ditch digging question

[digger2]

Hey guys,
Did any of you guys ever see a backhoe operator dig a trench between two buildings and then to finish up,actually use the hoe to "jump the ditch",
straddling the ditch so he could connect both trenches?I'm sure you have.
But,and this is my question,have you ever seen someone do it with a small
machine,like say the B26 TLB that i have.
Oh yeah,the hoe has enough power to lift the machine and move it sideways,no problem.The problem is,my bucket is 18" wide.By the time all is said and done,on some rocky ground the trench ends up being 24" wide.
The inside tread width on my tractor is about 29 1/2".......I think you see where i'm going with this...........Cave-in of the trench
Even with the outriggers holding you up out of the trench,"IF" the ground caves in,you're out of luck,and possibly seriously injured.
With a big full size Case,it is'nt bad because even with a 24" wide ditch,
the inside track is much wider than my Kubota.So,how do you guys connect the trenches?I cant finish it up digging sideways because the hoe on my tractor is tucked up so tight to my rear wheels that they are ready to go in the ditch.So far in this situation,i've just been digging a hole from the side to connect them,and it looks crappy,and takes more time.
Theres got to be a better way.Any answers out there???????
thanks,Digger2

 

[LBrown59]

Hey guys,
Did any of you guys ever see a backhoe operator dig a trench between two buildings and then to finish up,actually use the hoe to "jump the ditch",
straddling the ditch so he could connect both trenches?I'm sure you have.
But,and this is my question,have you ever seen someone do it with a small
machine,like say the B26 TLB that i have.
Oh yeah,the hoe has enough power to lift the machine and move it sideways,no problem.The problem is,my bucket is 18" wide.By the time all is said and done,on some rocky ground the trench ends up being 24" wide.
The inside tread width on my tractor is about 29 1/2".......I think you see where i'm going with this...........Cave-in of the trench
Even with the outriggers holding you up out of the trench,"IF" the ground caves in,you're out of luck,and possibly seriously injured.
With a big full size Case,it is'nt bad because even with a 24" wide ditch,
the inside track is much wider than my Kubota.
1*So,how do you guys connect the trenches?I cant finish it up digging sideways because the hoe on my tractor is tucked up so tight to my rear wheels that they are ready to go in the ditch.So far in this situation,i've just been digging a hole from the side to connect them,and
2* it looks crappy.
Theres got to be a better way.Any answers out there???????
thanks,Digger2

1*I just dig it from the side with my BX23
2*Who gonna see it after it's covered up?
Another situation when you run into this is If you don't get the trench deep enoug some where along it's length and have to go back and dig it deeper in such spots you run into the same problem.
What I learned from that is.
It's better to get it to deep than to shallow.
After the ditch has been dug it is easier to put some dirt back in than it is to dig more dirt out.

 

[LBrown59]

Hey guys,
Did any of you guys ever
Oh yeah,the hoe has enough power to lift the machine and move it sideways,no problem.The problem is,my bucket is 18" wide.By the time all is said and done,on some rocky ground the trench ends up being 24" wide.
The inside tread width on my tractor is about 29 1/2".......I think you see where i'm going with this...........Cave-in of the trench
Even with the outriggers holding you up out of the trench,"IF" the ground caves in, ,and it looks crappy,and takes more time.
Theres got to be a better way.Any answers out there???????
thanks,Digger2

Also makes it real easy to run a wheel off into the trench when moving the tractor ahead or to the rear.

 

[CCWKen]

When I put in my septic system, I had to cross some trenches. The drain field is in the shape of a closed "H" (connected at top and bottom). The drain field was only about 30" at the deepest end and about 20" at the shallow end. I ended up putting cinder block (concrete block) in areas to cross over. I tried to keep the blocks above ground level. I rented a Kubota w/FEL-BH but I don't remember the model. It wasn't huge as I remember hauling it from the rental on a 20' trailer.

I did about the same with the water line with a Ditch Witch except I used concrete toppers stood on ends & sides.

If you keep the blocks above ground level, it helps keep the tires off the edge of the ditch. Don't know how deep you're going but down here, the frost line is about 1/2" but I put the water line down 18-24".

 

[KJM]

Been there! My trenches are in stable clay - not much of a collapse issue. I was paranoid about it when digging though - the little B7100 gets tossed around easily.

My solution was a couple of planks - I sat the tractor on them when digging and used another two to drive over when I needed to get off the trench. Worked for me.

/Kevin

 

[MarkV]

Digger you need to lay yourself out an area on flat ground and try jumping an imaginary ditch. I jump ditches with a B21. Of course like all of our discussion the type of soil can make a huge difference. If your soil tends to make ditches with soft collapsing sides one of the other methods may be a better idea.

MarkV

 

[2manyrocks]

Been there, dug myself into the proverbial corner, too, with the smaller backhoe. I would not feel comfortable jumping the ditch with a narrow wheel width machine.

 

[tommu56]

I this it with my bx23 but the problem isn't the bucket with its the with of the tractor verses the trench width.

lets sat you have a 24 bucket on a 8'wide machine you have 3 feet on either side

take the 23 12" bucket 49"wide 18" on a side.

If you have good soil and aren't too deep it can be done.
It took me a good hour to get back across the one I was working on the side fell in so it was about 3' wide and that got hairy I finally gave up and put some 2x10's across the trench to set the out riggers on to get it across.

tom

 

[SFish]

I just set some firewood rounds in the trench where the tires will cross.

Steve

 

[LBrown59]

Hey guys,
Did any of you guys ever see a backhoe operator dig a trench between two buildings and then to finish up,actually use the hoe to "jump the ditch",
straddling the ditch so he could connect both trenches?thanks,Digger2

Wonder if digging that section first then covering it with a steel plate would work?

Here are some pictures of where I am finshing up after digging a trench between 2 buildings with my BX23 last month but I just connected the trenches by digging from the side.