Best Method to Make Trails

[dave1949]

Nice horse team!

I think a dozer would be the best thing.

I have trails that I have pushed out with the FEL and done a little backhoe work on. I think you will beat your tractor to death trying to use it unless your ground is considerably more 'tractor friendly' than mine. I have stumps to deal with and rocks. Some I can dig up and move and some I can't - or it would be a month long project. I never know what is attached to the rocks that stick up or are in the way; could fit in my FEL bucket, or they could be half the size of my tractor.

In any case, make your trail about three-four times wider than you think necessary. The trees will grow in from the sides reaching for the light you have opened up. You can't bush hog a limb coming off a tree 4' in the air. All you can do is prune those back. Eventually, the tree crowns will shade the trail enough to limit growth, but the first 10-12 years or so are constant maintenance unless you are making a trail through already mature trees.
Dave.

 

[inveresk]

I've just finished about the first mile or so of horse trails through our woods. I have a L3130 Kubota with FEL, 6' box blade and backhoe. The underbrush was dense. First pass involved using the chainsaw to take down anything the tractor couldn't push over and to rough out the clearing. I bucked this and laid it aside. Second couple of passes was with the box blade, teeth projecting an inch or so below the blade so I could tear up the surface and any smaller plants while trying to leave large tree roots untouched. There were some places across streams and watercourses I needed to install culverts and used the backhoe to excavate and backfill. Lastly, I chipped all the slash to form trail dressing.

I've attached a couple shots, one shows typical density of underbrush before I began, the others a view of part of the completed trail. The chipped material which has yet to be spread can be seen in piles at the edge of the trail.

I should add I took down just about all the maples, young and old, along the trail or on the side of it - they're the widow makers in this neck of the woods.

 

[Ken45101]

Well so much depends on the terrain. If it's flat, you can use a bush hog and then a box blade with rippers. That assumes it's level enough that the tractor can operate.

Here, my trails go across some pretty steep slopes. On mild slopes, I've just used a box blade. One steeper sectons, I've done some with a small backhoe (B-21) but it's slow going and a bit worrysome about making a mistake on the slopes.

I've contracted out some for a bulldozer and he did an excellent job for $500/day.

Now I've moved up to a mini excavator (KX-121) and it can handle just about anything. Follow up with the tractor and box blade.

Probably the hiring a contractor with a bulldozer is the most economical. But doing it yourself is more fun.

Ken

 

[scoutcub]

Well so much depends on the terrain. If it's flat, you can use a bush hog and then a box blade with rippers. That assumes it's level enough that the tractor can operate.

Here, my trails go across some pretty steep slopes. On mild slopes, I've just used a box blade. One steeper sectons, I've done some with a small backhoe (B-21) but it's slow going and a bit worrysome about making a mistake on the slopes.

I've contracted out some for a bulldozer and he did an excellent job for $500/day.

Now I've moved up to a mini excavator (KX-121) and it can handle just about anything. Follow up with the tractor and box blade.

Probably the hiring a contractor with a bulldozer is the most economical. But doing it yourself is more fun.

Ken

Ken-

That's quite the slope you got there!!

 

[Kyle241]

I'm leaning towards renting the dozer for a few reasons:

1) It would be more fun for me to do it.
2) I have an area behind the house that has a lot of trees to be removed as we want to open it up more due to all the bugs we experience during the summer.
3) I would be more careful with my property than a contractor would be. A good contractor will be careful to some extent but I have experienced where they think brush and stuff should go and it's not the same place that I thought would be best. Getting a good contractor around here is hard thing to do.

I figure to remove the trees behind the house, a guy will come in with an excavator at $120/hr and he'll make quick work of trees but he'll leave uneven ground so I would have to get a dozer in as well at $60/70hr. My guess is two days work they'll be done and I'll have a bill of $2500 or so. Plus I will have to cut-up the trees and dispose of all the stumps. Now the excavator guy could have time to bury the stumps but I would have to be huffing right beside him cutting the trees for the stumps to be buried.

The ideal world would be for me to own a dozer and do this work plus start on my pond that I have been waiting to do. I could use some of that dirt to fill in my trail in the low area of my property as that is exactly where the pond was going to be placed. The problem with this plan is owning the dozer, not the money to buy necessarily, it's the possible breakdowns. They can get very costly and that is the problem. I could see me buying a used dozer for $20-30k and wind up with a $5-10k+ repair job. I would sell the dozer when finished with the jobs though as I have no use for it after that.

So renting a dozer is possibly a good idea but I can't get all the above done in a week! The pond idea would have to simmer on the stove for a while longer.

 

[Ken45101]

A good excavator operator can do a fair job of leveling the ground. The weight of the machine will pack it down. You can do final grading with your tractor and FEL or boxblade.

Ken

 

[Ken45101]

Ken-

That's quite the slope you got there!!

Yes it is Originally it was a deer trail. I widened it enough with a mattock in the bad spots to use it as a horse trail but maintenance was a pain. Now I can get through it with the 4 wheeler.

Ken

 

[Verticaltrx]

If you just want the trails for walking paths, horses, etc I think a dozer is WAY overkill. Also, the new dozer while easier to run than older ones, will still make just as big of a mess in the hands of an inexperienced operator. A six way blade seems like an easy concept, but really getting it to do what you want takes many hours experience.

I've built quite a few trails on our place with my B3200 equipped with loader, tooth bar and box blade. I just work slowly and meticulously and go around trees that are too big to dig out. I've even cut in some pretty good side hill trails. Attached are a few pics of some of my more recent trails, first one is an ATV trail, others are a section of trail that connects two other logging trails.

 

[Kyle241]

If you just want the trails for walking paths, horses, etc I think a dozer is WAY overkill. Also, the new dozer while easier to run than older ones, will still make just as big of a mess in the hands of an inexperienced operator. A six way blade seems like an easy concept, but really getting it to do what you want takes many hours experience.

I've built quite a few trails on our place with my B3200 equipped with loader, tooth bar and box blade. I just work slowly and meticulously and go around trees that are too big to dig out. I've even cut in some pretty good side hill trails. Attached are a few pics of some of my more recent trails, first one is an ATV trail, others are a section of trail that connects two other logging trails.

I can't disagree with you, this is one of my concerns as well. A dozer makes a trail easily but it's a big heavy machine that can easily damage and roots of large trees that I want to keep and happen to be close to the trail. I've ran a dozer before so I'm not too concerned about my skill but again it's a big machine for just a trail.

I like what you've done for your trails. Very nice indeed. From what I can see of your trails, is it mostly sandy loam? Here I have what we call stoney loam! A lot of good sized stones that may appear two feet round until you try to dig them up and they are a boulder. I have been thinking over my plans and wondering whether I can do the same as you have. The difference would be that I would upgrade my tractor which was in the plans anyways to a MX5100 with BH96, Bushhog BB and tooth bar. This tractor would have a lot more power than my B20 and instead of paying $1500-2000 for someone else to do the work or renting a dozer, it can go towards the tractor. My only concern is whether I can do the work needed to remove all the trees and level the ground directly behind my house as that area needs some attention.

I'll have to search on this forum for removing trees with a tractor. I have can do it the old way, cut the tree and then remove the stump but even with the new BH 96, this would take some time with the amount of trees that need to go.

 

[scoutcub]

Kyle -

Thinking more about you're situation and what you're wanting to do, I think buying (or renting) an excavator would suit you better. For removing trees - an excavator is the easiest. Get a high spot on the tree, and start pushing......tree down. If it's a big tree, you can dig out around the root system prior to pushing it over. More importantly, stump out. Fill in the hole. Then decide to burn/bury stumps.

Rocks - excavator.

Pond - excavator. And you can load dirt on a truck/trailer if you've moving the dirt.

Trails - as Ken has stated/shown, perhaps a bit slower than a dozer, but much more capable than tractor alone.

And - you never said how many feet/yards/miles of trails you want to do? I have nothing against a tractor, but it will take a lot longer to do than excavator/dozer.

As someone else already mentioned, making the trails a bit wider is a good thing....very easy to grow right back in. Nothing like getting whacked in the face with a bramble/branch/thorn bush that wasn't there last year!

I took a chance and bought my own dozer and excavator for trails/trees/ponds/homesite, etc. I am taking a chance on future repairs, but know a equipment mechanic that can do nearly any repair onsite and much cheaper. Not to mention some great seattime. I haven't regretted it one bit thus far.....
Many folks buy/use/sell equipment for the very same purposes.

Perhaps a mini-ex like Kens would suit your needs....and many of them are equipped with a front blade, which would greatly help your needs.

With all you're needs, I would spend the money on a mini-ex instead of the larger tractor.....then you'll have both to give you the greatest flexibility.

good luck!