New driveway

[jenkinsph]

I appreciate all these suggestions. I think that where the road passes through the open fields I'll take Eddie's suggestion and use discs and a harrow. The soil is quite sandy and well drained so I just need to smooth it out. Maybe a grader or a York rake for the final smoothing?

The stretch through the woods is more problematical. It sounds as though any backhoe small enough to fit my tractor (JD 3320) would not be up to the task of removing the number of stumps in the woods (20 to 30 though none larger than 6"). I do have some earth I could use when I improve a pond in one of the fields so I'll
try bringing buckets of earth in the FEL which SWMBO rakes it out. We'll see how long my patience (and her back) lasts.

A small backhoe can dig out those stumps, in most cases I know that my 110tlb can dig an average 6" stump in about 5 minutes.
You can haul in the fill but if you cut the ditches on either side of the trail and use the dirt from these ditches to raise the roadbed you would have the majority of the fill you would need.. This is a simple cut and fill approach that accomplishes just what you need, the roadbed higher than the ditch allowing drainage.

 

[irvingj]

20 to 30 though none larger than 6" -- If that's the case, yes, a backhoe on a small tractor could do it-- but it would take some time, too.

I'd vote for the dozer-for-a-day route. (Maybe even 1/2 a day!) I think it would be $$ well spent. A good operator can do amazing stuff with a dozer in a very short time.

 

[yellowdogsvc]

pictures would be helpful.. I would invest in a skid steer (I like Bobcat) and land plane and bucket with a tilt tatch. Makes repairs easy. If you can afford a compacter, that will help but you can rent those and a lot of other attachments.

I build roads for a living as well as maintain a couple of miles of my own roads and trails and I tried it with a tractor, dozer, and settled on only my Bobcat and occasionally blading it with my excavator.. Seems the Bobcat was the fastest way to make repairs and spread base short of having a grader brought out. Tried that too... Too big, too expensive.

 

[dougrout]

I'll try to take a few pictures tomorrow. I would like to remove most of the stumps before bringing in any fill. Has anyone tried a stump grinder. Some of the ones I've seen on YouTube look effective.

 

[Chilly807]

We rented one from Home Depot. It was the day from ****..

Sean

 

[dougrout]

We rented one from Home Depot. It was the day from ****..

Sean

Was this a hand held stump
Grinder? What happened?

 

[jenkinsph]

I'll try to take a few pictures tomorrow. I would like to remove most of the stumps before bringing in any fill. Has anyone tried a stump grinder. Some of the ones I've seen on YouTube look effective.

I would not leave stumps in the roadway either move the road or remove the stumps. These stumps will gradually rot and leave holes in your road and you will have to dig deep to cut out these potholes they form. Do it once and do it right.

Something to consider about the logistics of moving fill dirt is the volume and distance you need to move it. If you use the spoils from the ditch on either side of your road you are moving the material about 10 ft approximately, when you haul from a pile on your property the distance is much greater, making it a slower process and at more cost.

You will still need some base course and gravel to top the road off if it needs to be usefull year round.

 

[Chilly807]

Was this a hand held stump
Grinder? What happened?

It was a 15 HP model on wheels. Took us almost 10 hours to grind 4 big stumps. Not an effective tool, at least that one wasn't.

Sean

 

[crazyal]

A stump grinder will work fine but get one from a real rental company. The one I rented had a 4 cylinder Ford engine in it and you basically pulled it home with a truck and backed it up to the stump and with-in minutes the stump was shredded.

 

[Glen Watkins]

Another vote for getting rid of the stumps. Mini Ex. for a day or hire an Operator for a day to do it for you!