What kind of equipment would you use to finish this swale?

[Johno Geo]

The excavator dug this "Swale" and was stopped by the Midwest winter, in December.
He has a full size excavator, D-4 Dozer, Skid Loader on tracks.
I have a Utility tractor (60HP), with FEL, HD flat blade, HD Box-scraper.
Option A - to let him finish in the spring/summer.
Option B- to see what I could do with my equipment.

 

[Reg]

I doubt that you could do much before he could come back and do a LOT.
He almost certainly has "unpublished plans" in his head about what comes next and how it should be done.
If you get out of sequence with his ideas it could "paint him into a corner".
If your 60 HP utility tractor is your only dirt working toy you run the risk of getting stuck without an available rescue toy.
I would try to leave it alone - I would try to be patient - I might fail (-:

 

[Craig Clayton]

How long is the swale / trench intended to be and how much is completed?
Craig Clayton

 

[Johno Geo]

Thank you for the feedback!
The ditch is about 700-750ft long as is dug full length.
The Surveyor/Engineers drawing shows sloped sides and I guess I will wait for the excavator to finish his magic in the spring,
You are right, I do not have a "Rescue Vehicle". Even with 4WD, I could stick it, in the clay( not to mention overturn)!
I was just trying to put together a "Plan B", in case the excavator was delayed... Thanks again.

 

[beenthere]

Where are you located?

When do you expect it to dry out a bit?

 

[chad22]

If it were me. I would just let him finish it with his equipment. With my luck I would get stuck. Like yesterday I got my little truck stuck in the snow and had to carry some big rocks "3 of them" and load them into my truck bed to get unstuck.

And these were some heavy rocks that were used for a foundation of an old house were tearing down. I had to carry them 20 foot from the house to my truck. I was sure out of breath when I finished. :laughing:

Last year I went into our salvage yard and there was mud everywhere. Well I should blame this on my brother because he kept asking me to go in there and load up an old cook stove to load onto the trailer for junk.

I finally gave in and went in there got it loaded up and everything was fine until I was coming out. I noticed I was getting stuck so I floored it and the mud grabbed the front tires and slid me into some brush. Just barely missing "half" a mobile home frame. I really thought I totaled the front of the truck. Luckily it didn't do any damage. "Well except my brother crapped his pants". :laughing:

Sorry about my rambling on. I just had to share my stuck stories with ya.

Chad

 

[Johno Geo]

It is never fun to be stuck!
This Swale in in NW Indiana.
Spring should arrive in April/May and summer in June.
Things will be dry in July and August.
My mistake for dealing with the Lake County Bureaucrats instead of just moving on this! I am beginning to see that Lake County is like Cook, County (Crook County) IL.
Maybe Mr "Green" needed to arrive before I proceeded?....
but don't get me started........
I will wait for dry weather before I try to push the dirt around.....

 

[dave1949]

It is never fun to be stuck!
This Swale in in NW Indiana.
Spring should arrive in April/May and summer in June.
Things will be dry in July and August.
My mistake for dealing with the Lake County Bureaucrats instead of just moving on this! I am beginning to see that Lake County is like Cook, County (Crook County) IL.
Maybe Mr "Green" needed to arrive before I proceeded?....
but don't get me started........
I will wait for dry weather before I try to push the dirt around.....

I think that is what I would do. It wouldn't take much back and forth, turning, etc. to make smeary, chewed up ruts all around that swale while the ground is soft using your wheeled tractor.
Dave.

 

[Renze]

With a tractor, all you'd do is make the swale more shallow and mudding the bottom. when there is too much topsoil on the bottom, it overgrows quickly. You need an excavator to pull the sides up, your tractor will skid in sideways and bog down.

 

[beenthere]

Around here, without a permit and the enviro's permissions, you might end up in jail making that mess to begin with and trying to make it better on the second attempt.
Definately too much bureaucrat Bovine Scat involved.

Your comment "Maybe Mr 'Green' needed to arrive before I proceeded?...." leads me to think you possibley had a little reprimand for not contacting the enviro's sooner?