New to Heavy Machinery

[Dawson Dixon]

Hello, I wanted to ask some questions about working with bigger machinery but dont have anyone in my social circle who does this. If someone on here would be able to give me some guidance I'd really appreciate that.

For a bit of background I worked last summer in SW Ontario, Canada building fences for friends, family and acquaintances. I usually brought 1 friend with me, we would dig the holes with a 2 man gas powered auger. We tried the pelican and 4 handle style. While we were still able to get the holes dug I was wondering if there was a bigger machine that might be better for the job. We would like to do a lot more fences next year but break our backs much less.

I dont know a whole lot about these machines but some google searching told me that Bobcat mini excavators with auger attachments could get the job done. But theres a ton to choose from and is Bobcat a good brand? Ideally I'd like to get good bang for my buck also.

We found that every backyard fit into 2 categories: clay after about 6-12 inches or lots of dirt with tons of rocks. Ideally I'd like something that can tackle these with a 12 inch auger bit no problem while still fitting between houses and within a reasonable budget.

Does anyone have any information they could rain on me about potential products and their estimated price points. Honestly any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you, Dawson

 

[John Canfield]

A more useful rig would be a skid steer with a hydraulic auger instead of a mini-ex, it would be a lot faster moving from hole to hole and getting set up. We have a lot of rock here in central Texas and the fence guys pull a compressor with a pickup truck and use a jackhammer to set fence posts (we had about a mile of fencing replaced a few years ago.)

When buying equipment a major factor is dealer support, Bobcat is okay as are a bunch of others.

 

[Blocker in MS]

It depends on what sort of fencing you are putting down somewhat. We have no rocks here, so keep that in mind with my answer. A tractor and 3pt. post hole digger would be fairly cheap and highly movable with the other the option of having a front end loader all the time to carry rolls of wire and posts and so on. It would not be as fast and there are an extremely low number of ag tractors with positive down pressure on the 3pt. Belarus is the one that comes to mind, but there are a couple more. That is not a problem in our clay or soft limestone really. About the slickest fencing rig I have seen in person was a Cat telehandler with a plate compactor off of a large mini excavator mounted on front. They had a couple chain hooks welded on. They could pickup a large telephone pole size post for corners and have one man on the ground holding upright. They would hang the other chain down off the compactor to height of post desired to be above ground and pound the post in the ground until the chain touched and go to the next one. There are all sorts of machines out there and several one man fencing rigs for tractors putting up net wire. It sounds like you may be more residentially inclined though and these might not suit your task as well as other methods.

 

[RZucker]

It depends on what sort of fencing you are putting down somewhat. We have no rocks here, so keep that in mind with my answer. A tractor and 3pt. post hole digger would be fairly cheap and highly movable with the other the option of having a front end loader all the time to carry rolls of wire and posts and so on. It would not be as fast and there are an extremely low number of ag tractors with positive down pressure on the 3pt. Belarus is the one that comes to mind, but there are a couple more. That is not a problem in our clay or soft limestone really. About the slickest fencing rig I have seen in person was a Cat telehandler with a plate compactor off of a large mini excavator mounted on front. They had a couple chain hooks welded on. They could pickup a large telephone pole size post for corners and have one man on the ground holding upright. They would hang the other chain down off the compactor to height of post desired to be above ground and pound the post in the ground until the chain touched and go to the next one. There are all sorts of machines out there and several one man fencing rigs for tractors putting up net wire. It sounds like you may be more residentially inclined though and these might not suit your task as well as other methods.

It depends on the post too. Drove a lot of wooden peeler posts and plenty of railroad ties with the hoe pak on the 9030. If the rocks aren't too big they go right in. Once in a while you get one with bad grain that will just shatter on you.
I would rather drive them than backfill and tamp.

 

[Dawson Dixon]

It depends on the post too. Drove a lot of wooden peeler posts and plenty of railroad ties with the hoe pak on the 9030. If the rocks aren't too big they go right in. Once in a while you get one with bad grain that will just shatter on you.
I would rather drive them than backfill and tamp.

It would just be typical residential pressure treated wooden fences. 6x6 posts would be the biggest I'd go. Code for holes is 3 feet deep.

 

[Diggin-Fool]

I have a Kubota U35 with hyd. auger. Included are 8" 12" and 18" attachments.

The hyd. pump on the my mini could be bigger for this operation (15 gpm aux port) because the rotational spin on it doesn't "fling" the dirt off it as I have seen a large skid steer do.
I have to reverse the direction of the auger back and forth to remove the dirt from the auger. So it does work.

My aux port is set to max speed. I have not checked with my Kubota dealer to see if I have it right.

Skid steer machines have larger hyd. pumps on them. I believe many of them have pumps around 35 gpm.

The U35 and others that size are powerful and can get into smaller spaces. Mini Ex machines are useful for many other duties and are not one trick ponies. A dedicated fence post machine would be just that.

 

[Zewnten]

I've put in a lot of fence and unless you like wasting time or leaning on a rock bar pushing down a tractor auger it's a fast way to go poor, no down pressure. And forget doing a slope. Get a one man hydraulic auger you tow behind your car. Several landscapers here use them when they can't fit a skid in. Or they use a mini skid with auger attachment and then last a skid but that's usually for a long line of posts or they already had it on the job site. I'd recommend renting before buying so you can see what you like best and if it's worth owning.

 

[KSSS]

A more useful rig would be a skid steer with a hydraulic auger instead of a mini-ex, it would be a lot faster moving from hole to hole and getting set up. We have a lot of rock here in central Texas and the fence guys pull a compressor with a pickup truck and use a jackhammer to set fence posts (we had about a mile of fencing replaced a few years ago.)

When buying equipment a major factor is dealer support, Bobcat is okay as are a bunch of others.

I agree a SSL works really well for digging post holes. You have down pressure, you have typically at least 3K psi of hyd pressure (the higher the aux pressure, the less going over relief) and typically low 20 something gpm for flow. It takes a big mini ex to match those specs. When conditions are good, you dig holes very fast. You can also haul fencing materials and quickly grade around the fence.

 

[Welder Dave]

Something like one of these would be a less expensive option than a skid steer and auger. I've seen them at rental yards.

 

[Snow Farmer]

We fence two ways, auger holes for large corner & gate posts, and pound posts, both methods with our small (an old Thomas T133) skid steer.
Hands down the best and quickest method is pounding the posts. We use pressure treated, sharpened posts, no predrilling.
They drive in three feet deep fairly easily, depending on soil type and ground moisture.
Our pounder is a commercial model, hydraulic drive, one of the early iterations, very simple, 4 grease points and oil the drive chain.
Down side is you have to really watch to make sure the post goes in straight, especially if there are rocks.

 

[Welder Dave]

A T133 is a good machine just don't let the drive chains get too loose or you'll break the three 5/8" bolts joined together for the chain tensioners when digging. Cheap to make a new bolt assembly but a PIA to hold in place while a helper starts a nut in the cab. Also don't have them too tight. Too loose you'll hear them slapping on the bottom of the chain case especially in reverse.

 

[skyking1]

You will find each job has it's own access issues. One tool does not fit all conditions.
For this reason I would look over each job, clear the way, and rent a machine. Sometimes it is a tractor with auger, other times a skid steer. Not too often will it be a mini ex unless it is a really steep complex fence.
The you are taking risks of not knowing how to do it safely. Either hand dig those jobs or let others have them.
There is no reason to bid the job so low you can't rent an auger machine, unless it is just too small to justify it.
In any case do not make a purchase till you have rented all the good options at least once.

 

[PeterG]

A stand behind, stand on mini skidsteer can do the job. Something like a Ditchwitch. Toro Ding, Bobcat etc with hydraulic auger, bucket, and pallet forks. Nice thing about this size machine is it can get into hard to access locations, has great visibility, easy to store, and can tow behind a lightweight pick up truck. You can even get ramps and drive up into the back of a flatbed truck.

 

[CM1995]

If you are doing something in your garden and if the work is huge, you need some kind of tool, a machine. I wanted to change the lawn for a very long time, I used to work in a company and I know how to properly lay lawns, but I don't have money for a tractor and decided to contact a good service walshlandscaping.co.uk what I have done is using the same high technology that I know, so that I could safely control the entire process and trust this company. The guys really did everything well, as I expected, there was no need to worry. It turned out to be much cheaper for me than I would have bought all the materials myself and spent time on work.

Not my first time kiddo and you ain't fooling nobody. Basic outsourced internet marketing.

Bye Felcia.