Making a Tractor Road - I've got questions

[MossflowerWoods]

Try some culverts!:thumbsup:

Egon,

Ok. I found some what I think are 8-10' sections of something like 6-8" diameter steel pipe. I think I've found at least 2.

That sounds like a culvert possibility to me.

Do I just dig a trench lay the pipe in, and cover it back up? Pile rocks at the entrance and exit of the pipe?

Is it that simple?

David

 

[MossRoad]

My biggest concern is without rending an excavator, I'm not sure I will have good enough footing to dig it up with the tractor, because the only ground to work from is the current road.

I would drive to the middle of the low spot, push my FEL bucket down across the road until my front tires came off the ground, curl my bucket back slowly while driving forward slowly and excavate a trench across the road in one move. Then I would dump the spoils on the far side of the trench. I'd repeat on each side of the original scoop until the trench crossed the entire road. Then I'd lay in that 4" pipe we talked about and use the FEL bucket to back drag the spoils back over the pipe. Lay down some geotextile fabric a little wider than the road width and extending to dry land before and after the pipe, then cover with crushed rock. Done. Repeat for each low spot.

I got 5 minutes to dig the trench. 5 minutes to lay the pipe. 5 minutes to backdrag the spoils. 20-30 minutes to lay the fabric and stick it down with some stakes. And then however long it takes you to haul the rock in from your stockpile with your FEL bucket and spread it.

Don't over-engineer it. Its not a flowing creek or a place prone to flash floods, is it? Its a wet spot with your road acting as a dam. That's all. Provide a path under the road (the pipe) for the water and some crushed rock to protect that path and elevate the road a bit and you're all set.

I can't see it taking that long, honestly. Good luck with your project however you decide to do it. :thumbsup:

 

[MossRoad]

Egon,

Ok. I found some what I think are 8-10' sections of something like 6-8" diameter steel pipe. I think I've found at least 2.

That sounds like a culvert possibility to me.

Do I just dig a trench lay the pipe in, and cover it back up? Pile rocks at the entrance and exit of the pipe?

Is it that simple?

David

YES! It is that simple. :thumbsup:

 

[dwhite]

You could put a gutter on that barn to keep the run off away.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

You could always just build a corduroy road. It doesn't sound like your bog road is that long.

How big of logs do I need to use, and how long might it last? I'm thinking about using a corduroy road solution for the turn off bog spot and I'm wondering how big the "logs" need to be... Might actually be more work cutting and limbing the logs than digging and using gravel.

David

Small stuff. Lay the big end to the downhill side and it will level out the road a bit for you. From your pictures, I think 4" on the small end, 6" on the big end would work fine. Larger logs would need to be slabbed in half, but would give you a smoother driving surface.

 

[Egon]

Egon,

Ok. I found some what I think are 8-10' sections of something like 6-8" diameter steel pipe. I think I've found at least 2.

That sounds like a culvert possibility to me.

Do I just dig a trench lay the pipe in, and cover it back up? Pile rocks at the entrance and exit of the pipe?

Is it that simple?

David

Just like Moss said; it's that simple!:thumbsup:

 

[dmccarty]

Egon,

Ok. I found some what I think are 8-10' sections of something like 6-8" diameter steel pipe. I think I've found at least 2.

That sounds like a culvert possibility to me.

Do I just dig a trench lay the pipe in, and cover it back up? Pile rocks at the entrance and exit of the pipe?

Is it that simple?

David

I think it can be simpler. From the photos it looks like the road dips into the low spot. I that is try you can just throw in the culvert and cover it with gravel or dirt. Rip rap went over the ends of the pipe and along the embanked driveway. It sure ain't rocket science.

This is what I did for our culvert. There was a low spot about 30 feet wide, I put down fabric in the low spot, put the culvert down where the water was going to flow and buried it all in ABC gravel. Easey peasey. There is a hump over the culvert and we had planned to add more gravel to even out the hump. One day we will.

A layer of fist size rip rap and the a layer of gravel might work as well without the fabric. The rip rap will lock together and might not sink into the mud. The loggers do this all of the time in my area if the logging road starts to getting messy where it hits paved road. Sometimes they use premade wood platforms which act like a corderoy road.

Rip rap has different sizes/classes. There is small fist size stuff all the way up to big rock that weight over 100 pounds.

Later,
Dan

 

[displacedPA]

Well I have never done it but that is how they build forest roads around here. They will put lots of rip rap in and yes it will sink into the mud. The concenpt explained to me is that the rip rap will sink into the mud then when you get a dry spell the clay or mud dries and glues everything together. that with a top coat of gravel 2B or 57 and it should keep things to a min. IMHO

the logs stacks across the road would work also

Would you just put the rip rap down on the dirt and add the gravel on top? Won't that all just sink into the clay?

Not sure I am following you here, sorry.

I would LOVE an easy fix...

David

 

[MossflowerWoods]

You could put a gutter on that barn to keep the run off away.

Ummm... I'm not sure but I think not. it is pretty primitive simple corrugated steel sides and roof. The inside frame is nice steel and sturdy.

But there is a whole hillside above that the water drains through also...

There is way more water than just off the roof.

David

 

[MossRoad]

Wooden roads sounds like a lot of work. Also, have you ever walked or driven on a wet log slicked with clay? If your logs aren't rot resistant, they'll be gone in just a few years and you'll have to redo it again. Getting rid of the water will clear up 99% of your problem and the only way to do that is to allow the water to move from the high side of your road to the low side on a regular basis.

 

[Ken45101]

Would you just put the rip rap down on the dirt and add the gravel on top? Won't that all just sink into the clay?

Big enough rock and it will sink a bit and lock together until it is good and solid. Look at railroad ballast.

Ken

 

[k0ua]

Well David you have gotten a lot of good info and ideas.. I will add my "what would I do".. I would just get some 3 to 4 inch rock. and lay it in the wet spots especially near that pond and let some go in the pond and build it up there. I would move the road a little if you could, but from what you said you cannot move it much. I would top the 3-4 inch with 1 to 2 inch rock. I would make that spot hump up a little to now be a high spot and also put a little more rock toward the pond side to build it up more, so that a vehicle would tilt away from the pond slightly. If I had the culverts I would put them in, by the methods already outlined. It would not take long. But I would not spend any real money for them as I feel the large rock will work by itself to let water flow thru. From my point of view this is not a big deal, and with some proper sized rock could all be fixed in minutes. I keep stockpiles of different sized rock and gravel for repairs around here all the time..I have bought thousands of dollars of rocks.. which is ironic since about all we have around here for dirt is rocks! So that is my idea of the solution. I would get a 7 ton load of 3 to 4 inch and a load of 1 to 2 inch rock to put on top you should have enough to fix all of the mud holes plus more for future use. Good luck with it David

James K0UA

 

[MossflowerWoods]

Can I use old broken bricks?

I also have some large 4-8" rocks laying around...

David

 

[TripleR]

Well David you have gotten a lot of good info and ideas.. I will add my "what would I do".. I would just get some 3 to 4 inch rock. and lay it in the wet spots especially near that pond and let some go in the pond and build it up there. I would move the road a little if you could, but from what you said you cannot move it much. I would top the 3-4 inch with 1 to 2 inch rock. I would make that spot hump up a little to now be a high spot and also put a little more rock toward the pond side to build it up more, so that a vehicle would tilt away from the pond slightly. If I had the culverts I would put them in, by the methods already outlined. It would not take long. But I would not spend any real money for them as I feel the large rock will work by itself to let water flow thru. From my point of view this is not a big deal, and with some proper sized rock could all be fixed in minutes. I keep stockpiles of different sized rock and gravel for repairs around here all the time..I have bought thousands of dollars of rocks.. which is ironic since about all we have around here for dirt is rocks! So that is my idea of the solution. I would get a 7 ton load of 3 to 4 inch and a load of 1 to 2 inch rock to put on top you should have enough to fix all of the mud holes plus more for future use. Good luck with it David

James K0UA

I have three rock piles on hand; 6", 2" and 1" and have used that combination to fix a lot of stuff around our farms.

I can identify with being surrounded by rocks and having to buy them anyway. We have several hundred acres and have had to haul dirt in.:laughing:

 

[Ken45101]

Can I use old broken bricks?

I also have some large 4-8" rocks laying around...

David

Preferably you want crushed rock. Round rocks (if that's what you have) will not lock together like crushed rock. Round rocks (or flat rocks) will keep moving around and will not likely provide a stable base.

Ken

 

[TripleR]

Can I use old broken bricks?

I also have some large 4-8" rocks laying around...

David

We used several truck loads because they were free, but they don't work as well as rock.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

Guys,

Update. I've begun the widening. I've added almost a foot at the narrowest and actually straightened it out a bit. I've added a couple NOW pics for comparison. I've got a 7' pipe section, but I have a much longer one I need to fish out of the brambles and cut to size that I think will work better.

I used the ratchet rake and bare bucket so far. I need some sort of blade I suspect...

How am I doing?

Be well,

David

PS - The last pic is my supervisor... she LOVES riding on the "Big Ractor"... actually she says tractor now...