Make a trencher attachment?

[Badasssapper67]

Hey all,
I need a trencher. Ive got 18+ acres and need to run both power and water lines all over the place. I have more time than I have money.

Today it dawned on me that maybe Troy-bilt makes a trencher attachment for their horse roto tiller which I have but I had no luck finding any info on one.
So then I though, "why not make one"? I couldn't think of a reason not to so unless I can buy one, I'll just make one.

They are for sale on CL but the only ones that are priced right are 150-200 miles away. That's a long stretch to get their and find out the guy was lying and it's barfed out a rod bearing. I know, that's the chances you take when you insist on getting the best deal but if there's another way.....

So any ideas anyone has, like an economical way to make the chain and teeth. Oh, I have a shop and a welder and am pretty handy so that's not a problem, the problem comes in with things like how do you lower the bar and get the bar to dig it's way to the right depth.
Any help is appreciated.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

I thought about doing the same thing. But how deep do you want to trench? What type of dirt/soil/rock? Any tree roots, other obstructions.
Around my place water lines need to be 4ft deep and the ground is heavy clay. Lots of tree roots and occasionally a large rock.
When I need a trench larger than what i can do by hand I rent a trencher for 1/2 day.

 

[The Toolest Guy]

What machines do you have to attach it to?

If you need to trench any more than about a foot, I wouldn't attach it to anything less than around 7000lbs. It will be useless.

Trenching attachments for Bobcats are very heavy on maintenance. I would definitely consider renting one instead of buying.
If you decide to build one on a tight budget, then my opinion is that it will be broken more often than it is trenching...

If you are building yourself then PTO drive attached to a tractor or medium truck (a proper 'truck', not a pick up) would probably be the cheapest, although I'm not sure how effective it would be.....

 

[BDT/NWMN]

I would suggest a trip to the rent me store...

Ask to see a machine that would dig a 24" or 30" trench..

Ask what they weigh..

I rented one rated to dig an 18" trench that was seemingly "beast enough" , but I still had to make two passes to get an 18" trench in heavy clay.. And the tree roots and rocks had to be dealt with by hand.. Next time, I will wait for their larger machine.

Best to just rent a larger machine for occasional use..

 

[HoosierBuddy]

Well,

Having dug or supervised the digging of enough miles of ditch to stretch from here to Oregon and back (or it seems like it somedays) I would suggest that you rethink the whole "build a trencher" plan.

If you need a small trench (3 feet deep by 3 inches wide or so) rent a walk behind trencher and be done with it.

If you need a bigger trench than that (3 to 5 feet deep by 6 inches or so) you'll need a serious trencher like a Ditchwitch or Vermeer. Those machines have 30 to 100 HP or more depending on size...and the digging chain alone costs more than what you are going to want to drop into this sort of madness.

The other thing that occurs to me (and may not have to you) is that in the real world we have to have a backhoe (or backhoe attachment) on site for every job as there will be rocks and such to deal with that the trencher won't be able to handle.

Good Luck!

Phil

p.s. Call 811 before you dig. Every time!

 

[sberry]

You will want to rethink "power and water all over the place". Some planning and economy is the key to getting it where its needed. Some time is free but the extra materials add up fast and I am not a fan of burying a bunch of old junk to a bunch of old junk.

I do have something similar for gouging for shallow burial of seasonal watering lines but on 18 acres going to want to see the electric at 24.

 

[Robinson1]

Well,

Having dug or supervised the digging of enough miles of ditch to stretch from here to Oregon and back (or it seems like it somedays) I would suggest that you rethink the whole "build a trencher" plan.

If you need a small trench (3 feet deep by 3 inches wide or so) rent a walk behind trencher and be done with it.

If you need a bigger trench than that (3 to 5 feet deep by 6 inches or so) you'll need a serious trencher like a Ditchwitch or Vermeer. Those machines have 30 to 100 HP or more depending on size...and the digging chain alone costs more than what you are going to want to drop into this sort of madness.

The other thing that occurs to me (and may not have to you) is that in the real world we have to have a backhoe (or backhoe attachment) on site for every job as there will be rocks and such to deal with that the trencher won't be able to handle.
Good Luck!

Phil

p.s. Call 811 before you dig. Every time!

Yeah unless you are digging very shallow or have nice sandy soil a trencher is a pain unless it's one of the mammoth Vermeer units on tracks. My vote would be for a small excavator (most rental yards have a Deere 27D its a nice machine with a pipe laying bucket) and if it's anything like the hills of eastern KY you will still be spending a lot of time in the hole with a jackhammer.

Double read the part in red!

 

[Browning1]

Just don't make it like this guy. A sub soiler behind a tractor works great for running water and power lines. I would rent a trencher if it was me. Pay rental fee for one day if picked up Friday afternoon and use it all weekend and return on Monday before 10 am. Just make sure to get the ride on trencher.