Single disk gang to pull dirt

[DeadTurtleCreek]

I'm trying to reclaim some rutted up roads through a young timber stand. Years of disking the roads by the previous owner has left a bar of dirt on the edge of the road which holds water on the road itself. I can continue to disk these roads every year when they finally dry out in August, but the problem will get progressively worse - and August disking makes for a very muddy winter.

So for the solution, I was driving yesterday and passed several rice levee plows (small terrace plows for those who aren't from rice country). It had me thinking I could do something similar, but wider to reclaim my mud roads and pull dirt to the center. I'm considering taking 3 of the 4 disk gangs off of an old disk. The two front gangs push dirt out and the two back gangs pull it inward to create a smooth surface. If I removed all gangs except for the back right, in theory that gang should pull dirt from the right side of the road into the center.

Has anyone tried this or pulled a broken disk similar to this to help explain to me how it would pull? My concern is it would just pull sideways until the gang was perpendicular to the road and then roll straight as opposed to remaining offset and pulling dirt to the middles.

 

[zoedog2012]

I'm trying to reclaim some rutted up roads through a young timber stand. Years of disking the roads by the previous owner has left a bar of dirt on the edge of the road which holds water on the road itself. I can continue to disk these roads every year when they finally dry out in August, but the problem will get progressively worse - and August disking makes for a very muddy winter.

So for the solution, I was driving yesterday and passed several rice levee plows (small terrace plows for those who aren't from rice country). It had me thinking I could do something similar, but wider to reclaim my mud roads and pull dirt to the center. I'm considering taking 3 of the 4 disk gangs off of an old disk. The two front gangs push dirt out and the two back gangs pull it inward to create a smooth surface. If I removed all gangs except for the back right, in theory that gang should pull dirt from the right side of the road into the center.

Has anyone tried this or pulled a broken disk similar to this to help explain to me how it would pull? My concern is it would just pull sideways until the gang was perpendicular to the road and then roll straight as opposed to remaining offset and pulling dirt to the middles.

Do you have a rear blade?

 

[jeff9366]

Years of disking the roads by the previous owner has left a bar of dirt on the edge of the road which holds water on the road itself.

1) The disks on your rear gangs are probably all the same diameter. If you reduce the diameter of the outer disk on both rear sides by 4" the bar should disappear. (Taking apart an old disk can be one bear of a job.)

2) A Landscape Rake or Rear Angle Blade set at 30 degrees to 45 degrees to windrow, will spread that bar material across the face of the implement.

 

[bcp]

My concern is it would just pull sideways until the gang was perpendicular to the road and then roll straight as opposed to remaining offset and pulling dirt to the middles.

Try it with a 3pt disk instead of a tongue-pulled disk.

Bruce

 

[DeadTurtleCreek]

Yes, I have a 6 or 8' rear blade. I've tried it but this heavy clay doesn't ever really dry out deeper than a couple inches. It balls up and sticks to the blade. Where I've tried it it can work, but is extremely slow and difficult to get dirt to move to the center. I have miles of roads that need to be reclaimed and small window that they're dry enough so time is a big factor.

I wasn't very clear, but the bar of dirt is pushed into the trees lining the road edge. I can't get this dirt back. I'm trying to essentially dig a borrow ditch on the sides and pull that borrow dirt to the middle so I can get these roads to shed water and dry out sooner in the summer for maintenance. A couple passes with a disk can help them a lot, but the point where I am now they don't dry up until very late summer if at all and I'm stuck doing the same thing every year.

Disk gangs with cleaners work well here so I'm trying to figure out how that can work for my purposes. I have an old 3pt disk but its very small. Maybe I'll try it with just 1 gang and see if it has the weight and wide enough gangs to move much dirt. I figured a 3pt would pull the tractor sideways quite a bit more than a tongue pulled.

 

[oldnslo]

How much room is there along the edge of the road? Can you run the tractor tires off the edge or do you need to stay on the road?

just curious if a disc plow would work but these trail directly behind the tractor

of if roads are all similar width make an oversized garden hiller so pulling dirt from both sides while driving down center of road. Might be similar to a levee plow

 

[bcp]

If you have a loader, fill the bucket with rocks to reduce side pull from an implement.

Bruce

 

[DeadTurtleCreek]

Filling the loader is a good idea for traction as long as it’s dry enough. I’ve been using the term “road” loosely. My roads are dirt/mud paths through the CRP trees. They are constantly muddy and rutted which makes maintenance tough. My original thought was to take the front gangs off my 3pt disk and widen the back gangs similar to what oldnslow suggested. It’s still a possibility but my roads vary in width which would make a set width attachment less useful

 

[Cycledude]

Hire a backhoe and buildup the center of the road so the water can actually run off

 

[npalen]

Tilting the frame of a pull type or 3PH mounted disc to the rear will pull the dirt toward the center to create a crown.
I don't see a need to remove any of the gangs as the front gangs won't move any dirt if the disc frame is tilted to the rear and should pull straight. Some folks do this to maintain the crown on field terraces.