Fired Road contractor. Build it myself?

[LD1]

You can get gauge wheels for a rear blade (or make some) and that solves the issue of the tractor magnifying every bump, dip, and uneven spot.....and allows you to get a nice level surface.

And while I agree.....for moving alot of dirt quickly.....there are things better than a rear blade. But for ditching, having the ability to angle, tilt, and windrow.....make a rear blade a very handy tool. And looking at blades the size you need for your tractor....exceeding 125# per ft of blade, you are gonna have no issues getting a blade to cut in. That issue is with light weight cheap blades.

If you have an excavator.....I'd be doing the bulk of the work with it. Park on the road and and start roughing out the ditch on the uphill side. Slinging the dirt over to the downhill side to be feathered out later (unless you need fill elsewhere.) Once roughed in, start using a blade and shaping your ditch and road. Dont forget a culvert or two to get water from that uphill ditch to the downhill side.

IT looks like you have alot of work to do and ALOT of dirt to move. And you may end up using alot of that dirt to build up the road bed some more. Because after you get the ditch cut in, the uphill side of that ditch.....since you are digging back into the hillside......is gonna be pretty steep.

 

[Deerherd]

If I had to do this without hiring it out, the first thing I would get is a dump trailer, such as a Berkelmans. The OP has an excavator and with as much dirt he is going to have to move this would be the most efficient. I would go along digging the ditches, load it directly into the trailer and have the ability to put it anywhere on the property. This will still take a lot of time but is doable.

A back blade is for moving material the length of the blade and would be my third choice, behind a box blade and land plane. I could rough in the road using the blade on my excavator as I went along digging the ditches. After that I would use a land plane for final prep. I would compact the road before laying down driveway fabric and between lifts.

There is a lot of material that needs to be moved.

 

[Ford850]

You can do a pretty good job creating ditches with a rear blade. Angle it and drop the forward side as low as you can, and it becomes a moldboard plow. That leading edge will dive like a submarine. Down and back, cutting deeper and widening the ditch with each pass. I first learned this on my Ford 850 with a simple Ford 6' blade. Soil conditions and moisture will dictate your success, but it's definite worth a try.

 

[dickfoster]

Too. Bloody. Bad. Boo hoo.

There is no excuse short of a genuine emergency for not calling when things go sideways. A contractor that doesn't call should be fired, first time, every time, unless there really was an emergency.

And poor planning is NOT an emergency.

I agree with this. Too many so called professionals who don't act professionally. There is NO valid excuse for being a no show other than being dead.

 

[ovrszd]

Gonna continue to stand with Eddie on this project. There is a LOT of dirt to move.

LD1 made a very good point. The excavator needs to sit on the intended roadway. Excavating the uphill bank and forming the drainage system. The dirt should first be placed on the roadway if needed, then the excess goes off the downhill side (which you need).

Spend a day with the excavator. Then evaluate. Remember, you need an uphill drainage area that you can drive your tractor in. Yep, needs to be that big. Stand where you took the picture. Imagine a drainage area that large. Hundreds of cubic yards of dirt need moved.

I don't like the idea of a trailer because you first need a stable roadbed to pull it on.

Anxious to see the "path" (pun intended) this project takes.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

If I had to do this without hiring it out, the first thing I would get is a dump trailer, such as a Berkelmans. The OP has an excavator and with as much dirt he is going to have to move this would be the most efficient. I would go along digging the ditches, load it directly into the trailer and have the ability to put it anywhere on the property. This will still take a lot of time but is doable. A back blade is for moving material the length of the blade and would be my third choice, behind a box blade and land plane. I could rough in the road using the blade on my excavator as I went along digging the ditches. After that I would use a land plane for final prep. I would compact the road before laying down driveway fabric and between lifts. There is a lot of material that needs to be moved.

I really think I will use all the material I dig out to create a smoothe transition on the down hill side so that it can be mowed. On the uphill side, I plan to put in a fence to keep deer out of trellises dwarf fruit trees so I'm not particularly worried about a transition. I'll leave enough spacee to drive around the fence with Sides by side.

 

[PILOON]

You can get gauge wheels for a rear blade (or make some) and that solves the issue of the tractor magnifying every bump, dip, and uneven spot.....and allows you to get a nice level surface.

That OR
reverse the blade and scrape going backwards, that way your tractor is on level ground and so you will be grading to a nice surface just like a real grader only slower as the bites will be smaller.

 

[Egon]

The OP and his combination of equipment will prevail. It'll go much faster and with less difficulty than many are foreseeing.

All the OP has to do is grade the existing dozed road to smooth and with an even grade. After that he has a nice even base to work from and can use the backblade to cut and move the sidehill dirt to the downhill side. The last will be cutting in a V trench on the uphill side for water drainage.

I just can't see the need for an inside ditch as wide as the tractor. A simple little V will do fine. The land area being drained ain't that large.

 

[sixdogs]

It is very difficult, if not impossible to move materials like compacted earth or larger stone with a tractor and a blade. You might be able to move it with a herculean effort and a lot of time but it will be all humped up and irregular. A dozer would make short work of the heavy stuff. The tractor and a blade but mostly a rock rake will work best for finish and smoothing. With a tractor, draft control and a heavy 8' rock (landscape) rake, I can smooth dirt and fine gravel to a beautiful finish grade. I can't move much material but I can smooth what is already there.

 

[ovrszd]

The OP and his combination of equipment will prevail. It'll go much faster and with less difficulty than many are foreseeing.

All the OP has to do is grade the existing dozed road to smooth and with an even grade. After that he has a nice even base to work from and can use the backblade to cut and move the sidehill dirt to the downhill side. The last will be cutting in a V trench on the uphill side for water drainage.

I just can't see the need for an inside ditch as wide as the tractor. A simple little V will do fine. The land area being drained ain't that large.

I respect your opinion. Your points are accurate. The end result will be a driveway that experiences yearly floods, requires maintenance and money. If that's the goal, then buy a rear blade and scratch around.

I'm anxious to see the end result of whatever the OP decides.