Dropped $300 on a self-leveling post hole digger attachment and it paid for itself in one afternoon

I was out on a job near Austin last month setting 20 posts for a split rail fence. The ground was rocky clay, and my old manual digger was killing my back after just three holes. I rented a skid steer with a hydraulic auger attachment for $300 and finished all 20 holes in under 2 hours, including leveling each one. The homeowner even threw in a $50 tip because the fence line looked so straight. Has anyone else tried renting heavy equipment instead of buying it?

2 comments

2 Comments

camerony821mo ago

Ain't that the truth, rented a mini ex for a day and finished a week's worth of digging in a few hours.

aaron8451mo ago

Ha yeah that's how it always goes! You think "oh I'll save a few bucks and do it by hand" then 3 hours in you're ready to throw the shovel into the next county. Renting that mini ex is basically cheating at life. Makes you wonder why we don't just rent heavy equipment for everything honestly. I bet someone could clear out their entire garage in 20 minutes with one of those things but no we gotta do it the hard way first.