Walk behind trimmers

[Curban]

I've got a Honda 4stroke string trimmer and a DR 5hp walk behind. Each has it's place. The Honda has a harness that takes the weight of the trimmer which helps a lot. I like it for doing around the house and on the uneven stuff. I can move much quicker with it.

The DR is kind of like using a push mower. It has large rear wheels so it goes over roots and rocks easy but it still takes about the same amount of effort. But the line (which is thicker) does break and when it does it means stopping, turning it off, cutting two equal lengths of string, and then connecting it to the head. The head is a solid disc of steel with rubber bonded to the center, this keeps the string from cutting too close to the ground. It has three loops on each side and you feed the string through the loops in a way that as it spins it tightens it up. Changing the string only takes a minute or two but there's no easy place to carry extra string.

I've had several 2 stroke weedwakers and now that I have the Honda I'll never go back. The Honda has so much more torque and is extremely quiet. Most of the time I only use about 1/4 of the throttle. For that kind of distance I think I would go with the walk behind.

For the DR, I cut a length of PVC pipe with a cap tight on bottom and loose on top and filled it with line that I pre-cut. I just used a couple heavy duty zip ties to the handle upright and it has worked great.
I had one of the original split boom 4 stroke Ryobi weed whackers and it was really an awesome machine. It was made by Ryan and only needed a fuel line replaced in over ten years of use, until I was really abusing it and the engine literally self destructed. Cylinder cracked off the crankcase. Bought a new Ryobi 2 stroke and what a POS, engine was not tuned properly and would barely rev up. The bump head was horrible and would get so wrapped up it would stop spinning and have to be disassembled to cut away all the wrapped weeds. Returned it and bought an expensive Echo and no instructions on the machine or owners manual for the starting procedure. Kept flooding it out and then it wouldn't restart for hours, plus all my attachments for the split boom did not fit the Echo. Returned it and went to the other box store and got a Husqvarna 128LD and it is an excellent 2stroke unit, has the best bump head design I have ever used, and my attachments fit that machine. Very happy with it

 

[lightninboy]

I never used a DR, but I wouldn't mind trying one to see if it is good, maybe the best.

 

[CobyRupert]

If your trimmer doesn't have a shoulder strap, buy a 6' tie-down strap , the slider on those are so easy to adjust; I even found a lamb skin shoulder pad for it too. Having a shoulder strap to hold the bulk of the machine weight takes a lot of strain off the back, makes all the difference in the world.

 

[DKCDKC]

I would like a DR trimmer, but can't justify the cost. I bought a used Swisher push string trimmer. It cuts through brush quite well and is great on fencelines. The negative is that it is hard to push on steep slopes or over heavy rock. And it throws out a ton of bits so you should wear a face shield with it - and protective glasses. I use a hand-held trimmer for around the house stuff.

 

[RalphVa]

I had a DR one for a while. There were 2 problems with it: 1) needed to be self-propelled, as it was too heavy for our slopes for me to handle; 2) the strings would be jerked out by really heavy stuff that it should be good for. To solve the 2nd problem, I bought one of their saw blades to replace the strings. Got tired of the 1st and sold it.

Ralph