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My old trencher vs the new rental I tried last week on a job in Ferndale
Borrowed a buddy's 2017 Ditch Witch for a 200 foot run and it just felt... looser. The steering was sloppy and I had to double back on two stubs because the depth control was off by like 3 inches. Rented a new Toro from the shop on 8 Mile and that thing cut through the clay like butter, straight and clean. Anyone else notice newer machines just track better or was that one maybe beat to hell?
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brooke7672mo ago
Older machines have a feel to them that you just don't get with new ones. That sloppy steering on the Ditch Witch was probably just wear and tear, not a design flaw. Newer track machines are fine for straight clay runs, but they don't hold up as well in rocky or rooty ground. Give me a well-used machine that's been broken in, not some plastic rental that breaks down the second you hit a rock. The depth control on that Toro you rented is probably a computer sensor, not a mechanical linkage, and those fail when you least expect it. Also, that 2017 model might have had the tensioners loose or the sprockets worn down, which is a cheap fix not a machine problem.
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ryan3692mo ago
Oh man, I gotta gently push back on one thing here. That depth control on the Toro isn't a computer sensor, it's actually a mechanical linkage too, just a different design than the old Ditch Witch. I've had a 2017 Toro track machine and the depth system is all rods and pins, no electronics involved unless you get the fancy RT model. But you're dead on about the tensioners and sprockets being a cheap fix, that's usually the first thing I check on any used machine before I start blaming the whole unit.
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