Cutting ATV trails into cross slopes

[nyone]

A good backhoe operator should be able to cut a decently flat trail into a hill just the same as renting a mini ex.

Use the backhoe bucket to push and level the dirt as you back up. Not the front bucket, then you dont need to turn around.

 

[AnotherBueller]

I did about a 50 ft section of hillside by using my walk-behind tiller for a couple of pass on what would by the uphill wheeltrack. Them moved the loose dirt to the low side. This made a slight terrace that reduced the risk for the tractor.

Bruce

My lord using a rototiller on a forest side hill is WORK.

 

[bcp]

My lord using a rototiller on a forest side hill is WORK.

I used the rototiller after the tractor spun tires and slid sideways a couple of feet with the center against a tree. Couldn't move forwards or backwards. Got out the 4-ton come-along and pulled the tractor sideways uphill a couple of feet. That was work that would have been avoided by using the rototiller first.

One box blade scarifier had hooked a root, tires spun, and sideways it went. Only took a couple of seconds.



Bruce

 

[idiggplants]

Improved many trails using a back blade on a small tractor on our hillside farm. Going from a standard back blade to one that offsets made a big difference. Weight, quality and adjustability all improved with a premium blade. Gear leveling box on a 3pt hitch saves considerable time. TopNtilt would be sweet. Time of year makes a different too. Spring is a good time to break ground. I have to deal with a lot of trees. Some paths took many years effort to get established. Backhoe helps with tough spots. With 60” rain per year always have to consider where water is going to run.

Hmm... Its not a gear leveling box. But actually now that I look at the topntilt, it looks similar. One (or both, i cant remember) lift arm has a bar that assists in spinning the turnbuckle to level the attatchment. I assumed that was for fine tuning and not enough to make a difference in cutting side slopes with a 2 way blade, or am I wrong? Honestly this doesn't have to be perfect. Once we get it so its not a dangerous cross slope, we can easily put in a ditch on the uphill side, but we shouldn't even have to do that. We get rain, but not so much that we need to have positive grade in each direction. Puddles arent the end of the world. The only real concern will be erosion, but we can deal with that with a ditch on the uphill side if it comes to that.

I just did that last fall using my 33 hp tractor, fel, and box blade.
It was about a 400 ft section that gave me the Willie’s when crossing the hill side to side.

It takes more effort than you might think, you can’t do it all from the seat of your tractor, but I had the time and tools and it cost me nothing. Set belt and low center of gravity on implements an absolute must.

after finishing the cut, I spread some old hay on top for winter erosion, and reseeding.
I am happy with results.

I hear ya. We have done quite a few trails without a blade and just with the backhoe and FEL. My dad on the machine and me on the ground. So I'm prepared for the labor, although I'm getting older and less durable. Lol. So do you think an box blade, or 2 way back blade, or 4 way back blade would have served you best?

A compact track loader would be the right size and have the manuverability you want. Cheaper than renting a dozer, too.

That's a more reasonable rental for us, but unfortunately the rentals available in the job area are limited. I could get a tracked skid steer, but not with an articulating dozer blade. I know a skid steer would be more maneuverable than the tractor w/ FEL, but i don't know that it would be more effective.

 

[idiggplants]

Wow. Missed the entire page 2 of comments here. Thanks all. The soil is indeed pretty rocky. So it looks like a back blade is not going to be feasible, and a mini excavator would be our best bet. Aka, we should probably just stick with the slow going of the backhoe.
So ill just pick up a 2 way blade for our driveway and not worry about spending extra on a 4 way which probably won't help with this job.

 

[idiggplants]

A good backhoe operator should be able to cut a decently flat trail into a hill just the same as renting a mini ex.

Use the backhoe bucket to push and level the dirt as you back up. Not the front bucket, then you dont need to turn around.

That's what we have been doing. My dad has what he calls "precision teeth"(i do not). But with a significant cross slope, you end up with a lot of uncompacted fill on the downhill side. And a ton of on and off the tractor backing down the trail.

 

[CobyRupert]

“A road is only as good as its ditches.” - people in places where it rains.

 

[leonz]

Call United Rentals and ask about one of the smaller machine with the cabin tilt feature to do your earthwork it will be faster and the switchbacks will be excavated the right way as the excavator can do it in a wide linear swath in one position operating from one location only leaving the length of the tracks on the hill side to be excavated when you move up the slope to the next leg.

 

[idiggplants]

“A road is only as good as its ditches.” - people in places where it rains.

Luckily it's not a road and doesn't have to be good!

 

[rkoykka]

Would the rental of a mini excavator work for you? It has a blade on it to level off as you go

 

[thieany]

I was able to do about 100 feet of the zigzag path down the slope behind my house with my loader/backhoe. Took a couple of weeks. I decided to rent a mini excavator with blade for a week.
In one day I was able to rough in 10 times as much in steeper sections. This include searching for possible routes around the abundant stone ledge on my property.
Attached photo shows some of the ledge. Photo at least 15 years later. Some parts of trail still only suitable for walking or UTV. Some parts nicer. Much easier to do more work after
easily traveled path was there.

 

[vagem55]

Well, I'm certainly not a pro, and I've used a mini-ex, which is so much faster.
But, if you have time and want to save money, here's what I did with a Kubota B3030, FEL with a tooth bar (the cheapest, best attachment IMO), and a Woods BH80X.
First, the hill. Third picture shows the first trail cut for the first terrace, mostly through shale.
Last one is 40 pallets of 40 block (factory seconds), 90 lbs each, pin together, fill with gravel.

 

[mtnhatley]

We have a 30 horse kubota. I'm looking to pick up a back blade to maintain our cabin driveway and maybe do a little snowplowing. Looking at the different units(pretty sure we will get one used), I see that some articulate in addition to rotate(4 way). Those units are obviously more $. we dont have any ditches to cut in, but we would love an easier way to cut atv trails in on cross slopes. obviously a dozer would do the job much better, but be way too expensive, and make way wider of a trail than we are looking to create..
i was thinking that i could articulate the blade and grade a section to flat, and then flatten the blade and slowly extend the flattened area. I'm wondering if the tilt function would be useful for that, or if that is just wishful thinking that will just end up being a waste of money for a feature we wouldnt otherwise need.

also open to suggestions for other implements that might do this job. currently we use a backhoe to cut the high side and fill the low side, but its slow going because after we do what we can with the backhoe, we have to drive a very long distance to turn around and use the front bucket to back blade. its very slow going.

thanks.

Hey rgr33 , I think you would definitely like having the 4 way adjustment, also you might want to take a look at a box blade. I’ve built and maintain many miles of trails in the hills here in southern Quebec, not to expensive , and a hydraulic top link is a great option that I would’nt want to be without now but can be added when the bud allows! Good luck!

 

[vagem55]

A work in progress, just some of the walls that started as trails.
Not tamed, but better...

 

[vagem55]

Once I cut several actual trails this way, I have needed the box and back blades to keep them up.
Once you cut into the hill, you need something the keep the trail level or nature will take its course.

 

[Code54]

I have done a lot of slope work, cutting trails with my Mini Ex. It is actually easy - rough in the cut with the bucket, as you pull forward level it all out with the blade. Can take down trees, dig out stumps and rocks, and do your ditches all in one process. Mostly mini ex's are not too expensive to rent and a day or two with one will safely make more progress than 2 weeks on the tractor trying not to roll over the hill.

 

[vagem55]

Code54 is right that a mini-ex is the best way to go if:
You already own a mini-ex or
you can rent one and get it to your location reasonably and
you have a lot to do (or most of what you want to do) all at one time and/or
you have large rocks or trees where you want the path.

Of course, size matters. The mini-ex we rented was more powerful than my TLB, but it wasn't 50% stronger. It is nice not having to change seats like you do on mine or even turn the seat like a full sized BH.

i wouldn't say one day vs. two weeks unless you're trying to go through some bad stuff you can't avoid.

A tooth bar costs much less than a day renting a mini-ex. The difference digging with one is immense.

For me, it seems like every idea leads to another one, and I even dug a pond with the tooth bar, much faster than a backhoe, as you can move more dirt a longer distance more quickly.

While I did pick trail paths to avoid large trees and huge rocky areas, a hundred feet a day is easy, even with transitioning across significant drops.

I pointed the backhoe uphill while digging and didn't worry about rolling down the hill.

Tires are filled. Just got wheel spacers but haven't installed them yet.

 

[vagem55]

As much as it pains me to write this, if you have already defined the scope, and it's going to require something heavier than you own, you may want to consider a bid from a pro or two. The results may be better and the cost may be competitive.
Hope I'm not banned for this.

 

[Ken45101]

I started out with a tractor and rear blade. Worked okay on almost level slopes. Note, trying to dig going backwards is a bad idea, the 3 point is designed for going forward, not backward.

Bought a small backhoe (Kubota B21.) Works better than the backblade but still slow.

Next eventually was the mini excavator (KX-121-3) Excellent, will work on about any slope because you can dig your own flat work surface. I've done miles of trails at home on steep hillsides, and volunteer work in state parks (horse trails.)

I've also tried with a skid steer. It can be done but the mini ex is better.

 

[fishhead]

Be careful with your spoils - they are best cast downhill and spread- using them as the outer part of your tread will likely result in the outer portion failing early and could lead to a safety issue- its best to have the entire bench result from the cut.

And use a mini-x