Tractor Backhoe Technique

[Aavantaggio]

While not an excavator question specifically, I figured you all will know best...

I’m trying to prep a site for a small barn (28x20) on my land. Using the backhoe on my 40hp compact tractor. I’ve stumped it and removed most of the topsoil. There’s a slight slope to the grade and the subsoil is basically bank run gravel. There’s stones that are in it that make using the front end loader not optimal without lots of wear and tear on the hydraulics and pivot points.

My question is: what’s the best way to use the backhoe to level the site? The backhoe has a limited 6’ reach. Is the best way to just dig slowly towards the tractor and then reposition forward, then repeat? Once done with one pass, set over and continue? It’s time consuming and tedious but the best way I can come up with.

Thanks for any advice you all could give!

 

[4570Man]

I’d use the backhoe to break up the soil and use the front bucket to scoop up and remove it. If the dirt isn’t very hard you might be able to scoop it up without using the backhoe first. But around here trying to scoop up un broken dirt with a tractor FEL is pretty hopeless.

 

[Morning Wood]

If you don’t have teeth on your FEL bucket forget it. The only way to do it with a farm tractor that has a backhoe is use the backhoe to dig to level and pull it towards you as you go. When it piles up enough you can’t reach over and keep leveling than drive around it and scoop up the loose with the FEL. It is an extremely slow, frustrating processs. Way quicker with a mini ex or a skid steer with toothed bucket.

 

[Aavantaggio]

If you don’t have teeth on your FEL bucket forget it. The only way to do it with a farm tractor that has a backhoe is use the backhoe to dig to level and pull it towards you as you go. When it piles up enough you can’t reach over and keep leveling than drive around it and scoop up the loose with the FEL. It is an extremely slow, frustrating processs. Way quicker with a mini ex or a skid steer with toothed bucket.

Yep that’s about what I figured. I do have teeth on the FEL bucket but the ground is pretty boney so even though I can get the bucket into the ground, trying to get anything close to level is a lost cause. Then those humps just telegraph through as I drive forward.

It’s not a big space so I’ll just take my time and do it the right way, slow as it may be. No money in the budget for an excavator rental.

 

[4570Man]

Yep that’s about what I figured. I do have teeth on the FEL bucket but the ground is pretty boney so even though I can get the bucket into the ground, trying to get anything close to level is a lost cause. Then those humps just telegraph through as I drive forward.

It’s not a big space so I’ll just take my time and do it the right way, slow as it may be. No money in the budget for an excavator rental.

It’s really not that slow. You don’t have to pile the dirt as suggested earlier. You just break it up and leave it in place and scoop it up later.

 

[Gary Fowler]

You are using the wrong tool to excavate / level ground for a building. The best tool for moving soil / leveling a building pad is a box blade with fully engaged scarifier teeth. I leveled the area for my shop in around 1/2 day dragging the box blade with scarifier teeth set as deep as possible cutting and loosening up the soil and dragging a bucket load at the same time. After the first pass with the box blade, then I would also load up the loosen soil in the FEL while dragging another pass with the box blade. Doing this, I could move a lot of dirt with each pass, then just back up and do it all again.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Another quick way is to just cover the existing with a new layer of crushed gravel, select with a lot of fines included. I use 3/4' minus for such. Easy to back blade with the FEL. Raising the grade somewhat is good practice for a building slab anyway.

Ron

 

[fried1765]

Another quick way is to just cover the existing with a new layer of crushed gravel, select with a lot of fines included. I use 3/4' minus for such. Easy to back blade with the FEL. Raising the grade somewhat is good practice for a building slab anyway.

Ron

"raising the grade somewhat is good practice for building slab anyway"
Yep....but the additional material must be THOROUGHLY compacted!

 

[Tractor Seabee]

"raising the grade somewhat is good practice for building slab anyway"
Yep....but the additional material must be THOROUGHLY compacted!

So does the sub-grade material he wants to rip up, 90% compaction either way or both. No matter what he needs to have a layer of compacted gravel over the existing sub grade anyway. Good crushed fill is easier to compact evenly than stirred up sub-grade of unknown compactibility. The gravel will bridge minor soft spots.

Ron

 

[Egon]

20 x 28 ain’t very big.

Determine your grade, then use the backhoe to level for one pass. Put the spill pile on one side and remove with your bucket when the pass is done. Then repeat the process.