l The Issue: Having a regular bucket excavating a thin trench will leave a ditch with the shape of the letter V that requires colossal amounts of soil removal as well as damage to lawns belonging to clients.

l The Solution: Mini Skid Steer Trencher 20" This trencher will cut an 6.5 inch-wide slice which results in minimal backfill and save hours in cleanup.

l Best Use Cases: Best used in irrigation lines, electrical conduit, drainage where depth of 18-24 inch is needed.

l Speed Factor: A trencher attachment is approximately 3-4 times faster than a bucket of linear dugs.

l Teeth Matter: The MechMaxx unit has a hybrid of 40Cr (soil) and YC11 (rock) teeth, which means that you will not be stalled out on hitting hardpan.

l Bottom Line: The attachment will pay itself in labor savings in case you excavate over 100 feet of trench in a month.

1. Introduction: "Bucket Trench" Nightmare.

Had you ever tried to excavate a 6 inch wide trench using a bucket 40 inch wide?

It is as though it were attempting to slice a steak with a shovel. You can do it, sure. But it will be a sloppy, it will be a dirty business, and you will sweat more than you need to sweat.

You all know the temptation of having a Mini Skid Steer or using one. You're already on the machine. The bucket is already fitted. You have it in your mind that you will simply lean the bucket and cut a path in this PVC pipe.

Two hours down the line, the backyard of your client resembles the result of a bomb explosion. you have shoved three tons of clay to a five pound pipe. The grass is ruined. And you must still fill in that great V-shaped hole.

There is a better way.

We will unravel the physics and economics of attachments on mini skid steer loaders in this guide, with a particular emphasis on why a dedicated 20-inch trencher is not a luxury item, it is a necessity to anybody planning to do some serious irrigation and utility work.

2. The Physics of Failure: The impossibility of Trenches in Buckets.

We should be technical one moment. What is the problem with the bucket trenching?

It is either Displacement or Excavation.

In case you are using a mini skid steer bucket to cut a trench, you are compelled to cut a hole at least as big as the bucket itself even though the pipe you are burying is 2 inches across. When your bucket is 44 inches in width, you are transferring a lot more soil that is not necessary which is about 700%.

The "V-Ditch" Problem

You have to slop the sides in order to achieve depth with a bucket. You have a trench in the form of V.

l Top width: 40+ inches.

l Bottom width: 6 inches.

l Depth: 20 inches.

This destroys sod. When you are working on a completed lawn (which consists of 90 percent of irrigation work), you are looking at hours of re-sodding or re-seeding. That takes away your profit margin.

Question yourself: Is the savings that you make by not purchasing a trencher being wasted in the hours of labor that you use to clean the mess you have created?

3. Introducing the 20" Trencher: Surgical Precision.

Compare it now to the 20'' Cutting Depth Mini Skid Steer Trencher.

This attachment will make your Mini Skid Steer a giant earth chainsaw. It does not separate the soil; it takes it away.

The MechMaxx model is specifically tuned to this type of a surgical approach:

l Cutting Width: 6.5 inches.

l Cutting Depth: 20 inches.

You are taking away just the right amount of dirt to put the pipe there and cover it with sand. That's it. By this time the spoil pile is a nice ridge that is nearly beside the trench. It can be poked often enough back in with a blade or rake and it takes only a few minutes. The grass on either side? Untouched.

Why 20 Inches? The "Goldilocks" Zone

You may run into huge trenchers which cut 4 feet deep and say to you, "Why would I want one which only cuts 20 inches deep?

This is the industry secret: 90 percent of the residential utility lines are inhabited in the upper 24 inches.

l Irrigation lines: Typically 12-18 inches.

l Low voltage lighting: 6-12 inches.

l Drainage (French drains): 12-18 inches.

A 4-foot trencher is cumbersome, costly and needs immense hydraulic flow that would stall a lesser machine. The Niche is the 20 inch model. It weighs light enough (525 lbs) to maintain that Mini Skid Steer nimbleness, but is deep enough to meet the code on most residential lines.

4. What is the deepest a small skid steer loader can dig?

This is by far one of the most frequently asked questions: How deep a small skid steer loader can dig.

When you are working with the loader arm and bucket you will be constrained by the pivot point as well as the geometry of the machine. You can scratche out 2 or 3 feet, it will be a ramp, not a hole.

The response to that is different with the 20 inch trencher attachment. You can keep a steady depth of 20 inches all the way miles long should you have the fuel.

Pro Tip: Inspecting is imperative of depth consistency. When an inspector slips a tape measure into your trench and discovers that it is only 14 inches deep in that your bucket slipped, then you lose. A trencher is mounted on a skid plate so that the whole way is uniform.

5. Case Study: The 200-Foot Irrigation Job.

To find out whether the investment is realistic or not, let us consider a real world analogy.

Scenario: A gardener is required to lay 200 feet of PVC to install a new sprinkler area in a backyard.

Method A: The Bucket

l dig time: 3 hours (fighting roots, moving the machine around and about).

l Volume Dirt Moved: Approx. 15 cubic yards.

l Injury: 4-foot-wide strip of broken turf.

l Cleanup/Backfill: 2 hours.

l Total Time: 5 hours.

Technique B: The Trencher Attachment.

l Installation: 5 minutes to install hydraulic lines.

l Dig Time: 45 minutes (moving at a constant creep speed).

l Weight of Dirt Moved: Est. 2 cubic yards.

l Injury: 8-inch band of broken earth.

l Cleanup/Backfill: 30 minutes.

l Total Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes.

You have saved a near 4 hours of work. Assuming you will cost $100/hour machine + operator, then that attachment just made you $400 on a single job. Multiply that by 10 jobs a year and it becomes obvious what the ROI is.

6. The Hardware Analysis: It is All about the Teeth.

Mini skid steer attachments are not all made equal. Cheap trenchers may be located on the internet but they also fail in one aspect- The Chain.

Looking at the specs of the MechMaxx 20" Trencher, you would find something interesting with the teeth materials:

l 40Cr (Soil Teeth): These are cup-shaped teeth that are meant to excavate loose earth.

l YC11 (Rock Teeth): This is a type of carbide tipped bullets that are used to break the stones and roots.

Why Mixed Teeth Matter

When you have a chain and only the teeth of soil (cup teeth), then the instant you strike a tree root or some concealed concrete, the machine will stop. The teeth skate over the obstruction polishing it rather than cutting it.

When it is combined with the YC11 Rock Teeth, the trencher is a hammer drill. It breaks the wall, and the teeth of the soil collect the rubbish. In the case of a Mini Skid Steer, which is not as powerful as a giant tractor, such an efficiency is essential. It maintains the hydraulic pressure (No more than 3000 PSI) refrigerated on cutting and not on stalling.

7. Buying versus Renting The Economics.

You are capitalizing when you look at mini skid steer loaders on sale. Is it rational to include a trencher in the purchase?

Most contractors consider, I will simply hire a walk-behind trencher when I require one.

Here is the flaw in that logic:

l Fatigue: Walk-behind trenchers are savage. They boomerang, they shake and drag you about. The fact that you sit (or stand) on your Mini Skid Steer as the hydraulics do the work keeps you fresh throughout the rest of the day.

l Availability: You need to have to drive to the rental yard, hope they have one, load it, use it, clean it and return it. It would be 2 hours of non-billable time.

l Cost: renting a trencher is 150-200 a day. Suppose you trench 10 times a year you have made an expenditure of 2000 dollars--one-fourth of what you paid for your own attachment.

8. How to Operate: Maximize your Trencher.

You have now decided to abandon the bucket approaches and make an upgrade. These are some of the tips which can help you fail to break a chain on the first day.

1. The 45-Degree Rule

Do not drive the trencher in 20 inches into the ground. When starting the chain spinning, make it slow and then gradually lower the chain spinning at a 45 degree angle as you creep the machine backwards. This also decreases the shock load of the hydraulic motor.

2. Watch Your Flow

The optimum working range of this unit is 7.9 to 15.9 gal/min. Majority of attachments mini skid steer units operate on auxiliary hydraulics. Always ensure that your machine is not in a High Flow mode when it is more than 16 GPM, otherwise you will blow a seal. On the other hand, when the flow is too slow the chain will hang in clay.

3. Tension is Everything

The chain on your trencher is every bit as long as a chainsaw is when it gets hot. The first 20 minutes after the digging should be checked regarding the tension. The loose chain may jump the bar and result in costly damage.

9. Summary: Work Smarter, Not Harder.

This is an adage in this industry: The right tool is expensive, the wrong tool is time.

The bucket does not empower itself when it comes to irrigation and utility lines. It is a crude tool used to play a game that needs accuracy.

The 20'' Cutting Depth mini skid steer trencher is the transition point between manual excavation and heavy excavation. It enables your Mini Skid Steer to punch above its weight category and leave you with clean and professional trenches that leaves your clients satisfied and your lawn mendering payment to zero.

You have got sick of filling in huge craters and tussle with tree roots with a smooth-edge bucket, well it is time to upgrade. Your back (and your profit margin) will reward you.

 

10. FAQ

1. Which is the smallest skid steer in the market?

The tiniest mini steers are generally the stand-on type or walk-behind mini steers that are able to fit through normal residential door ways/gates. The width of such machines is frequently only 36 inches (3 feet). Typical ultra-compact ones weigh 1,500 to 2,500 lbs and yet provide high lifting power (tipping capacity of approximately 1,000 lbs). They are constructed uniquely with an access of the backyard where they can fit in areas where the larger machines cannot enter.

2. Is a license required when using a mini skid steer?

Yes, you do not require a state driver license to use a mini skid steer on a private grounds. But when you are driving the machine on a regular road (not common with these slow-paced tracks) one would have to have a valid driver’s license.

3. What are the types of jobs that you can perform using a mini skid steer?

The use of mini skid steers is most versatile because of their attachments. Common jobs include:

l Landscaping: Translocation of mulch, soil and sod.

l Trenching: Fitting irrigation or electrical lines (a trencher attachment needs to be fitted).

l Fencing: Digging post holes (auging attachment).

l Demolition Breaking concrete driveways (hydraulic breaker).

l Snow Removal: Removal of sidewalks and driveways (with either a bucket or snow blower).

4. Do mini skid steers have titles?

Generally, no. It is also the nature of construction equipment, such as mini skid steers, that does not generally include a state issued title (pink slip) as is the case with cars or trucks. Rather, it is evidenced through a Bill of Sale and the Certificate of Origin (MCO/MSO) by the Manufacturer. Financing the machine, the lender can place a UCC-1 financing statement to place their lien but you will not arrive at the DMV to receive a title.

5. What are your requirements to run a skid steer?

In the United States, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) necessitates the training and certification of the operators in case they are going to do some commercial work. It is not a blanket license that you apply to, but your employer has the responsibility to make sure that you have undergone training on the type of machine that you are operating with (refer to OSHA standard 1926.21). In case you are your own homeowner, you do not need to be certified.