Home-made Sheep's Foot Roller Ideas?

[RanchMan]

Home-made Sheep\'s Foot Roller Ideas?

I have quite a few roads on my place (road is a nice term - more like dirt with little grass /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif) and want to compact them to help prevent erosion & reduce "soupy mud" when it rains.

I've been thinking about making my own sheep's foot roller. I have some ideas, but thought I'd ask here if anyone has done this and if they have any pointers.

 

[beenthere]

Re: Home-made Sheep\'s Foot Roller Ideas?

Are you thinking of packing the dirt so it will then shed water? I don't understand how that can be done, as dirt can be hard as rock when dry, but a few sprinkles of water will turn it to mud immediately.
Seems you need to have the dirt road built up above the water source (or protected from the rain or snow), with good drainage ditches on both sides, a crown in the surface, and a cap of gravel or something on top of that surface to shed water.
I thought sheep's-foot rollers were used to pack the dirt (and/or gravel) used for a solid base after the dirt has been worked up and spread out.
Would be interested in your thoughts.

 

[RanchMan]

Re: Home-made Sheep\'s Foot Roller Ideas?

Well, a couple of things. Basically I agree that even "hard" dirt can turn to mud, but my reasoning is that I've found that "fluffy" dirt is much more likely to cause a "stuck" when wet than is packed dirt is. Doesn't mean that packed surface is perfect, just an improvement.

I also agree that the best way to construct a road is to build it above grade with good drainage ditches, crown, & gravel. Unfortunately, although I intend to do the drainage/crown in all the places I can, gravel is way out of my budget /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif (I have almost 5 miles of roads to deal with). Additionally, some places it is very impractical due to the topography to cut much in the way of drainage ditches, although I've tried to put some in. (Even with the drainage to the sides and a crown, I have section of road 1/3 of a mile long with a 20% grade that water has a tendency to "cut" pretty good with a stiff rain.)

You're also right in that sheep's foot rollers are used to pack the base for general road construction. My thought process is this - even without a nice gravel top, a thoroughly packed surface will experience less erosion than loose fluffy soil. Kindof like the old ranch roads you drive on vs. newly cut roads - all the traffic over the years packs the soil down and generally improves the ride. Basically, my hope is to help speed this process along.

Again, not a perfect solution, but hopefully one that will slow down nature's processes. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[RanchMan]

Re: Home-made Sheep\'s Foot Roller Ideas?

Here is a picture (not the worst of it, nor the steepest section) of what I'm having to fix. (probably only about a 5% grade - although it's hard to tell since 2 dimensions don't really "show" what it is really like)

 

[Harv]

Re: Home-made Sheep\'s Foot Roller Ideas?

Your soil appears to be totally different than mine, RanchMan, but my own experience tells me that compacting wouldn't help that much. If it's mushy 'cuz it's organic, like mine, water will soften it up no matter how much you packed it down. My plans to do it "right" (geotextile fabric, coarse/fine crush on top) had to be set aside for financial reasons, but I did have some luck by scraping away almost a foot of the road, taking it down to the firmer base soil, and digging a drainage ditch at just the right spot. Now, I only did about a hundred-yard stretch, and even that took many, many passes with the box blade, so this approach wouldn't do you much good, would it?

BTW - I kinda like that picture. Very artsy, in a compact tractor board kind of way. I've attached a smaller version for those who might want to see the whole thing at once.

 

[ewoss3]

Re: Home-made Sheep\'s Foot Roller Ideas?

first thought is to change the flow of the water via terracing at a 45 to the slope with crossties. cut into the surface, lay cross tie toward the ditch to slow the waterflow then drive rebar down to hold them. I would build a gravel base on each terrace with 2 or 3 inch rock.

 

[Egon]

Re: Home-made Sheep\'s Foot Roller Ideas?

Ranchman:

One of the fellows here, either Mossroad or MChalkley have built a " soil pulvisesizer" [spelling] that would closely resemble what you want. Remember compaction requires weight/pressure and pulling up a 20% gradient may not be easy. Sheepsfoot are usually filled with water for weight and work best on clay.

Egon

 

[Egon]

Re: Home-made Sheep\'s Foot Roller Ideas?

Ranchman:

Forgot to mention that coming down a 20% gradient with too small a tractor pulling the packer could get real interesting too.

Egon

 

[dummy]

Re: Home-made Sheep\'s Foot Roller Ideas?

Or.., how about cutting in a shallow trench (2-3" by 12-15")across the top and sloping it away from the crown. In effect, you create a speed bump for the water and get it flowing away from the road center. After a couple of trial and errors, you'll find the right combination.

 

[Pks]

Re: Home-made Sheep\'s Foot Roller Ideas?

I agree with dummy. Hmm that doesn't sound right. /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif I think we should help dummy come up with a new member-name. Something with smarts and color.

Anyhow, what he is talking about is done in Europe quite often; in the Alps. Another thing that I have found on my little tractor path is wood chips. I put woodchips on the surface of the path where it goes up hill. That has slowed the water and stopped the errosion (sp).