I was wondering where you went. You and Hunt have both been AWOL.I've been traveling around for a while, now that I'm home I bought a new ride,
It has some pretty good improvements over my old one.
SR
TODAYS SEAT TIME
- Thread starter LBrown59
- Start date
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Xfaxman
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2013
- Messages
- 13,293
- Location
- Guthrie, OK
- Tractor
- Toolcat 5610 G - Bobcat V417 - TORO+Loader
Today's seat time in the "tree skidder". Hooked the chain to the tree I pushed over a few days ago:
Skidded it out of the woods:
Made it to the brush pile:
Picked it up with the grapple:
View from the seat, pulled forward to put it out over the pile:
Opened the dual lids and gravity got it:
Skidded it out of the woods:
Made it to the brush pile:
Picked it up with the grapple:
View from the seat, pulled forward to put it out over the pile:
Opened the dual lids and gravity got it:
Sawyer Rob
Super Member
I have a friend who is a big apple grower, he always tells me to go pick whatever apples I want, so every year at haying time, I drop off a bale of hay at his farm,
So today was the day I dropped off a bale, on my way to pick up my tractor from a job.
SR
So today was the day I dropped off a bale, on my way to pick up my tractor from a job.
SR
Sawyer Rob
Super Member
Yeaaa, I was gone for a month cruising around, hiding from work as much as possible! lol
SR
Gordon Gould
Super Member
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2007
- Messages
- 6,723
- Location
- NorthEastern, VT
- Tractor
- Kubota L3010DT, Kubota M5640SUD, Dresser TD7G Dozer
We have had a ton of rain in July. According to the Fairbanks Museum Weather Station in St Johnsbury, 6 miles from here, they received 17.14" of rain in July. The wettest 1 month total by far in their 130 years of record keeping. The old record was 11.1" in May 2008. Last Monday night was the highlight of the month rain-wise with an 8.1" thunder storm that lasted about 5 hours. Biggest 1 day rain on record and we got it in 5 hours. The old record was 5" in 24 hours. The storm was very compact and localized so I'm not sure we got all 8" but our rain gauge over flowed at 5" so we got a least that much.
I had some road damage. Very minor compared with the damage some folks faced and the town roads are a mess - again !!
We share the road with 2 other families and I maintain it. The shared portion is about 1/4 mile long and slopes down hill to the town road. It is cut into a side hill with a small ditch on the high side (right) that is limited because of ledge close to the surface. I don't crown it because of the small ditch. I grade a flat pitch across the road so the water flows to the down hill side. I also have a couple wide based dips to ensure the water doesn't flow the whole length of the road. The neighbors hay field is at the top of the bank and slopes to the road. The drainage off of it over whelmed the little ditch and carved out a pretty good trench. Bigger than it looks.
I needed to pull the gravel up the road and move it from left to right in order to fill the trench. A good job for a rear blade.
After it packs there will be a small depression where the trench is. I will take care of that with the LandPlane. Unbelievable how often the retired neighbors think they need to go in and out. They can't even wait a couple hours while I fix the road.
gg
I had some road damage. Very minor compared with the damage some folks faced and the town roads are a mess - again !!
We share the road with 2 other families and I maintain it. The shared portion is about 1/4 mile long and slopes down hill to the town road. It is cut into a side hill with a small ditch on the high side (right) that is limited because of ledge close to the surface. I don't crown it because of the small ditch. I grade a flat pitch across the road so the water flows to the down hill side. I also have a couple wide based dips to ensure the water doesn't flow the whole length of the road. The neighbors hay field is at the top of the bank and slopes to the road. The drainage off of it over whelmed the little ditch and carved out a pretty good trench. Bigger than it looks.
I needed to pull the gravel up the road and move it from left to right in order to fill the trench. A good job for a rear blade.
After it packs there will be a small depression where the trench is. I will take care of that with the LandPlane. Unbelievable how often the retired neighbors think they need to go in and out. They can't even wait a couple hours while I fix the road.
gg
BackRoad
Veteran Member
Mr. Gordon, how do you share cost when you need to add gravel?
I have a similar situation, 3 houses plus me share our private road, and apparently I'm the unelected road superintendent!
Good looking road by the way!
I have a similar situation, 3 houses plus me share our private road, and apparently I'm the unelected road superintendent!
Good looking road by the way!
Matt_Attach
New member
@Gordon Gould - Love what you're doing there with the rear blade. Looks great - I'm sure you wanted after photos before your neighbors drove on it! Looking forward to your landplane work.
This new customer challenged me..... this was a job from a few weeks ago.
The driveway had not seen maintenance for over 15 years - Very thick and compact.
An elderly couple in their 80's that love their property and only hoped to see their driveway again.
So I got at it....
Land Plane to lift the sod, pulled the dunnage using the box blade assisted by a tine rake, and relocated to a pasture area.
Used the bucket in a few heavy growth areas and up to the gate. In some cases, I had 3ft sections of sod 3" thick.
Rebuilt their corner, and pulled material to assist a new base.
Even though we lifted the existing stone, I did advise a bit more regular maintenance from here on out and a fresh top.
I would be happy to help keep things tidy for them.
Hopefully some more referrals come my way!
Thanks for looking!
This new customer challenged me..... this was a job from a few weeks ago.
The driveway had not seen maintenance for over 15 years - Very thick and compact.
An elderly couple in their 80's that love their property and only hoped to see their driveway again.
So I got at it....
Land Plane to lift the sod, pulled the dunnage using the box blade assisted by a tine rake, and relocated to a pasture area.
Used the bucket in a few heavy growth areas and up to the gate. In some cases, I had 3ft sections of sod 3" thick.
Rebuilt their corner, and pulled material to assist a new base.
Even though we lifted the existing stone, I did advise a bit more regular maintenance from here on out and a fresh top.
I would be happy to help keep things tidy for them.
Hopefully some more referrals come my way!
Thanks for looking!
Molalla1
Super Member
Nice SR!I've been traveling around for a while, now that I'm home I bought a new ride,
It has some pretty good improvements over my old one.
SR
CloverKnollFarms
Super Member
3 hours in the 5088 culti-mulching tonight
Matt_Attach
New member
Tackled another driveway last week,
This is a repeat customer (neighbour) who is ok with a yearly maintenance program, and I'm happy to look after it.
I've been looking after this driveway for the last 4 years, and the customer is ok with a driveway refresh rather then adding more material - Their choice.
Mother nature will always beat my workmanship after a few months, but I can temporarily freshen things up.
The customer has chosen not to use any spray, so we have come to an agreement we will mechanically remove vegetation and agitate when they want it done.
Landplane to lift the rooting and used the tine rake to separate vegetation.
Hand raked small vegetation and loader bucket to remove dunnage
Finished with the box blade to relocate gravel to heavy growth areas to slow down regrowth.
Thanks for looking!
This is a repeat customer (neighbour) who is ok with a yearly maintenance program, and I'm happy to look after it.
I've been looking after this driveway for the last 4 years, and the customer is ok with a driveway refresh rather then adding more material - Their choice.
Mother nature will always beat my workmanship after a few months, but I can temporarily freshen things up.
The customer has chosen not to use any spray, so we have come to an agreement we will mechanically remove vegetation and agitate when they want it done.
Landplane to lift the rooting and used the tine rake to separate vegetation.
Hand raked small vegetation and loader bucket to remove dunnage
Finished with the box blade to relocate gravel to heavy growth areas to slow down regrowth.
Thanks for looking!
Last edited:
Matt_Attach
New member
@Jstpssng
I'm subcontracted with a landscaping company, and Funny enough they had seen a pamphlet that had a before and after photo in it of a driveway refresh I had done. He had ask if I was the one that did the job, and I said absolutely. He had sat and watched me take care of everything for him and was very happy with the result. The landscaping company went back this past week and top dressed with 3/4 stone.
Molalla1
Super Member
Nice job Matt . . .Tackled another driveway last week,
This is a repeat customer (neighbour) who is ok with a yearly maintenance program, and I'm happy to look after it.
I've been looking after this driveway for the last 4 years, and the customer is ok with a driveway refresh rather then adding more material - Their choice.
Mother nature will always beat my workmanship after a few months, but I can temporarily freshen things up.
The customer has chosen not to use any spray, so we have come to an agreement we will mechanically remove vegetation and agitate when they want it done.
Landplane to lift the rooting and used the tine take to separate vegetation.
Hand raked small vegetation and loader bucket to remove dunnage
Finished with the box blade to relocate gravel to heavy growth areas to slow down regrowth.
Thanks for looking!
BackRoad
Veteran Member
Mr. Matt, 2 questions:
Interested in how you get the grass cleaned up. You mentioned the landplane...I use it fairly often on my drive, but find it does not get the edge grass fully removed.
1. Can you explain your process for clearing the grass/weeds?
Next question: The flyer mentions "...as low as 3 cents per SF..."
2. Is that your normal rate for the type of work you provided in the most recent set of photos? (You're refresh is crisp and cheaper than simply adding more gravel based on my quick math!)
Interested in how you get the grass cleaned up. You mentioned the landplane...I use it fairly often on my drive, but find it does not get the edge grass fully removed.
1. Can you explain your process for clearing the grass/weeds?
Next question: The flyer mentions "...as low as 3 cents per SF..."
2. Is that your normal rate for the type of work you provided in the most recent set of photos? (You're refresh is crisp and cheaper than simply adding more gravel based on my quick math!)
CloverKnollFarms
Super Member
Another 2 hours on the 5088 culti-mulching
Matt_Attach
New member
Thanks @Molalla1
@BackRoad
Good questions: I do get similar questions on the other forums I'm on.
Try setting up the landplane where the cutting edge (if you have adjustment) is ~3/8" below the skid shoes, extend the top link to give the back cutting edge a more aggressive attack angle and depth. The front cutting edge may not perform any work, and that's ok. If you have scarifiers, drop them around 1" below the skid shoes if the driveway is compacted with deep roots before using the cutting edge. If you find the landplane is riding on top of the vegetation rather then biting or bouncing, add weight to each side plate.
In some circumstances - but not all - I'll use the tine rake to push/pull and separate the vegetation after it has been lifted. I know I'm not going to get all of the vegetation filtered out, but I also don't want to smother roots under the agitated gravel. I always recommend a spray routine with customers along the edge of the driveway to slow down the regrowth, and always educate mother nature does what she wants. This is only temporary and requires maintenance.
If there is excessive gravel in an area that I can relocate along the edges of the driveway, I'll relocate using the box blade to create the crisp lines with added gravel.
The 3 cents per SF (CDN) is an estimate if the driveway just needs to be tumbled with a few pot holes to fix and crowned. When there is vegetation over growth, the estimator does factor in raking and bucket time. Being a subcontractor, I charge by Time which includes loading/unloading and drive time. I'll submit my invoice with a time evaluation which helps the estimator retune their quotes. If the customer does consider top dressing with fresh stone - I always recommend performing a refresh, regrade and vegetation removal regardless. It's up to them if they want to top dress after this first step. Sometimes they do, sometimes they are happy with the refresh only.
Here's my time sheet invoice details on a job I had posted a few pages back. This helps retune the quoting process with justifiable activities. It also shows the customer the steps I took to perform the results if they need to see these details.
The Estimator uses Google Earth to support visual quoting with the customer and creates a job assessment with pictures for me to review. There is a tool to measure sqft so it may be calculated. In the overhead map example below, This job required a driveway refresh, soil top dressing, thatch, seeding, rolling and aeration.
The first job usually takes the longest, but when the job becomes a repeat - the first job I had done builds efficiency on the second, third, fourth...
My main focus is producing results in the most efficient time I can using the best tools for the job.
@BackRoad
Good questions: I do get similar questions on the other forums I'm on.
Try setting up the landplane where the cutting edge (if you have adjustment) is ~3/8" below the skid shoes, extend the top link to give the back cutting edge a more aggressive attack angle and depth. The front cutting edge may not perform any work, and that's ok. If you have scarifiers, drop them around 1" below the skid shoes if the driveway is compacted with deep roots before using the cutting edge. If you find the landplane is riding on top of the vegetation rather then biting or bouncing, add weight to each side plate.
In some circumstances - but not all - I'll use the tine rake to push/pull and separate the vegetation after it has been lifted. I know I'm not going to get all of the vegetation filtered out, but I also don't want to smother roots under the agitated gravel. I always recommend a spray routine with customers along the edge of the driveway to slow down the regrowth, and always educate mother nature does what she wants. This is only temporary and requires maintenance.
If there is excessive gravel in an area that I can relocate along the edges of the driveway, I'll relocate using the box blade to create the crisp lines with added gravel.
The 3 cents per SF (CDN) is an estimate if the driveway just needs to be tumbled with a few pot holes to fix and crowned. When there is vegetation over growth, the estimator does factor in raking and bucket time. Being a subcontractor, I charge by Time which includes loading/unloading and drive time. I'll submit my invoice with a time evaluation which helps the estimator retune their quotes. If the customer does consider top dressing with fresh stone - I always recommend performing a refresh, regrade and vegetation removal regardless. It's up to them if they want to top dress after this first step. Sometimes they do, sometimes they are happy with the refresh only.
Here's my time sheet invoice details on a job I had posted a few pages back. This helps retune the quoting process with justifiable activities. It also shows the customer the steps I took to perform the results if they need to see these details.
The Estimator uses Google Earth to support visual quoting with the customer and creates a job assessment with pictures for me to review. There is a tool to measure sqft so it may be calculated. In the overhead map example below, This job required a driveway refresh, soil top dressing, thatch, seeding, rolling and aeration.
The first job usually takes the longest, but when the job becomes a repeat - the first job I had done builds efficiency on the second, third, fourth...
My main focus is producing results in the most efficient time I can using the best tools for the job.
Last edited:
Gordon Gould
Super Member
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2007
- Messages
- 6,723
- Location
- NorthEastern, VT
- Tractor
- Kubota L3010DT, Kubota M5640SUD, Dresser TD7G Dozer
Tackled another driveway last week,
This is a repeat customer (neighbour) who is ok with a yearly maintenance program, and I'm happy to look after it.
I've been looking after this driveway for the last 4 years, and the customer is ok with a driveway refresh rather then adding more material - Their choice.
Mother nature will always beat my workmanship after a few months, but I can temporarily freshen things up.
The customer has chosen not to use any spray, so we have come to an agreement we will mechanically remove vegetation and agitate when they want it done.
Landplane to lift the rooting and used the tine rake to separate vegetation.
Hand raked small vegetation and loader bucket to remove dunnage
Finished with the box blade to relocate gravel to heavy growth areas to slow down regrowth.
Thanks for looking!
Very nice work !! I would love to see some pictures of your equipment at work. It would explain a lot.
gg
I agree. However, like anything the tool is only as good as the person operating it.
BackRoad
Veteran Member
Mr. Matt, thank you for the detail.
We received 3.5 inches of rain from H. Debbie yesterday...in fact flooding in the town next to us. So the drive was well soaked and good for working today.
I find having some moisture seems to help with loosening up the gravel.
I did get some of the grass under control also, but it was before reading your detailed description.
I'll give your landplane adjustments a try. Thanks!
We received 3.5 inches of rain from H. Debbie yesterday...in fact flooding in the town next to us. So the drive was well soaked and good for working today.
I find having some moisture seems to help with loosening up the gravel.
I did get some of the grass under control also, but it was before reading your detailed description.
I'll give your landplane adjustments a try. Thanks!
Last edited:
Gordon Gould
Super Member
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2007
- Messages
- 6,723
- Location
- NorthEastern, VT
- Tractor
- Kubota L3010DT, Kubota M5640SUD, Dresser TD7G Dozer
When it comes to making your landplane cut more aggressively by adjusting the top link it depends on the geometry of your unit. On mine I get a more aggressive cut by shortening the top link and putting more weight on the front blade. Just the opposite of Matt's. This is because my blades are much closer to the front than the rear of the runners. Lifting the rear of my landplane by shortening the T-L rolls the front blade down into the road surface. So try both directions. If it heavy enough it will cut sod.
With that tail gate the sod floats up and accumulates in the box while the heavier gravel runs out underneath it. When I get to much sod I lift the box just a little to stop cutting, let the gravel all run out, then drag the sod off out of the way.
gg
