Vacuum trucks are used in the oil industry for cleaning storage tanks and spills. They are also an important part of drilling oil and gas wells because they are located at the drilling site. Vacuum trucks are used to remove drilling mud, cuttings, cement, spills and to remove brine from production tanks. They dispose of it in cesspools, treatment plants, or if it's within safe levels, it may be spread across farmland.

Vacuum trucks are also used to expose underground utilities. With many underground installations installed, the ground must be dug deep enough to provide a solid foundation for the structure to be placed. Underground utilities can include light poles, traffic lights, road signs, and even commercial-grade trees for landscaping.

Prepare the ground for installation, spray with water, and the Vacuum truck picks up the muddy product. This exposes buried utilities without the potential for damage, which is possible with excavators (ie tractor backhoes, tracked or wheeled excavators, trenchers).

Vacuum trucks can also be used to clean up contaminated soil. In some cases, air excavation is often used instead of hydraulic excavation. Air digging, also known as soft digging, uses compressed air to break up the ground and then vacuum the soil into a dumpster. Air excavation is commonly used to locate underground electrical cables and gas lines.