Bucket vs scraper for digging dirt

[hondarider]

God darn it! I just called a dirt company and it's going to cost $4000 to get enough dirt to make ONE 50' tabletop jump. yikes!

So my questions is .....which is easier and faster to dig dirt....the front bucket or the scraper?

My front bucket is rated at 5000 lbs.

This is going to be fun digging for dirt after heavy rain in Sacramento.

 

[rus_geek]

If you have teeth on the bucket, go for it. If you don't, you'll want to loosen the soil somehow before you try to move/load it.

 

[wedge40]

Both.. I would use something to loosen the soil, then scoop with the bucket.
If you're working with mud then just scoop away.

How many yard is a 50' pile of dirt anyway?

Wedge

 

[hondarider]

The lady told me it was 185 cubic yard.

 

[Mace Canute]

185 yards of material is a fair amount, and it's hard to beat a scraper for moving dirt. A friend and I did some filling of a low spot by his house and built up the road to his shop a couple of years ago. He previously used a good sized skid steer to move some dirt from a pile, and it took him forever. We bought an old Henry scraper at auction that same summer, about a yard to yard and a half capacity, and it was hands down faster than the skid steer as far as total amount of dirt moved, plus it would scrape up undisturbed soil way easier than the skid steer could dig it up and much faster too. (The skid steer weighed in the 5 to 6 thousand pound range.) I would have to vote for the scraper on this one.
Just as a side note, I also own an old Adams pull type patrol, stock moldboard on it was 7 feet but we replaced the cutting edge with a new, unused heavy duty 8 foot cutting blade we found in the scrap dealers yard. Works like a charm to maintain his roadway on his acreage.

 

[flusher]

God darn it! I just called a dirt company and it's going to cost $4000 to get enough dirt to make ONE 50' tabletop jump. yikes!

So my questions is .....which is easier and faster to dig dirt....the front bucket or the scraper?

My front bucket is rated at 5000 lbs.

This is going to be fun digging for dirt after heavy rain in Sacramento.

I'm getting the same rain up here in the Red Bluff area. Hope it lasts so the soil gets softened enough to plow and disc.

What kind of scraper are you referring to---something that attaches to the 3pt hitch on your tractor or something like a pan scraper that you tow on the drawbar?

 

[20 20]

Why not try a single bottom plow or subsoiler or middle buster{TSC has them}. Losen up has much as possible then dig in with FEL. You'd be surprised at how much faster losened dirt will move compared to packed

 

[bpattie]

Loosening the soi first is always best but I guess the degree of that requirement depends on the soil. I just dug a 6 foot (at the deep end) by 15 wide and about 30 foot long hole with by bucket. I got ride a bunch of stumps. Now you have to know how to dig, too much down angle of the bucket does put a lot of strain on the cylinders. I periodically used the back blade just to clean out loose stuff. My soil is decomposed granite and sand.

 

[hondarider]

I have a Terex TX650 with clamshell FEL and an 84 inch scraper/ripper in the back attached to a three point hitch.

it weighs about 11k lbs and 80hp 4x4.

 

[Egon]

[QUOTEfront bucket or the scraper?
][/quote]

Maybe clarify on the equipment!

At only 10 yards a load thats 19 trips for Cat 641.

CAT 641 Scraper For Sale At MachineryTrader.com

If memory serves me about 12 yards struck, 15 loaded.??