Best attachment to fix skid ruts in logging roads?

[EddieWalker]

If I understand your situation correctly, you are looking for a tool to fill in the ditches developed down the middle of your trails from logs being dragged down the middle of your roads. Where are you going to get the dirt to fill in this long trench in the middle of the road? If you do not fill in the trench and crown it, what will keep it from washing out the next time it rains?

 

[namesray]

If I understand your situation correctly, you are looking for a tool to fill in the ditches developed down the middle of your trails from logs being dragged down the middle of your roads. Where are you going to get the dirt to fill in this long trench in the middle of the road? If you do not fill in the trench and crown it, what will keep it from washing out the next time it rains?

Most logging jobs I follow touch up the roads before they move out. Those roads are mainly just flat, no crown, or for the logging roads that run up hill, they are sloped to the inside to funnel water to the inside with "weeps" cut across every so often to get the water off the road out into the woods. This helps keep the water from building up so it doesn't wash or erode much. There is no "crowns" put on "logging" roads that I have ever seen. Just bulldozed flat with weeps as needed.

Now after I skid a lot of tops, there are some ruts that form from parts of the tops that dig in a bit. Each skid loosens up some dirt more and more. Most of this loosened dirt gets pushed to the sides of the logging road with small ruts left in the middle. I have used my loader before to fix these ruts, but I thought a rear blade that I could angle, thus gathering the loose dirt previously pushed to the edges of the logging roads, and pull that dirt across the road instead of just pushing it straight ahead like the loader does. I thought that the action of angling the blade, pulling the dirt across and into those ruts would go quicker then with the loader. I guess if I went both ways pulling the loose dirt to the center, I could create a crown like a road grader does for dirt township roads, but I just want to put the roads back to the way the logging crew left it when they finish. Usually, once they have a little time to settle, they don't wash out/erode even if they are flat with no crown.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Any pictures by chance? I'm having a hard time seeing all this dirt moved to the sides with the logs being pulled down the center.

Is this something that you go to other's properties and work, or is this just at your place?

While a nice 800lb or so rear blade would work well for you, I just keep coming back to a 1000lb+ LPGS would be far faster and easier in the long run. If the dirt is truly on the sides of the road, then a rear blade for sure. Something like this and 8' wide.

 

[airbiscuit]

 

[Piston]

. Something like this and 8' wide.

I have this exact rear blade and would second that recommendation if you decide to go with a rear blade. I'm inclined to recommend a heavy duty box blade first (I use mine a LOT more often than the blade) but it sounds like you really are looking for one tool to do this one job.

As much as I love the RBT4096 on my tractor, it's a lot more 'bulky' and makes the tractor less maneuverable than the box blade. Because of this, I only have it on the tractor when I'm specifically using the blade, whereas the box blade I leave on almost all the time for counterweight, and it's not nearly as cumbersome.

 

[MossRoad]

Trying to decide if there is an attachment to help fix skid ruts in logging roads after skidding out firewood? My tractor has a loader, but in my opinion that is clumsy and only works in some situations. Mainly due to how far away from the tractor the bucket is and how the undulations amplify the buckets side to side tilt. I am leaning towards a 3 point hitch back blade as I think I could just dropit and go. With the correct angle it would move dirt to ruts and level them out. Since the 3ph floats and is closer to the tractor where it would tilt on any undulations would be less, I feel it would be much faster and easier, both on me and tractor.

Or would a 3ph york rake, 3ph box blade with scaffirs, or something else...? I know a bulldozer would be best, but not happening. I want it to run off my tractor, which is a kubota mx5200dt 4x4, weighing around 6700lbs.

Another bit of info, I kinda would like a back blade for snow removal as I feel it would be easier then the loader for the same reasonsI listed above. I have a lot of turns and twists in my driveways. I also feel a back blade could help clean up all the bark and such on my wood landings by pulling the bark into piles. I also feel a 3ph york rake could work for this too.

I have limited experience with any of these 3ph attachments i mentioed, so I may be totally wrong on how well I think they might work in my situations. Any insight would be appreciated.

If you already have a road, but its just got ruts down the middle from dragging logs, and there's no stumps and such to catch an implement, how about using a land plane/grader attachment? They do a good job of pulling high spots into low spots, and would probably fill your center ruts in short order.

Here's a link to a video of one, but there are many more out there on youtube....

 

[jenkinsph]

I would recommend you get a heavy duty rear blade with hydraulics and a land plane grader scraper with optional ripper teeth. These two implements should do a good job with your roads.

 

[civilian]

Any pictures by chance? I'm having a hard time seeing all this dirt moved to the sides with the logs being pulled down the center.

Is this something that you go to other's properties and work, or is this just at your place?

While a nice 800lb or so rear blade would work well for you, I just keep coming back to a 1000lb+ LPGS would be far faster and easier in the long run. If the dirt is truly on the sides of the road, then a rear blade for sure. Something like this and 8' wide.

From what I read between the lines of the OP's prior post, he is dragging out tops of trees that the loggers left behind. (I assume he is on someone's property, or maybe state land.) Think of the old western movies where the bad guy dragged a small branch to cover his tracks. The whole tree loggers end up dragging the dirt along and it pushed to the outsides of the road. OP wants to bring that dirt back in to flatten the road out. The loggers probably pulled whole logs out, but I imagined they were carried out to have a cleaner log. Jon

 

[airbiscuit]

If you want to pull dirt in from the edges to the center, I would recommend a rear blade that has an offset adjustment (either rotary, or a slider).'

 

[Industrial Toys]

I have an eight foot Harley Rake, but for deeply rutted rough dirt roads, I think a Disk Harrow would be quicker. Then drag it with almost anything to smooth it out. I have never been much of a fan of grader blades, especially without a gauge wheel(s).