Moving Soil - Any Suggestions

[Kyle241]

I have an area that was in amongst a lot of trees and I have since thinned it out to increase the sunlight to the garden and hopefully reduce bugs a little. I removed all the stumps and some of the larger stones however the ground itself is very uneven and there are still some sugar maples that I have kept. I cannot use my box blade on it as I have tried and it does zip to breakup the soil due to large mounds, stones remaining and the standing tree roots. I would like to move some topsoil that I have about 2000 feet away in large mounds to this location to smooth things out. I have a box bladed to make it nice however my question is what would be the best way to move the soil? I do not have a dump trailer but could rent one however it needs to be connected for power as the battery will die after 'X' loads depending on the weight. I cannot get my trunk down to the top soil as it's only accessible via a trail through the woods. Any good suggestions? Moving it a bucket load at a time will take a while.

I also have a 3 bottom plow and disc and have contemplated using those but not sure.

Tks.

 

[BeezFun]

I do not have a dump trailer but could rent one however it needs to be connected for power as the battery will die after 'X' loads depending on the weight.

My dump trailer battery will last almost all day, so I got a second battery. When the first one runs out I swap the second one in. At night I bring one or both of them back up to the shop to charge overnight. Other option is adding a towing electrical connector to your tractor and keep it running all day so it constantly recharges the dump trailer battery. Most dump trailers come with a recharger that runs off the +12v auxilliary pin on the connector, you'd have to check on the one you're renting. It's still questionable whether the charging can keep up with the drain, so you might still need two batteries if you're doing more dumping that driving. If you've never used a dump trailer, start out with a small load to get used to the quirks, they can do crazy things when the load suddenly slides out the back end.

 

[MarkV]

I think I might use the disk and stay away from the Maples. The bottom plow is going to get hung up on the roots if the trees were good size. It will take a good number of passes with the disk unless you have a real heavy disk. Boxblade and see if you are making progress, if so do it again. Then shuttle soil as needed with your tractor. I am guessing that you will pull the dump trailer with your tractor given the trail is too small for your truck. Loading it without it hooked up can be a real problem. Sounds like more hooking/unhooking than time saved to me. Of course it is hard to visualize your setting over the inter-net. Keep us posted.

MarkV

 

[LD1]

It seems you have two issues/questions

You mention wanting to cart soil from 2000ft away, and then mention you have contemplated using a plow and disc....

So for starters, just how much dirt are you wanting to move?? a few yards, or a few hundred yards?

If just a few yards, I'd opt for the several trips with the FEL. But if more than 4 hours of work, get a large dump trailer.

Now back to NOT moving that dirt....does your BB have rippers?? are you lowering them and/or shortening the toplink?? Those rippers should dig into about anything but concrete:confused3:

 

[Kyle241]

Thanks BeezFun for the idea about a second battery. Also the fact that your dump trailer almost last's a full day is encouraging because I think I can move most of the soil in a day. There is the problem that Mark brings up about loading it though as my plan was to unhook, load the soil and hook back up but with a load in it, it may be impossible.

As for using the disc as Mark suggested, I have not tried that and may do as I have tried my box blade with the rippers down as per LD1's suggestion but I did not experience any good results. I thought it would do a lot more but perhaps I didn't give it a chance or wasn't doing it correctly. All I know is one ripper has a chunk off it now after I used the BB in that area.

 

[rd_macgregor]

With my box blade, the rippers are fine for turf, but can be a problem with large roots or rocks. I have bent the rippers a couple of times and once even ripped one right through the steel box beam they go through (I was travelling too fast at the time, I admit). If I run the box blade on my woods trails, I try to go VERY slowly, so that any snag will stop me (make the wheels spin) before doing serious damage to the BB.
BOB

 

[BeezFun]

There is the problem that Mark brings up about loading it though as my plan was to unhook, load the soil and hook back up but with a load in it, it may be impossible.

I unhook mine to load it, it has a 7000lb jack stand. Even if you don't have a strong enough stand you can shore with cribbing to hold it up. Make sure you start loading from front so you you don't tip it over backwards. Another thing to be really careful of is that it's properly fastened to your tractor or it will come right off the ball when you dump, there's a really large vertical force on that front hitch when the dirt is sliding off the back edge of the trailer. Also make sure you have a big enough tractor that it doesn't lift the back wheels on you. I keep my bucket lip close to the ground when I dump just to give myself a little extra leverage and stability in case the rear wheels come up. Make sure you work your way up to a full load until you discover how much the cylinders will raise. One thing you can do if you get in trouble and can't raise the load is unhook the trailer and scrap out the back part of the trailer with your bucket, that will help a little. Or if you own a teenager, make them unload the front part by hand.

 

[Kyle241]

Thanks BeezFun, those are some good points. I'll have to look at renting the dump trailer as I believe that would be the fastest way to move the soil.

 

[MBTRAC]

A 3PL single tyne ripper/pipelayer should handle cutting through roots & breaking mounds that your box blade can then level.

Also rather than renting a dump trailer if there's at least a day's work, when you factor in the hire of the trailer + un/hitching & loading ..etc. if you have another "operator" I'd be more inclined to rent a self propelled mini off road dumper c.3-5T (there as easy as any ZTR mower to drive ) & should be around $300/day ( for speed I prefer the wheels than tracks, I've an 8WD Yanmar 2T "toy", it will climb mountains & cart @10mph all day), the link below details what I'm referring to & in the event there's none for hire locally by you might be able to negotiate hire of one nearby that's for sale:-.
http://www.machinerytrader.com/list...lx=Contains&CTRY=canada&SO=2&btnSearch=Search

 

[KYDan]

I have similar issues with some of the ground I am renovating. I had a standard box blade and it didn't work very well for my projects either. I bought a 6' Dirt Dog rollover blade that allows me to use the shanks with the weight of the box on top of them without grading. The box weighs 800 Lbs. and it cuts through all but really large roots. If I hit boulders I dig them out with the bucket. I use my electrically powered dump trailer behind my pickup to haul the dirt and dump it. It is a slow process, but it works.