Single tine ripper

[blucoondawg]

MachineryTrader.com | 2 VERMEER RTX75 For Sale

There's a picture of the mid sized ones we use for work, is larger than you would need for what you want to do but it gives you an idea the blade design anyways. The unit just above the the shaker box, once engaged provides the vibrating function. There are much smaller versions that you walk along side them as they plow rather than ride on, that's likely all you need. You may be able to rent one somewhere though I've not seen many for rent your better off looking into a walk behind trencher as they're easier to find at rental centers.

Bradco sells one that goes in a tractor 3 point but it's crazy expensive, my electrician friend build one to pull with his 30hp new Holland once, he used it a couple times and gave up on it, the tractor isn't the best platform for plowing, is not heavy enough and the 3 point hasn't got the down pressure needed when obstacles are encountered underground. But if you only want to go 2 feet in sandy soil and you are installing something narrow like a small wire or water line you should be able to make a tractor work. If you start getting into a blade with a wider chute for plowing larger pipe and conduit or going deeper you will definitely need a bigger machine

 

[oosik]

Just yesterday I saw a telephone cable install. Looked like they might have been going 24" deep or so. They were using some kind of vibratory cable laying implement being pulled by a crawler dozer. The dozer was a "6 series" John Deere and it was doing all it could to get that deep. The biggest hinderance around here, other than tight soils, is shallow bedrock. Watching the progress of this operation left no doubt in my mind that my M6040 would have never been able to pull this off. I wonder exactly what condition the telephone cable would be in after all the jerking & jiving the dozer had to do. Just digging a trench with a large crawler - backhoe might have been faster and better.

 

[blucoondawg]

The cable should be ok it's protected by the chute on the back if the blade until it's laid in the trench and at that point the machine should be past it. The only thing you really will do to cause major damage to a utility being plowed is to back up. The dozers with plows usually do pretty good it must be solid rock if he's having trouble at 2 feet, a dozer plow should be able to run at a high speed installing 2 feet deep

 

[buickanddeere]

John Deere offers one with a mole ball that leaves a tunnel behind for a wire/pipe to follow easily in. But you may need a bigger tractor to pull it.

View attachment 478008

I broke up 40+ years of no till clay on my place with a Deere 10A with a mole ball and the 10" wide tip. Shortened the top link a bit and it lifted and crumbled a 2" swath of soil . Had to molboard plough and cultivate to smooth the field as front tires would drop to the axle in the trenches
Haven't had rain water pond on the field since.
A small tractor can make several progressive passes deeper and deeper.

 

[jenkinsph]

The Deere sub soil ripper is good but is a hard pull. I got a good deal on one about 8 years ago but find that most of the ground in my locale would require a larger tractor than I have to pull it.

 

[buickanddeere]

Look familiar except the tip on mine is 10" wide. It shatters loose a wide column of soil. The JD 1640 pulls it in clay with 3rd or 4th gear and the ripper as low as it will go.