trenching 8 feet deep?

[MNBobcat]

Hi Guys,

I have a cable company who is going to run cable across my field and into the house. I want to be able to plow this field and plant without snagging the cable. Going around the edge of the field would be too costly.

I know that I can rent a small excavator or borrow a backhoe attachment for a Bobcat from my friend, but both of these would be a lot of work.

I have a John Deere 3020 diesel tractor. Is there anything I can attach to the 3 point hitch that I could lower and make multiple passes until I had a trench about 4 inches wide but 7 - 8 feet deep? Probably a stupid question, I know. Seems like it wouldn't be very likely anything would work at that depth.

But there are some great ideas here so I'm tossing it out for discussion. Appreciate any suggestions you guys can offer.

 

[greggh]

Tell the cable company that's what you require. They have all the equipment. They may charge you a little extra to go that deep if they are able to go that deep. They probably cannot go that deep, but I think at 4 feet plowing or any ground work would not touch it. If they won't meet your requirements, get a satellite dish.

 

[beenthere]

And why 8' deep?

How deep do you plow and plant?

Just curious, how the two fit together.

 

[ToadHill]

You c ould rent a trencher. It won't get you 8 ft deep but it'll get you about 4'.

 

[jinman]

I would rent a regular industrial backhoe (Deere, New Holland, or Case) and get a 12" bucket installed. You'll be able to trench 8' deep easily with that setup, but cave-ins will probably be problematic. There is no implement you will find that can be pulled behind a dozer or tractor to cut 8' deep. Even the big vibratory trenchers I've seen are 4' to 6' depth. If you hit rocks at that depth, you'll also have a mess to deal with. That depth just seems excessive to me. The short answer to your question is that a capable backhoe or excavator is the best tool and the least hassle.

 

[kthompson]

Why can they not run around the field? Do they charge you by the foot? What would the case be if you did not own the field? What happens in the future if you want to sell or build something there? What if you sell the house and want to keep the field?

Unless you are running the monster subsoilers 3 feet deep should be very safe.

 

[MNBobcat]

And why 8' deep?

How deep do you plow and plant?

Just curious, how the two fit together.

Just me being over cautious. If I snag the cable I'm probably looking at about $1,000.00 to replace it. It will be going across a field and then they have to bore under the driveway and continue on another couple hundred feet.

If I put it good and deep then no matter what I end up doing in the field in the future I'd never have to worry. I'm sure 6 feet would be plenty deep but I'd just as soon go as deep as I possibly can.

 

[MNBobcat]

Why can they not run around the field? Do they charge you by the foot? What would the case be if you did not own the field? What happens in the future if you want to sell or build something there? What if you sell the house and want to keep the field?

Unless you are running the monster subsoilers 3 feet deep should be very safe.

I won't be selling the house or land for 20 years or better unless something happens and I die before then. They charge by the foot and going around the field would probably add another 900 feet or so to the distance.

The cable company was not going to run cable to my place. I want the cable because I can get 6 - 10 meg internet speeds and I'll move internet servers to my house and save abut $700 a month.

I had to get a petition signed by all the neighbors and do a lot of stuff to get this cable run in. So that's whats going on with them crossing my field. It was the only way to get it here at a reasonable cost.

 

[MNBobcat]

I would rent a regular industrial backhoe (Deere, New Holland, or Case) and get a 12" bucket installed. You'll be able to trench 8' deep easily with that setup, but cave-ins will probably be problematic. There is no implement you will find that can be pulled behind a dozer or tractor to cut 8' deep. Even the big vibratory trenchers I've seen are 4' to 6' depth. If you hit rocks at that depth, you'll also have a mess to deal with. That depth just seems excessive to me. The short answer to your question is that a capable backhoe or excavator is the best tool and the least hassle.

We're all sand here.

I have no experience (yet) farming. When you plow or till deep, how deep are we talking?

Would 4 feet seriously be deep enough to never snag the cable?

 

[CCWKen]

8' is ridiculous and unnecessary. You might call your state's utility commission. They may not let you go that deep. Utilities are supposed to be within a certain depth. Beyond that depth is usually reserved for oil and gas transfer lines. They don't even run high voltage lines that deep. You can also ruin someones well digging that deep. 900' to get around a field is nothing compared to the cost of machinery trenching that deep. Down here, they use a huge machine that has what looks like a large circular saw blade but they still don't go down more than 3-4'. You're talking $200 per hour equipment. Probably with an 8-hour minimum and transit costs. 2-3' is plenty and you can rent a trencher for $200 a day to do that.

 

[20 20]

What about a utility pole faster and cheaper then what your planing?

 

[beenthere]

We're all sand here.

I have no experience (yet) farming. When you plow or till deep, how deep are we talking?

Would 4 feet seriously be deep enough to never snag the cable?

Plowing VERY deep would at most be 18" (1-1/2 ft).

If you get 24" or more, you will be VERY safe.

 

[xrjohndeere]

I would rent an excavator and start digging. Depending on how far you are going you should be able to do it in about a day. I do not know of any 3pt attachement that would dig that deep except my backhoe and that would take a while. I believe the excavator would be the best bet. Dig a hundred feet or so and have someone drop the cable in behind you and backfill with your tractor. I use my 18" bucket and it works nice for trenches. I find here in Missouri anything smaller tends to get hard to clean out from the clay. There are big chain trenchers that could dig that deep if you have good soil but you couldn't have any rocks and the cost would be high. If you hit a rock or hardpan you will be digging with the backhoe anyway. Good luck.

 

[JDGreenGrass]

First thing I thought was he's going to be into water.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I agree that going around the field or even putting up poles is the most economical way. We ran cable for my buddy about 1/3 of a mile using a rig I made for my 3 point. Looked like a simple potato plow and dug a trench about 12" deep. Did it in about 1 hour then went back with the grader blade and pushed the dirt back in. Cost him a case of beer and chicken and noodles by his wife plus Arbys for lunch that day. The cable was not too expensive but that was 10 years ago. We just roughed it in then the cable company came and made the connections.

Chris

 

[WarrenF]

Big rippers that are used in heavy agriculture areas don't go 8 feet deep. If I were going to bury a pipe line for water through a field that is plowed and ripped on a yearly basis, the maximum depth I would put a pipe would be 4 feet.

Anyone who tells you that in a field that is plowed on a regular basis would be fine if you buried 18 inches to 24 inches deep, must have a high fever. Forget the 8 foot.

 

[ChrsDrn]

Why not run the cable yourself around the field? might be cheaper than renting eqpt and having cable co laying cable in trench....

 

[mas1237]

I don't know what part of the country you're in but I would definitely go underground so you don't have problems with wind/snow/ice bringing down overhead lines. I would rent a trencher (or in my case get my Vermeer out of the shed) and trench in either 3" or 4" plastic drain tile at 30" to 36" depth and then let the cable company snake their cable inside the drain tile. Down the road if you have cable issues or need to upgrade your cable, you won't need to tear up your field.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

One of these units could do it. I would think just planting a few poles across the field would be easier. Dress the poles up as Christmas tree's or Scarecrows depending on the time of the year. 8' seems pretty excessive.

 

[zman007007]

treemonkey I love that second pic, looks it would make a **** of a chainsaw. lol zman