I'm about to build around 230 feet of privacy fence for my dad, and my math says that's around 28 holes give or take a few for gates. He's not trying to do it dirt cheap, but also doesn't want to spend a fortune. Would a tow behind auger get that done in a day or should I bite the bullet and rent a dingo with an auger or pay someone to auger them for us?

Depends on the dirt and terrain - if no rocks or obstructions and reasonably flat ground you can do it in a day. Make sure there are no underground utilities or water/sewage lines. It’s still pretty physical work, but it beats the heck out of manually doing it.

Get it over with quick and rent .. https://www.homedepot.com/p/rental/Ground-Hog-Towable-Hydraulic-Auger-HD99-H/316822013

Ground shouldn't be too bad. Lucky for us, they've already marked utilities for a gas project they're doing in the neighborhood.

That's exactly the one I was looking at. Never ran one, but doesn't look too bad. Much better than a post-hole digger for sure!

I've got this Predator gas auger I bought from Harbor Freight, probably cheaper than you could rent that towable for. If the ground is not bad like you say, you could easily knock out 30 or so holes with it in a day. I have been very pleased with it.

Harbor Freight Auger

I’ve used the towable auger and it does well. It is a little hard to be exact with it. So your post holes might be a little off. It likes to walk a little until it starts to eat. You just have to position the posts at the right locations which may not be the exact center of course. The more you use it the better you get at it of course.

HF auger is GTG!

I could knock 28 out in a day (in decent ground) with post hole diggers, I think any machine would be able do it. If you have a lot of obstacles, it could be quicker by hand. If there is no obstacles, the pull behind would be okay as you could drive in a line from corner to corner.

Keep your leg away from it, don’t ask me how I know 😬

IF you have never done a fence before a tight string, measuring wheel, and orange paint will make it look like a professional.

IF you are near Eclectic - I can loan you the measuring wheel. That’s not something most people have laying around.

To man auger with six inch bit for the 4x4’ and an 8” the gate post will take max of two hours including a break every twenty minutes. That tow behind will take longer and a lot more aggression. Me and two other guys dug almost two hundred a couple weeks ago in a day. When I mentioned tow behind, he said I Quit.

I’m replacing a fence now. Need one that digs out the old post and concrete
I’m using a long packing pole of with a point on one end and a spade on the other.

Too old for this kinda work lol

Tractor with a front-end loader and a chain or use a farm jack. Piss on digging 'em out - yank 'em out. The older I get (60-yrs old) the more I rely on people or tools to do the work.

Getting ready to redo the horse pasture fencing, got t-post and horse guard fence tape going with wood post and cable fence, got about 4 acres to do. This is some good information also have a tractor, BIL has auger attachments debating which way to go, will be doing solo most of the time.

Amen. Use a machine

I’ve dug a ton of these pot holes by hydro excavation. It works great in some soils, not so great in others. It makes a mess but is much better than hole diggers

Just buy some post holes 🕳