How to move boulders?

[GPintheMitten]

It would be eazy to miss the estimated weight of a boulder by just looking at it, so be careful when you attempt to figure out what kind of equipment you need to lift it.

Found a boulder weight estimator here:

Boulder Sizing and Weight Estimation

According to their estimate, stone weighs between 150 to 175 pounds per cubic foot.

Note that estimating the volume is crucial. A 3x3x3 is 27 cubic feet and at 160 pounds/cu ft that would be 4320 pounds. Compare that to a "slightly" larger rock of 4x4x4 which is 64 cubic feet and the weight goes up dramatically to 10,200 pounds. But these are cubes, not spheres.

So when you say 3-4 foot around, that's a big variable.

The volume of a sphere is V=4/3*pi*r*r*r (meaning radius cubed but I can't type it as r to the 3rd power. Anyway not sure if you mean the circumference is 3-4 feet or the diameter is 3-4 feet. Assuming the diameter is 3-4, let's say it is 3.5 ft. The radius would be 1.75 ft. That would make the volume to be about 22.4 cubic feet. Multiply that by 160 pounds/cu ft, you get about 3590 pounds. But if the stone were 4 feet diameter, then the weight would be about 5400 pounds.

Recognizing that a boulder in the field is not likely a cube and not likely a sphere, the above should help you get some idea of the weight if you take a few measurements and determine if it is closer to one shape or the other.

Also, if you want to move it while it is on the ground or a ramp or platform, it will take less to move it than lift it. I have used tire chains to create a 'basket' to wrap around boulders before then dragged them with my 2N tractor, but I certainly did not lift them up to a trailer or raised platform. You might be able to build a ramp of dirt and boards to pull it onto a low-boy trailer if you are clever.

You might need to ask the pyramid builders how they did it.

 

[zmoz]

Thanks for the info everyone. When I said 3-4' around, I was just guessing. He has everything from pea gravel to house sized solid blocks. The biggest problem is it's a 1,000 mile round trip, though it might be possible to sell them to a landscaper closer to him. My dad is a truck driver, so I was thinking we could rent a big rig with a good flat bed. (or maybe a dump truck)

If I used an excavator to grab them, is that going to scar up the stones much? They are nice and smooth and weathered as is, and that's what people want. I like the idea of possibly straps and lifting depending on the rock.

(honestly here, I'm looking for any good profitable reason to buy or restore a tractor. I don't have enough land to make use of one myself)

Have you considered splitting the rocks to a dimensional size and selling them for walls or cobble stones?

No, I haven't, but I like that idea! I seem to remember somebody building some kind of rock splitter on here. I could build a really cool shop out of that!

 

[RadarTech]

I was thinking of the car hood idea until I saw the last posters math...
But the hard lesson I learned on my property is that often those rocks are just the "tip of the iceberg"!!!
There was one rock that looked to be 2 feet high, and 3 feet wide by 3 feet deep..

Chained to it, tried to pull it, and no go..
got a shovel and dug around it and on one side it went down 4 feet before I stopped digging and gave up..

sooner or later I will rent a excavator with a hammer on it and just break it up and then move the remnants...

another story I read here or some where.... Was a rock that was 10 feet deep and only had a 1 ft piece sticking up....
so you might nevet know...


so be sure you consider these thoughts....


Later,
J

 

[SPIKER]

look for an old car hood to roll them up on, or trunk lid. use chain to pull or drag the stone to central location for loading... Like others said ask around about selling the stone first, often the landscapers will buy a rock if you deliver it to their yard but not if they have to go through any work what so ever. The type of rock also has a lot to do with its weight. granite weights a lot more than say sandstone or limestone. There is a very round boulder in my brothers vally left over from the ice age that is 6' high laying in the creek, its very pretty and probably near unmovable without a 2nd glacier coming down to shove it out the end of the vally as it is a good 150' near vertical sides...

I have a few nice ones that my tractor 5500lbs 30hp will move and some that it wont budge... I have them all piled up (ones I can move) and have enough for more fire pits. I have a fire ring 30' dia that is made from rocks sized to set on with still not having to bend down

Mark

 

[deepNdirt]

3 years ago the county ran water out my road and as they were digging for the waterline, they were pulling out some very large 3-4-5-6 ft.rs boulders
and just leaving them along the banks of the roadway all the neighbors on my road started asking about what they were going to do with them? the county crew told that they would bring in a dump truck to load them on and take then to a landfilled for disposal, But ask if the neighbors was interested in them they would be glad to set one off in their yard providing the homes were located on the path of the construction they could set of as many as they would like, but Before we all knew it one of our neighbors with the Large JD tractor and FEL started getting them in the evenings after the crew stopped working, and he was taking them to his place to hoard them... but come to find out later he was selling them, he had a large Dump truck to load them onto and deliver them to his customers, i have no idea what kind of money he was getting for them? I guess was enough for him to try and get them all,
I did however put my dibs in for a nice 5' x 3' x 6' would to use in my front lawn landscaping, and a couple other neighbors was able to get them a few as well, apparently they are worth some good cash. and why the county didn't keep them for themselves to sale i dont know?

 

[gwjd]

at the park out methoud was picking them up with the fel and chains, tow straps ar gentler on the rock, to trandsport we used a flat bed and straps. they will tear up dump truck beds.
you prolly gonna need a big loader

 

[Luremaker]

I am like many TBNers and have lots of rocks. When moving them I have always placed the rocks on skids then chained and strapped the skids and rocks to a flat bed trailer like in the photo below. That's the easy part. It takes more effort to unload the rocks without equipment. I don't mind moving a few rocks each summer but would never do any more without some rock moving equipment at the delivery end.

 

[gwjd]

one of theses times ill get all my thoughts in one post, if you find you self at the rental yard, a jd 710 or cat 450 backhoe bouth have fel lift in the 10000 lbs range, also the backhoe makes removal better.

 

[NSBound]

Along these same lines, I have a nice pile of granite rocks I plan to make into corners for flower beds. They were delivered in a large dual-axle dump truck. I asked them not to get me really big ones as now I have to pick them up and place them in the garden locations. Now I just have to figure out how to best pick them up! I am guessing I'll have to use a big bar to pry them one by one into my FEL, as I don't have a grapple??

 

[GPintheMitten]

You don't have to pick up a rock to put it on a trailer.

OK, you get yourself a front loader and dig a shallow trough hole. Put a lowboy in the trough hole. Slide the rock onto the trailer. Strap it down. Drive off with the rock.

I'm sure that's the way the pyramid builders did it.