Trenchers are large heavy machinery used in construction to dig trenches needed to lay pipes, electrical cables, and install drainage. Also known as ditchers or digging wheels, these machines are similar to excavators in the sense that they penetrate the earth, breaking soil and rock, and remove it from the ground. The key difference is that with a trencher, soil is removed in one continuous movement, making them faster and more efficient than excavators.
Trenchers come in a range of sizes, and may use different digging implements depending on the required width and depth of the trench, and the hardness of the surface to be cut. Some of the different variations include wheel trenchers, chain trenchers, skimmers, micro trenchers, portable trenchers, and tractor mount trenchers.
They're built to withstand rugged and continual use, and are powerful, productive and easy to operate, making quick work of digging trenches.
Regardless of their type, all trenchers involve some configuration of a wheel fitted with rim buckets, or with a boom or ladder on which an endless chain of buckets or scrapers revolves. The machine is self-propelled on rubber tires or crawlers (continuous metal treads driven by wheels). As the machine moves forward, it rotates the ladder or wheel so that the buckets dig at their forward edge. They dump onto a conveyor belt or a chute that piles the cuttings on either side.
Interested in getting a trencher for your next project? Give one of the local trenching experts listed below a call today to get started.