Need to move lots and lots of dirt - shortcuts?

[5030tinkerer]

I have a need to move somewhere close to 100 yards of dirt about 250'. I have a Kubota L5130 HST with the standard 6' bucket and a BH90 backhoe with a 36" bucket. I also have an 18' tandem axle trailer without sides. Question: Am I better off making trip after trip from pile A to pile B filling the loader bucket and BH bucket each time or would I be time ahead to drag the empty trailer over to pile A, pile it high, connect it to my tractor, pull the loaded trailer over to pile B, and unload it? Seems like a basic question, I know, but I thought I'd ask those who might have tried both methods.

 

[vallyfarm]

I think you would be days ahead if you borrowed/rented a dump trailer. Anything less and you'll spend the day driving back and forth. Trust me when I say that you will be amaized at how little a FEL holds when dirt is to be moved. I just don't understand why it hols so much when I'm picking rocks off the field into it. Mike

 

[MossRoad]

Why don't you move a measured amount over a half hour period to determine how long it will take you? Then decide if you want to continue or rent a dump trailer towed by a different vehicle.

If you have a 1/2 yard bucket, you will be making 200 trips. That will gain you a nice two rut road in the process by the time you are done. Let's call it a hundred yards once you add in a turn around at each end. 200 trips X 2 directions = 400 trips. 400 trips times 100 yards = 40000 yards of travel. 40000 / 1760 yards in a mile = 22 miles. How many miles per hour will you be averaging? Probably 4 mph or less. That would take you five and a half hours just to travel the distance. Then add in another 15 seconds to load and another 15 seconds to dump, so 15 seconds on the load trip and 15 seconds on the dump trip. Thats 15 seconds X 400 trips = 100 additional minutes. So that's about 7 hours and 10 minutes working non-stop, averaging 4 mph(which you won't do because I didn't figure in acceleration, decelerations, etc...) with no breaks and no delays from these figures.

Give yourself two days of very easy driving and you could knock it out with little wear and tear on yourself and your machine.

I think loading a trailer, attaching the trailer, hauling the trailer, dumping the trailer, hauling the trailer, detaching the trailer and repeating over and over would take a lot longer than just hauling it with the bucket for that short of a distance.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm with Mossroad. just bite the bullet and spend the time it takes to move it with your FEL. Too many people spend days, or even months, looking for an easy way to do something when it coud have been done right away if they had just done it.

My Dad is famous for this. He'll spend an hour driving all over the countryside to get a bucket of oil to the dozer, when I take ten minutes to just carry it there.

The same is true with renting stuff. How much time will you spend getting something bigger, running it and then returning it?

I've found that a nice set of headphones really helps pass the time on those repetive, boring jobs that take forever. It's also nice to have some cool drinks in a cooler and a soft cushion on your seat.

Enjoy,
Eddie

 

[5030tinkerer]

Mossroad - I think you have the ticket. Bite the bullet and just do it. I also have an skid steer with a 60" bucket on it (slightly deeper though). It may be that I convince the better half to hop on one machine while I use the other, perhaps cutting the time in half.

 

[ducati996]

Renting a dump truck is the inexpensive way and the options of 10 yrd dump trucks are possible.
It will depend on how high your FEL can go to reach over the sides of these trucks. If it can then you can be done under a half day easy without breaking a sweat,with little wear on your tractor...

otherwise locate a mason dump body (dump truck ) that holds at least 4 yrds - the more the better. if its 4 yrds then you only have 25 trips to deal with....not a big deal at all

Have fun

Duc

 

[PBinWA]

Just consider it as precious seat time. Whatever you do don't let your wife share in the fun! It's all yours.

Maybe you could get a big dirt scoop and do two loads per trip?

 

[EddieWalker]

Renting a dump truck is the inexpensive way and the options of 10 yrd dump trucks are possible.

If he had more dirt to move, or he had a long ways to move it, than I'd agree with you, but for only a hundred yards and he's only moving it less than a football field, it's not much of an advantage.

I have a dump truck and I'm as lazy as they come, so any time I can do it easier, I will. If this was my project, I'd just use the front loader and not even deal with the dump truck.

Eddie

 

[Glowplug]

Too many people spend days, or even months, looking for an easy way to do something when it coud have been done right away if they had just done it.

It's like those people that spend forever driving around a parking lot so they don't have to walk 20 more yards. I usually take the first reasonable parking space and walk, then I'm in the store long before the other person while he is still driving around the parking lot looking for that slightly closer parking space. Just Git 'R Done!!

 

[schmism]

you might double up with a pan scraper to pull behind the tractor. a little 2 yard guy in addtion to the FEL will cut your time down.... after all if your making the trip anyway....