looking at pull type dirt pans......any advice?

[EddieWalker]

I'm a litte confused on what you want to do.

Those little dirt pans work pretty good for moving dirt from one place to another, and with enough time, you can move a fair amount of dirt. What I'm unsure of is whether they will work on a slope????

I also wonder how well it will pick up dirt if it's wet?

For the kind of money you're talking about, you might also consider renting a full sized loader. Maybe even a medium sized trachoe and a dump truck. From the size of it and what you want to do, it could just be a day or two with the right equipment. Knock it out in a weekend!!!!

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[DDT]

leeinmemphis, I have a DB-6 and been used a lot of hours. Does this include the front door for loose materail? That would be handy, hard dirt stays in the pan and loose stuff will fall out the front when transporting.

EddieWalker, This unit will last a lifetime even for me. Oh and mine works great on slopes.
If it is too wet you may not get traction to pull it and it might stick to the pan as well. It does dig, I was into damp clay and was cutting 6" deep, it was damp enough that it did not beak apart (too thick) it went into the pan and up and over the back, over the wheels and laid back on the ground. It looked like cheese.

 

[dirtworksequip]

lee, I've built several ponds and redid one. The tractor pan would not be my weapon of choice. You are going to run into problems. Getting the existing pond dry enough to work with the tractor pan will be the main problem. The other problems will be getting loaded if it is wet. Once loaded, getting out of the pond. Having enough room to effectively turn and work the pan.Just to name a few.

Why move the dirt 300 yards when you can use it to beef up the existing dam and make it stronger or flatten out the existing slope somewhat.

You said you had access to a D4. I'd use it to shove the material out of the pond and then use it on the outside slopes. If you are dead set on using the tractor pan shove the material out of the pond with the D4 and haul it with the pan.

My favorite machine to do ponds with is a track loader. You can carry material efficiently a short distance. They compact the material better than a dozer because of more ground pressure and a lower shoed grouser. They get around fairly well in wet material. You can cut in your slopes. I've used CAT rubber tracked skidsteers on pond before and they work pretty good other than the ground pressure is so low its hard to compact the material more than 3 inches at a time.

Redo's are harder to work in than starting and finishing a brand new pond.Your biggest hurdle is going to be getting the site dry enough to work in, even with the D4.

If you could send me some detailed pics of your site I'd be more than happy to make some suggestions that may save you some time and money. dirtworksequip@aol.com

 

[leeinmemphis]

The main reason I am wanting to move the material is to fill in an old dried up pond near my barn. I think by spring the area would be dry enough to run a pan over. If the outside edges were cleaner of trees then I would definitely just use a trackhoe or backhoe. My d4 would do fine pushing up the materials but then I would have to load/move it another way. I just figured that maybe the pan would be a better solution. My pond is a little more complicated because the middle is still holding some water . I've hired a dirt contractor to do this project for me but it looks like he may be too busy to get around to it. I was hoping that the pan would be a better solution because I am primarily wanting to take the edges down 2.5-3' to help get rid of the weed problem that this pond has. I really would prefer for the dirt contractor to handle this project because I think it is a little more than I can handle with everything else I have going on but if he can't get around for it then I'll probably take a week off of work and try to take care of it. I guess I can probably take 3-4 days to do the dirt work and then a couple of days cleaning up the levee and putting the levee back together.

 

[bucmeister]

Lee,

What size unit did you get that quote on and did it include the apron. I may need to have an email conversation with you if you are not supposed to put the dealership name out on the netl. Just today I was quoted $6570 for a new DB-6 with apron, followed with an offer of knocking $250 off to cover fuel if I pick it up. Will be a 9-10 hour each way trip. Seems no dealers are anywhere close to me.

 

[bucmeister]

Man, I must be loosing my mind. First I am bugging Lee for a quote only to now not only see that he had answered it in the thread, but that I had also replied back asking more about the quote I was in la-la land about. Sorry!

 

[bucmeister]

Have about figured out that what I need to find is someone that needs one for one job but does not really want to keep it long term. I need one long term due to keeping both home and camp property up and living in the loess soil area of SW MS. We are constantly fighting washouts etc especially where a fill has been pushed across a deep hollow. Can do it with a dozer, but a pan would be quicker and simpler in 90% of the cases and tear up less ground getting the job done because I could pick the dirt up from one location and move it to the wash versus having to push it all the way.

It sure seems the Hoelscher dealers won't trim any on the price whereas at least the Durabilts can be had for less than list price. So few of these around no incentive to bargain.

 

[leeinmemphis]

it looks like my dirt man isn't going to have time to do my pond so I am likely going to do it myself. i am going to wait a couple of weeks but it looks like one of these pans is in my near future. thanks again.

 

[ahvatsa]

Yesterday a neighbor offered to let me try out his new (2 mo. old) Durabilt DP-84 3 yd. pan. I have a M6040 Kubota. It surpassed ALL my expectations! Yes a 5 or 7 yd. would be nice for volume but for my tractor it is a good fit. He has been cleaning out some stock ponds and has used it 5 of 7 days for a couple months. Neighbor was also impressed that the 4WD 6040 did a better job (esp. on slopes Eddie) than his 2WD MF 100hp. Always makes one proud when your kid errr tractor does well in front of others. I am ordering one Mon.

 

[JB4310]

I didn't read all the posts here so don't know if this was suggested already but what about a dump trailer, moving buckets, one at a time is very slow.

When I had alot of dirt to move, I used a small home made trailer and dumped it with the loader, I've since got a 5 ton dump trailer which will work great for my next high volume dirt moving project.

The dirt pan looks like a great implimant but it's only a one use tool, and even though it may cut the amount of trips in half or better, that would still be slow and low productive IMO.

JB.