Trimming "hill" along the driveway?

[avc8130]

I have a pretty long driveway (1/4) mile. It is relatively straight and flat in most areas. The trouble I have is a section that is about 100 yards. The land slopes up on both sides significantly. This becomes a problem when I plow snow in the winter as there is no space to put the snow on either side. I want to cut these hills back a bit (3 feet or so) with the only purpose being to make snow space.

Can I run the tractor parallel to the driveway cutting into the hill with 1/4-1/3 of the FEL engaging the hillside?

ac

 

[richamor]

You could do that.I'm not sure how feasible it would be without looking at the slope. You may be better off grading the entire slope.

 

[avc8130]

You could do that.I'm not sure how feasible it would be without looking at the slope. You may be better off grading the entire slope.

I can't really deal with the whole slope. My lot is a flag and the driveway is ~10' paved and I only own 30' total width. I basically just want to trim back the hill a bit on each side. I realize without a retaining wall it won't remain perfectly vertical over time, but I really just want the width for snow banks in the winter. In the summer I just brush trim the area about 4' off the drive with the Chinese star attachment on my handheld trimmer.
ac

 

[kco]

I wonder if it is wise to use the loader to cut back the hill. Uhless it is a tough machine and/or the soil is soft it can be tough on the loader.

An ordinary tough rear blade or better still a box blade might be a better way to go. I have a tough old coiled spring tooth cultivator with straight shovels that I use as a ripper to loosen side hills (for walking paths and trails through property) and then finish it with a rear blade.

If it is too dangerous and steep it might be best to hire it done or rent a backhoe or small excavator.

 

[LD1]

Without pictures, it is hard to get an understanding of what you are describing and exactally how big of a job it will be.

And sure a tractor will do it, but how long it will take depends on the above and what sized machine you have. And it will be a little harder on your machine with all the load being to one side.

It sounds like a dozer rental would probabally make short work of it, if it seems like it is going to take forever with the tractor. Not sure where you live, but around here, you can rent a D3 sized dozer for ~$300 for 8hrs plus fuel and delevery. Might be better than working on it for several days with the tractor.

And do you even have a suitable place to put the dirt. It never seems like much til you get going. And then the dirt just piles up to more than you imagined.:confused2:

 

[avc8130]

I wonder if it is wise to use the loader to cut back the hill. Uhless it is a tough machine and/or the soil is soft it can be tough on the loader.

An ordinary tough rear blade or better still a box blade might be a better way to go. I have a tough old coiled spring tooth cultivator with straight shovels that I use as a ripper to loosen side hills (for walking paths and trails through property) and then finish it with a rear blade.

If it is too dangerous and steep it might be best to hire it done or rent a backhoe or small excavator.

This was exactly my concern. I didn't know if "cutting" along with the loader was a bad idea.

I am not sure how I could do it with a box blade. It is certainly too steep to drive along the hill.

My backup plan was to use the hoe to break up the dirt and then the FEL to move it away.
ac

 

[Gordon Gould]

My son and I did exactly what you asked with a skidsteer. We just started taking small bites running parrallel to the drive way. We create a vertical wall which kept getting higher as the level area widened. We ended up with a 7 foot high wall in some places. It would be tough to do this with a box blade.
We had clay material and had to truck it away. So there was some work involved. When we were done he built a nice block retaining wall.

 

[avc8130]

Without pictures, it is hard to get an understanding of what you are describing and exactally how big of a job it will be.

And sure a tractor will do it, but how long it will take depends on the above and what sized machine you have. And it will be a little harder on your machine with all the load being to one side.

It sounds like a dozer rental would probabally make short work of it, if it seems like it is going to take forever with the tractor. Not sure where you live, but around here, you can rent a D3 sized dozer for ~$300 for 8hrs plus fuel and delevery. Might be better than working on it for several days with the tractor.

And do you even have a suitable place to put the dirt. It never seems like much til you get going. And then the dirt just piles up to more than you imagined.:confused2:

I have an L39. A dozer would definitely do it, but then I would fear for my paved driveway. I don't want to mess up the pavement any more than it already is.

Putting the dirt somewhere is not a problem. It can always go on the motocross track!
ac

 

[LBrown59]

And do you even have a suitable place to put the dirt. It never seems like much til you get going. And then the dirt just piles up to more than you imagined.:confused2:

I can always use the dirt.