Which Earth Drill Features Lead to the Highest ROI?

Versatile equipment is the hallmark of successful rental centers. A good earth drill rounds out the equipment fleet, bringing infinite rental possibilities. It’s important to consider all the features of each earth drill before making the final decision on which to purchase. To maximize ROI, rental centers should focus on durable construction, strong safety features, easy maintenance and simple auger installation.

Durable Construction

Every rental center needs durable equipment to stand up to years of tough use. It’s no secret that equipment that lasts 20 years has much higher ROI than equipment that only lasts 5 years. Wear-reduction features are some of the most important when it comes to extended equipment life. Look for earth drills that feature welded steel plates and tubes. They hold up against hard use much better than other, less durable materials.

Another feature to look for is a centrifugal clutch. When the drill hits a buried object, the clutch reroutes the drilling pressure away from the drill’s components to protect them from damage. It’s an automatic protective measure and lowers the chance of the engine stalling and requiring repair.

Little Beaver earth drills are manufactured in-house at our plant in Livingston, Texas. This both increases the quality of construction and decreases production costs for customers. Little Beaver thoroughly tests each piece of equipment before shipping with the goal of continually improving each drill and auger.

Ease of Maintenance

Durable construction means nothing if maintaining the earth drill is too difficult for a rental center. At Little Beaver, we design our mechanical and hydraulic earth drills for repair with ordinary hand tools. Quick and simple maintenance keeps the drill out on rent instead of in the shop. Easy access to the throttle, flex shaft, transmission oil bath and other areas makes routine maintenance a breeze. We also offer online maintenance videos for our mechanical and hydraulic earth drills.

Another benefit some manufacturers offer is a free service or technical consultation from the factory itself. Some, like Little Beaver, also offer factory repair. You can return damaged parts to our facility with a description of the problem, and we will repair the item and ship it back to you. Knowing the maintenance and warranty of the earth drills in your fleet ensures you can get the most ROI.

Safety Features

Safety features are essential and a strong consideration for renters choosing a drill. Little Beaver earth drills feature a steel torque tube. The torque tube transfers dangerous kickback to the engine carriage as opposed to the handles. This makes Little Beaver earth drills safe for one-man drilling, which is an additional benefit for contractors looking to optimize their crew or DIY customers who are tackling a project alone.

While the centrifugal clutch protects a mechanical drill against damage, it also contributes to operator safety. If the drill’s auger encounters an object beneath the surface or if the drill is overloaded, the clutch automatically slips to protect the operator from serious injury.

We incorporate a pressure relief valve on hydraulic earth drills. The pressure relief valve engages if the auger becomes overworked and the drill reaches a certain hydraulic pressure. This automatically stops auger rotation and halts the drill before it reaches a dangerous overload point. The feature increases safety for the operator and prevents damage to the machine.

Easy Auger Changeouts

Easy auger changeouts are a great way to get the most out of an earth drill both as a customer and as a rental center. Quick and consistent auger connection options expand the earth drill’s capabilities, opening the door to more rental opportunities and applications. Little Beaver augers feature a snap-on connection that allows operators to switch between augers quickly without specialized tools.

The Final Decision

When it comes to deciding which earth drills to invest in for your rental center, the best options are the safest and easiest to maintain. By working with Little Beaver, you can feel confident you’re getting strong construction, easy maintenance and the most up-to-date safety features. To learn more about how a Little Beaver earth drill can benefit your rental center, contact us today.

Improving ROI for Rental Centers

At both the collegiate and professional level, great quarterbacks are few and far between — and for good reason. In addition to the hard work and dedication it takes to reach that level of competition, quarterbacks face a slim margin of error on every down. To complete a single pass, a quarterback must know the roles of defenders and anticipate their actions, account for the speed and timing of the receivers, and, of course, make a precise throw into a small and fleeting window of opportunity.

Running a rental center can feel much the same. Discovering efficient, safe and durable equipment, like Little Beaver Mechanical Earth Drills, is a game-changing play.

The One-Man Approach

Rental centers should think of equipment in terms of usability. A greater emphasis on user-friendly equipment attracts a broader variety of renters. This is true for both crews looking to supplement their fleet with additional equipment options, and for individuals needing a tool for DIY landscaping.

Little Beaver Mechanical Earth Drills provide high auger speeds — up to 360 rpm — for fast hole digging. Many drills require two operators to mitigate the risk of injury from the torque and kickback associated with the drill’s power and speed, but our drills take a different approach. Little Beaver Mechanical Earth Drills feature engines that are mounted on a separate carrier attached to the drill’s handles via a steel torque tube. The drill’s torque and kickback are transferred to the engine carrier, as opposed to the operator, making safe one-person operation possible. This means you can offer unmatched efficiency for contractors, and a one-operator option for homeowners tackling their own projects.

Add Opportunities

Solutions to expand an earth drill’s capabilities — and, in turn, your rental opportunities — are another option to consider. At Little Beaver, we offer snap-on augers that take seconds to change, allowing for a quick adjustment to match your customer’s drilling requirements. We offer a full range of diameters between 1.5” to 16” in both 36” and 42” lengths, meaning you can provide a versatile line of augers for a variety of rental needs.

Meanwhile, our horizontal boring kits add to our Mechanical Earth Drill’s capabilities. These kits give the earth drill capabilities similar to a horizontal boring machine for drilling underneath sidewalks or driveways, increasing the equipment’s rental applications.

Benefit from Durability

Equipment repairs inevitably take time to complete. Even a basic repair can lead to as much as a full day of lost rental time both from the renter and your rental center. That’s why our Mechanical drills have features such as a heavy-duty transmission and centrifugal clutch to lessen the likelihood of untimely breakdowns. When drilling, it’s common to strike rocks, roots and other buried objects. If the auger hits an object, the centrifugal clutch releases, stopping rotation and preventing damage to both the auger and transmission.

Solutions for Success

While quarterbacking a successful rental business is no easy task, finding solutions that increase the gap between revenue and ruin is a great way to work toward this goal. Simple solutions to versatility and maintenance times are among the easiest ways to manage both margins for error and profit margins. Any equipment that can single-handedly increase a business’s capacity to take on additional renters while reducing the cost of maintenance is worthy of an MVP award.

To learn more about how rental centers can benefit from our earth drill options, contact Little Beaver today.