact machines, with the mini excavators in our rental fleet that fall in each range.

Four of the compact machines, the Hitachi/Landcros ZX75US-7, the Takeuchi TB290 and TB280FR, and the Link-Belt 80X3, fall in both the F6 and the F9 ranges. Either one fits those four. The F9 hits harder, so tell us what you’re breaking and how thick it is, and we’ll tell you which one you need. Three of our rental mini excavators fall between the ranges: the Hitachi/Landcros ZX30U-5N at 7,055 pounds, the ZX50U-5N at 10,957, and the ZX85USB-7 at 19,200. If you’re renting a breaker for one of those, call first and we’ll say which breaker goes out with it. Our guide to hydraulic breaker sizing has the full list, up through 110,000 pounds.

Compactors for compact machines

A compactor hangs on the end of the arm in place of the bucket, so the machine packs the bottom of the trench it just dug without anyone climbing down into it with a walk-behind compactor. It packs slopes and backfill the same way. The Kent HP35 is listed for 2,500 to 4,000 pound excavators, which covers the TB210R, the ZX17U-5N, and the TB216. The HP65 and HP75 are listed for 5,500 to 19,000 pounds, which covers every other compact machine we rent except the ZX85USB-7, at 19,200.

If you own the machine

We sell Geith digging buckets, tilting buckets, thumbs, and couplers for mini excavators at all three locations. Digging buckets come in different widths, a narrow one for a trench and a wider one for cleanup, and a tilting bucket swings up to 45 degrees to either side for finishing a slope or a ditch from where the machine sits. Bring the trench width and the machine model, and we’ll match the bucket. Before you hang a breaker on a coupler, make sure the coupler’s maker approves it for breakers, because some don’t. Our guide to what fits your machine goes through that check and the hydraulic flow check.

Renting

Breakers and compactors rent, and you supply the operator. Our guide to how renting works covers hours, fuel, insurance, and returns.

What to tell us when you reserve

Tell us what the machine has to do besides dig, whether you’ll be switching to a breaker during the day, and the trench width. If the breaker is going on your own machine, add the model and its weight. With that, we can match the thumb, the bucket, and the breaker to the machine.