Buying Advice Need advice from those who know

[maximus188]

I couldn't agree more with the multi function of the tractor over the skid steer. I mainly do farm fencing. Barb wire, field fence, some high tensile, and some chain link. I've thought about a wood post driver but it just doesn't seem like the post would set as good as it would with drilling a hole and using concrete, esp. in wet areas. It also doesn't seem like it would work that well in really hard ground. Sometimes my t-post driver takes a while to put one in, and it's hitting 1100-1500 times a minute with 50lbs of force. But I'm all about increasing the speed as long as it doesn't hurt quality. I'll look in to the L4400.
I've looked for a PTO pump but there's a lot that goes in to it. I've looked at complete models with the tank, pump, hoses, cooler but they seem to cost anywhere from 2k-5k.

 

[Verticaltrx]

As far as post drivers go, good ones do an excellent job and are much faster than drilling and setting by hand. Cheap ones are a nightmare to use and you are lucky to get a post straight.

The Munro Digger/Driver I use has a 500lb weight that can be lifted up to 10' high, so it packs a pretty good punch. The key is the pilot auger though, it is hydraulic powered and can drill through about anything up to light rock. With the pilot hole it is possible to get every post completely straight and plumb, also sets the post very tight regardless of the ground condition. Something like this is probably a lot more that you're looking for, but there are other post drivers out there that work very well.

After having researched a lot of brands, I really think the models from overseas preform much better. The one I use comes from Australia, there are also a lot of good designs out of New Zealand and Europe. A few good brands that come to mind are Munro, Vector, King Hitter, Bryce Suma and ProTech. I think most of them have distributors in this country. I know I'll offend a lot of people, but I'm not at all impressed with the American designed post drivers. Most of them offer very little control of the post while driving making it hard to consistently drive straight posts.

Even a small tractor like the L3200 with a nice $5-6000 post driver will make you a lot more money than the larger tractors with a hydraulic auger. The only fencing my auger gets used for nowadays is board fence or other decorative fence, which I don't do much of. I do use it a fair bit for building pole barns (the other part of my business.) Just some things to think about, there are several different routes you could go.

 

[maximus188]

I think they've went up. Just priced the Munroe on their website and the cheapest was $8500. Way out of my price range

 

[Verticaltrx]

I think they've went up. Just priced the Munroe on their website and the cheapest was $8500. Way out of my price range

That's about what they cost, about 10K when you get the additional augers, pay freight, etc. Like I said before, it's probably more than you need for your operation right now. The shale and rock we have to deal with around here is the reason I have to use something like that.

This was more of what I had in mind when I said $5-6k driver:

(model 1, 1+ or 2)

Vector PowerDrive Post Driver Range Vector PowerDrive

There are dealers in the US for those, although they generally only show the large ones on their websites.

With that said, you know your operation best. Maybe an auger would be more suitable for your setup. If you are generally just setting wood posts for corner and brace posts, then the time savings of a driver might not pay off. :thumbsup: