I have a 6n semi u. Have a duck marsh and dam to build. The marsh has to be level, with a haul of 500 to 1000ft. It's sandy soil. The marsh is about 1/2 mi long. The dam is going to be a pain. Site is boggy and can't cut any dirt next to dam will have to come off hill 500 to 700 ft. This is a one time need of a scraper or pan. Which one and how big. Don't know yardage on dam yet. 500 ft and 15 tall est. Would like something under $12,000 or a lot less!!!??
Yair . . . Okiecat Mate if my maximum haul was under 1500 feet and I owned a 6N I wouldn't consider anything but a scoop (pan) sized to go behind my tractor. Things are different in the US though and, no doubt, some of the fellers on here will see it different. Cheers
Thanks mate, good to hear you, like the accent! That's what I'm thinking too.
For a job like this I would look into renting a pan. One time job really doesn't justify buying unless you will have a future use. On a 6N anything from 10 to 14 yards should work fine. If the ground will stand a bigger pan remember you don't have to fill it full but if things are working well and you can load it it saves trips.
Are the soil conditions going to hold the weight of a pan? How big is the base of the damn you need room to turn around?
I would not go bigger then a Cat No. 60. That is going to be less then 14 yds by a bit. I think you will probably run out of footing before horse power if the going gets rough.
Greg, have you ever tried to load sand with a Cat 60? I would want a larger scraper, 14 yards or so, with a lot more tire on the ground. Fill it to the point the soil will hold it up. Get a scraper with a pretty flat angle on the cutting edge. The older Cat's and other cable scrapers will not have a very flat angle on the cutting edge.
My guess on yardage would be around 12,000, and my concern would be getting a solid pad started given that you have said that it is boggy. A cat and can, or cat and ag pan sure seems like the way to go if you are trying to do this utilizing the 6N alone (and hope you don't get stuck). If it is sandy soil vs sand you may be able to load ok if it is tight. Straight sand would probably not be acceptable as dam fill material anyway. There are a lot of variables here and we could throw thousands of ideas at you, but using the best equipment to get started across the boggy ground will be very important. I assume you will have to excavate a core trench or slot, and you have to consider how that will be done. While I have not run them, I believe the ag pans may offer the least psi/cubic yard hauled as you will be carrying weight on the drawbar vs a front dolly. I know I have only added more questions rather than offer suggestions. I suspect that a conventional cable scraper is out because of the lack of winches on your 6N, and I don't know what cost you will encounter installing the hydraulic valving to run a pan or hydraulic scraper. I might be inclined to have an ag tractor/pan haul material to me and push at least one heavy lift across with the 6N to get you started. It may be less expensive to rent what you need rather than adapting your 6N to try and accomplish the hauling, and just use it for support and to help loading. Hope this helps, and good luck!