How to move the impossible rock

[Rice Rider]

Well, here are a few pictures of the rock I split with Dexpan. You can see the split follows the hole pattern. I think I should have split it into 4 instead of three to make it more manageable with the tractor.

 

[mike69440]

Well, here are a few pictures of the rock I split with Dexpan. You can see the split follows the hole pattern. I think I should have split it into 4 instead of three to make it more manageable with the tractor.

I have an L39 (8000 Lbs) & a Komatsu PC75 UU2E excavator (18,000 Lbs). I also use and maintain my neighbor's L3400 that is 4000 Lbs with loaded tires and HD 6' B.B, , so I think I know what an L3400 is capabable of.

An 8' x 9' x 3' rock slit into 3 pieces is would be all my excavator could handle, double what the L39 could pick up, and about all it could move, and the L3400 just would spin its wheels or break itself trying.

So my question, Did you just alide the rock into a hole with the L3400 or actually move the rocks with the L3400? If you dragged or moved them , how did you move the 6000 Lb rocks.

 

[Rice Rider]

The rock was imbedded in the side of the hill with about 6 inches of the end of it sticking out above the soil level. It was also about four or five feet above grade for the slab. It took quite a bit of digging with the backhoe just to figure out how big it was. In order to get it down the hill those few feet I undercut it by about four feet under the downhill edge fearing that if I went much further, it might slide down and crush my dipper arm hydraulics. I then worked on both sides so the rock was now sitting on less than half of the supporting column of earth and rocks. I used the tailings to build a ramp back up the face of the wall in order to get the tractor slightly above the back side of the rock. I worked on cutting away another few feet under the back edge, turned the tractor around and used the FEL to tip the rock and used the weight of the rock in my favor to get it to fall. As for the 3 large boulders I ended up with I can tell you that I've only managed to get one over into the retaining wall and I cannot begin to lift any of them but I can roll them with the backhoe and I used the mud to my advantage by sliding it, but the inchworm tactic with the backhoe works best with the really heavy stuff. If the backhoe will not move it I normally will use some 6 to 8 inch polls from other trees I've pushed down and put them under the rock to reduce the friction and then either roll the rock or skid them down the length of the poles. The only time I really ever wish for a bigger tractor is when I have to tackle the big stuff because it takes so long to put the odds in my favor and then hope that I don't damage my tractor in the process.

 

[Egon]

Thanks for the pictures.

 

[kthompson]

Cowboy, you asked my question also.

Sure be nice if there was something that could swell enough for stumps.

Neat to see this on rocks. Here a big rock comes off of the highway pavement.

 

[newbury]

Wait for a freeze in january,make an ice slide.