Just looking for ideas. Currently I have a Case W26B and a Ford L8000 tandem dump. I have about 5000 yards of well rotted manure I need to move about 500-1000 feet, level off and seed. Would a motor scraper do the job faster and more efficiently than what I have? I could either hire one or buy an older one. My body is dreading the thought of climbing in and out of the loader and dump truck 300+ times. Onsite I can move about 15 yards per load with what I have.
It shouldn't take a good scraper operator more than 1 minute to load a evaluator bowl so on the haul distance at least 8- 10 loads per hour against about 3-4 with a loader and truck but then you still have to spread out the truck loads. To my fuzzy brain the maths are simple.
In my experience pans don’t like slippery surfaces
What do you figure your cost to be with loader and truck. Hire another truck and a driver for your truck ?
Yeah that's the question mark is whether or not you could actually load yourself in that stuff. I'm a fan of scrapers but they need to be on good material where they can get some traction, or get loaded by an excavator I've done that before LOL.
Just get a driver and 1 or 2 more trucks so the loader can keep loading. Rotted manure should be pretty light so you can heap the trucks full without worry. The other thing you might consider being in farm country is hiring some truck mounted manure spreaders (coral cleaners) that can dump and spread at the same time saving you a lot of work. They'd probably carry almost twice the cubic yards. Manure Spreader R2024 - Art's Way Manufacturing Co., Inc. (artsway-ag.com)
Thanks Tones those are the numbers I was looking for, this pile took me 6 years to build so I can either divide the cost of hiring it done by 6 years every 5-6 years and stomach that or put the funds towards equipment that I can put to other uses as well. In my opinion old half beat to death iron when only used for a few weeks a year still pencils out.
The stuff I am working with has already rotted down to half it's original size, looks like nice rich black topsoil so traction shouldn't be a problem. Cost wise everything is paid for so other than fuel and a pail of hydraulic oil every other day, the wear and tear on it and my body are the only other expenses. If I spread it or hire it spreaded I am limited to a few weeks in the spring and fall. If I dedicate 20 or so acres to add 6 inches or so to then I have all summer to get it done.
Welder Dave Not a bad idea if I could find a few more trucks and drivers in the area. This whole exercise started when I had enough of writing an ugly cheque to the corral cleaners every year if I could actually get them out here when needed. Last time I had them out it was something like $100 hour per truck x 3 trucks for 2 days plus $300 per hour for the loader and I had to supply the diesel. I am not complaining people need to make a living and pay for equipment. Me I have the time so if I can save a few dollars and end up with equipment I can use for other things then it is a win win for me. I have been in the market for a used tandem spreader for a while now then got to thinking about the option of a scraper instead which brought me to this question today.
You could also sell the rotted manure. It can bring more than topsoil ($100+/tandem load). People love it for their gardens.
I put a few loads on our garden every year and yes it is great stuff, I have given a few loads to neighbor's as well but being that we are about an hour from the nearest city of any size there's not much of a local market for it. It will grow some real nice hay, this is why the field right next to it is my intended target.
Old machines have a tendency to break down ,so make sure parts are available.
We clean ponds out haul and spread the mud out in fields with 621 scrapers. Load them with trackhoe. Just start farthest away from your pile or pond and work your way back incase your material gets slick and spread downhill if possible. If we can do slimy pond mud that way I'm sure can do your manure pile also. My opinion of running dump trucks off road isn't great. Slow and you have to still spread the material. Plus a dump truck driver never dumps in the correct spot.
I’ve figured out how to get them to dump where you want it every time I tell them “I don’t care where you dump but whatever you do don’t dump it here “ ,when I come back guess where it’s at ,perfect
Why do you only get a few weeks in the spring and fall? Not allowed to spread on frozen ground at all? even composted? Do you own/operate the crop ground to spread it on? The P and K must be worth something, and I don't think you'd be allowed to spread it six inches deep here. I can't imagine a scraper would be the way to go. Even being composted and dry, it's going to be fluffy and soft and easy to sink into. That's a lot to spread, but maybe you need to hire a few locals with big tractor drawn manure spreaders and you load them. Or buy a decent sized tractor or truck spreader and plan to do two years worth every year for the next six years until you get caught up. If it's the steps that kill you, build a platform and park both the loader and the truck or tractor next to the platform. Nice gentle slope of compost from one door to the other.
This is where a antique cross gate belly dump comes in handy. JMO
I would think it's worth a coral cleaning company's time just sending a couple manure spreader trucks that you load. They will drastically speed the job up.
Paddle wheel scraper bang that right out.
Yes I own the land I want it spread on. It's a hayfield adjacent to the stockpile. Oct - May typically either frozen solid or too sloppy to do anything. May - Cows and calves are on the field until pasture is ready. June - July hay is growing. August - I am cutting, baling and hauling bales off the field. September - If I am not off baling or hauling straw and greenfeed I have some time for spreading. I am still looking for a decent sized spreader. I started to entertain the thought of using a scraper as I could move and level off the pile in the summertime then re-seed the area the following spring. I have hauled many loads to cover over areas too rocky to do much else with and it sure does a nice job of improving productivity. Just find it is a very slow process, load, haul and dump 20 loads, come back with loader to level off, come back with cultivator, harrows etc. In reality the steps getting in and out of the equipment won't kill me, we just tend to whine more the older we get.
Manure spreader and loader. We stockpile manure on the edge of different fields every summer with a dump truck. After harvest, we take the spreader (large Meyer Industrial) and our Komatsu WA-180 loader and spend a day or two spreading. We have between 1000 to 1,500 cubic yards to deal with between different fields that we stockpiled. The loader handles the stockpile area well, even if it gets slick and rained on. After the spreader is done, we're done. No leveling, no grading, etc. We'll send a guy out with a disc after all fields are spread to incorporate it in to the soil. Also, this is usually done as a one man show as we only have one spreader, and it doesn't save enough time to pay for a dedicated loader operator in this situation. Even with 5000 yards of manure, a loader and spreader would be hard to beat.
More than one spreader would probably justify having a separate loader operator.
How's your pile set? A tractor pulled might work.... might also work for spreading as thick as you had planned if loaded with something else. Personally I'd bump the idea of making a trade for some with a local gravel pit/topsoil place. (Almost all do both around here.) If not to get some hauling on your field then to get a product you need.
I tried loading the cleanout from a lagoon with a paddle wagon once. I ended up pushing the scraper with a loader backhoe to get it to load. It wasn't very wet, just damp clay was slick. The other problem with a scraper is they are heavy pigs. Great for areas where you want compaction, terrible for areas where you want to grow crops or hay. I really think you would be better off with a truck mounted manure spreader.
Some of the big dairies in the Southern part of Idaho sell their composted manure. Massive operations, selling that stuff everywhere. I bet they make more selling rotted manure than they do selling milk.
These would work best.I ran these during the great meltdown of 2009-11.20 yd loads spread as thick or thin as you want by adjusting rpm and ground speed.
Same boxes we've been running for the past 6 years except ours is a pull behind unit that need a 160hp+ tractor to handle it when full. Nice looking pair of trucks.
I think the OP knows the best solution but doesn't want to pay for it. There are machines made specifically for what he wants to do.
Welder Dave you are 100% correct on your assumption, most of the truck mounted units out there are going for 60-90k which is not unreasonable if you are going to use it full time but I am not. One sold a couple of weeks ago at auction for 41k which is getting closer to what pencils out for my operation. I don't mind older junk and I do all my own repairs. If I wait long enough something will come up. When I had he thought of going with a scraper instead all you fine gentlemen pointed out the pro's and con's of the idea. I appreciate the people on this site who are willing to answer what may sometimes sound like stupid questions from those of us that are not in the industry.
Why can't you talk to coral cleaners about renting a truck or 2 and establishing a time to do it? It will be the most efficient and practical way to do the job.
Have you a suitable tractor to drive a spreader ? For the distance ,depending on how rough the terrain is , would it take much longer to use the loader only fitted with a big dung fork or hi cube bucket ? No machine hopping and level as you go .
A 7 hour drive to bring this home yesterday, now the fun begins.
Changed out 20 feet of rotten air lines. A good neighbor says he has some extra paddles for the the beaters for me. Everything else seems to be working the way it should. 6 cylinder turbo with intercooler, aftercooler and tip turbine the Mack cool power system. Son says I should paint it the mad max colors.
That should be the ticket for you.
Is it just a tandem dump?
oarwhat it has a 17 ft manure spreader mounted on back, all hydraulic drive off a pump driven off the engine crank.
That will do it!!