Product Spotlight - Trenchers: Adventures in Trenchers

In the half-century that trenching technology has existed, landscape contractors have incrementally developed new ways to make it applicable to their profession. Initially viewed as irrigation installation hardware, the scope of trencher use has widened to include everything from curbing to laying wire for invisible dog fences. Today many landscape contractors have adopted the trencher (or a trencher attachment for a skid-steer loader) as a fundamental tool in their equipment arsenal.
 
Landscape contractors may be surprised by the range of tasks a trencher can conquer. However, landscape contractors who decide to invest in trenching technology have many factors to consider before reaching for their wallets. Rent or purchase? Stand-alone or attachment? Power or price? All of these are important decisions to be made before purchasing a trencher.

ENTRENCHED IN HISTORY. “The first trencher with an inclined chain and bolt-on digging teeth was designed more than 50 years ago,” explains Brent Bolay, senior product manager of trenching products, The Charles Machine Works, a division of Ditch Witch. “The first service line trenchers before this time were much smaller and their design was focused on providing a machine that could dig a utility service line to a home,” he says, adding that the market’s growth in the 1960s and 1970s provided the opportunity for trenchers to become the mainstay tool for obscuring utility lines underground and out of sight.

Those early trenchers would seem monolithic and severely antiquated to the modern eye, but as Greg Barreto, president, Barreto Manufacturing, LaGrande, Ore., explains, it wasn’t long before thetrencher’s evolution began to hit its stride. “Back then they were all mechanical drive,” Barreto explains. “Then some of the bigger ride-on machines started utilizing hydraulic technology in the late 1980s and early 1990s and that technology kept coming down in size.”

“Things have changed a lot,” adds Brian Kenkel, Vermeer Manufacturing, Pella, LA. “Now many of those belt-driven or chain-driven machines wouldn’t be considered reliable. The industry has gone almost exclusively to hydraulically-driven machines.”
Modern trenchers can now be differentiated by power and size. “We typically categorize them by horsepower (hp),” Bolay explains. According to Bolay the general breakdown places trenchers into three classes:

• Pedestrian (or walk-behind) trenchers – 0 to 20 hp
• Compact riding trenchers – 20 to 50 hp
• Heavy-duty riding trenchers – 50 to 130 hp

“Pedestrian units are built narrow to get in and around confined areas but they have limitations on depth, width and the soil conditions they can handle,” Bolay explains. “The landscape market generally goes with the walk-behinds because they’re doing small jobs and don’t have to go down very deep. And with regard to speed, it’s going to be pretty fast. For shallow trenching, they’re more maneuverable and can get inside gates, into backyards and are a little handier to haul around. You can put them in the back of a truck or trailer.”

Kenkel refers to the low-end horsepower pedestrian units (between 4 and 8 hp) as “ground-scratchers that cut a ditch somewhere between 4- and 12-inches deep and a couple of inches wide. There’s generally no ground drive in one of these machines and your foot moves the plow.”

The next classification of pedestrian trencher, according to Kenkel, generally is in the 11- to 15-hp range and will have either a mechanical or hydrostatic ground drive. “That machine is going to cut anywhere from 12 to 24 inches down,” he says.

“The next class, between 18 and 20 hp, is still in the pedestrian category but now you’re talking about being able to cut a ditch anywhere between 24- to 40-inches deep,” Kenkel says. “You’re fully hydrostatic at this point and you usually have a steerable axle.”

Concerning compacting trenchers, Bolay says these machines have more capabilities. “Because they are physically larger, however, they have some space limitations.”

“The bigger ones are certainly faster,” Barreto adds. “They use more horsepower and require more room to maneuver, but the advantage with the bigger machines is that you can go deeper. In the north country where contractors need to dig 4 feet to get below the freeze line, they’re not going to be able to do that with too many walk-behinds.”

VERSATILITY AND ABILITY. There are plenty of tasks trenchers can accomplish. “Primarily, the walk-behinds are used for irrigation systems or lines going to outbuildings for either electricity, water or gas,” Barreto says, adding that some contractors have found their own new uses for these trenchers. “We’ve been told they are also great for curbing. You can unlock either wheel from it and it can go down a foot deep, 6-inches wide, and travel around a yard following the curvature of the lawn and putting in trenches for curbs. It may not have been designed for that, but it’s certainly something it can be used for.”

In addition to these functions, pedestrian trenchers can also be used for preparation for a retaining wall. “They can also cut footing in for new driveways or concrete flower beds,” Kenkel adds. “Irrigation systems are probably the most common use for them simply because of how labor intensive it is to cut that much ditch, but we’re also seeing them used for any kind of remote electrical system like a lighted flower bed or driveway lights.”

Some trencher design innovations have even made the work easier on laborers, says Monty Porter, marketing and customer service, EZ Trench, Loris, S.C. “Some machines actually cut the trench, place the wire in the bottom of that trench and then backfill the trench – all in one pass,” he says. “This makes it perfect for landscape lighting and irrigation control wires.

“Another innovation is from a single-belt drive to a dual-belt one,” Porter says. “The single-belt drive has a pulley attached to the engine and one belt to drive the blade, while the dual belt allows for a better transfer of power.”

Porter adds that new models feature clutch drives that provide a better mechanism for rougher terrain. “If you hit a rock – instead of those belts slipping, the clutch is bathed in oil and it’s a lot more durable,” he says.

CONSIDER THIS. Despite trencher innovations, to the untrained eye most trenchers may seem relatively interchangeable. This can make shopping an intimidating process for contractors looking to incorporate one into their services. This is why many manufacturers suggest that a contractor do their homework before making the investment.

Bolay explains that contractors should take into consideration the job or jobs they intend to accomplish with their new piece of equipment. “The number one consideration should be the depth and width of the trench that is needed,” he says. “This will help determine the size of trencher you need. No. 2: How intensive is the work that contractor will be doing? Will they be trenching every day or just once or twice a month? This will help them determine utilization and the performance requirements of the machine.”

Barreto adds that ground type shouldshould also be an important factor when deciding on the right trencher for their purpose. “I’d ask myself, ‘What is the ground like where I’ll be working?’” he says. “If you are on rocky ground, I’d go all hydraulic because that would lower your maintenance costs considerably.”

Manufacturers also consider durability, as a top priority. However, if you’ve had limited exposure to this particular type of hardware, gauging durability may be difficult. Kenkel offers these tips: “Look for a good quality weld and look closely for thickness of steel,” he advises. “Examine how things are bolted together.”

But if you don’t know how to recognize a quality weld or other elements of durable structure, Porter suggests going to the real expert. “The way I’d gauge durability is by going to the local rental store and asking the owner which small trencher he feels holds up the best,” he suggests. “They see a tremendous amount of use and abuse in that market so they should know which trenchers are the toughest. And naturally I recommend that the machine they choose offer the applications they need while being cost effective too. Contractors should make sure that they are getting what they are paying for.”

PENNY PINCHING. According to Bolay, prices for trenchers depend on the options selected at the time of purchase, but he offers these general ranges:

• Pedestrian trencher – $4,000 to $12,000
• Compact riding trencher – $20,000 to $35,000

Kenkel says that approximately 80 percent of the trenchers Vermeer sells to irrigation and landscape contractors have either an 11- to 15-hp mechanical drive or a hydrostatic drive. “Those machines will range between $7,500 and $12,000.”

Any number of issues can influence a trencher’s price but the fundamental factor according to most manufacturers is power. “If you go up in horsepower, you’re going to go up in price,” Barreto says. “And with more power, the machine has to be more durable to handle the horsepower as the machine goes deeper into the ground. And if you go up in horsepower, you’ll get into the range of the steerable-type trenchers. You pay extra for the machines that will power steer themselves, but you’ll also get greater depth out of those machines in most cases.”

After evaluating the work that needs done, a contractor may find that it’s simply not worth the extra cost to purchase a dedicated trencher for his company. If the trencher is not being used daily, or at least several times a week, one might find it more cost-efficient to rent the equipment from a local rental dealer (see Why Buy? on page 87).

Another alternative for contractors who have limited use for trenchers are trencher attachments for their skid-steer loaders.

Bolay estimates most trencher attachments prices range from $3,000 to $11,000, depending on their size and capabilities.

Bolay says that he has seen an upswing in trenching attachments this year over last year. Sales of stand-alone trenchers are also up from last year, according to many manufacturers. “Overall, our trencher sales are up approximately 30 percent,” Bolay says.

Kenkel also reports growth in trencher sales – a 20-percent increase over last year. “Many  of our trenchers have become very popular with the less-than-five -man crews this year. Some of the larger landscape companies across the country have been buying multiple units this year as well – a sign that the economy is getting better.”

The author is assistant editor of Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at wnepper@gie.net.