Planning on a travel path

[DieselBound]

Tired of maintaining part of my fence line by hand (yes, when I put in the fence I was aware that it would be difficult- it was the best [only?] real routing that I could use that wouldn't cause issues elsewhere). Am wanting to, at least, be able to get my riding lawn mower down along the fence line in the foreground (the other fence line is readily maintained using either my B7800 or NX5510).

Problem to solve: I need to figure out how much area to build out from a fence corner that is bound on its sides by ditches. I have finally come to the conclusion that I'll be looking to do a deck and pier approach (vs. trying to build out a berm [one ditch belongs to the county, in which case I have to watch how elaborate I look to get): I don't think that I could trust a berm setup to last. The point of constructing such a path is to allow me to get, at least, my lawn mower around the fence corner, if not also my B7800.

Picture taken from the county road (county ditch in foreground, though not highly visible due to growth). I have a bit more width up along the upper fence line, where the blackberries are along another ditch. In that corner where the ditches come together and straight out from the fence corner the ground slopes down. I might have 5'(?) of navigable flat area along the county ditch (it then widens up a bit).

My riding mower's wheelbase is 48", width is 48 1/2" to 56 1/2" (wider for foldable shoot); spec'd as having a turning radius of 16".

My Kuboa B7800's wheelbase is 65.6", width is 53.8"; spec'd as having a turning radius of 6.9'.

I'm _guessing_ that with my riding lawn mower that I could get by with a path build-out for it's wheelbase/width, which are both about 48" (16" turning radius is essentially moot given it's so tight). Due to the slope on the ditch shoulders I still have to build out in order to level the travel path. The B7800 would take a lot more, but how much?

I'd contemplated making up a sling fixture to "air drop" the lawn tractor using my Kioti but figured that sooner or later things would go wrong.

 

[AWSubie]

U don’t want to use roundup? I know it wouldn’t look very nice but it sure would be easy to just spray once a month.

 

[DieselBound]

U don’t want to use roundup? I know it wouldn’t look very nice but it sure would be easy to just spray once a month.

Nope. Have animals. Everything runs down toward a nearby river (less than half a mile away) that has salmon.

 

[cqaigy2]

Put a gate in?

 

[MossRoad]

I'd pay someone to move the corner of the fence in, but that's not what you want. Building dirt out would require a stabile foundation first. Then some sort of wall structure, layered bricks and geo fabric, stuff like that I suppose.

 

[DieselBound]

I'm pretty sure that I can do a pier footing and create a platform. What I want to figure out is how far out I need to extend such a platform*. I'll concede on only going with my riding mower, in which case turning radius and width are pretty minimal and should actually require little added build-out. It's mostly a build UP, to bring things a bit more level: too much slope.

* Hence inquiry about how to figure it (mathematically). I've thought about just doing some real world measurements of the lawn tractor around other fence corners.

A gate passing to a narrow strip still presents an issue of turning out into that narrow strip. While it would keep me from having to run the lawn tractor clear around (I don't have gates along an entire fence line because I don't want that to be an access point by trespassers. I'm thinking that it might be more work than what I'm thinking of doing. BUT, I appreciate all suggestions!

Moss, I'd first contemplated and was resigned to this but the notion of trying to stabilize out into a county ditch AND the fact that there's a lot of water (I get 100" of rain a year) let me to see this as being a maintenance headache (too much settling and a risk of the county ditch mowers whacking things). Granted, even what I'm thinking of doing might present itself as a bit of a target for county ditch mowers, but until I figure the required physical structure it's hard to say for sure.

 

[LouNY]

And then the county will come in and clean out the ditch

 

[DieselBound]

And then the county will come in and clean out the ditch

It's not the ditch that I need/am looking to clean. I'm needing to clean along the fence line to keep stuff that grows from the ditch and attacks my fence.

 

[MossRoad]

I'm pretty sure that I can do a pier footing and create a platform. What I want to figure out is how far out I need to extend such a platform*. I'll concede on only going with my riding mower, in which case turning radius and width are pretty minimal and should actually require little added build-out. It's mostly a build UP, to bring things a bit more level: too much slope.

* Hence inquiry about how to figure it (mathematically). I've thought about just doing some real world measurements of the lawn tractor around other fence corners.

A gate passing to a narrow strip still presents an issue of turning out into that narrow strip. While it would keep me from having to run the lawn tractor clear around (I don't have gates along an entire fence line because I don't want that to be an access point by trespassers. I'm thinking that it might be more work than what I'm thinking of doing. BUT, I appreciate all suggestions!

Moss, I'd first contemplated and was resigned to this but the notion of trying to stabilize out into a county ditch AND the fact that there's a lot of water (I get 100" of rain a year) let me to see this as being a maintenance headache (too much settling and a risk of the county ditch mowers whacking things). Granted, even what I'm thinking of doing might present itself as a bit of a target for county ditch mowers, but until I figure the required physical structure it's hard to say for sure.

I meant to move the corner of the fence IN, so that it gives you more room on the outside to make the outside corner. Or, cut the corner into two corners giving you more of a sweep on the outside.

 

[MossRoad]

I'm guessing it looks like this with the blue being the ditch and the black being the fence.

You can't make the outside corner between the ditch and the corner of the fence.

So cut the corner by moving the fence to the red line. Why do a bunch of earth work when you can just move the fence?

 

[DieselBound]

I'm guessing it looks like this with the blue being the ditch and the black being the fence.

You can't make the outside corner between the ditch and the corner of the fence.

So cut the corner by moving the fence to the red line. Why do a bunch of earth work when you can just move the fence?

View attachment 762529

Yeah, yeah, OK... Gotcha. Coupled with the notion of putting in a gate as cqaigy2 suggested (put across the space/line you have in red) might be a worthwhile solution to consider. I'll try looking at how I could make this work, if it could be made to: if I can retain my H-braces as end posts and put in new H-braces then that'll reduce holes to only two [note: I've got my posts set almost 4' in the ground - I used a skidsteer with an augur to do them- more to consider, though I'd still have had to figure out how I was going to drill the holes for the piers, so this might end up being easier in that regard]).

 

[LouNY]

It's not the ditch that I need/am looking to clean. I'm needing to clean along the fence line to keep stuff that grows from the ditch and attacks my fence.

I realized that, I was just saying that if you improve your access with piers or other improvements about the time you get finished the county will decide to clean the ditch out. In doing so all your work will be destroyed.

 

[DieselBound]

Lou, no, most of the structure/whatever would be on my property. I didn't expect to have anything substantial enough to really encroach (though it would be right "there"). BUT, as I started this thread with, it's really all a matter of how much pathway I would need as that would dictate how much I'd have to push out. It's possible that I would still be held back enough to not attract county mowers (though it's certainly a good idea to not tempt things!). Altering the fence as suggested (and placing a gate there) might meet all my requirements.

 

[oldnslo]

I Can’t tell looking at your picture but is the bottom of the fence high enough to run a front mount mower under. Neighbor has an old front mount zero turn that he modified gauge wheels to go under his fence row. Deck is scatched to heck but it keeps weeds and grass mowed under the fence line.

Just throwing other crazy options.

 

[DieselBound]

I Can’t tell looking at your picture but is the bottom of the fence high enough to run a front mount mower under. Neighbor has an old front mount zero turn that he modified gauge wheels to go under his fence row. Deck is scatched to heck but it keeps weeds and grass mowed under the fence line.

Just throwing other crazy options.

Hard to see the actual fencing material. It's woven wire (fixed-knot). Meant to keep most problem critters out (and my problem critters in): have it topped with an electric wire to help discourage crawlers.

 

[DieselBound]

For what it's worth, here's a picture from the inside of the fence. A bit better portrayal of the situation. I'd measured the distance between the H-braces and I've got roughly 12', which is a good size for an opening. Also did a quick measure of how much lateral room along the outside that I have and it's about 5': this widens up a little bit further down, in which case it's really about navigating this small area (again, I _might_ have to do a slight shoring up but it isn't likely going to be much or very difficult). Appears that I have a shot at being able to get my B7800 out here; it'll be a squeeze and there's no place to turn around further down- BUT, even going really slowly and backing it'll still be far more quick than doing this by hand!

Here's what lies further on down (dead end!):

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  FenceLineAfter.jpg

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