best rock puller?

[Groo]

The family farm is in an area formed by glacial activity, and there are bands of soil just packes solid with medium (around 50-150 lbs) and large rocks (up to about 2k lbs.)

what would be the best tool to get these out? so far we've been using a 6 way blade on a 100hp dozer (Dresser TD8) when making roads. its slow and you end up finding more and more rocks. as you dig out 1, theres 2 more, and you keep going untill you are deep enough that you can burry the last rock(s) you found cleanly.

I started thinking it might be nice to try some half hearted farming in some of the old fields, but I think frost action has surfaced plenty of rocks since the field was last used and cleared. Digging massive pits in the middle of a field doesn't sound like the best starting move.

There is currently nothing on the back of the Dozer, would a set of those rear dragging spikes work for what I want, and help in road building too?

 

[beenthere]

I think a ripper would not be maneuverable enough to do the job, and it may be expensive to fix the dozer.

Probably the best tool would be a hoe with a thumb.

I use the forks on my FEL to go up to about 1k lbs. That takes care of the majority on this terminal moraine of the last WI glacier. Go at 'em easy but steady.
The small ones are easy to pop out with one fork too. Then pick them up in the bucket.

But no one tool is the best. Wish you luck, knowing what your dilema is.

 

[Egon]

Two rippers properly spaced may be able to lift out the large boulders while moving forward.

Rippers would surely aid in finding rocks, buried cables, subsoiling, roadbuilding and stuff like that.

 

[MikeD74T]

Don't know your area but in northern NH logging roads are first roughed with excavators then fill, if any is used, is hauled with trucks & leveled with dozer or loader. Excavators are much more efficient than dozers for roughing narrow roads, especially when large rocks are involved. MikeD74T