A trencher is priced by class and by the day: a walk behind unit commonly lands between $110 and $190, a ride on machine with a deeper boom between $350 and $600. Depth and soil choose the class, and the utility locate has to be finished before either. Book the machine and the way you are getting it home in the same phone call.
Book the machine and the way home together
A walk behind trencher weighs enough that a car boot is not the answer, and a ride on needs a rated trailer with ramps. Yards either deliver for a charge each way or hire you a trailer, and both are separate lines from the day rate. Ask which when you reserve, because a trailer can be the item the yard runs out of.
What counts as one rental day
Most yards write a day as a shift on the hour meter rather than a calendar day, so a machine collected in the afternoon and returned the next morning is usually still one day. Beyond that shift the meter starts adding hours at a stated rate. Confirm the return cut off time when you book rather than at the counter.
Chain, teeth and the condition you bring it back in
Digging teeth wear, and in rock or old fill they wear in a single day. A trencher is checked out and checked back in against that wear, so photograph the chain and the boom before you load it. Hitting a buried slab or a rebar mat is the damage yards see most, and it is charged to the hirer.
Locate the services before you reserve anything
The free national locate call is placed days ahead, not on the morning of the dig, so it belongs at the start of the booking rather than the end. Marks change where the trench runs, and sometimes they change which machine you want, because a run that has to be hand dug near a gas line does not need a big boom at all.
Questions people ask about rent trencher
How deep will a walk behind trencher go?
Common counter machines cut roughly 24 to 36 inches deep and 4 to 6 inches wide, set by the boom and chain fitted. Deeper irrigation and service runs move you to a ride on trencher or to a mini excavator. Tell the yard the depth first; they will pick the boom.
Is a trencher or a mini excavator better for a pipe run?
A trencher wins on a long, straight, narrow run in reasonable ground because it cuts a clean slot and leaves less to backfill. A mini excavator wins where the run turns, crosses obstacles, or has to be wider than a chain will cut. For under about 100 feet of straight pipe, the trencher is usually cheaper by the day and by the hour.
Can I tow a ride on trencher with a normal pickup?
Only if the truck, hitch and trailer are all rated for the loaded weight, and only if you can secure it properly. Many people take yard delivery instead, which costs a charge each way but removes the loading, the straps and the ramp. Ask the weight before assuming.