# Moving dirt, rocks, and stones



## tbug (Feb 16, 2008)

Just curious - what do you use for the heavy duty work of landscaping; moving dirt, rocks, and stones? What size area are you working?


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## pdk (Jan 2, 2008)

A good sturdy wheelbarrow with a very soft fat pneumatic tire, and I try not to take too much stuff at one time.


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## wchasr (Jan 2, 2008)

As I recall John J had a "rig" for his gareen tractor of a 4 wheel flat cart with an engine lift on it to move the larger stones he was scavenging from the desert behind his house? Pretty ingenious rig I thought! 
I've got a Sears Garden tractor with a small plastic 2 wheel cart that I can tow behind it for moving stuff. I'll likely add a 4 wheel cart at some point for the larger stuff but not right now. I can borrow one if I need it for now. I can also borrow an engine lift if need be to lift larger items. 
I've also got two wheel barrows, One I bought years ago and another I inheritted last fall. 
I drive a full size van and we own a minivan. Both have trailer hitches and I have a nice utility trailer for hauling "stuff", as well as an older homemade utility trailer too. 

The Tractor however isn't big enough to haul either trailer, primarily because there isn't a good hitch attachment on it. I expect at some point to get a 4 wheeler to plow the drivway with and I'll make sure that has a hitch attachment on it. 

Chas


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## blackburn49 (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By tbug on 04/23/2008 9:48 PM

Just curious - what do you use for the heavy duty work of landscaping; moving dirt, rocks, and stones? What size area are you working?


Because of the size of the ground I have dedicated to my LS activities and the scope and scale of my remaining project, there is no way I would attempt the job without a combination backhoe and bobcat. I have access to one of those when I get to that point where I decide to proceed witht the next project.  The fill I have anticipated for that project requires approximately three dump-loads of pit-run. The area involved is an irregular shape, but roughly 100 X 150.


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## imrnjr (Jan 2, 2008)

I've had the good fortune to have been able to use a class 2 95hp tractor with pallet forks or a 1 yard bucket to move dirt large stones and structures  



















I've also used my Polaris Ranger UTV with and w/o a 500lb garden cart for stones (up to double head size) stone mulch, ballast (crusher fines,/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/satisfied.gif,... a 4.5 cu. ft.wheel barrow with double front wheels(no tip)and a whole lot of 5 gallon buckets to get the mulch and fines where I want them in the garden /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/crazy.gif.... 



















I figure 5 1/2 pallets of retaining wall blocks, 95 yards of dirt, 6 tons of rock, 3 tons of stone mulch, a 1 1/2 tons of fines and I'm still not completely done!!!!/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/hehe.gif 

Don't need much..../DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/whistling.gif..... just a little more to complete the water features..... just a ton of washed river rock or so.....'bout a bucket and a holf...maybe two....... 

good luck.... 
Mark


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## blackburn49 (Jan 2, 2008)

Ref: above bucket/forklift: Yes, that's about what it takes!


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## Terl (Jan 2, 2008)

I spent most of last summer moving heavy rocks when I was finishing my firepit. Anything that I can easily shovel or pick up by hand, I prefer to transfer with a wagon with big fat pneumatic tires. It is built close to the ground, and big tires roll easily over uneven ground. It is easy to dump by tilting it sideways or lifting one end. I have a wheel barrow but find the wagon easier and safer to use. Wheel barrows can fall over easily if you don't park them carefully. 

Any rock can be rolled, not necessarily in a straight line. You can also rock them side to side or pivot them to walk them short distances. 










Next I am using a crow bar to pry up one side of a rock and then walking it to place by pivoting the bar sideways. Alternate the bar from one side to the other. 










My favorite way to move heavy rocks is a dolly with big fat pneumatic tires. Wrapping a tire chain around it really helps to self load some awkward sized rocks. Notice the steel tipped work boots. 



















I can move rocks up to 300 pounds with the dolly. 










Some rocks were to big to safely roll uphill so I lassoed them with a tire chain and used a come-along to drag them uphill. 










The rock was digging a deep furrow in the soft dirt, so I used the bar to pry it up and shovel some dirt under it. 










I finally finished my firepit built over several years. Notice my wagon in the background. 










Terl


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## John B (Jan 2, 2008)

Looks like an archeological dig.


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## Terl (Jan 2, 2008)

The 6ft x 9ft, 5ft deep firepit was dug by hand and is lined with about 12 tons of rock cemented together. Yes these old bones get kind of dusty doing this sort of work. We did dig up some old bones when we were first excavating the RR with a rented Bobcat skid steer loader, which saved a whole lot of time and backwork. Dug up the backyard in about a day. 



















Dirt for all the hills came from excavating the river with the Bobcat. The original dirt level is about where the track is now. Very little extra dirt was brought in, which saved alot of work. If you dig the river down 2 feet and pile it up 2 feet high next to the river, it looks like the hill is 4 feet high. Some big chunks of sidewalk were buried under some of the hills by the Bobcat. Smaller chunks of concrete sidewalk would have been better with less interferance with plant roots. All the rocks however were brought in and placed by hand. I used a come-along and wood ramp to load some of the big rock on my pickup truck. The back yard RR area is roughly 60ft X 70ft, and I have been working on it over about 20 years. 

Terl


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## tbug (Feb 16, 2008)

Holy cow! Now that's a fire pit!!!


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## GlacierBill (Jan 2, 2008)

My good man, did not one ever tell you when you get in a hole quite digging. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/hehe.gif


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## Big John (Jan 4, 2008)

I can only admire all the effort you people expend on your railroads. I broke out into a sweat after seeing all the work required to move rocks, bricks, stones and fill dirt. I thank God that Richard Smith came up with the idea of raised wooden platforms. I could never have put that much work into my railroad without having a stroke or hernia. I have 35 eight foot platforms at levels as low as 8 inches to as high as 5 feet above ground. I was able to fabricate all the platforms over one winter season of three months. I expect to finish installing all the platforms this month. A total of two months working alone. The only dirt and rocks I will be moving will be those required to landscape my platforms. Nothing that can't fit into a five gallon bucket. 

John


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## silverstatespecialties (Jan 2, 2008)

Ah, but John, the landscape is merely a canvas for an artist to work with! There's a great sense of accomplishment in shaping the landscape to suit our own individual visions. 

Of course, I'd rather move rocks than dig through the concrete-like sublayer we have here in the desert Southwest called caliche (pronounced "kuh-LEE-chee")....mixed in with the caliche are lots and lots of rocks, so it makes for a joint- and bone-rattling effort. I've started using my air hammer with a chisel blade; all I have to do is push down and let the chisel blade do its work. 

BTW Terl, LOVE your work!!! Thank you for sharing!!


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## Terl (Jan 2, 2008)

Well I sure did break out in a sweat moving all that stuff. That's why not much got done during the hot days of summer. I tell ya, at my age there have been lots of times I wish I had got the tracks up higher off the ground, on the other hand I kind of like the way it all blends together on the ground like it is. 

Terl


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

John, it makes me hurt just to look at your photo 









Not a job for barefooted brats?


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