What to get for major earthmoving

[MadReferee]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( New Hampshire, no state income tax, no state sales tax, live free or die, aahyup. How do they do it? )</font>

By having plenty of little sin taxes that are just a bit lower than all the other neighboring states. Border crossing to get a better price is one of the states biggest industries. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

We also have a high property tax but in the grand scheme of things it is still a whole lot cheaper than paying sales tax, income tax and a lower property tax together.

 

[MadReferee]

NHDave,

Who are you talking to about the dozer work? I am only 5 minutes from Milford and I need a dozer to come in for a few days to clear stumps and such on a couple of acres.

 

[jim_wilson]

If it was me I would try renting some pieces of equipment for a day or a weekend and see how much work you can get done with each to get a better feel of how much work you can get done before making the decision to rent/pay/or buy. There seems to be a general trend on this site to always lean towards getting bigger equipment. It sounds from your description that paying 120K$ to put in the driveway is going to make the lot uneconomical to build on - the property prices are ok in Milford but having a 120K$ driveway is probably not going to get a payback any time soon. If you really want to be economical about this you are going to have to do some thinking about exactly how to accomplish the job - you could probably get the job done with an L39 or L48 sized TLB but it is going to take a while. I think the biggest problem you are going to have is actually moving all that dirt - if you have to move it any appreciable distance that is what will consume all of your time. Of course if you hit ledge all bets are off.

 

[mike69440]

I have a very similar situation as you basically on a bit more than 1/2 scale. I have just purchased an L39. I think of it as a Swiss army knife. A versatile machine that can do a lot of work but not as well as a tool designed specifically for the job at hand. The work I have to do on my property would be best started with a Bowie Knife, or an Axe i.e. much larger, tracked machines.

It is my intention on hiring out this work. I figure not to spend 120K, but 12K, maybe 20K. My thinking is that the big machines with very skilled operators can do a lot of rough in work in short time. That leaves me plenty of time to play with the L39. Also there will be less tendency to beat the crap out of my almost new new semi shiny L39.

My instructions to any contractor is, if it weighs less than two tons, ignore it, get to work with the major excavating, and earth moving, I want to see those Cat's working , not puttering around! I'll make it pretty with my little tractor.

I suggest you rent the machine you think you want to eventually own. Keep in mind what you will use for it for once major construction is over. Remember you will never be done with this project untill you end up in a rest home, so pick the machine that is best for you.

 

[chevyorange]

HI,
You have to ask yourself this. How far do you need the dirt moved. this answer will tell you if you need a dozer or excavator and trucks. 13000 yards is a lot of dirt. Maybe 1200-1300 dump truck loads. Either way if you can aford it. I'd buy and use it then sell it.thiers still alot of old good running old iron out there yhat just need some tlc and your off. What ever you decide its going to be a big job for you and your wife. Be carful learning to oper. any iron on that grade. If you decide on a dozer look for a old d-8. Thier cheep because thier hard to move all the time.If you excavator i wouldn't go any smaller than a 20 ton with 36-48 inch bucket. Hope this helps.

 

[dynamike]

13,000 c.y. is alot of material to move, I work for a heavy highway contractor. I am their Blaster and have worked on big dirt jobs for the last 15 or 16 years. To give you an idea on how much material that is to move we can move around 8,000 c.y. per shift with one excavator and three trucks. Now here is the kicker, the excavator is a Cat 5130 with a 14c.y. bucket and the trucks are Cat777 100 ton rock trucks. You could park an L-48 in the bucket of this thing no problem at all. You would destroy an L-48 before you even put a dent in it. The other thing to think about is compaction on your fill. You said you need 6000 yards on the drive way, you need to keep your lifts thin and use some type of roller for compaction. If I were in your situation I would rent a decent size excavator (around 40,000 lbs) about $8,500 per month, hire about 3 triaxles (60.00 hr each) and buy a big used skid steer to handle your fill (it will work I have done it) and then pray that you don't hit any of that granite you have up there. With that set up you should be able to move around 900 to 1000 yards per day if you don't hit much rock. If you hit alot of rock you will need to get it drilled and shot and that will cost about $3.50 per c.y.

 

[jpm]

hi nhdave if you run ( or WHEN ) in to ledge and need a # for a blaster i have a # for a guy in keene that can help you good luck

 

[NHDave]

MadReferee,

I don't have a rental place lined up for dozer work, yet. I do have an excavation company who's going to come in and do the first 20', including drains, culverts and paving (state requirements). I can give you their name if you're looking to hire someone to do the work, as opposed to renting a dozer.
They're in New Ipswich.

-Dave

 

[NHDave]

chevyorange,

If I'm just stockpiling the spoil for eventual sale, it doesn't have to go far. The hill is more like a ridgeline, and the back side has plenty of low spaces just asking for a few piles to be dumped. The fact it's a ridgeline also means we won't actually be working on the steep grade, but can come at it from the side. That's about the best we beginners could ask for.

I'll keep my eye out for a good used dozer, or a rental. Thanks.

-Dave

 

[NHDave]

dynamike,

I hope it doesn't come to that! If I'm going to be renting the type of equipment you mention, it really puts it back into the realm of just hiring the whole thing out.

I figure if I can just move 50-100 yards a day, it'll take about three years of weekends to move the stuff. The way my budgets work out, that much time isn't a problem. I can't earn the money to pay for the job faster than that anyway.

Do the little machines burn out even if you baby them by moving smaller amounts each day, like I'm thinking? What's the expected lifetime of, say, an L48, in general terms of yards excavated/moved? That's not listed on their spec sheet. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I'm just trying to think outside the normal conventions, in order to cut the total price for moving the hill. Are there other creative ways to do something myself, rather than hire the professionals for the whole job?

-Dave