I want this rock

[ning]

There's a little maple tree right in front of the house, way too close to the house, and it hasn't appreciated my efforts to keep it small - definitely was the wrong choice decades ago for an ornamental tree (not my choice, though I was assured it was a smaller tree).

Given the home insurance situation here in norcal I have the intention of removing the tree, but it's going to leave a blank spot in a crucial location visually

I've been thinking for a few months that a big rock would go great there, but none of the rocks I've found on the land (ie, dug up) so far have been big enough, and I've asked around nearby figuring if someone has a big rock in the way and it's in roading distance for my slow tractor I'd go get it, but no volunteers

a couple weeks ago a utility contractor came by to show me a couple trees they think need to be dropped for power line safety, and when I was walking the land with them near the trees I saw what may just be the perfect rock

it would go perfectly there standing up

especially since it kinda looks like one of Obelix's menhirs

It's likely nearly 3000# but I figure I'll make an effort and see if it's possible.

First step is to get it out of the poison oak jungle and get it down that hill

Took a few tries to get the strap right. Used an older 30k tow strap and made a figure-eight cradle for it, dragged it one way for a while until it got to the really steep part of the hill and started going down, then I changed up the pull direction and got it to my barn turnout

don't worry, that manzanita bush was going to be removed soon anyways as I'm going to cut a couple more feet into the hill there so my 100-yard-turning-circle truck can one-shot the turnaround when I have a trailer on it.

In its longest dimension it's about 5'; it's almost two feet thick and a hint over a yard wide.

my goal is to have the corner you see at lower left be pointing up, and what's at the top here set into the ground.

I figure I'll sacrifice a piece of plywood and drag it to where I need it to be long-term if my tractor can't lift it (I'll try with forks, and maybe also just strap it to the loader without the forks?)

 

[davrow]

I have a rock about half that size. My tractor cannot lift it. Using forks I was able to remove enough weight I could drag it. But I want it on top of a 3 foot mound at the entrance to our driveway. Have not found any way to move it uphill.

 

[2manyrocks]

I guess you could try laying down some timbers for it to ride on to decrease the resistance to movement?

 

[newbury]

IF your looking for suggestions - try lifting it with the 3 point.
/edit
If you were farther north I'd suggest build an ice path to slide it on.

 

[2manyrocks]

Search for how to make a "stone boat." That's how they used to move large rocks.

 

[ptsg]

I would pull it as is with the tractor. I've pulled this one before and wasn't any issue at all.

 

[Rockbadchild]

That rock weigh at the minimum 3000 lbs and potentially as much as 5500lbs depending on its density (assuming your dimensions are right)

 

[kf4uda]

Do a little searching on YouTube to get some ideas. Maybe you can find a video similar to your situation.

 

[Rockbadchild]

you can built a A frame to lift it in place

 

[ning]

That rock weigh at the minimum 3000 lbs and potentially as much as 5500lbs depending on its density (assuming your dimensions are right)

It's kinda triangular, so you can't just AxBxCxDensity.
I give it a range of 2700-3500 from some guesswork, but that was also with it in bushes.

I would pull it as is with the tractor. I've pulled this one before and wasn't any issue at all.

The ground is pretty soft right now and it would probably mess up my road, and then gouge the driveway - I figured plywood would help avoid that.

Worst case, I figure, I have a job for a telehandler coming up in the next couple of years; I find it likely that it'll sit near the barn waiting for a better way to position it. Probably best all around so I don't have to be working around limits so close to the house for the final positioning.

 

[RjCorazza]

Renting sounds like a good idea, particularly if you have other work to do with a big machine.
I recently moved a 40' shipping container maybe 100' with log rollers and my tractor, and it took all day (and tore up a lot of grass).
When ready to move it to its final position I rented an off road 6k forklift to move it (8k lbs with wheels on one end). Less than an hour later it was moved 100' and rotated 90 degrees. Easy peasy.

 

[Tinhack]

I used my little dozer to move two rocks like that. Couldn't just push them or pull them. I had to work them half at a time. I'd lift and push on one side then the other to sort of walk them the ~100' I had to go. It was slow going and took a while. That also messed up the yard pretty good.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

I'd wait for winter and drag it over the snow.

I realize that's not an option for you.

 

[groundcover]

Can't believe we're on a tractor site and no one told you to go by a big loader ! We're slacking ! Oh yeah, go by a big loader !

 

[ning]

Can't believe we're on a tractor site and no one told you to go by a big loader ! We're slacking ! Oh yeah, go by a big loader !

well I did put it in "community forums | rural living" for a reason... figured it's tractor-adjacent only at this point, though I do mention the likelihood of getting the tractor at least peripherally involved!

But yeah, I'll just go buy a big loader, great idea! brb

 

[zzvyb6]

Break it up into Little Rocks and glue it back together at the preferred site. If you don't like the results, take it to Arkansas...

 

[groundcover]

Handy for so many things ! Taking out the trash , planting bulbs, sky's the limit !

 

[oldnslo]

How are you going to dig the hole to place it in and hold it in place while filling said hole. I have had very little luck trying to set smaller rocks on the first try and typically have reposition once or twice to satisfy the job boss aka wife..

Good luck with this project

 

[Xfaxman]

Worst case, I figure, I have a job for a telehandler coming up in the next couple of years;

I hope you mean a compact telehandler. Mine would pick it up easily: Compact telehandler

 

[ning]

How are you going to dig the hole to place it in and hold it in place while filling said hole. I have had very little luck trying to set smaller rocks on the first try and typically have reposition once or twice to satisfy the job boss aka wife..

Good luck with this project

Well, this sort of question is part of what makes me guess a telehandler rental is in the future.

I'm planning to build my driveway a new gate along with an "arch" structure (current gate was placed IMO too far up the drive and new fence has pushed the yard further out; also old gate is only 12' wide which given a non-straight driveway immediately after the gate makes more interesting to back trailers and I've actually seen people refuse to back a car down the driveway but that has more to do with their lack of ... never mind); given that the arch structure will need to provide fire trucks full clearance it's going to be tall and it would be easiest for me to assemble it on the ground and place it in one shot with a TH, and then I can use the TH to grab the rock and drop it into a hole.

One daydream involves picking it up in a perfect position and lowering it into a hole and then dump a bunch of gravel into the hole around it. Or set it into concrete so it doesn't have to be perfectly balanced as long as there's enough of the base in the concrete to hold onto it (hmm drill hole into bottom of it and set pipe... nah dang that sounds hard)