Best temporary ditch crossing for a tractor?

[s219]

So I need to get my Kubota B2920 across a roadside ditch to access our new piece of land. Eventually I will install a driveway entrance culvert and put down gravel, but I have a lot of work to get done before we can tackle that (among other things, we haven't pinned down the exact driveway location yet, plus I will need to get the tractor on the other side to start the culvert construction anyhow).

The ditch is 8 feet wide and 2 feet deep, with 2:1 sloping sides (so they drop 2 feet in height over 4 feet on each side). It's got grass, but is slightly muddy after rains. I need to extend about 1-2 feet on either side of the ditch to be on the safe side, so there would be a total run of 10-12 feet with the middle 8 feet off the ground.

I am wondering what temporary crossing I can put in place to get into the lot on weekends when I go up there. I'd want something I can pull up out of the way once I leave (to keep casual trespassers out) so it can't be too heavy. But if that doesn't make sense, then it may have to be more of a semi-temporary type of crossing that stays in place.

I was hoping I could back up a trailer to the edge of the road and have the trailer overhang and ramps get me across the ditch, but that looks to be marginal and there isn't a whole lot of room to maneuver anyhow.

The tractor/FEL/ballast/blade totals about 2800-2900 pounds. It's about 50" wide overall.

I bet folks here have done or thought about this before, so let me know what suggestions you may have. Thanks!

 

[mwb]

I think the quickest, cheapest and safest would be to drop a culvert in and dump a load of gravel. If you really need to limit access when you are not around then put up a gate or chain.

You could place a bunch of logs in the ditch and span them with boards but that does not make it easily (daily) removeable and your township might be pissed if the ditch is blocked (even partially).

Only other option is a draw bridge

 

[GolfAddict]

I'm probably not understanding you right or seeing something quite right. The way I'm reading your description of the ditch it sounds quite shallow with fairly gentle side down in and back up and out. It seems like you could just drive your B2920 back and forth through it. Are you looking to be able to get more in than just the tractor? Like the truck/trailer...

 

[MMagis]

I'm probably not understanding you right or seeing something quite right. The way I'm reading your description of the ditch it sounds quite shallow with fairly gentle side down in and back up and out. It seems like you could just drive your B2920 back and forth through it. Are you looking to be able to get more in than just the tractor? Like the truck/trailer...

That's my first thought as well.

 

[Rancher Ed]

I'm thinking you meant a 1:2 slope, saying as that is what you described. Slope is written as rise (or drop) over run, so a 2:1 slope would drop 2 feet for every one foot you move horizontally.

Now for crossing, I also would just drive it through the ditch. If you had a backhoe on the back I might be worried about dragging it, but you have a rear blade which will lift up plenty high so you should be able to drive through that ditch no problem. If it has rained and is a little muddy, you can always vary where you cross, so as to not make ruts.

Ed

 

[s219]

Sorry about that, it is a 1:2 slope, dropping 2 feet over 4 feet on each side.

It does look somewhat shallow, but I don't think I want to even attempt driving through given that it can get muddy. Having been stuck in the mud once or twice, I see it as a disaster waiting to happen -- it'd be just my luck the tires would hit the middle and sink like a stone. We've had a lot of rain since Hurricane Irene came through in late August, and there is mud everywhere waiting to bite you. The water table is high.

An intermediate solution may be to bridge the middle 4-5 feet of the ditch so that the tires never hit bottom. It would smooth out the crossing just enough so there wouldn't be tires pressing to hard in any one spot, and I can see that being feasible.

I checked with the town about putting in a temporary culvert a few weeks ago, but they cautioned that whatever I do has to be to VDOT specs -- this is a new road, and once development is finished within the next month or so, VDOT will inspect it to accept the road into state maintenance. Any improperly installed entrance culverts will cause them to reject the road and then I would be in hot water with the town and the developers.

I do have specs for the VDOT-approved culvert, and it's straightforward. But I don't want to embark on that until we're ready to put the permanent driveway entrance in, since it's going to involve an expensive 20' piece of 15" pipe, some erosion cloth, and about 14 tons of gravel. Not to mention a fairly precise installation -- I have to strip out the top 4-6" of soil, build a bed of compacted gravel for the pipe, then fill in around the pipe in layers with compaction.

 

[Rancher Ed]

Ok, I wasn't sure if mud was going to be a problem. How long are your trailer ramps? Would it be feasible to take 4 short pieces of 2x10, say 8" long, one to set each end of the ramps on, and use the ramps to bridge the middle area? That way the ends of your ramps wouldn't sink into the soft ground, and you wouldn't have to take anything extra except for the 2x10s.

Ed

 

[GolfAddict]

Ok, I wasn't sure if mud was going to be a problem. How long are your trailer ramps? Would it be feasible to take 4 short pieces of 2x10, say 8" long, one to set each end of the ramps on, and use the ramps to bridge the middle area? That way the ends of your ramps wouldn't sink into the soft ground, and you wouldn't have to take anything extra except for the 2x10s.

Ed

I was wondering something kind of similar - use a couple of planks in the ditch bottom to drive across. Keep the tires from sinking in too much. But I guess if you didn't want to leave them there it could be kind of messy pulling them out each time...

 

[dodge man]

Um, I think he was correct when he said a 2:1 slope, at least thats the way we state slopes in the engineering buisness. A 4:1 slope is considered mowable. A 3:1 is considered mowable with the right equipment. A 2:1 is a very steep slope and would be hard to drive across, if not impossible.

The easiest thing to do is throw in a culvert, even if you have to move it latter.

 

[slowzuki]

Just bridge the middle mud with some 4-6 ft 2x12 offcuts, or get a bigger tractor so you can just drive through it!