Best attachment for digging out rocks?

[RSR]

I've been clearing some land to open up parking space. This has involved digging back a hill in very rocky clay soil. To give an idea, I have pulled everything from softball to 1/2 refrigerator sized rocks, and everything in between, out. This was doable when digging back into the hill by going slow with a toothbar, and swapping out with a Frostbite style grapple. To compound matters, the rocks are very densely packed. Every 1-2 feet in any direction, and you'll hit one, or multiple.

I have the hill dug back, but now I'd like to dig down 10-12 inches to lay stone, then gravel. I think trying to do this with the toothbar will be next to impossible. I've tried using the rippers on my box blade with little to no luck.

Are they any suggestion on how to work up the rocks and soil so I can come in with the bucket after it's loosened, and clean it up?

I've thought maybe trying a ripper/subsoiler and making a bunch of passes?

It's not a large area. Roughly 15' x 40'.

 

[leonz]

A half a day with the smallest rental track excavator will finish it and then you can use the blade to spread the rip rap/crushed stone gravel/crushed bank run gravel.

Are you planning on laying down rip rap stone then crushed stone on top of that or crushed stone then crushed bank run gravel?

 

[oosik]

I've used my single bottom mold board plow to break loose soil. Remove everything on the plow - I'm left with a single carbide tooth shank. It's slow work but it can be done. leonz suggestion is a whole lot better/faster - if you have a place that rents excavators. I do not..........

 

[jeff9366]

A bucket spade will do you for 10" to 18" depth.

MORE: https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/328798-bucket-spade-today-fel-bucket.html?highlight=

 

[coldsteelva]

Backhoe mounted Root Ripper

 

[PILOON]

I DIY'd a big clamp on 'tooth' for just that purpose.
Used an old truck axle for the tooth material.
I poke it under the rock and tilt my bucket and out pops the rock.
Basically hydraulics do all the work.
Made the 'tooth' about 12 ins long and the clamp on is much like clamp on bucket forks. (that's where I got the idea)

 

[RSR]

A half a day with the smallest rental track excavator will finish it and then you can use the blade to spread the rip rap/crushed stone gravel/crushed bank run gravel.

Are you planning on laying down rip rap stone then crushed stone on top of that or crushed stone then crushed bank run gravel?

Renting and excavator could be done, but it would be quite expensive, and cumbersome as there aren't many close places. In addition, I bought a tractor for these jobs, so I'd prefer to use what I have, if possible.

 

[RSR]

A bucket spade will do you for 10" to 18" depth.

MORE: https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/328798-bucket-spade-today-fel-bucket.html?highlight=

A bucket spade is an interesting idea, and I could find other uses for it as well. Will it mount over a toothbar? (Seems questionable)

 

[Wyobuckaroo]

I wonder if a FEL mounted tree spade would work well..??

I suspect it could be possible to over stress your FEL, but with caution I think a lot could be done..

Something similar to this...
WR Long Tree Spade

 

[jeff9366]

A bucket spade is an interesting idea, and I could find other uses for it as well. Will it mount over a toothbar? (Seems questionable)

No. Tree Spades are designed for standard dimension buckets.

 

[oosik]

I will use the shank from my moldboard plow to "loosen up" a single big boulder. Then spin around and pick it up with my grapple. If it's a continuous field of rocks - loosen with the shank - scoop up with the bucket on the FEL. Take care not to over stress the FEL/bucket. Remember it's a tractor - not a bull dozer.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Backhoe attachment.

 

[RSR]

I will use the shank from my moldboard plow to "loosen up" a single big boulder. Then spin around and pick it up with my grapple. If it's a continuous field of rocks - loosen with the shank - scoop up with the bucket on the FEL. Take care not to over stress the FEL/bucket. Remember it's a tractor - not a bull dozer.

Therein lies the challenge. The rocks are so dense it's very easy to, when digging, catch a bucket edge on a rock and start torquing the loader if you aren't careful. After backing out and approaching it from another angle, another edge catches another rock ...

I've wondered how effective a stump bucket might be, as it's so much narrower you are less likely to hit multiple rocks, and you wouldn't run as much risk of torqueing the loader either because it is narrower.

 

[RSR]

I will use the shank from my moldboard plow to "loosen up" a single big boulder. Then spin around and pick it up with my grapple. If it's a continuous field of rocks - loosen with the shank - scoop up with the bucket on the FEL. Take care not to over stress the FEL/bucket. Remember it's a tractor - not a bull dozer.

Is a moldboard plow effective for bringing up smaller (softball to basketball) rocks to the surface? Most of the rocks are basketball size, with smaller ones intermixed, and the occasional mini refrigerator size.

I like the idea of potentially being able to use the plow (if effective) for smaller stuff, and if I run into a bigger one, take it off and use the shank to loosen up around it.

It seems being able to pull with the tractor, as opposed to push with the loader, will put a lot less stress on things as, after all, that's how it was designed to work.

 

[mogwai]

what about putting pallet forks close together and poking around to loosen rodks?

 

[cglaser104]

Backhoe mounted Root Ripper

With a thumb

 

[m7040]

I have dug out rocks as large as 10000 lbs or so much bigger than the FEL could lift by digging down on both sides of the rock and creating a ramp to push it up to ground level. Also have a bucket to mount on the FEL that has a very narrow 12 inch tip mounted with sturdy teeth that works very well for rocks weighing up to several hundred lbs. For difficult stumps and rocks I use the KX 33-4 excavator. And then there is dynamite

 

[PILOON]

Just yesterday I dug out rocks that would not fit the bucket using the big tooth.
I then proceeded to flip/roll them into position. That was to block roadway. Big and heavy enough that only machinery could displace them.
We wanted to deny access to out lake so as to prevent contamination from invasive weeds.

 

[fried1765]

Backhoe attachment.

Obviously!
I LOVE my 11' dig backhoe!

 

[m7040]

/Users/frits/Desktop/IMG_2376.jpeg

This is the bucket I use most to dig out rocks