3 Point PTO Trencher

[Fishin-4-a-Livin]

I am in need of a trencher. I want to buy one instead of renting.

i need at least 3 feet deep, in sandy soil with lots of roots.

I’m looking at used Ditch Witch and Vermeer ride on trenchers, but wondering about a 3 point trencher.

The only 3 point trencher that I can find in stock anywhere is a Frontier for around $9k.

I am looking for some advice for my purchase.

 

[JJT]

"At least three feet", you probably need a backhoe, not a trencher. I've done lots of trenching, anything over 2 feet I go with a backhoe. I do like the local rental, they have a self propelled Barretto, it goes up to 18" deep, 100'+ of trench in an hour. $120/day.

 

[Roadworthy]

If trenching to three feet in sandy soil you may find the trench caving in on itself to the point it's only a foot deep when done.

 

[Fallon]

I have a Bradco 3pt trencher I got for pretty cheep off Craigslist a few years ago. It will do 3' deep. Slow going in my hard clay, but we really don't have rocks or roots. I have HST+ & can creep along at a few yards per minute. I'm barely able to go slow enough & am not sure a normal HST could go slow enough. I know a geared machine couldn't go slow enough unless you had some special creeper gear you really don't find on CUTs.


View attachment 765992

 

[Fallon]

Other photo that didn't attach right.

 

[scootr]

Backhoe rental

 

[Fishin-4-a-Livin]

I have a mini excavator but I have a whole bunch of trenching to do for water and power lines. The power company says they need to be 4 feet deep, but that seems a little overkill. 3 feet my be deeper than need be?

Some of the runs are going to be hundreds of feet. I didn’t know if a dedicated trencher or a trencher attachment would be faster

Let me throw in a disclaimer here….

I have been around big equipment my entire adult life, it’s just been on the water, not on dry land. So all of this is new to me and kinda learning as I go.

So I am all ears right now.

 

[Vigo327]

So i own a 3pt trencher that will go almost 4 ft deep, and ive trenched 1000ft of water line with it. I think the brand is Grizzly? Ill have to go look.

Mine is kind of neat because it has its own drive axle and hydraulic motor, and you’re meant to leave the tractor in neutral and have the trencher push it. It has a ‘speed knob’ that ranges from probably a foot a minute to something way too fast to trench at, never thought to measure. But its got its own ‘creeper gear’ so the tractor gearing doesn’t matter, it just need hydraulics. PTO drives the chain bar.

I also have a small 6.5ft backhoe and on the 1000ft water line to my house i probably had to use the backhoe about a half dozen times to dig up big rocks the trencher couldnt do anything with. But if i had to do the whole thing with the backhoe.. jeez. To me its incredibly tedious trenching with the backhoe, but mine is on the weak side and doesn’t have a ‘trenching bucket’. On something like a mini ex with more power more reach and easier repositioning, sure. But on my backhoe it would be torture. Id hate to trench anything longer than 50ft in my ground conditions with my backhoe. I could easily see a different combination of backhoe and ground conditions being easy and fun, but not this combo.

 

[toolslinger]

If the power company is telling you 4' deep, you better figure for 4' deep. It doesn't matter if in reality 3' or 2' would work, if they tell you 4' and it isn't, they're likely to drive away when they show up.
My folks put our power 4' down. No chance a trencher could do it where I am. Too many rocks, too close together. It was all backhoe work. Fast forward almost 50 years, and I'm glad they're down that far as I have to add some more utilities, and I've got clearance over the power lines to run right across them, and still keep things safely below ground. Still gotta hand dig those crossings, but at least I'm not stressed about it.

 

[Fishin-4-a-Livin]

If the power company is telling you 4' deep, you better figure for 4' deep. It doesn't matter if in reality 3' or 2' would work, if they tell you 4' and it isn't, they're likely to drive away when they show up.
My folks put our power 4' down. No chance a trencher could do it where I am. Too many rocks, too close together. It was all backhoe work. Fast forward almost 50 years, and I'm glad they're down that far as I have to add some more utilities, and I've got clearance over the power lines to run right across them, and still keep things safely below ground. Still gotta hand dig those crossings, but at least I'm not stressed about it.

The main power line coming in from the meter box will be to specs. That is not a very long run.

The other power and water lines that I’m going to run throughput the property, I am hoping to get away with shallower trenches.

 

[Smokeydog]

Power company’s contractor used a chain trencher to put in their 13.8Kva line 4’ deep thru rocks and roots 1/2 mile. MiniX for pull and transformer boxes.

 

[LD1]

100's of feet is nothing.

A good operator on a 5-ton class mini ex (~11,000# rubber tracked machine) can dig 150'-200' per hour in sandy soils at 3' deep.

Obviously alot of rocks, roots, or mud that sticks in the bucket are all things that can slow it down.

2' or less trencher is faster IF there are no rocks or roots and its a good trencher.

 

[Smokeydog]

Kubota used to make a 550 chain trencher. Both 3pt and special mount for small TLBs.

Rented ones for water lines. Combination chains can saw thru big rocks and dig chert and clay with ease.

 

[M59]

Other photo that didn't attach right.View attachment 765994

Fallon,

What is your opinion of the Bradco 612 3pt trencher? I see you running the rock/frost chain on yours in above picture.

I was seriously considering one two years ago, before prices went absolutely ludicrous, but did not pull trigger on the quote for use in the rocky ground of western NC. I was looking at the 48" depth model with two chains. Dirt with skip every station and a rock/frost chain.

I am returning to looking for a 48" trencher.

 

[JethroB]

Here ya go …. From the early ‘50’s. PTO/hydraulic powered.

 

[Fallon]

Fallon,

What is your opinion of the Bradco 612 3pt trencher? I see you running the rock/frost chain on yours in above picture.

I was seriously considering one two years ago, before prices went absolutely ludicrous, but did not pull trigger on the quote for use in the rocky ground of western NC. I was looking at the 48" depth model with two chains. Dirt with skip every station and a rock/frost chain.

I am returning to looking for a 48" trencher.

I think I paid $2k for it 4 odd years ago. Propane company was getting rid of it. To big for small stuff & not optimized for big stuff from what I could tell. They only needed 18" & a walk behind unit for putting in residential propane tanks. Came with a spare drive gear & I think they said the chain was new. Haven't paid attention to the teeth in years. But I'm low use & wouldn't wear most anything out.

Could probably sell it for more than I paid for it these days. My ISP had been parking up to 20 rigs (directional boring, mini-ex, vac truck, cable plow) in my pasture this summer. So I'm in good with them & have access to better gear to some degree. Haven't thought to much about selling off my trencher though.

It's worked fine for some projects on my 5 acres in hard clay. Not enough for real work, but plenty fine for somebody with occasional needs & a CUT.

Frost line here in the Denver area is 36-48". So at 36" it's sketchy if this is deep enough for water line. I haven't risked it, but all my projects have been power or data lines.

Trenching is digging & I'm not insured for digging in my side gig (mostly mowing, driveway maintnance & snow). So the trencher is personal use only. Digging takes insurance from $1,600 a year for landscaping to $8k a year or something.

 

[Fishin-4-a-Livin]

Fallon,

What is your opinion of the Bradco 612 3pt trencher? I see you running the rock/frost chain on yours in above picture.

I was seriously considering one two years ago, before prices went absolutely ludicrous, but did not pull trigger on the quote for use in the rocky ground of western NC. I was looking at the 48" depth model with two chains. Dirt with skip every station and a rock/frost chain.

I am returning to looking for a 48" trencher.

That’s the one that I was looking at. The website says they are back ordered through 2023.

I found a used one on FB marketplace that had been advertised for 17 weeks. He was asking $7500!!!

I contacted him to see if he still had it since the ad was so old. He did, said it had about 8 hours on it.

I was going to try to talk him down a little bit the next day, but he had sold it.

 

[Sonny580]

HEY!!! I had 2 of them Jeep-a-trenchers at one time! Still have one of the auburn units on a IH 2504 that I never use. --I think the diggin chain boom is 7 or 9 feet. been extended for farm tile installations by former owner.
A word of caution on chain trenchers and roots or rocks, -----stay out of them if they are very big! You will bend the boom on these small units as they are NOT made heavy enough to stand up to it! BUY A BACKHOE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[scootr]

Do yourself and others a favor. Map the as builts. Meaning mark a plot map with underground utilities as accurately as possible for future use. It may be 20 yrs before you need to know exactly where it is again.

 

[4570Man]

A light weight walk behind trencher isn’t good for a lot. But a ride on trencher will dig 3ft deep and do it at twice the speed of a mini excavator. I’ve never used a 3pt trencher. But based on my experience with the ride on trencher they take more power than you’d think. If you have 40 or more HP and you buy a heavy duty model in sure it would be fine. If you already have a mini excavator and this is just a one time job I’d just use it.