Post driver???

   / Post driver??? #1  

InlineDieselFan

Gold Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2003
Messages
438
Location
Adna, WA
Tractor
kubota
I already have post hole digger, but I have recently been looking at the King Hitter Post driver for $3950. Lots of money I know but as a back saver, and potentially a better job at putting in the fence, along with cross fencing and such on out 19 acres it may be worth it.

I did a search on post drivers and read all of the posts here on TBN. Pretty much those that bought one have loved them. Our soil is clay with a few (very few, the foundation digout 3000 feet of rambler/garage included had less than a Kubota bucket of rocks over fist size). So it should be good for our conditions.

The dealer in Newberg OR, offered to have on Series #1 set up for me to look over. He said Series #2 was too big for my tractor.

Does anyone have a King Hitter post driver?
What did you pay?
How do you like it?
Was it worth it?
If you sold it, how much of a financial hit did you take on it after using it?
Woould you buy another post driver, if you had to do it again?

TIA

Steve
 
   / Post driver??? #2  
My BIL just sank a few hundred posts in our Ohio soil. They have a pretty good sized JD track hoe and just pushed them into the ground with that thing. I would have never have believed it if I hadn't seen it. They had a few places where they had to take a chain saw and cut a "V" on the bottom of the posts but the majority were flat on the bottom. Saved a ton of digging.:)
 
   / Post driver??? #3  
Steve,

I talked with an installer who was putting in posts at a neighbors. Forgot the brand but I had heard of it before. The ground in question is more rock than dirt. I was VERY impressed that he could get a post into the ground. He said as long as you can live with moving the post, ie, not having everything N feet apart it works.

I first wanted a hydraulic PHD. Then a post driver. Now I'm back to the hydraulic PHD. A post driver is only going to drive posts. And posts that are only so wide and long. With a PHD I can easily build concrete piers for out buildings and barns. The size of the post is not really a problem anymore. The posts will be more work to set but I think I'll be able to align them better. I can plant trees/shurbs with a PHD.

Basically I can do more with a PHD than a post driver.

Food for thought.

Later,
Dan
 
   / Post driver??? #4  
My Dad has a Shaver HD-8 post driver(probably 32 years old) and it would have no problems with " fist size " rocks if they were squarely under the post. Sometimes, a 4-6" rock 1/2 way on the side would cause the post to lean as it went down. If we noticed it soon enough, we dug out that post with a tile spade(very handy for fencing) and either got the rock out or moved the post a couple inches. This was Iowa farm ground and it was very rare the we had a rock issue. When a post would start to lean, I would put a 2x4 against it with my body weight and push on it while Dad operated the driver. You can get the post to straighten up this way. Most common size of post we installed was 6" diameter. We have done steel posts, 5" and 8" too. Big 8" are for the corner post/end post/gate post etc. This size of driver is too small for railroad ties.(need HD-10) One suggestion I would give you if you purchase a driver, is to dig out the sod from your hole position before you set the post and start to pound it down.(1"-2") My Dad always does this. Helps hold the bottom of the post where you want it and give the driver a little extra stroke downward when you work with 8 foot long fence post. The driver is mounted on 1964 JD 4020 and we run the throttle at 1500 rpm during pounding. Wear ear protection, too. This driver has done miles of fence. If fact, one month ago, at Harvest time he and I put in 32-6" x 8 footers after we removed some old 5"x7 1/2 footers that were about 30 years old. I remember putting them in. The ground was wet/moist, and the posts went down fairly easy and it was simple to to keep them straight. He also uses a 12" level against the driver during initial setup and we also eyeball it with the rest of the fence so it looks good. It really helps to have two people during fencing, it is probably three times faster than a single person alone, although one person can still do it by themselves.(more time up and down on the tractor to position it correctly) All in all, the driver is used 99.5% of the time and the digger just hangs in a old machine shed(Danuaser 12" with downforce option) This really didn't answer any of your questions, but I do have lots of experience with the shaver model of post driver(front end model; not the 3 point style) One really nice thing Dad noticed years ago when he first started to use it, was that after the post were in the ground, they were solid and if it was a corner post and you were pulling 5 strands of barbed wire from each direction at 90 degrees, that corner post stays in the ground much better than a post that had been dug and then hand tampped it place. Nowadays, He also uses 4" fence augers and #9 wire along with braces to hold down those corner posts. (The 4" augers were an idea he got from a professional, custom fence builder) Little more money, but hold those corners down from popping upward years later.
 
   / Post driver??? #5  
Wow, you are considering spending $4K for a post driver to fence 19 acres?? All I can say is wow!!! If you are determined to set your posts in this manner, maybe look at renting a post driver??? Probably would rent by the day and I can't imagine that it would cost more than $150 per day. :)
 
   / Post driver???
  • Thread Starter
#6  
ovrszd,

have not been able to find anyone that rents one, or a used one.

I have many back pains, and still have 9 years for the reduced pension, 12 for the full pension. Full pension I can retire at 53, I want to still be able to do things and enjoy life. Hiring somebody is way expensive, the 1100' of chain link for the dogs around the shop and house area, was over $10,000. We can buy materials for under $4,000 without even shopping around. We figure long range plan of 10 years fencing cross fencing having over 7,500 feet of fence.

If comes down to hire some one, post driver, or use the post hole digger, and have a real sore back and take a long time to get a fence up. The one to keep the dogs in is the important one.

steve
 
   / Post driver??? #7  
If there is a Bobcat dealer or other type of construction equipment dealer nearby they nay have a mchine with a post driver attachment to fit for rent.
 
   / Post driver??? #8  
Am I the only one who uses metal T posts for everything?
Six or seven hits with a post driver and they're in. . . 12' apart.
 
   / Post driver??? #9  
We still use the "T'"s. The last time we pushed them in we used the underside of a Bobcat bucket. We painted a mark on the posts at what depth we wanted them pushed in, my mom held them upright till I put the bucket pressure on them, she stood out of the way, told me which way looked plumb and I pushed them in the ground till the paint was at ground level. We only had 2-3 that weren't plumb that we had to reset and a few that hit rocks and went crooked, then reset them again. I didn't mind pounding posts with the manual pounder, we had rented the Bobcat for the weekend with an auger and bucket and wanted to get the most out of it.
 
 
 
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