Need help clearing rocks

Nolove · Sep 15, 2015

I'll keep it short and to the point. I have about 20 acres of rocks that I need to clean up I was thinking about just using a landscape rake and drag everything into rows ( like raking hay) but I really have no clue how to do this anybody have any advice I posted pic of what my land looks like thanks

jeff9366 · Sep 15, 2015

I think you will destroy a Landscape Rake in short order.

A solid Rear/Angle blade might do.

Do you have an FEL on your tractor? A GRAPPLE would be the best tool.

And, after windrowing, how are you going to move the concentrated rocks?

THERE ARE THREE CLEARING ROCKS THREADS IN THE "SIMILAR THREADS" BOX AT FOOT OF THIS PAGE.

NHbotanut · Sep 15, 2015

I would think the landscape rake would be the best tool to start with. You could rent a Harley rake later. I think a lot of those rocks would be too big for the Harley rake to move.

Gonna be a lot of trips to make the windrows and then scoop the rocks up, but hey isn't that the goal,...to get some seat time on the tractor?

Nolove · Sep 15, 2015

I plan on using a front loader and a dump trailer to move the rocks after I windrow everything up. Yeah it's going to take a lot of seat time and feel like I'm in way over my head but most likely just putting to much thought into a time consuming project

truckdiagnostics · Sep 15, 2015

It looks like the moon, I will never complain about the rocks we have again! If I was going to do it, I would use the riper bar teeth on the front of my bucket, using it/them as fingers racking pushing the rocks into piles. I have done it that way, we however don't have the rocks you do, and I already had the ripper bar.

CalG · Sep 15, 2015

That's going to be some real tonnage! The ones in pictures are just those on top, there are MORE underneath!! ;-) Start with 2 acres, work out a system, then do another section. repeat until you feel done.

Unless you spend real $$$, moving 20 acres of rocks is going to be a lot of time moving material. Close spaced tines (like hay tines) on a front end loader bucket can pick up stones as you drive towards the dumping spot, and letting the soil fall through. (A potato harvester)

mfridenmaker · Sep 15, 2015

For a job that big, you need a skidsteer attachment called a rockhound. There are different names for the same tool but this is what the tool was designed for. Mark

1026mrg · Sep 15, 2015

Have removed a lot of rocks. Up in the mtns in VT.

Grapple not the best tool.

I would go with a stone fork. Second choice a bucket attachment. If you get real serious there are dedicated rock pickets that will either turn up & windrow rocks, or roll them into a large rock basket. These last two items are very pricey.

Luke'sScreenName · Sep 15, 2015

Rockhound on the back and skeleton rock bucket on the front

Nolove · Sep 15, 2015

lukestafford said:
Rockhound on the back and skeleton rock bucket on the front

Hey lukestafford I see you have the MX4800 how do you like it, how's the power on that tractor, do you move round bails around with it, I guess what I'm asking is if you had it to do all over again would you buy the same tractor?