I'm hoping to get approval to put a new MX track in on another parcel of land. I'm going to need clay for building jumps and stuff and maybe material to make a berm to lower sound levels. The top of the field is sand and I'm hoping it's not too deep to get to clay. The sand is pretty firm so I think I could strip it off fairly easy with the grader. I've stripped black dirt and it was fairly efficient to get windrows I could load into my dump truck. I'm thinking that making kind of a pond with gently sloping sides could be done with the grader and I could use the track loader to load the dump truck. How efficient would this be? I could dig with the track loader (1yd) or the backhoe (1/4-1/3yd?)on the back but think the grader would give me more material faster and I could just load the windows in the dump truck. I'm also thinking using the grader would save on undercarriage wear since there is a lot of sand. Is this a viable idea? I will be getting a bigger dozer to help but only for a limited time and might not get enough material for all the things I want. Wondering the best way to go with the equipment I have?
Dave, didn’t you just redo your rippers on the grader? Other than a big dozer with a ripper, a decent grader with its rippers down, is a great way to scarify and winrow material, to scrape and load with your track loader.
Yes, it has 3 large ripper teeth and I added 9 scarifier teeth. I've also seen a grader used like a moldboard plow to dig up packed clay so it's easier to strip with a dozer or scraper. It was quite impressive and quite deep. I'm not sure if I could position my blade like a 1 bottom plow because it has the extension welded on. I think the ripper would be sufficient though. I need to take even my skid steer over to get an idea how deep the sand is. It should give me an idea how well the grader would work in the sand and stripping the sand off. I think the grader would be more efficient for getting material to load than the backhoe. I don't want to have random holes where I've dug out clay. An area like a shallow pond with gentle slopes would be much better.
Go investigate how much traction you will get in the sand. That would be my concern, when I think of sand I think of bad traction.
That's my concern too. I think I'd have to take shallower cuts in the sand but most of the field the sand is packed really good. I can easily drive around in a pickup without needing 4 wheel drive except where the sand has been loosened from bikes chewing it up. I think it's similar to the field across from my current property that is sand. I could drive a loaded dump truck on it. Only needed granny low for a couple hundred feet after loading. I need to see how deep the sand is at the new property. I'd think a grader would be better in sand than a dump truck?
Wet sand is a world of difference from dry sand to work with. I worked with trucks modified to water down haul roads and also Cat 631's that were also converted to water down haul roads. Sand is a real bi*** to load into a scraper. I push loaded many thousands of yards into 631C's.
Your problem is that big moldboard. A 14 footer is hard to push in sand let alone a 16. I would try to angle it as much as possible. If you can sideshift the drawbar enough to get the leading edge of your MB inside your front wheel. I don't think you have a saddle lock on your machine, but you might get enough range with that center piston. Lean your front wheels into the cut and get as much angle on the mb as you can. You want the material to roll like a log in the mb, that way you are not pushing as hard
The guy from the gravel pit thinks my skid steer will work in the sand because of the type of sand it is. I figure if a skid steer will work a grader should do OK if I don't take too big of bites. He probably knows more about sand than anyone being one of if not the largest suppliers of sand in Canada. They have a contractor doing some work for them using 637 scrapers. He was amazed how well the scrapers worked in the sand especially being able to climb hills. I'll just have to try it out and do some experimenting. I don't particularly want to use my track loader unless I have too. I looked at CTL's but they are crazy in price even for used with 4 or 5000 hours. Sand is hard them too. I think what would be ideal is a wheel loader with extra wide flotation tires. I've seen a few. I think they're called feed lot specials. Finding one for a reasonable price is probably not an easy task. First need to get approval for a track and then see what the equipment I have can do.
I agree. The problem is with the way the extension was welded on. Overkill is an understatement! I'm going out today so I'll try to remember to take some pics.
Here's some pics. They aren't the greatest but show how solidly welded the extension is.
Sand will quickly sandblast a radiator into junk on anything with tracks. Here is some useless information. A 637or 627 will go over sand is faster than a scalded dog ! If they work together in pairs it eliminates a dozer to help them and is real money saver. It was an amazing sight to see three of them hooked together in a cut while loading. I wish I had camera with in those days. Smartphones were not in existent then.
What's the best way to try and protect the rad.?
Curious what others say… but I would think work early in the day if there is any dew/moisture in the air to keep the sand dust down. Or just enough time after some rain when the ground is damp but not sloppy.
I wouldn't want to run a machine in the really fine beach type sand. It could get blown up really easy.
A fan that unfortunately pulls the air towards the engine. I had good results with a tarp that I could roll from the bottom of the radiator up. I rigged them so I could roll it up and tie it off at whatever height I wanted it. The highest concentration of sand and dirt came in at the bottom of the radiator and gradually decreased farther away from the bottom. It made a huge difference in how much crap I inhaled and how dirty I got. I only used them in the winter. Most all of the dozers I ran had reversible fans.
The original steel rad. was pretty sandblasted. Steel cores were no longer available so I think the new core is copper or whatever is common but I paid extra to have it dipped and coated with solder I believe to make it more durable. The loader has a full belly pan and engine side shields which I think would help limit drawing in sand. Where sandblasting seemed to be the worst is the upper corners of the rad. If dirt and to a lesser extent sand, because sand won't heap as much, falls over the back of the bucket when loading the dump truck, it falls on the hood. It appears that just the small gap on the access door for the oil and rad. fill is enough for fine dirt to get into the engine compartment. Some might fall down the sides and get sucked in the side screens as well. I recall seeing where someone put fine window screen material on the engine side covers to limit how much fine material got sucked in. The fan does blow a lot of volume at full throttle. I think a reverse fan might suck in even more material though the grill, trans. cooler and rad. while cooking me out of the seat. I wonder if material like is used for furnace filters might work as a good filter to keep fine sand and dirt out of the engine compartment? Might not allow enough air flow though and the engine would run hot. Other than a reverse fan curious what others do to try and prevent or lessen sandblasting the rad.?
I’ve put in quite a bit of grader time in recent years fixing ditches and etc. on the farm. Stripping one or two rounds to a central windrow is pretty efficient. It really slows down when you need to shift your windrow 3,4,5 widths away. The number of passes required quickly exceeds infinity.
I drove the grader to the new property and the scarifier worked great for fixing a few big holes in the driveway. Ripped everything up and then bladed some windrows back and forth to smooth it out. Then I packed it by driving on it several times. I couldn't quite drive full speed but could go a little under half throttle in top gear. I played a bit in the field and I think doing 3 or 4 passes and then starting a new windrow will work the best.
Satisfying to get good use from the machine! Rippers/ scarifiers are very useful (imho). That’s good it ‘roaded’ well!
I can live with it not quite going top speed. I have some heavy pieces of H beam I want to bolt on the front to act as counterweight for the ripper. I think it will help with steering.
I would struggle with the sand with the grader for one strip, and get it down to the clay, and then when you have traction on the clay, start cutting into the bank a foot at a time. Using the clay as the base for traction. Limiting how much sand gets agitated.