HawkinsHollow
Veteran Member
This mud hole has existed for the entire 4 years I have owned this property. I have made half assed attempts to make it better by throwing bricks and cinderblock pieces in the tire tracks and when I am running through it once or twice a month with my tractor it hasn't been that much of an issue. Now that I have a SxS and run through it a lot more and I have done more damage to this area in the last month of SxS ownership than in the previous 4 years with my tractor. Time to fix the problem so it doesn't continue to get worse.
This is in a creek bottom area of my property that is swampy (obviously) and it floods 2-7 times a year depending on rainfall. So there is no real way to keep the water out of this area. Nor is it easy to drain as this is pretty much a low spot. Excess water does drain out one side of it and my goal it to help that process a long but there is only so much I can do there. The only real solution is to build it up. My plan is to use free concrete chunks to fill and raise the area so I am not driving through the mud hole. Luckily the mud isn't bottomless, it has a pretty hard bottom and the initial brick and cinder chunks help with that. Unfortunately, this is only an area that my tractor or SxS can get into. It would be a big ask to have a dump truck drive to back down there. So the majority of these concrete chunks will have to be placed by hand from the trailer I back down there.
My first course is rather large chunks of concrete lining the tire ruts. Next I will come back with smaller chucks to fill the voids and raise it up. And then finally I will use 3" chunks of crushed concrete as the final layer. I have a material yard next door to me that I get this stuff from for $20/ton and they don't charge me delivery. The 3" chunks I will have dumped at the top of the hill and will shuttle it down by the bucket with my tractor. I would LOVE to have a dump trailer to attach to my tractor but they are HIGH right now, not sure the budget can handle it. But it sure would make this project easier.
It is going to rain here for the next week so things will be on hold probably. In the meantime I would welcome and advice, questions, concerns, comments about this project that has been a long time coming.
This is in a creek bottom area of my property that is swampy (obviously) and it floods 2-7 times a year depending on rainfall. So there is no real way to keep the water out of this area. Nor is it easy to drain as this is pretty much a low spot. Excess water does drain out one side of it and my goal it to help that process a long but there is only so much I can do there. The only real solution is to build it up. My plan is to use free concrete chunks to fill and raise the area so I am not driving through the mud hole. Luckily the mud isn't bottomless, it has a pretty hard bottom and the initial brick and cinder chunks help with that. Unfortunately, this is only an area that my tractor or SxS can get into. It would be a big ask to have a dump truck drive to back down there. So the majority of these concrete chunks will have to be placed by hand from the trailer I back down there.
My first course is rather large chunks of concrete lining the tire ruts. Next I will come back with smaller chucks to fill the voids and raise it up. And then finally I will use 3" chunks of crushed concrete as the final layer. I have a material yard next door to me that I get this stuff from for $20/ton and they don't charge me delivery. The 3" chunks I will have dumped at the top of the hill and will shuttle it down by the bucket with my tractor. I would LOVE to have a dump trailer to attach to my tractor but they are HIGH right now, not sure the budget can handle it. But it sure would make this project easier.
It is going to rain here for the next week so things will be on hold probably. In the meantime I would welcome and advice, questions, concerns, comments about this project that has been a long time coming.