Putting in an 800' driveway through the forest, advice and tips needed.

[MtnViewRanch]

Brian,
How would my 46hp Bota pull that 7' grader blade in tough conditions? It weighs 5500lbs with the rears filled and FEL. I know a lot of people throughout the country since my line of work is spread all over the place, so you never know when one of my friends is going on a road trip with their pickup truck Probably wouldn't work out, but I'm interested nonetheless.

First off, it would not be a pretty site on the bed of a pickup truck, maybe a trailer, but I know that I would not put it on any of my pickup trucks. Outside dimensions are 90"x96" and around 1400lbs

Well, it would work, but you would have to get use to using it. What so many people do not realize is that to get them to work to there full potential, you do not just drop them and drive away and everything ends up perfect like many people like to indicate. They work best by incorporating the use of the position control the top link and at times the side link. Now since you will soon have all 3 of these you would be all set to be able to get the full potential out of it.

The 7 footer that I use (same size unit that I should sell) with my bigger tractor will stop it cold if I just drop it and drive away. My 7520 weighs in a little over 12,000lbs. But when it is used properly, nooooooooooooo problems. Yes you could make use of it with your tractor. Is it the ideal size for your tractor, probably not. I would think that with any of the industrial use LPGBs (land plane grader blades) that a 6 footer would be better suited for your tractor. But one of the BIG pluses of the LPGBs that I have is that they have a lot longer side runners than all the other commercially built units out there for sale.

 

[JoeL4330]

Joe, is that manual blade a Land Pride also, what model number? I may be interested. :licking:

it's a Woods ...

 

[bubbas45]

I was actually thinking of going straight through the woods in a straight line from the house site, to the road, rather than following the curvature of the driveway. My thinking is that it will be a shorter, straighter, easier run for the power.
Of course a lot of this will depend on IF I can even dig a trench that long, they don't call it the Granite State for nothin'

I'll be interested to follow your driveway project. We paid for our 2700-ft driveway to be built, partly because we just don't have the time for a project of that size.

Regarding power to your house, PSNH currently charges $9.90/ft. to run above ground service. You used to get three poles free, but now you get zero free.

You mention making a straight shot rather than following your drive. The PSNH engineer said they would have to have vehicle access to the lines. Obviously they need that to run the lines, but the impression we got was that this access has to be maintained in case they need to service the lines. What exactly that means in the middle of winter, I don't know, but I'm guessing nothing good. In any case, for us the short route for power would require building that vehicle access.

Putting the poles up along the drive might make sense (trade-off higher cost of the longer route versus building access), but I hate the idea of looking at power poles every time we go up and down the drive. So, how about underground service? For that, PSNH charges $13.08/ft. For that money, you provide the trench, which has to be deep enough to lay the power conduit 30 inches below grade. You supply the conduit and glue it up. You run the pull string. You backfill to PSNH standards with good fill--no rocks, frozen lumps, debris, or organic material, and compact it every 6 inches. You supply a pad-mounted transformer (ca. $1300) and the pad to spec (ca. $275).

However you get power up here, it's wicked expensive. Depending on your land, I reckon digging a trench for the underground cable with your tractor could a) take a while b) get really frustrating c) require at some point a big trackhoe, dynamite, or a hydraulic hammer--or all three. But you could get lucky...nah.

bws

 

[Piston]

Solar is sounding better and better :laughing:

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Solar is sounding better and better :laughing:

Many people are off grid for that very reason, it simply is just too expensive to get the power to where you want-need it. Plus then you have that monthly bill to pay. I prefer to rely on myself, if the cost was even close, I would go with an alternative source.

 

[joeyd]

Piston,
Two years ago I put in an easement road to a neighbors parcel as I wanted to place a polebarn on the current one and use that road as a driveway to the pole barn. It was approx. 600ft in length through a pine and cedar forrest. The project was completed in two days using a dozer with a 6 way blade. We spent an additional 4 hours hauling road base from a small pit on my property and it was done. There are some pictures at the bottom.

I would suggest using the route that follows the topography and open areas the best. It looks like you have enough rock on your area for a good road base then follow that up with a nice 3/4' crush with fines and you should be good to go.

 

[twlyons1]

Be sure to use a good base of 4" about 6 to 9" on solid ground UN-disturbed with the cloth and never put discarded limbs or decomposable items under it and if a vibrating rollers out,,just add about 6"to9" of 2" on top either way,,,,,after it gets compacted for a few months,,add a good 2"to 4" layer of 3/4" minus and keep it looking good each month,,,as about 6 to 9 months go past you will notice it getting more hard and packed,,,center crown always about 4 " to 6" , your crown is middle of vehicle with level driving conditions the full distance.

if at all possible never tear it up or grade it during very wet conditions, it will open up and you will be patching for months to follow,,,,,,always use a drain rock of 1" to fill in pot holes,,never use a 3/4 minus type,,all the minus will start to flush as each tire passes and it will hydrological pump out the water and all the fines and rock,,,with the drain rock it will stay so much better and pack down, just maintain for a few days for complete level,,don't over fill compensating for compaction, it will start another pot hole at the edge of the over fill.

:mur: you don't want this

you want this :cool2:

 

[Piston]

I was able to get a few pictures last time up there, but I don't know if they help at all. :laughing:

My driveway will start on the left in the first pic, then go in from there.