Buying a Trencher from TuffWerx
When you need used heavy equipment, TuffWerx is the place to look. We have both enterprise and individual sellers so you don’t have to wait for auction or pay exorbitant dealer fees. Just browse our selection or search for the make, model , year and price you need. If we don’t have it, we’ll notify you as soon as it becomes available. With TuffWerx you can leave the searching to us.
Benefits of Different Types of Trenchers
Trenches are used to dig trenches for purposes including installing pipes, cables or electrical lines or to create drainage. They can be huge pieces of heavy equipment or small enough for the operator to walk behind. They can also be attachments for a skid loader or tractor. Some trenchers are on wheels while others run on rubber tracks.
Wheel Trencher
Wheel trenchers use a toothed metal wheel that, in some cases, resembles a giant circular saw attached to a tractor-like machine. Wheel trenchers can work in various types of soil, either soft and sandy or hard and rocky. Wheel trenchers may also be used to cut pavement in order to repair a road or gain access to the utilities beneath roads.
Like a circular saw, the wheel can reach variable cutting depths and keep a constant working angle. Depending on what kind of ground the operator is dealing with, he can use different teeth placed around the wheel. These teeth may need to be replaced often to ensure the effectiveness of the trencher. Spacers and ejectors move the material away from the edges so they don’t fall back into the trench.
Chain Trencher
Chain trenchers cut with a chain around a boom. It looks like a giant chainsaw. When ground is too hard to be cut with an excavator, a chain trencher can do the job. It also works well excavating rocky areas that are too difficult for other machines to penetrate. It can cut deep, narrow trenches, with the depth being controlled by a boom. Materials that are excavated can be moved to the right or left with a conveyor belt.
Portable Trencher
Portable trenchers weigh about 200 pounds and can be used to install landscape edging and irrigation lines as well as install pipes and power lines on individual properties. They may have a chain or a blade.
Tips on Buying Trenchers
- A trencher can be a big investment so you want to buy the one that will do the jobs you handle most. Study and understand the terrain you’re going to be working in and choose a trencher that will be able to tackle it.
- Consider the maintenance costs for the trencher you need. Are you better off getting a wheel trencher that will need constant replacement of teeth and what will that investment be? Or are you better off with a chain trencher?
- Decide whether you need wheels or tracks to best maneuver in the kind of ground where you’ll be working.