Matt on the Moors

It's like most things, it's easy to baulk at the cost initially, but once you get out there and start banging out the jobs you soon forget the money side of things. I'd love a tracked knocker, but I know the versatile nature of my work will render it sitting dormant for long periods. For a full time fencer it's got to be the best choice.

I have no doubts that once setup in the field there is little to beat speed and ease of operation of a tracked machine. But that's not everything, a tractor has some advantages, no unloading for one, tractor can tow a trailer of materials and knocker too so only one setup to take to the job- plus if you have a loader tractor you have something to clear fencelines and load fencing stakes. A track machine is a one trick pony and knocking stakes in may only account for 30% -50% of a jobs time. So you have a huge investment tied up just for that. Having operated both I'd also say that a tractor can be better in some terrains, it's large wheels can adjust better to undulating terrain. Similarly a digger with the RIGHT knocker, a clearing grab, buckets, auger, wire unrolling capabilities is going to be far more versatile- and you will get a lot of ancillary work ditching, groundworks etc which personally I welcombe as I can sit in a heated can with the radio on on a pouring wet day! I also agree with other- the best digger knockers are homemade by those who know what they want from the machine. The P10 is fairly dreadful- the geometry is all set up wrong for a small digger and it's unstable and makes for untidy fencing. If however you do mega stretches of stock fencing- plan on towing with the tractor and fence pretty much 100% of the time a tracked knocker may be the best option for you.

Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer a tracked knocker any day of the week when it actually comes down to knocking the posts in. I don't particularly like getting in and out the tractor but mine is quite easy as it such a squat thing it isn't to far to get down! However I can see that if your jobs generally consist of KMs of fencing then obviously you need maximum efficiency but whilst I'm always busy with fencing my jobs generally tend to be 200meters here, 150m of post and rail there, next job 100meters of stock fencing with a few gates etc. So a lot of moving kit around, I wouldn't want to spend a load of money on a tracked knocker then still have to have a tractor for towing the thing around and handling bundles of stakes etc. Knocking posts in generally accounts for say 30% of a total of a job from loading stakes to knocking the last staple in so a tracked knocker just wouldn't save me enough time to be worth it. Never say never though!

Like Goaty, I often think about track machines too, then I really think about it. I work on my own mainly using either a digger and post driver or tractor knocker, with either machine I can comfortably knock 300-400 meters worth of posts in a day even with all the jumping on and off. I have pallet forks on the tractor so very little handling of posts involved and there is also plenty of scope for wire rollers etc. Also with tractor I can turn up drive straight to the fence line and get on with the banging! Whilst I don't doubt that a tracked machine is more efficient once it gets down to post driving (mainly due to the ability to drive it from the back) but I question whether the logistics of getting it there would counter the productivity gain. I'd either have to use truck and trailer to transport it and thus would have to unload potentially fields away from where I'm actually fencing due to ground conditions, so time lost there. Then I'd have to either load all the stakes on to the machine by hand or have another machine to cope with handling bundles of stakes. In short the tracked knockers are just far too much of a one trick pony (and an expensive one at that) with minimal ability to clear old fence lines/handling that a tractor or digger have. Everyone's scenarios and setups are different though and ultimately It's just a case of whatever works for you, but tracked knockers aren't for me.