Making a crowned dirt road across flat ground?!?

[Weasel]

I have a 5 acre field in the back of my property that is accessible by a narrow UTV trail I blazed and a power line on the east border. Problem is my farm only has a 12 foot elevation change and the low spots get so mucky and impassible after spring snow melt and can’t support equipment until well after spring planting windows.

I own the entire power line, power company has an easement but I’m permitted to put in roads. The place I want to crown a road through is basically flat and only has tall grass, weeds and the occasional small saplings. I’ve been able to operate just about every kind of equipment you can imagine but I never used a dozer with adjustable blade. If I rent a dozer, is it fairly straightforward to tilt the blade to build up a crown and cut side drainage with just a few passes? Again, this is just going to be a dirt equipment road for a small tractor and side by side. Just need it high and dry enough for year round access. It’s about 1100 feet long from front field to back.

 

[Gator]

No clue on the dozer question.

do you own a boxblade? I'd think about adding a small ditch beside the road and take that dirt to build up the road a little. Maybe just gravel would do the trick as well.

 

[SwampCat]

A dozer with blade tilt is made to do what you want to do - and in a hurry. A tilt rear blade for a tractor will also do it - but not as fast as the dozer. But, if you buy the rear blade - you can maintain the road. The ditches tend to fill back in.

 

[Triple C]

Weasel...1100 ft is a lot to do with a tractor. Dozer would get the job done a whole lot faster. I'd consider hiring it out to a pro. Those guys know what they are doing and can get it done in a hurry.

 

[Weasel]

No clue on the dozer question.

do you own a boxblade? I'd think about adding a small ditch beside the road and take that dirt to build up the road a little. Maybe just gravel would do the trick as well.

Definitely ditching it, they are a must on every road in this flat country. Gravel won’t cut it and I’m not spending the money to gravel a farm path. The power line has some serious ruts from previous ATV riding before I bought the property and stopped access. Boxblade won’t cut it (no pun intended LOL).

 

[Weasel]

Weasel...1100 ft is a lot to do with a tractor. Dozer would get the job done a whole lot faster. I'd consider hiring it out to a pro. Those guys know what they are doing and can get it done in a hurry.

Only got one guy to come out so far. Quoted me $95 an hour which is about average here. Told me he would have to get back to me on a quote, not sure why, he was looking at it and it was a pretty straightforward job. Texted me later $3000. Said it would be a 3-4 day job. Sounds ridiculous to me. I can’t see that taking more that 8 hours. You can do a lot of 1100 foot passes on a dozer in 8 hours on flat ground with no trees to push.

 

[Gator]

Only got one guy to come out so far. Quoted me $95 an hour which is about average here. Told me he would have to get back to me on a quote, not sure why, he was looking at it and it was a pretty straightforward job. Texted me later $3000. Said it would be a 3-4 day job. Sounds ridiculous to me. I can’t see that taking more that 8 hours. You can do a lot of 1100 foot passes on a dozer in 8 hours on flat ground with no trees to push.

Back when I was getting this type of stuff done, moving the equipment is the majority of the cost. With that said, I think I was paying about $1500 a day, would go down slightly for longer timeframes.

 

[swat1018]

Yep, Dozer with a 6 way blade. I also think you'd be better off to hire it, if you know an experienced operator. If you just want to play on a dozer, I get it, and you'll get the job done.

 

[BigJ]

Sounds like they charge a little more in Ohio than here in ol’ PA. 75 per hour here. I had a 2.5 acre food plot stumped and leveled for 1200 dollars. 3000 for an access road sounds steep. Keep shopping for operators. I found an operator that owns his equipment. Not paying CAT a monthly payment decreases hourly rate haha. I have a contact for an operator out of bristolville oh. Send me a PM and I’ll get it to you. Came across this guy because he is willing to do pond work which my guy shys away from

 

[FL Plotter]

Sounds like something you could do with a box blade and scraper blade. Maybe even plow it first and let the furrow be the beginning of your ditch.

I do as much as I can with my equipment before I hire someone. And just like you, I found dozer guys can be very different in their pricing. I finally found a good one with the 4th quote!

 

[Drycreek]

This is my game, and has been all my life. Pricing a dozer by the hour is like buying a car, so many different options. A 95 hp dozer will cost less than a 150 hp dozer, but will do much less per hour.

I'm not trying to be a smartass, but if you think the quote was too high, rent a dozer and do it yourself. You might change your mind. An operator, not a driver, (there's a difference), is gonna know more and do more than just make a few passes. It's just not that simple. If it were me, in your position, I would get several bids and go with the one who seems like he knows what to do. Ask some questions, find out what you're paying for, and choose accordingly.

Remember this too, when you create ditches, you channel water. Channeled water sometimes causes erosion. Channeled water has to go somewhere too, so the guy's quote might have included culverts. What sounds and looks easy to a novice, sometimes isn't. Good luck !

 

[Turkish]

You don’t want ditches. For hunting trails and paths you want the water going where it would normally.

If the area is already too low to keep a path maintained, a crown isn’t going to fix that. You’ll need culverts and fill.

 

[Triple C]

This is my game, and has been all my life. Pricing a dozer by the hour is like buying a car, so many different options. A 95 hp dozer will cost less than a 150 hp dozer, but will do much less per hour.

I'm not trying to be a smartass, but if you think the quote was too high, rent a dozer and do it yourself. You might change your mind. An operator, not a driver, (there's a difference), is gonna know more and do more than just make a few passes. It's just not that simple. If it were me, in your position, I would get several bids and go with the one who seems like he knows what to do. Ask some questions, find out what you're paying for, and choose accordingly.

Remember this too, when you create ditches, you channel water. Channeled water sometimes causes erosion. Channeled water has to go somewhere too, so the guy's quote might have included culverts. What sounds and looks easy to a novice, sometimes isn't. Good luck !

Good advice right there. My son's been doing that for a living for 20 years. A good operator is like an artist. They know how to move and shape dirt and make sure water is channeled properly and they can do it in a hurry. When he's cutting in or building interior roads, channeling water is always the primary consideration. Equipment, trucks to pull it, trailers to haul it, fuel, maintenance, insurance and so on cost a boat load of money. If they're good they earn every dime they make. Hire a good operator and you won't regret it.

 

[Drycreek]

You don’t want ditches. For hunting trails and paths you want the water going where it would normally.

If the area is already too low to keep a path maintained, a crown isn’t going to fix that. You’ll need culverts and fill.

This would be my first option also, but he may not want to spend that money. If money were no object, I'd find a place to build a dugout pond and use the dirt to build the road. Then you not only get a road, you get a pond. Trouble is, that involves digging, loading, hauling, and spreading the dirt. We're talking track hoe or track loader, dump trucks, and a dozer to spread, plus culverts to put the rain water where you want it. I've done both on my place, but I own my own dozer and backhoe, and have plenty of time, so that makes a difference too.

 

[dogghr]

Heck Weasel, IF you have the time, just rent the dozer or skidsteer and do it yourself. Even tho skidsteer blade doesnt tilt, I did mine with one and bucket on back. You said you have worked equipment before so you should be fine. Honestly I have a heavy duty Woods blade for the tractor and it would do what you want on such a short section. I'd ditch the upper side and slope to whatever side is the lowest. Second option since it is so flat, for half the money he quoted you, you could easily have put down heavy rock base , not crusher run crap, ditch sides with your tractor and have a fine road. Have fun.

 

[Mennoniteman]

It's flat; so there won't be any erosion, the water will stand in the swales untill it soaks away like the ditches along a flat road through a swamp. Hauling in dirt and culverts for a farm lane isn't affordable. Put the average farm boy on a dozer and he can cut swales within several hours, but put a city kid on it and he will have nothing but bumps. Nothing against people raised in town, they just have skills in different areas. You said that you can run about any equipment there is, but haven't run a dozer. I think you probably could rent one and do it yourself. Just start real slow and don't take to much of a cut at a time. Angle the blade and roll a few inches of dirt from the ditch towards the middle of the road in a continuous run from one end to the other then turn around and run the other side back all the way to the start. If the blade only cuts the high spots that's ok, don't lower it, adjusting the blade to drastically is where your bumps start, by the third or fourth pass the blade will be cutting evenly. Just keep doing these passes until the ditches are the desired depth. Then put the dozer on the road with the blade almost flat and level it out, again making continuous passes, taking very little at a time. Beginners always want to take too big of a cut, only take a few inches at a shot. If you start out with a bump on a bulldozer you will carry that hump with you all the way down the field.

 

[Drycreek]

It's flat; so there won't be any erosion, the water will stand in the swales untill it soaks away like the ditches along a flat road through a swamp. Hauling in dirt and culverts for a farm lane isn't affordable. Put the average farm boy on a dozer and he can cut swales within several hours, but put a city kid on it and he will have nothing but bumps. Nothing against people raised in town, they just have skills in different areas. You said that you can run about any equipment there is, but haven't run a dozer. I think you probably could rent one and do it yourself. Just start real slow and don't take to much of a cut at a time. Angle the blade and roll a few inches of dirt from the ditch towards the middle of the road in a continuous run from one end to the other then turn around and run the other side back all the way to the start. If the blade only cuts the high spots that's ok, don't lower it, adjusting the blade to drastically is where your bumps start, by the third or fourth pass the blade will be cutting evenly. Just keep doing these passes until the ditches are the desired depth. Then put the dozer on the road with the blade almost flat and level it out, again making continuous passes, taking very little at a time. Beginners always want to take too big of a cut, only take a few inches at a shot. If you start out with a bump on a bulldozer you will carry that hump with you all the way down the field.

Mennon, I beg to disagree (a little). Ain't nothing flat. It may be nearly flat, but it's got some fall somewhere. And....I don't want water standing anywhere next to a road if it can be helped, because it will soak into the road eventually and a soft spot will result. I'm dealing with that on a place that I hunt now, but don't own. If I did, I'd fix it !

Weasel, good luck on your road, and if you decide to do it yourself more power to you !

 

[Turkish]

Having access via high ground to all vital parts of a tract is a valuable, but often overlooked, attribute for hunting land, imo.