Hi Folks,
Can anyone share their experience with "pit run gravel" with their
bx25,24 or 23?
I am looking at building an RV parking pad/driveway extension.
Just no sure if this larger stone is going to do more damage to the bucket and hoe than its worth.
Thanks
bxn
With regard to your desired chore and your orange mule:
A. you do not want bank run because you may have a lot of boulders in it
that you cannot use except for decorations.
First remember that bank run gravel is bank run gravel and in no
way is it screened by the gravel pit operator.
Asssuming you are intent on purchasing a semi load of 44 tons
you have to remember that in order to do the job you have to
use physics to you advantage to save wear and tear on your tractor
and do it both efficeintly and quickly for your purpose.
Once the bank run gravel is dumped it will have a lot of moisture in it simply
as it was scooped out of the pit wall and it will be very heavy because of the
water content as the pit wall and floor will absorb a lot of rain water and the
cold temperature of the gravel will retain a lot of water due to its being well
below the surface of the gravel pit.
The load will be dumped in the trailer and automatically begin to settle in the
dump body due to gravity. All the fine gravel sand will begin to sink to the
bottom and settle as it is being transported to your home.
Once the load or loads are dumped you have to scoop it properly or you will
risk a mass slide of material that will bury you and your tractor simply
because of the wieght of the bank run gravel.
IN order to properly scoop the material you must use the ground that the
load rests on to your advantage and I will explain why so you see and under
stand the mechanics involved in doing it.
(No you do not scoop into the pile high because that defeats the use of the available leverage using the ground as a fulcrum and reducing the stress and strain on the loader frame and this also can and will create a mass slide of material).
(every time you do it this way the gravel will move and resettle and will wander where ever it has the opportunity to slide.
It defeats the advantage of the ground as a fulcrum and adds stress to the frame of the loader and pins.
After the load is dumped and settled a bit,
1. you must be in low range and approach the pile straight on along either the long width or the narrow width of the pile by lowering the bucket to the ground and-
2. NOT putting it in float to scoop.
3. simply drive forward starting at the left or right side of the pile to scoop the gravel that will be loose due its lack of gravel covering it.
4. roll the bucket back with the bottom of the bucket on the ground slowly to take advantage of the ground as a fulcrum prying the load loose using thr curve of the bucket as an aid in digging the loose material and back away and then dump it where you want it.
Continue to work left to right or right to left scooping the bank run up using the ground as a lifting aid until you are done moving the gravel.
IF you attempt to scoop material from the center and continue to scoop the material in the center of the pile you risk the sides of the pile collapsing against you while you are mucking out the pile with the loader and that is why I explained to you the need to scoop the material from left to right or from right to left top do it safely and be able ot reclaim all the material.
The added problem with bank run gravel will be the larger stones that will affect the ability of the BX to scoop it all with little difficulty.
The second issue is settling after building the pad as it will be uneven with the bank run gravel and will not settle quickly unless you intend on renting a small pad tamper.
Be sure that there are no small children or animals around as they can be buried quickly with a mass slide of the pile which can occur in milliseconds as
the bank run gravel pile after dumping will have a 40 degree angle which will slip quickly creating a mass slide of material.
And there is no climbing the pile with the BX as the wieght of the BX will also promote the sliding of material quickly and causing a tip over of the tractor.
A lot of folks will disagree with what I have said here saying I am nit picking and dont know what I am talking about but after having friends and coworkers die due to falls of material I always err on the side of caution and MSHA's recommended methodology for reclaiming material in a pile of any size.
You have to understand that gravel like water is lazy and will go wherever it wants to simply due to gravity if the pile is high enough.
A lot people died needlesssly because piles of grain and gravel shifted because of a gust of wind in the case of an exterior grain stock pile and rain adding wieght to a pile of innocent looking gravel wherein simply walking by the pile created enough vibration to create a slide of material.