Hi Guys, I currently own an excavating business in the BC interior. I have done some forestry work but very minimal. I just wanted to ask some of you who have forestry experience & more so road building experience. What kind of equipment is needed for building logging roads? Can it be done with just an excavator? Are there different types of logging roads? Mains or side roads? Is most of the work contract or hourly? For mills or private outfits? Just wanting to know more about road building and what to expect with it? Thanks!
My experience probably isn't going to be to useful to you, since I build logging roads in South Carolina, mostly in the river swamps. Around here the minimum fleet is probably a an excavator, about a 15 ton minimum, and a dozer, you could use a D3, but a D5 size is a better bet. I have a 20 ton hoe and a D4e which is about 20,000 lbs. Most of my work comes from timber dealers.
What kinda of material will you be building roads in? ie... sand, clay,, bedrock?
I would say mostly sand & rocky material. Some bedrock. Perhaps some clay and hardpan aswell. Up here in BC we've got a bit of everything.
I work for both mills and private companies. Potlatch Corp. is my main account. I'd have to say a D6 sized dozer with a six way blade would probably be the best tool for you. An excavator is a great machine, but when it comes to finish grading a road top they are worthless. With an excavator you need a grader or dozer to finish the top. There are different types of roads,, the main artery road and then the side feeder roads. The main road usually have to have ditching and excellent drainage whereas the side roads are made without major ditching because they are basically used once every growth cycle of the trees. All my work is on an hourly basis, but I've worked for them for forty years now so we kinda know each other pretty well. Good luck with it all!!
The BC road building videos give some idea. Hitachi Zaxis 350 with a bucket and thumb taking trees down. A rock drill on another excavator for putting explosives into the rock where necessary. 'Flat rail car decks' for temporary bridges. Euclid dump trucks or 6x6 articulated dump trucks for transporting crushed rock for road surfacing or taking material away from cuts. An excavator with ripper and bucket for loading from crushed rock quarry/ source. Probably plate compactors on an excavator for compacting when in putting culverts/ creek crossings. Your service truck. Maybe a grapple equipped excavator(or better) if there is a lot of wood to be cleared. Maybe a bulldozer or two, grader , drum/ rubber tyre vibrating roller. Rubber tyred Skidder, forwarder, Cat 527 skidder etc If the terrain allows may be a scraper if dirt needs transporting. Equipment depends on the road design philosophy.
Thanks for the replies guys!
You are describing a west coast,Haida Gwaii, Vancouver Island road building show. As stated in his opening post he is in the central interior, whole different ball game there. Flatter ground smaller trees etc. Check with forestry as to what is allowed. I have seen in the past roads being built with only dozers in the interior, usually D8 size for pushing bush and heavy cuts and the a smaller D6 size machine for finish grading etc. Run a grader over when done and you have a road. May see a small hoe putting in culverts etc. That may have all changed with the forestry practices code brought in a few years ago. If you have a hoe and dozer already you should be set. Hourly pay would be nice but I think serious roadbuilding will all be done under contract, usually a price per meter.
Around here in the east kootaney the local road builders run a d8's and a 330 size hoe's for road building. Anything smaller runs out of steam when you hit rock and tough digging. Grader comes to do a final finish on the road.