Free Sandstone Boulders

   / Free Sandstone Boulders #1  

patrick_g

Elite Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2006
Messages
4,250
Location
South Central OK
Tractor
Kubota Grand L-4610HSTC
I friend's nephew recently hired a dozer to clear part of a 40 acre parcel and they discovered a lot of surface rock to dispose of. I got 5 dump trailer loads so far.

Many of the rocks were right at the max lift capability of my loader and several exceeded it. Note in one of the pictures that the tractor is on three wheels due to overload on FEL. I couldn't lift that rock any higher and had to leave it behind. I will get it today by putting it in first so I don't have to lift it so high. There are 5-6 or more rocks way bigger that I have to devise a plan to lift.

The other pix show the last load of the day and its being dumped near the first loads. A dump trailer is a wonderful tool. This one is only rated for 10,000 lbs and is easy to overload so you have to pay attention. The bhox is 7x12 and 2 feet high with stake pockets if you need sideboards to contain a larger load of lighter less dense material. The first 4 loads (got one load day before yesterday and 4 yesterday) averaged well over 1000 lbs per rock.

Today I will go with bucket instead of pallet forks and get a load or two of smaller rocks (way under 1000 lbs each.)

I'm open for suggestions on how to lift rocks weighing a ton or two to get them high enough to drive the trailer under them. I have a 12,000 lb winch and a snatch block to give me up tpo 24,000 lbs of pull. I can mame an A frame or whatever.

Pat
 

Attachments

  • Boulders002R.jpg
    Boulders002R.jpg
    146.4 KB · Views: 382
  • Boulders003R.jpg
    Boulders003R.jpg
    169 KB · Views: 332
  • Boulders006.jpg
    Boulders006.jpg
    1 MB · Views: 237
  • Boulders005R.jpg
    Boulders005R.jpg
    125.5 KB · Views: 330
   / Free Sandstone Boulders #2  
Oh dear; has the trusty Dodge been sent to the barn?:D

#1
If you can tip the rocks then lift the box, tip a portion of the rock in, lower box some and try and lift/shove the stone a little more and so on.

#2
Dig [hole/build ramp] so you can shove rock into trailer box. Then find out the truck has traction problems pulling trailer from hole.

#3
Invest in hammer drills, rock saw and wedges and feathers and reduce rocks to sizable portions. This may be the proper way; as, as soon as "She Who Must Be Obeyed" sees the ease with which you split rocks the landscaping projects will evolve to a whole new experience!:D:D

That one trailer load looks a little heavy!!:confused:
 
   / Free Sandstone Boulders #3  
Those are some great looking boulders. And for free!!! I'm jealous, I'd love to have a source of boulders, but it's just not gonna happen.

What are you doing with them?

Eddie
 
   / Free Sandstone Boulders #4  
Giving the equipment a good work out. ;)

I'll trade some grantie boulders for your sandstone boulders. ;)
 
   / Free Sandstone Boulders #5  
Look like you got a quite a project going there. What your plans for those boulders ?

At any rate, since you can barely lift some of the boulders but not high enough, and others you may be able to push em, you need to build a nice long, wide dirt ramp leading to your trailer. I would start digging a ramp for trailer to go down lower into the ground and use some of that dirt for the ramp to go up. This way your tractor doesnt have to do that high up in the air moving rocks. Once you are done, all you gotta do is fill back in . peice of cake for your tractor.
 
   / Free Sandstone Boulders #6  
   / Free Sandstone Boulders
  • Thread Starter
#7  
Oh dear; has the trusty Dodge been sent to the barn?:D

#1
If you can tip the rocks then lift the box, tip a portion of the rock in, lower box some and try and lift/shove the stone a little more and so on.

#2
Dig [hole/build ramp] so you can shove rock into trailer box. Then find out the truck has traction problems pulling trailer from hole.

#3
Invest in hammer drills, rock saw and wedges and feathers and reduce rocks to sizable portions. This may be the proper way; as, as soon as "She Who Must Be Obeyed" sees the ease with which you split rocks the landscaping projects will evolve to a whole new experience!:D:D

That one trailer load looks a little heavy!!:confused:

Egon (et al) I loaded the rock that had me on three wheels. I raised the dump bed a few feet to lower the rear of the trailer and put the ramps near the center on top of the bed. I couldn't get the rock over a foot in the air and totally stood the tractor on its nose a couple times trying to lift it. I got it over to the ramps and pushed it into the bed and lowered the bed. I then swapped the bucket for the pallet forks and proceeded to scoop up smaller rocks. Smaller as in no more than a few hundred pounds down to size of a football. Dumped that load and will go back this PM to get the tractor.

Egon it wasn't just that one trailer load that was a little heavy! They all were, all 6 loads.

I have a circular drive around my house. (See countrybynet.com Home building thread Oklahoma Farmhouse. I will have little or no grass to mow between the house and circular drive and will brush hog on the other side of the drive. I do not have a lawn mower.

The area between the house and circular drive will be landscaped with crushed lava rock, lava boulders, native red sandstone boulders, and specimen plants in curbed flower beds. Specimen plants will include pampas grass, cane, bamboo (if I can get the cold hardy variety good for our climate), various succulents and cacti. There will be no trees between the drive and house. Trees and large flowering shrubs may be on the outside of the drive. I may relent a little and allow grass around a pecan tree just south of the west end of the house. I will build a circular picnic table to surround the pecan tree and put pavers underfoot there to avoid having to trim grass under the table.

I am also designing a water feature that will look like an artesian spring flowing out of a (dare I say it?) a pile of boulders/rocks down a small stream bed to disappear into a drain culvert which will look as if it carries away the water to one of the backyard ponds. Actually the drain leads to an underground holding tank with a pump to "secretly" pump the water through a buried pipe to come out of the "spring" again. This will take several rocks/boulders.

I may relent a bit on the no grass thing and allow a little around the pecan tree. I will encircle the tree with a round table and round benches. I will put pavers under the table to avoid grass trimming. I can mow such a small area with a string trimmer but if it gets tedious I can go geotextile and crushed lava.

I was negotiating to buy boulders and have them trucked in when my friend told his nephew I wanted rocks and suddenly we had a good arrangement. He wanted the rocks gone and I wanted rocks.

All is left to do is to get the 6-8 remaining rocks that are too big by at least twice what I can pick up. They are significantly heavier than the one I loaded (put me on 2-3 wheels.) I'm guessing a timber A frame and winch to lift them into the air and back the trailer under them.

Egon, I went to Colorado for three weeks in our camper on the GOOD OLE DODGE. It is doing fine and when I have to get really serious about non-camper duties I use it. I have receiver hitches in front so I can mate up to a trailer, nose to nose, to hold it while winching something onto the trailer. I'm not real sure exactly how I will lift the biguns but I am confident I will and there will be no dirt ramps or holes involved.

Pat
 
   / Free Sandstone Boulders #8  
I do not have a lawn mower.

That just cannot be. Every household must have a lawn mower of some form!:rolleyes::rolleyes: even if it has four legs under it!:p

You got hydraulic jacks, start jacking up the rock slab and put some timber baulks underneath. When it's high enough back up the trailer and use some pieces of pipe for rollers.

That A frame sounds easy but what do you make it of and how do you figure out the capacity?:confused:

It's good to see the Dodge is still serving well.:D:D

If you had some type of three point attachment you might be able to lift one side to get blocks under the rock.:D
 
   / Free Sandstone Boulders #9  
Chains to the three point, then lift it or skid it onto logs, then logs as a ramp to the trailer pulled on using the three point again --- slower but it works. You can also make a frame that goes on the three point and which you can chain the rock to -- you will be able to lift more that way than with the loader -- probably safer too:eek:
 
   / Free Sandstone Boulders #10  
Love Pic#1 :D Coudnt tell from the picture, but i dont see any wax on your tractor:D

Too bad you wernt up here with all that sandstone. We paid $150 for a pallet (around 2200 lbs) of sandstone (wall) stone to build some stacked retaining walls. You could make some $$$

The guys at the quarry said they split it with black powder. May be an option.
 
 
Top