Backhoe Backhoe trenching

chatcher · Apr 28, 2005

( I had to dig a ditch that I had to start at both ends and work toward the middle.
I got it all done but about 15 feet in the middle.
How do I dig this 15' out between the ends of the 2 trenches to link them together? )

I can back mine up to the trench until the BH boom pivot is centered over it, and rotate the boom until it is aligned with it. If I happen to get the tractor exactly perpendicular to the trench I can even dig in both directions. The only annoyance is snagging the bucket teeth on the stabilizer pads if I try to dig too close to the tractor. Just be sure to be on the "exit" side of the trench so you don't have to cross it when you're finished. Although with a 12" bucket I can usually cross an open trench without causing too much damage to it.

bandit67 · Apr 28, 2005

The BX hoe doesn't have a wide enough swing arc to do what you can do with your machine. At the angle you have to get while trying to get as close to perpendicular to the trench, one of the stabilizers ends up right in the trench. The only way I was able to connect the two ends was to dig a big hole at the center - kind of messy and a bit of overkill, but still better than hand digging. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

chatcher · Apr 28, 2005

( The BX hoe doesn't have a wide enough swing arc to do what you can do with your machine. At the angle you have to get while trying to get as close to perpendicular to the trench, one of the stabilizers ends up right in the trench. The only way I was able to connect the two ends was to dig a big hole at the center - kind of messy and a bit of overkill, but still better than hand digging. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif )

Then I'd probably either use a stout piece of wood across the trench under the stabilizer while digging at an angle, or finish the whole trench straddling it and then use boards to escape.

Varmintmist · Apr 29, 2005

( Rswyan I'll just bet if someone hit their gas line as a result of improperly marking or in your case not marking it at all they would scramble for excuses.

Since they run a tracer wire with the non-metallic gas line I really don't know how one could ever be marked incorrectly in the first place. )

They would make excuses, but if you called before you dug, they wouldnt be making bills. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

As to underground locating. It is as much witchery as it is tech. It isnt as simple as plopping a box down and painting grass. You do need to know what you are doing. The way the marks get way off is if they use a locator set up to run the tone by induction or if the wire gets grounded. When you do this, if the tone wants to follow more than one underground whatever (it will chase tel, pwr, tracer wire, old pipe) it will give you a nice strong signal IN THE MIDDLE of all of the ug utilities. It is operator error.

BUT, if you called and you did not machine dig 18in to either side of their mark, you are covered. (18 in PA, I have heard 24 in other places)

bandit67 · Apr 29, 2005

I must've had good locators (had it done a few times for verification). When I dug the holes for my pole barn, I drilled 6-18" dia holes with the centers just under 24" away from the marking for the phone line, and a 7th hole 3'-2" apart center-to-center from one of the end holes, with the phone line running between those 2, and never hit the line. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

LBrown59 · Apr 29, 2005

When I called the gas and phone companies came out.
Electric company never showed up.

LBrown59 · May 4, 2005

I was able to narrow the 15 feet down to about 12'
by placing the nose of the tractor about even with the end of the lower ditch and digging the upper ditch another 3 feet longer the normal way.

To take out the other 12 feet I angled the tractor to where the rear wheels would be just to the left side of the ditch.
After getting another 3 feet out by digging from this angle I placed the tractor at the same angle but 3 feet up from where I had it and dug another 3 feet of ditch.
Now for the last 6 feet I placed the tractor perpendicular to the trench and about 3 feet further up. By swinging the boom left and right I got another 3 feet of the ditch dug. Parked the tractor perpendicular again centered near the middle of the last 3 feet remaining and dug it out also by swinging the boom left and right.
When i finished i was on the left side of the ditch in the front yard where i wanted to be when i got done,

Surprisingly doing it this way this 12 foot of trenching doesn't appear much different from the rest of the ditch.

It wasn't much wider than the rest of the ditch and there wasn't an excessive amount of dirt taken out for this 12 feet of trenching.