If you have ever tried to walk a full-size skid steer through a 36-inch backyard gate in East York, you already know why the Bobcat S70 has a permanent slot in the GTA rental fleet. It is the narrowest stand-on skid steer Bobcat builds, and on Toronto job sites packed between century homes, semi-detached driveways, and fenced backyards, that extra few inches of clearance is the difference between starting the job today and waiting for a fence panel to come down. When contractors ask us where to rent Bobcat S70 Toronto projects can actually use, the answer comes back to one question: how tight is the access?

This post breaks down what the S70 does well, where it falls short, and how to plan a rental around realistic productivity in Toronto and the broader GTA.

Why Contractors Rent a Bobcat S70 in Toronto

Toronto is an old city with narrow lots. Anything built before the 1960s in neighbourhoods like Leslieville, The Beaches, Roncesvalles, or Cabbagetown was laid out before backyard access for compact equipment was a design consideration. The S70 is purpose-built for those constraints. At roughly 36 inches wide and just under 6 feet tall, it fits through a standard pedestrian gate without removing fencing, posts, or AC condensers.

The machine is rated at a 700 lb operating capacity with a tipping load of around 1,400 lb, powered by a 23.5 HP Kubota diesel. Bobcat publishes the full spec sheet on the manufacturer's S70 product page if you want to confirm hydraulic flow and lift heights before quoting a client. For the GTA market, that capacity is enough to move sod pallets, gravel buckets, demo debris, and small landscape stone without overloading the chassis.

Typical Toronto Job-Site Fits

• Backyard landscaping in the old city: sod removal, soil shuffling, gravel staging for paver bases, and tree-planting holes where a CTL or larger loader cannot reach.
• Basement underpinning and bench-footing spoil removal: the S70 can shuttle dirt from the bench out to a curbside bin via the side walkway most semis offer.
• Small commercial fit-outs: moving pallets of tile, drywall, or fixtures across a back-of-house corridor where a forklift is too wide.
• Indoor demo: with proper ventilation and a non-marking tire option, the S70 is the right size for slab prep inside warehouses and basement renovations.

How to Rent a Bobcat S70 in Toronto Without Wasting Half the Day

Compact rental productivity in the GTA is mostly a function of logistics, not machine capability. Three things tend to burn the most billable hours: delivery access, attachment swaps, and operator unfamiliarity. Plan for each one before the truck arrives.

Confirm the Access Path Before Delivery

Measure your gate at the narrowest point, including the latch hardware. The S70 needs roughly 38 inches of clear opening to walk through comfortably. Check for the following before booking:

• Gate hinge protrusions and exterior latches that reduce clear opening width.
• Step changes between driveway and yard that exceed 6 inches without a ramp.
• Soft turf or septic beds that need ground protection mats. Even at 2,800 lb operating weight, the S70 will rut wet spring lawns.
• Overhead obstructions like low pergolas, gas meter heads, and clotheslines.

If the path runs through a neighbour's property line, get written permission. Toronto bylaw enforcement on construction encroachment is active, and a stop-work order kills a one-day rental fast.

Match the Attachment to the Job

Most of our customers rent the S70 with a standard dirt bucket, but the right attachment can double the value of a day rental. Common pairings for Toronto work include pallet forks, a tooth bar for ripping compacted clay, a hydraulic auger for fence posts, and a four-in-one bucket for grading. Browse the full Attachments for rent catalogue and pick what you actually need before the delivery driver leaves your site, because a second trip eats your margin.

Plan for the Diesel Run Time

A full tank gives roughly 6 to 8 hours of mixed-duty operation. For a one-day rental running landscape excavation, that is enough to finish without refuelling. If you are doing repetitive load-and-carry work like moving gravel from a curbside pile to a backyard, plan a top-up at lunch. Bring a 5-gallon jerry can of off-road diesel and a clean funnel. The S70 fuel fill is at chest height on the stand-on platform, which makes it easy to refuel without spilling on the deck.

Honest Pros and Cons of the S70

The S70 is a specialist machine. It is the right tool for tight access and the wrong tool for high-production grading. Knowing the trade-offs keeps your client expectations realistic.

Where It Shines

• Footprint: 36-inch width with the bucket on. Nothing else in the skid steer class beats this.
• Manoeuvrability: zero-radius turn on a dime, which matters when you are working between a foundation wall and a cedar hedge.
• Operator stance: the stand-on platform is faster to mount and dismount than a sit-in cab when you are doing 30 cycles of bucket-to-truck loading.
• Fuel economy: the 23.5 HP Kubota is sip-rate, not gulp-rate. Construction Equipment magazine has covered the compact loader category in detail; their skid steer coverage is worth a scan if you are comparing classes.

Where It Falls Short

• Lift capacity: 700 lb operating load means no full mason-block pallets and no full pallets of 80-lb concrete bags. You will need to break loads down.
• Lift height: roughly 6 feet to the hinge pin. Loading high-side dump trucks is a stretch. A 1-ton landscape dump or a curbside bin is the practical limit.
• No cab: the operator is exposed to weather. In a Toronto February or a July downpour, plan accordingly with proper PPE.
• Wheel platform on soft ground: if your site is wet clay or fresh fill, a compact track loader will outperform it. Check our Track Loader rentals if ground conditions are marginal.

S70 vs Other Compact Options in the GTA

Contractors sometimes ask whether they should default to an S70 or step up to an S450 or S510. The honest answer depends on access width and lift requirements.

When to Step Up

If your gate clearance is 48 inches or more, an S450 gives you a higher operating capacity (around 1,300 lb) and better visibility for a similar daily rate. The extra payload pays for itself on any job moving full pallets.

When to Step Down or Sideways

For trenching, look at Excavator rentals in the 1.5 to 2.5 tonne class. A mini-ex will outdig any skid steer for utility runs, drainage tile, or footings. For overhead work like soffit repair or eavestrough replacement, an S70 is irrelevant, and the right call is Scaffolding rentals.

Safety and Operator Notes

The S70 is approachable for an experienced operator and unforgiving for a first-timer. Stand-on platforms reward smooth joystick inputs and punish jerky ones. A few practical reminders:

• Always lower the bucket to grade before stepping off. The platform interlock will cut hydraulics, but a loaded bucket above the operator zone is a real hazard.
• Travel with the bucket low. On a Toronto driveway slope, a raised load tips the machine forward fast.
• Wear ear protection. The Kubota diesel at full RPM is loud enough for hearing damage over an 8-hour day.
• Review the WSIB compact equipment guidance. Ontario's regulator updates training requirements periodically, and the WSIB site is the authoritative source on what your crew needs documented.

If your operator has only ever run a sit-in cab loader, give them 20 minutes in an open lot before billing time on the job. The stance and visibility are different enough that a quick warm-up prevents expensive mistakes.

Pricing and Booking Logistics

Daily, weekly, and monthly rates apply, with the steepest discount on weekly bookings for projects that span more than three working days. Delivery and pickup inside the GTA are usually flat-rate within a defined radius, with extra mileage charged beyond. Most Toronto bookings benefit from a Friday afternoon delivery to lock in weekend availability without paying for unworked days.

Have your site address, gate dimensions, and attachment list ready when you call. That alone shaves 10 minutes off the booking call and lets us flag any access issues before the truck rolls.

Ready to Rent a Bobcat S70 in Toronto?

The S70 is one of the most useful compact machines in the GTA precisely because it solves a problem nothing else solves: getting real loader productivity into spaces a full-size machine cannot reach. If your next project involves a backyard, a side passage, or an indoor floor, this is the machine to book. Browse the full lineup of Tools for Rental to see what else pairs well with an S70 booking, and when you are ready to lock in a date, Contact Expert Tools Rental with your site details. We will confirm availability, walk through delivery logistics, and make sure the right attachments arrive on the trailer the first time.