Grading with a subcompact to take out a slope

[Buggs67]

Still think with that much work to do you may want to go with a CUT.

 

[TomSeller]

The box blade with rippers is going to be the tool you want, don't make the mistake of buying the wrong size. My 3320 built this bridge/driveway in about 3 days (my first job ever with a BB). The hill was very steep. Go slow, always pull the dirt downhill when you can and keep the seatbelt on with the rops up. Make sure to post up some photos.

Nice work. !! Curious if you had to take out a permit, assuming that is a stream through the culvert?

 

[BukitCase]

Shhhhhhh...

 

[TomSeller]

Shhhhhhh...

I thought of that but the pictures can't be unseen once they are posted. That's why I list my location as Timbuktu.

 

[TomSeller]

The Piranha tooth bar has been a god send for me. No need for a BB but of course if money no object. I like having the FEL with PTB and BH on back for serious dirt work. These SCUTS can dig!!! I have been terracing my steep slope with my BX and the only issue is safety. Be careful and go real slow!

nice work on that slope, that is not easy. Looks good. Useful for a submarine lookout?

 

[dmbtree82]

Buggs,

If it turns out to be too much I'll have a friend with a skidsteer and mini excavator come over and pay him a few bucks for machine time. Since I'm getting the tractor my thought is I should try to work it a little bit at least. I might head out today and get a 4' Mahindra BB and see what they have in tooth bars while I'm there. I started another thread on the implements side to get input about the Mahindra vs Frontier BB.

Bukit,

I'm over estimating the size of the area for sure and only the driveway would be time critical.

 

[SpringHollow]

I personally would not recommend this work with your tractor if you are going to have to bring in equipment to do a foundation or basement. You will spend LOTS of time, fuel, and wear and tear on your tractor when they can do the work at minimal extra cost. If that is the case, I would recommend another project that you would enjoy such as perhaps leveling and prepping a garden area nearby or help a neighbor with a project. Leveling a small area would not be bad for practice if you have no other work to do.

I know, it is sacrilege recommending something that minimizes seat time.

Ken

 

[DB Pilot]

Definitely go for the R4's. I've had ag tires on my BX2200 from day one (bought in 2001) never regretted it and has done no damage to my lawn. Also they have gotten me out of trouble more than once. I hate to get stuck near the road :ashamed: as someone will surely stop with much unneeded advice as to how to get unstuck. :thumbdown:

I like my potato digger for starting ditches. A few passes and you have a nice ditch and doing this on each side of the roadway defines your work area nicely. It also sets the depth, loosens the nearby soil and lets the Boxblade really start doing work. I like Egon's advice and now I've learned some new tricks. Good Luck :tractor:

 

[LostInTheWoods]

Tire choice is always a hot topic for debate. I have the R4's and they have been a good all-around choice for my SCUT, but I do not use it as my primary grass cutter. My tractor is in the woods clearing/maintaining trails and rotary cutting small fields and maintaining a very long gravel driveway primarily, with the occasional soil moving. In my soil, the R4 tires will mar the surface of the soil a bit if the ground is even a little damp. And since there a two subsurface sprins/seeps in the area I mow, that's a problem for me almost year-round.

I'm a big fan of the box blade as an item you can get a lot of bang-for-the-buck, but some people hate box blades. Problem is, its hard to know how you feel about it unless you spend some time with one. For me, it has been great at driveway maintainance and good at moving and breaking soil. It does OK at moving snow (though I like the FEL more for that), and does a great job of breaking up packed sleet/ice from the driveway. A box blade sized for your machine will probably come with 4 adjustable shanks. Remember, you don't have to engage all 4 at the same time. Use only one or two if you initially have trouble breaking soil. We use the box blade to break soil for a garden without a rototiller, and it does a pretty good job. Not as good and pretty as a tilled garden, but the veggies don't seem to mind. And I can tell you from experience, you can only break up roots to a certain size. Your machine is too light to move mountains, even if it has a high power-to-weight ratio. If your shanks engage roots too large, your light tractor will just spin its tires.

 

[dmbtree82]

I got a box blade and am going to start on a driveway this weekend. I'll see how that goes and then take it from there on how to handle leveling the other area. I did a quick test once the got the BB hooked up and it seems like I should be able to rip and scoop pretty easily for the driveway. I know rocks may throw a kink in that plan, but am hoping for nothing large.

My plan is to go about 8" down; pick up a roll of usfabric us200 geotextile to roll out, and then cover over with 8" of modified (compactable) stone. I spoke with the guy at usfabric and that was they way they said to go. With the fabric the larger stone is not necessary. Anyone think that is crazy?

 

[ovrszd]

Friend of mine used fabric on a 1/4 mile of new driveway. Works great everywhere the drive drains properly. Not so great where it doesn't.

But then,,, where it drains properly it probably didn't need fabric.

 

[dakotagun]

I have a 2048L, and I use it all the time for driveway maintenance, road repair/maintenance, and smoothing bumps or moving dirt. use it as counterweight, with a few suitcase weights added, when doing fel work. used it for snow, too, until I added a rear blade last winter. now just need to add a QH so it is easier flipping between the two (or more) attachments. spent good money for the green painted thing, but it is durable and good quality.

 

[SpringHollow]

The only places where I had trouble with clay squishing up was where I did not have fabric. Putting fabric in those spots too cured the problem there as well.

Ken

 

[Tractor Seabee]

I do not believe fabric helps with clay or other squishy subgrade. When it gets wet all you do is push it down deeper into the subgrade. I have the best results by digging out a foot or so of the soft material and laying down compacted 4" minus rock. Put a layer of 1 1/2 minus with crusher fines over that and grade out. Maintenance will be to periodically add some fines to the top before grading.

Ron

 

[SpringHollow]

The fabric worked real well for me. Vehicles driving on the gravel were squishing up the clay to the surface. With fabric, it has been fine for 9 months. There is one spot I did not get to - the clay still comes up there. Removing the clay and putting down a base is best - I had the contractor do that but then I found out some got pushed back to build up some low sections.

Ken

 

[dmbtree82]

My wife's uncle who has been an equipment operator for 30 years came up to check it out. His thought was the ground is solid there so just stip off the top soil and skip the fabric. I'd say I'm about 1/3 to 1/2 way done. Hopefully another day or two and I'm ready to bring in the modified.

 

[john_bud]

I do not believe fabric helps with clay or other squishy subgrade. When it gets wet all you do is push it down deeper into the subgrade. I have the best results by digging out a foot or so of the soft material and laying down compacted 4" minus rock. Put a layer of 1 1/2 minus with crusher fines over that and grade out. Maintenance will be to periodically add some fines to the top before grading.

Ron

Ehhhhh ....
Fabric spreads the load out evenly so it won't squish. It is equal to 4" of well laid stone (more or less). It also keeps the stone from migrating down. But you still have to use enough stone on top to make the roadway act like a continuous unit and not individual rocks.

 

[ovrszd]

I've never saw fabric work in a location that I didn't think would have worked with the proper amount of base rock.