Ron's Project

[OkeeDon]

Re: Ron\'s Project

The 416C is a lovely machine. I rented one to do my land clearing and it was very capable and smooth. I'll likely rent it again to use the back hoe when we do our extensive utility trenching (unless I find a mini-excavator at an impossible price).

 

[OkeeDon]

Re: Ron\'s Project

Here it is at work.

 

[OkeeDon]

Re: Ron\'s Project

The one we rented had a bucket, but this rake is what did most of the work.

 

[sbrem]

Re: Ron\'s Project

Whereabouts in New Hampshire? Looks like a nice spot.

Stephen

 

[RonL]

Re: Ron\'s Project

Stephen

Little town called Lyman.

RonL

 

[RonL]

Re: Ron\'s Project

Don

I've been looking at the rakes. Since the machine has the integrated tool carrier on the front it is easy to change front implements. Hydraulic pins lock the implement to the machine. Once locked on, a diverter valve can be turned to direct the hydraulic flow to two quick couplers. The rake I"m interested in has a hydraulic grapple on it and ten inch spacing on the teeth. The majority of trees in the area I need to clear are 3" to 6" in diameter. The roots will come out fairly easily with a rake. The larger roots will come out with the backhoe. The larger rocks are being stockpiled. Three sides of my property are bordered with stone walls that will be rebuilt. I would like to build a stone wall on the fourth side. A thumb on the backhoe would help with this.

RonL

 

[OkeeDon]

Re: Ron\'s Project

The grapple would be a nice addition. The stuff we were clearing included acres of wild grape vines which have a mat of roots. When raking them, a lot of dirt comes along. As a result, we couldn't burn the piles - too much dirt. We ended up moving all of the piles (over 45 of them) to one spot (a row about 200' long) for subseuquent burial. Not having a dump truck or trailer, I moved all that stuff one rakeful at a time - took almost 5 days. I got very familiar with the Cat in that period! A grapple would probably have cut the time in half because each payload would have been greater.

The attached picture is part of the row of brush after it was moved...

 

[RonL]

Re: Ron\'s Project

Don

I try and pick the roots up and drop them to dislodge the dirt. I do this with the backhoe by trying to clamp the root between the bucket and the stick. It's awkward. A thumb would help here also. I pile the roots up and let the rain wash the rest of the dirt off. They seem to dry quickly. I'm going to attempt to burn them in the near future. Alternately, It'll be a big pit in the far corner of the property.

RonL

 

[OkeeDon]

Re: Ron\'s Project

Rolling works good, too. As you start to pick up a load, let the rake (or bucket) "accidentally" roll over the top of the pile, and everything underneath kind of rols with it, losing dirt in the process. We also used the pick up-and-drop method; works good with trees and brush with defined roots.

But, those grapevines - learned to hate 'em. Here's a shot of what they look like from underneath...

After several failed attempts to burn them (and using enough diesel to travel from here to there in the process), we picked out a nice spot far away from any buildings or landscaping improvements and are going to bury them. We're just waiting for the property to dry out enough for the contractor to bring in his track hoe and dump trucks. Interment of the brush comes first, then a pond. Just had another 6" of rain pass over the area in the last few hours - looks like another couple of weeks of waiting.

 

[RonL]

Re: Ron\'s Project

I hauled a camping trailer to my property and promptly sunk into the mud when I pulled onto the property to position the trailer. The tire tracks immediately filled with water. My neighbor came over with his chains and Kubota and pulled my pickup out of the muck. I hooked the chains to my dozer and positioned the trailer where I wanted it. The town has a ditch on the other side of the road from my property that runs for two or three hundred yards. It terminates in a culvert that runs under the road and empties onto my property right at my clearing. With all the recent torrential downpours the output of the culvert is a virtual river. I took my backhoe and started to dig a trench that diverted the water around my clearing. When I turned the backhoe around to finish the last part of the trench I got buried in the muck. Even in four wheel drive with the diff locked and pushing with the bucket, I could not get into position to finish the trench. I was able to pull myself down hill and get myself to solid ground. I fired up the dozer and started to mound the dirt up in a line to divert the water. When I pushed the dirt up with the dozer blade and backed up, the dirt oozed back down halfway. I now have a keen understanding of the term : "Oozama". I tilted the blade and cut a trench around the clearing as best as i could. My fire pit was filled to the top with water. Unfortunately I was too busy to get any pictures. My wife said:" I should have taken pictures so you could have posted them on Tractorbynet".
When things dry out I'm going to dig an 18 foot deep hole, put in a concrete catch basin, and feed the run off downhill to a cistern. I'll have a standpipe on the cistern for fire protection.
I'll be going back up in a couple of days. I'll take pictures of the mess and post them.

RonL