The Sidewalker piercing tool from HammerHead Trenchless Equipment is designed for installing short utility runs beneath landscaping, driveways and sidewalks.

Upgrades to the 2 1/2- and 3-inch models have increased efficiencies in design and pneumatics, including the quarter-turn Power Port Reverse feature that boosts impact power by up to 25 percent. The 3-inch Sidewalker has a uniform profile along its entire length, increasing striker size.

“The models that these tools replace in our previous fleet are tools that were ‘bulbed,’” Josh Hood, product manager for HammerHead, says. “This means that the previous tools were small tools with a larger-diameter bulb on the backside of the tool. A new 3-inch Sidewalker tool has the power of a 3-inch tool versus the power of a 2 1/2-inch tool with a bulb.”

The tools are designed for contractors who typically do short shots, such as small irrigation or water services with minimal pit dimensions. They have traditionally been used to install 3- to 20-foot underground runs of gas, water and other utility lines in tight urban areas.

Since the tools’ body lengths are just under 34 and 42 inches, they require much smaller working pits than standard-length piercing tools.

“Because of the significant reduction in length, it makes it a great tool for driveway and sidewalk crossings as the pit required to launch the tool can be reduced by as much as 30 percent,” says Hood. “The longer a tool is, the more accurate the shot will be as there is more surface area that maintains the path, hence the fact these tools are for short shots.”

Shorter tools tend to have less overall power than longer tools as the stroke of the internal piston is shorter and has less mass, Hood says. The Sidewalker overcomes that issue by increasing the strokes per minute by as much as 40 percent.

The piercing tools, which operate at 110 psi, include the Debris Free Tailcone, decreasing the amount of foreign matter entering the tool body, increasing overall production and extending the life of the tool.

As with all HammerHead models, a clamped rear anvil provides 200 percent more clamp load than other designs, yet makes the tools easy to maintain. 800/331-6653; www.hammerheadtrenchless.com.