Looking for a short weed wacker, Im ONLY 5'2 =/

bailey91990

New User
I just started worker for a landscaping company as of last week due to my Dad passing so I needed a better job then a 9$ 20hr week job for I can pay the bills for our Condo. Luckily I found this job, amazinggg pay & 10-12hr days. Got my 1st pay check today & I almost cried I was so happy with what I got haha.
Anywaysss, Im not quite sure the length or type of Weed Wacker/Trimmer we use but I know its to long for me. Its a average size one, its a 2stroke string pull & the end is straight not curved with no protector & a bar wrapped around trimmer 1/3 of the way down. I have to hold it so far out infront of me & tuck it under my arm to hold it still. On Short yards I do fine, but yards that we need to keep the grass alittle taller Im going to deep when I trim because its hard to hold it in the position I need to. & when the other guys grab it to try to show me and or help, I notice they have alotttt more control with it then I do. I am only 5'1-5'2 so I am extremely short, but I am strong for my size. I NEVER done landscaping before & today was only my 3rd day working so I do understand I need practice & need to learn. But we do 30houses a day & by time we do 10-15 I feel like my body is going to fall off because the weird position I need to hold it which is making a tear on my body. Was going to try to go to HomeDepot or Wal-Mart tomorrow to look for one to buy, but I dont know what size is considered small & what would be best for me. Like I said we do 12hours a day so I cant get one thats going to manure the bed after 10houses. Please Help
Sincer, Adam the LandMark Landscaper ;)
 
I believe this would involve custom making a trimmer. You could take a standard trimmer and cut the length off. The hard part would be to cut off the flexible shaft too but there are people around that can do it if you can't.
 
What about the type with wheels? Looks more like a
walk-behind mower - but has a weed trimming head
instead.
 
true commercial duty straight shaft trimmers are several hundred dollars. the home owner, light duty, curved shaft style will not last very long being used for commercial duty. most trimmers have the forward grip adjustable for different sized operators. it sounds like the unit you are using needs the grip position changed. even properly fitting machines with a shoulder strap will be work for an experienced operator after much time.
 
If you buy a straight shaft weed wacker with bicycle control handles you can move them up or down the shaft. I know Stihls do I have a FS 90 straight shaft that you can move controls.
 
It looks like you need another task. Find something they don't
like doing and offer to do that if they will take care of the
trimming. They will jump at the chance because trimming is
probably nothing to them. I'm 6'4", so I run into the opposite.
Until I got a straight shaft trimmer I always had a sore back
because I had to stoop over. Now trimming is nothing to me.

If you keep this job and like it buy yourself a Christmas present. Go to a dealer and get a Stihl curved shaft trimmer. It will be made well enough to last but fit you. It seems too early to buy an expensive tool to solve a problem you can work around. Not sure where you are, but we don't have that many more weeks of trimmer use here.
 
Bailey ask your boss if they still have the shoulder strap that came with the trimmer. For shorter people using the shoulder strap and adjusting the handle to "fit" you should take care of the problems.

Look in the picture I posted. You can see how the guy has the strap carrying most of the weight. Then he has the handle moved down further on the shaft.

I would also wait and see before buying anything for using at work. You have only worked there 3 days. So what if you do stay at the job long??? Your out the cost of the trimmer. You say you live in a condo so you sure don't need it for your own use. Plus it is getting close to winter. You sure will not need a trimmer.
a169454.jpg
 
A shoulder strap, or re-adjusting the shoulder strap makes sense. I'm six foot tall with long arms, the shoulder straps on my trimmers have all been too short, so I had to add a short chain to extend the straps. The contractor might have just removed the straps and thrown them in a shed.
 
The shoulder strap may fix your problem.
If not, a curved shaft trimmer can be curved more by carefully increasing the curve in multiple short bends. This is not very difficult, but must be done with care to avoid kinking the tubing.
Increasing the bend in that tubing allows the cutting head to be parallel to the ground while the motor / operator end is closer to the ground.
You should be able to reshape the tube until it fits your height.
 
My daughter is 5ft 4in and mows the local cemetery(weed whacking takes 8hr.)She switched to curved shaft trimmers.
 
like JD's pic, a strap will probably help a bunch.
My neighbor who I know is under 5', enjoys her yardwork, and is out there all the time with a big trimmer with a padded strap. Trimmer looks like it would be hard for her to even lift...she's out there for hours.
If you can't find one, check a hunting store, looks like a padded sling would work with a mod here or there.
 

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