Grading Improving trails in rocky Maine ground ... would rear blade work?

[TalonDancer]

Thank you all for the input. It seems that most of you think it will not work too well. I guess I will use some gravel as fill and as CHARLZ said I may just try to rent a back blade and see how it works before laying out the $$$. I LOVE WORKING IN THE WOODS so it will not be a chore. The trail itself is mostly done by hand tools. It is just so nice to walk out there with a bow saw and a small ax to clear some brush and fallen trees. I used to haul out wood with an ATV and I regularly go for walks on it. I cleared a wide enough path to make it passable for an ATV and a 3.5ft wide trailer. The way it shaped up was: wherever I could go without cutting down trees, because I hate to just waste the forest for my convenience. I will try to post a few pictures I took this morning on my regular walk with my son.
The first picture is the bridge I built over a very soft area. I used to drive the ATV with the loaded trailer over that thing. I will reinforce it before I do the same with the tractor.
Second picture is a section of the trail that I recently improved using the FEL and gravel for filling.
The 3rd is the ATV I sold to pay for a good portion of the tractor and the 900lbs capacity trailer I made that is still in use. this picture is from last year.

Have you considered building the trail using mulch created by chipping/shreding the downed tree limbs etc. visible in picture 2? Mulch is MUCH better for the trees becuase it cushions the roots and eventually breask down into nutrients for the trees. It makes a great walking path.

To do this you could use a PTO driven chipper/shreder and simply mulch in place the downed material to the sides of the path as you go.

Talon Dancer

 

[quicksandfarmer]

It is just so nice to walk out there with a bow saw and a small ax to clear some brush and fallen trees.

Agreed. I've gotten in the habit of taking a tool along whenever I go for a walk, and just trimming as I go. It's amazing how much you can get done that way. Also, if I go out without a tool I always find myself wishing I had one!

 

[easygo]

Also, if I go out without a tool I always find myself wishing I had one!

Could not have said it better myself!!!

TalonDancer;
The using wood chips is certainly a good idea. The chipper is a much more expensive item that will require saving more bacon. Even a rental would cost about $200-250 per day around here. I have a LOT of downed cedar and other soft wood that was left by a logging operation about 15 years ago before we bought the property. Unfortunately most of the cedar is full of ants so it is only good for campfires. If it looks healthy I use it for fencing and bridge material and whatever else I come up with.
Thank you guys for your opinion.

 

[atgreene]

I would recommend against a blade for that kind of work. Roots will twist a blade in a hurry. I bent an 8' medium weight blade on my Kubota 4150, so I bought a new heavier Woods and bent that as well. The cutting edge diggs into the root on the tip of the blade and with that much torque, it twists the blade.

A box works ok, I have a homemade one made entirely of 1/4" plate steel, indestructable. From what I've seen of others, they hold up well for rough terrain. I like my blade, but I use it for finished roads for grading, off road is left to my excavator.

 

[GaryE]

easygo,


If your land is anything like mine, a back blade will be all but useless for the trails, I know, I have watched others try! If you have the time, a box blade and FEL will work. If you can spend a few bucks, I would recommend hiring a bull dozer to clear the trail. Then you can maintain them without a problem. It will be cheaper than buying a box blade. And with the money you save you can buy a back blade for the snow.


Just a thought,


Gary

 

[atgreene]

easygo,


If your land is anything like mine, a back blade will be all but useless for the trails, I know, I have watched others try! If you have the time, a box blade and FEL will work. If you can spend a few bucks, I would recommend hiring a bull dozer to clear the trail. Then you can maintain them without a problem. It will be cheaper than buying a box blade. And with the money you save you can buy a back blade for the snow.


Just a thought,


Gary

A small excaator would do a better job than a dozer, as it can pluck rocks and set them aside as well as clean culvert crossings, stack wood as you clear tree's and still do dozer work. Although, a small dozer is fun to play with.

 

[Egon]

Dagged nab; here I go and make a trail not knowing the gear I'm using should not work!

Now what do I do?? Start another trail??

 

[GaryE]

Dagged nab; here I go and make a trail not knowing the gear I'm using should not work!

Now what do I do?? Start another trail??

Egon,

I am sure your blade works fine on your soil. But hear in Maine things can be a little different. Here are some shots of a few trails I am restoring on my property. I don't think easygo would make much progress with his B series tractor and a back blade on trails like these.

 

[Northland]

I have been using my KingKutter 6 foot rear blade that weighs 280 lbs for exactly the same use you have. I live in the mountains and also have very rocky (boulders) land.

While a box blade might work better I don't have one so I make do with the rear blade. It pulls football size x2 rocks out of the ground quite easily.

I bought the rear blade for snow removal and it works well for that application although I do wish now that I had bought a 500lb, better quality rear blade in a 5' lenght as it would give me more down pressure and more maneuvorability-particularly in my garage.

This guy had a good idea for keeping the trails clear of growth. I haven't got around to finding some old fencing to try his approach.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1171487#post1171487

 

[Northland]

A small excaator would do a better job than a dozer, as it can pluck rocks and set them aside as well as clean culvert crossings, stack wood as you clear tree's and still do dozer work. Although, a small dozer is fun to play with.

I agree with GaryE and atgreene! I had a large Linkbelt and medium JD dozer come in and put the roads in on my land 3 years ago-see pics. I just figured out now that my B7800 isn't a dozer and while it can do some maintenace what I could really use is a Bobcat track loader with a blade on the front of it!