Pull behind roller/compactor for Kioti DK6010SE tractor?

[chim]

We made a roller at work several years ago to compact millings. It sorta worked, but I rented a vibratory ride-on that worked much better. I brought it home one Spring to get rid of a bumpy section of yard. It wasn't worth the effort. Didn't do diddly.

It was plenty heavy, but the PSI apparently was not enough to get decent compaction. It was made from five sections of concrete-filled 24"Ø SCH40 steel pipe. The center one was about 19" and the outer four were 12". One of the reasons I built it in sections was to eliminate some skidding when turning sharp corners. The cast-in pipes were left longer than the thickness of the "wheels" to maintain a bit of clearance between them. IIRC, the cast-in pipes were 2-1/2" SCH40 and the long axle was 2" SCH40 steel.

 

[4570Man]

Just drive the tractor back and forth. It’s not that slow and works better than a non vibrating roller.

 

[future_vision]

Sheeps foot style roller is more commonly used to compact fill vs smooth roller. No clue if you could find a used pull type for sale though.

Not really. Not for a tractor

 

[paulsharvey]

Sheeps foot style roller is more commonly used to compact fill vs smooth roller. No clue if you could find a used pull type for sale though.

That is entirely dependent on the material. We dont use sheep's foot at all here (other than in landfills). They are good in clay, but sandy loam/clean fill; smooth roller is the norm.

So, back to our OPs compaction; you have a handful of options;
1) place fill, with decent moisture, track it in, go about 6"-12" lifts; this is plenty for landscaping, but is not going to get you to 95-98% compaction required for foundations
2) place thicker lift, maybe upto 24", tire roll; flood it and let it sit
3) rent a vibratory roller; atleast a 1 ton; not a static gas powered sod roller
4) directional plate compactor; and thin lifts; 6"; and yes, have the moisture right
5) a 48-60" long, 30-36" diameter steel drum filled with water or concrete, and many passes
6) a traffic roller type set up; including one's that pull behind a medium sized tractor; most have a water or sand tank to add weight; the rubber tires help prevent bridging over soft areas
7) sprinkler and time

General advice; you can't compact dust or mud; you really do need your moisture to be right for any method

 

[paulsharvey]

We made a roller at work several years ago to compact millings. It sorta worked, but I rented a vibratory ride-on that worked much better. I brought it home one Spring to get rid of a bumpy section of yard. It wasn't worth the effort. Didn't do diddly.

It was plenty heavy, but the PSI apparently was not enough to get decent compaction. It was made from five sections of concrete-filled 24"Ø SCH40 steel pipe. The center one was about 19" and the outer four were 12". One of the reasons I built it in sections was to eliminate some skidding when turning sharp corners. The cast-in pipes were left longer than the thickness of the "wheels" to maintain a bit of clearance between them. IIRC, the cast-in pipes were 2-1/2" SCH40 and the long axle was 2" SCH40 steel.

This method actually works best if the multi section roller looks like a cam shaft, with 'lobes' or the center axle hole isn't exactly in the middle of the 'wheel' as it creates more PSI on the 'lobe'

 

[paulsharvey]

Also; I know you're posting about compaction, and it is absolutely needed; but also keep in mind you need to stabalize the slopes with vegetation or jute mats, or something.

 

[future_vision]

That is entirely dependent on the material. We dont use sheep's foot at all here (other than in landfills). They are good in clay, but sandy loam/clean fill; smooth roller is the norm.

So, back to our OPs compaction; you have a handful of options;
1) place fill, with decent moisture, track it in, go about 6"-12" lifts; this is plenty for landscaping, but is not going to get you to 95-98% compaction required for foundations
2) place thicker lift, maybe upto 24", tire roll; flood it and let it sit
3) rent a vibratory roller; atleast a 1 ton; not a static gas powered sod roller
4) directional plate compactor; and thin lifts; 6"; and yes, have the moisture right
5) a 48-60" long, 30-36" diameter steel drum filled with water or concrete, and many passes
6) a traffic roller type set up; including one's that pull behind a medium sized tractor; most have a water or sand tank to add weight; the rubber tires help prevent bridging over soft areas
7) sprinkler and time

General advice; you can't compact dust or mud; you really do need your moisture to be right for any method

From old test pit reports it looks like it is fine to medium sand and sandy loam. That is only 6 inches down

 

[paulsharvey]

I haven't put a laser on it yet to get an idea of the drop from the highest point we want to fill too and the bottom of the slope. I'm thinking it might be in the area of 6-8 ft if we want to flatten everything out which we really don't have too. I need to build up the bottom of the slope so I can realistically, without having to build retaining walls, get the banks up high enough that gives the house a flat yard in the front if that makes sense. I cam probably find some photos I can mark up or create some drawings. Whatever helps.

So, in general, for slopes, it's best to place your fill in kinda stair steps; not uniformly across the slope. Not sure if I explain that well? My general advice is, what's the cheapest, easiest, way to get the 80% result for the 20% cost. For this; I would place maybe 12" backfills; run a sprinkler or two over night; get a fill bucket of dirt; and track everything in with the front wheels. Then kinda level it up, reroll, and then place another 12" and run the sprinkler all night for a 2nd night; then tire roll again. This isn't a foundation; and you May get some minor settlement over the next few years; But the difference in 90% compaction of 4 ft; vs 95% compaction of 4 feet; is 5". That would be catastrophic for a road or foundation; but for a yard, that's a few top dressing of sand over the grass in any low areas that do spring up.

 

[future_vision]

So, in general, for slopes, it's best to place your fill in kinda stair steps; not uniformly across the slope. Not sure if I explain that well? My general advice is, what's the cheapest, easiest, way to get the 80% result for the 20% cost. For this; I would place maybe 12" backfills; run a sprinkler or two over night; get a fill bucket of dirt; and track everything in with the front wheels. Then kinda level it up, reroll, and then place another 12" and run the sprinkler all night for a 2nd night; then tire roll again. This isn't a foundation; and you May get some minor settlement over the next few years; But the difference in 90% compaction of 4 ft; vs 95% compaction of 4 feet; is 5". That would be catastrophic for a road or foundation; but for a yard, that's a few top dressing of sand over the grass in any low areas that do spring up.

I think I get the stair steps approach. Like this rough drawing I put together? What type of fill would you use? Sprinklers is tough since there is no water on the land at the moment.

Or something like this if I want to extend the slope

 

[paulsharvey]

I think I get the stair steps approach. Like this rough drawing I put together? What type of fill would you use? Sprinklers is tough since there is no water on the land at the moment.

View attachment 873841

Or something like this if I want to extend the slope
View attachment 873842

Yes, pictures are correct.
For fill; down here, we typically would use any relatively clean material, with as little clay, or organics is fine. Basically, you want to avoid any rocks larger than your fist, and any roots bigger than your finger as a rough guideline. If you ever intend to place an outbuilding on this, things change, but my understanding is you want to have a yard area. Honestly, if you can 100% say you never intend to build a structure on top of this back fill; you can put a pretty good bit of roots, clay, rocks, in the lower portion of the fill; say, the bottom bit of 4 ft; but it's not ideal. I dont mean dump your tree stumps there, I mean, that bottom, some roots, head sized rocks, and all will be fine. As you get to the top 24" you really don't want expansive clays or roots.

As far as water; rain is better than sprinklers; but there is no replacement for proper soil moisture when compacting. As a Very general statement; you want it wet enough that you can form a ball, but when you drop the ball, it crumbles apart. This is why any road project you see, there will be water trucks to get the moisture if it's too dry.