Best way for narrow 2ft. ditch?????

[Fuddy1952]

I have a JD3038 with FEL, 7.5 backhoe, forks.
I don't want to rent a ditch witch, believe I can ditch myself, but bucket is too wide.
I need to ditch about 5" wide, 2ft. deep, curving downhill about 8ft from start...about 40 feet or so.
Titan has a narrow bucket, but it's a Woods backhoe so don't know how to adapt it.
I would like to bury 3" PVC with gentle sweeps so I can run pex and electric wire through it to a barn.
Seems like there should be an easy way.

 

[RNeumann]

Hmmm easy way to dig a narrow trench with a FEL bucket so you can bury conduit, so you can run electrical and water in it.

Next time someone complains about building codes and or building inspections please read the post above.......

OP- their is a lot wrong with your design ideas. But I’m sure you’ve got your heart set in this. So in that case good luck.

 

[TractorGuy]

Take a look at this.
Single Tine Ripper 3-Point Pipelayer Attachment | Agri Supply 73622

 

[rhunt]

This should be interesting, let the entertainment begin! Bob

 

[1010]

Try equipment rental stores. see if they have a trenching you can rent.

Honestly if you have a 7.5 bucket and need a 5.. that little bit of difference won't matter..

Good luck sir!

 

[Carl_NH]

Another similar option is this BH ripper Bro-Tek I have this unit and used it to trench for electrical lines, removing stumps. It's not inexpensive but it is HD and works well.

 

[Thomas]

If soil hard also has rocks use backhoe.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I have a JD3038 with FEL, 7.5 backhoe, forks.
I don't want to rent a ditch witch, believe I can ditch myself, but bucket is too wide.
I need to ditch about 5" wide, 2ft. deep, curving downhill about 8ft from start...about 40 feet or so.
Titan has a narrow bucket, but it's a Woods backhoe so don't know how to adapt it.
I would like to bury 3" PVC with gentle sweeps so I can run pex and electric wire through it to a barn.
Seems like there should be an easy way.

How wide is your bucket ( I assume the 7.5 mentioned is the digging depth of your backhoe and not the bucket width)? I have an 8" trenching bucket (cut down from an 18" by previous owner) and unless digging in the driest of dry soil, it refuses to dump the dirt without whamming it on the ground a few times for each scoop. As for depth, check your local electrical codes for proper bury depth, minimum might be 30". Invest in some plastic "warning buried cable" tape that you lay 12" above the conduit so if you or someone else digs in that area, they see the tape prior to digging into your conduit.
The 8" width is about the minimum I would go with a 3" pipe and even better would be 12" wide ditch. This give you room to walk in the ditch if needed and get into it with compactor to compact the backfill. If you just push the spoils back in the ditch without some compacting, you will have a trench after the first rain and it will continue settling for at least a year. If you step in it after a good rain, it will be like muddy quicksand so when backfilling your trench (whatever size you end up with) put in about 8-10" of fill then compact it with whatever method you have ie vibratory plate, jumping jack, wheels of your tractor run back and forth many times or use your backhoe bucket for the lower lifts but do some kind of compaction.

 

[Jchonline]

Dig it with the bucket you have. No matter how small the cabling or conduit I dont use narrower than 12” bucket.

 

[Fuddy1952]

Try equipment rental stores. see if they have a trenching you can rent.

Honestly if you have a 7.5 bucket and need a 5.. that little bit of difference won't matter..

Good luck sir!

No a 7.5ft reach...bucket will work but wide. I wish I had a 6-8" wide bucket.
But building codes, etc.?????
All my water and electric lines are buried. 18" ok here... I go 2ft min.
What's code? Above ground?
Sheesh!