Need to move lots and lots of dirt - shortcuts?

[Tom_H]

I have a neighbor with a 5 yd. pan scraper, pulled by a small dozer. He's moved over 3000 yd. for me over the years, avgt. distance of 400-500'. The avg. has been about $1/yd. This included ripping the flat very hard packed clay before scraping. My cost on fuel alone (BX) would be more than I pay him for his time, fuel, wear and tear on the machine, and profit. I'd check around for people who do work with a 5 yd. paddlewheel scraper, or a pan scraper, and also check what a rental would be for a 2 yd. scraper to pull behind your tractor.

BTW, I didn't notice whether you said this dirt is already in a pile or needs to be taken from the surface. If existing surface, is it a hard or soft soil and do you need to rip it first?

 

[wushaw]

If you have a 3/4 ton or bigger truck then rent a dump trailer and have the wife driving the truck dumping the loads...it gives you a break every few minutes and the wife gets to listen to the radio in a warm or cool cab.

I have moved dirt with the tractor and with a dump trailer the same distances and using the dump trailer wins in time every time.

If your gonna do it by tractor only I suggest working a hour here and there to break up the monotiny.

 

[rdln]

250' taint nuttin. just do it and git -r- dun

 

[rutwad]

I have a need to move somewhere close to 100 yards of dirt about 250'. I have a Kubota L5130 HST with the standard 6' bucket and a BH90 backhoe with a 36" bucket. I also have an 18' tandem axle trailer without sides. Question: Am I better off making trip after trip from pile A to pile B filling the loader bucket and BH bucket each time or would I be time ahead to drag the empty trailer over to pile A, pile it high, connect it to my tractor, pull the loaded trailer over to pile B, and unload it? Seems like a basic question, I know, but I thought I'd ask those who might have tried both methods.

Just my .02 without reading through the posts, I say FEL only. If it is of any size that is. You should be able to do it in a day. And if your by yourself, it would suck double working yourself with the trailer. You already have it in the bucket, dump it where you want it.

I did a similiar tasks about 3 yrs ago using an old backhoe with approx. 7/8 yd bucket. It was probably 400' or so and a boatload of dirt. It was an all day, dirt and dust all over me type of project, but it worked.

GOOD LUCK

 

[rutwad]

I have a need to move somewhere close to 100 yards of dirt about 250'. I have a Kubota L5130 HST with the standard 6' bucket and a BH90 backhoe with a 36" bucket. I also have an 18' tandem axle trailer without sides. Question: Am I better off making trip after trip from pile A to pile B filling the loader bucket and BH bucket each time or would I be time ahead to drag the empty trailer over to pile A, pile it high, connect it to my tractor, pull the loaded trailer over to pile B, and unload it? Seems like a basic question, I know, but I thought I'd ask those who might have tried both methods.

Short term memory loss I guess, but Monday I moved alot, ALOT of dirt with a .75 yd bucket and a skid steer. My friend on the backhoe was digging 5' deep footings for a house, and I was constantly moving the dirt to the next lot. It wasn't 250', but I can promise it could not have been done any faster with a trailer.

 

[Doc_Bob]

Renting a dump truck is the inexpensive way and the options of 10 yrd dump trucks are possible.

Consider if the dump truck will/would get stuck if it has 10 yeards of soil in it. If the ground is soft or wet, use a FEL.
Bob

 

[rutwad]

I have since talked to my friend I helped Monday. For the footings dug on the house, it took over 140 yds. concrete. So I guess I must have moved that much dirt with my 3/4 yd. bucket and skid steer.

 

[texasjohn]

I have a tooth bar on my FEL bucket.... it seems to significantly increase the amount of material I can scoop and hold... if you don't have a tooth bar, I'd seriously consider getting one for this project.

 

[MossRoad]

Listen, folks... we also need to know how much money he wants to spend. Some folks are suggesting a pan scraper, 3pt dirt scoop, etc.... if this is a one time deal, he can knock it out in two days of easy driving. If his tractor burns 1 gallon of fuel an hour and he takes it real slow, he may take 16 hours to do this. 16 gallons of fuel = 48 bucks plus his time. My guess is he could do it much faster ( see my earlier calculations ). Renting or buying anything will cost $$$ that doesn't need to be spent in my humble opinion.

 

[rutwad]

Just another idea. I am not sure what size tractor you have or the type dirt to be moved, or the terrain. But if the conditions are right you can push much more dirt than you can haul with the loader bucket. You will end have two rows of dirt 6' apart that keep most of the dirt in front of the loader bucket instead of being pushed out to the side. I've never seen it done, but I have heard others talk about it.