Property line trail/ track

bcp · Nov 20, 2013

NS Gearhead said:
Got a bit of a second wind and started hauling gravel again. My goal is to finish this little section before winter takes hold... but man there was a good 2" of frost in the gravel pile today.

That Jeep needs a front end loader:

Front End Loader for a Jeep: Jeep-a-loader | eWillys

jeep front end loader - The CJ2A Page Forums

Bruce

NS Gearhead · Nov 21, 2013

Very cool Bruce! I had no idea anything like that had ever been made. I'm sure I could make something similar... but I think my money would be better spent buying a crappy old tractor with a loader. I could keep it at the gravel pile.

I mentioned 7 loads but it's actually 9 between the swapy part and the hill. 1 load = 1 ton Aproaching a tandem load!

GolfAddict · Nov 21, 2013

Making good progress! Man, that's a lot of shoveling...

NS Gearhead · Nov 21, 2013

GolfAddict said:
Man, that's a lot of shoveling...

You're telling me! LOL It's just like anything else... if I keep away from it for a while the first one's hard on the back... but once I get doing it regularly it's not so bad. I could do two in a day and not be bothered (wich I may sat), but three would be pushing it. It's good motivation to keep at it once I start.

Thanks for watching!

mattbatson · Nov 23, 2013

NS Gearhead said:
Dang, I wish I had as much property as you guys! My wife wanted to stay somewhat close to the city, and I wanted pivacy and land... so what we have is a compromise. 4.2 acres on a cul-de-sac that borders on hundreds of government acres... 30 min to the city/ work.

yeah, we could only afford 10 acres in the mountains of western NC...near Asheville. We wanted more, but we paid 40K cash and now own it outright.

It is not flat, but with some terracing and clearing it will become more usable...

that's my at the time 3 yr old trying to use the cell...lol...about a year ago...

looking down from a road I'm cutting up the hill...that was a B21 that we rented.

have a lot more pics and stuff, but I'm not going to trample on your thread...

great read, and at the same time nice to see everyone elses projects and land

mattbatson · Nov 23, 2013

oh, and also, would it be better to put down some kind of "road bond" before the gravel?
the road bond we buy here at the local quarry is like a powdery white clay type thing...and this supposedly keeps the gravel above ground and not sinking into the soil.

thoughts?

NS Gearhead · Nov 23, 2013

Nice looking property mattbatson! My property and trail are mostly rock with some moss on top, and sometimes a bit of dirt. The few spots that are muddy are mosly peatmoss type of mud, but have a solid bottom underneath... so as long as rock is used it seems to find the bottom and firm up very well. The tandem load that was spread across the bogg is solid and shows no signs of having mud come up through or anything like that.

No luck getting gravel today. My wife's shift changed from an 8 to a 12, and their was no convincing my little princess to go for a Jeep ride and play on her leapad. LOL Oh well, I have tomorrow morning, so hopefully I'll catch up. It was pretty ugly here today with some rain/snow/hail at times anyway.

rd_macgregor · Nov 27, 2013

Winter will shut things down pretty soon here, too. I really resent the short days...by the time I get home from work, it is already getting dark, so its hard to get tractor time out on my trail system.

Rio_Grande · Nov 27, 2013

Great work gear head. I like that trailer.

NS Gearhead · Nov 28, 2013

Thanks Rio_Grande!

Yeah rd_macgregor, I did get two loads in sunday, but there was prob 3" of frost in the gravel pit. It took two strikes of the pick axe just to get through. I was loading big solid chunks of gravel by hand. LOL So it's looking like I'm done for this year. With the big dumping of rain we got last night, I don't want to cut up the trail to and from... so by the time that dries enough we'll probably be into winter full swing....you never know, I'll play it by ear.

NS Gearhead · Apr 16, 2014

Well, spring is in full swing here in NS, and it's time to start up on the trail again! The Jeep and dump trailer sold recently... but I've been busy building a new atv dump trailer... and shopping for an atv, although I do have a loaner in the mean time.

With the sale of the Jeep I've been looking at renting a tracked skid steer and getting a giant leap forward in trail building. It'll be for one week. 50 hrs. 3/4 yard bucket.

Here's the trailer

In selling the dump trailer, I lost my hi lift jack... so I picked one up today... and promptly pulled four stumps in the "connector" trail.

Even split a couple

Wow I'm not used to this. Some advil and beers are in this evening's plan. LOL

NS Gearhead · Apr 16, 2014

Oh yeah, and pick axes are not pry bars

NS Gearhead · Apr 29, 2014

The bridge has been along time coming. 2x8 framing & 2x6 decking. 6' wide, 12' long.

Put the new bike to work

Not a big fan of the small hitch and having to use this addapter

but being able to pack a snack is nice... notice the radio I took from the shower. LOL

before

after digging rocks and roots

MUCH better. Just need to drive a couple more nails into the decking and fill in the ends with gravel

at.

It is wide enough for the Tracker too. I made sure of that!

SCOOBY14B · Apr 29, 2014

Looks good. Only thing I see is that your foundation (paver bricks) are not going to be good enough. I'd dig down a little, put some base and then relay the bricks with at least one course under grade level.

GolfAddict · Apr 29, 2014

You mentioned you were using a borrowed ATV, but now you mentioned "put the new bike to work". Did you already find one?

aczlan · Apr 29, 2014

NS Gearhead said:
Not a big fan of the small hitch and having to use this addapter

Why not use a 1.25" insert instead of the adapter and a 2" one?

Aaron Z

Happy Gilmore · Apr 30, 2014

Just read through your thread, pretty cool.

NS Gearhead · Apr 30, 2014

Ideally yes, you'd dig down, pour two slabs... etc. It was incredibly hard digging... all roots and rocks... one rock was 3' across. I rolled it off to the left. For this purpose I can hilift the corners later and shim as needed. No big deal.

Yes, I bought a new wheeler. 2014 Polaris Sportsman 570 EPS. So far I'm quite pleased with it. While I was at it I bought my daughter a 2013 (new) Outlaw 50.

I never thought of the hitch that way. I had a mental block that said all my stuff is 2", I better get an adapter. I guess I'll be getting one. Tks.

Thanks for reading through the entire thing Happy!

rd_macgregor · Apr 30, 2014

I presume that the bottom of the bridge is above highest high water level? Also, did you use PT lumber? My first bridge was built from recycled beams from a collapsed barn; a few years out in the weather and the beams just collapsed (under snow load).
Bob