Hey guys, thought I'd share a few photos of my work here in Tejas. For a little background, after owning a concrete company in SoCal for a long time with way too many employees, I knew that's not what I wanted to do here. I ran skip loaders and backhoes as my company needed and worked for an excavating company in the mid-seventies, so taking it up on a smaller scale was a no-brainer. Now I work by myself 99.9% of the time and really enjoy what I do. I typically work in rural areas for landowners and specialize in gravel driveways and parking lots, drainage grading and culvert installations. I own a tractor and CTL, and run the tractor whenever possible and feasible since it's inexpensive to run. Everything else I need gets rented. This little project involved cleaning things up, drainage grading and spreading topsoil. There are a ton of city folks moving to the country, which is right up my alley.
I'm fortunate that I get to travel the backroads to work most days. I hear the traffic reports on the radio and think...Man I'm glad I don't have to deal with that! This job needed a bit of drainage grading, a couple of culvert pipes and then several truck and pup loads of 3/4"-minus topping.
That is some sharp, clean looking work. The driveway is so good it almost looks like exposed aggregate concrete. There is nothing wrong with stayin small. Lot less headaches for sure.
Thanks! Gravel work will never look as good as it does when I load up for the day, so I try to make it as perfect as I can.
You nailed it for sure. I am impressed!
Nice pics to have in your portfolio, along with the recommendation of your client(s) should keep you very busy.
Thank you! Yeah, I stay pretty busy. I was eleven weeks out a couple months ago. That's a bit too far for my liking. Here's a job from before the rains started this year. The owner tried to use his guy with "several years of backhoe experience" to set three modular cattle guards for his business entrance. After a full week of rental, only one section was in and it was out of level over 8" in 10'. In the guy's defense, he just moved here from out of state and had never worked in black clay. You can cut to grade on this stuff, then roll compact it and it looks like moguls on a ski slope. I brought out my stepson to rattle chains on this one. We took it down a foot, laid in #57's and got everything straightened out. I lived in the area for a year and always wondered what the heck they did in the building. No signs for any hints. The owner is a retired world class roadracer that now buys motorcycles and ships them to buyers all over the world. There had to be a hundred bikes getting ready to be shipped out while we were there.
Enjoyed seeing your photos. Very nice work. Isn't it nice to find there are still people who will pay you to do quality work. Of course, as you point out, often it is after they tried the cheap route. I am just down the road from you in Denton. Jeff
You can tell the work of a professional from a wanna be. Material edges nice and straight. Material not slopped all around. Nice job.
How about some info on the black clay? You intrigued me with your comment.
The gravel driveway really looks sweet nice work
Everything looks great!! :thumbsup
i have family in pilot point, ALOT of money there now barely recognize the area anymore.
Nice work JNB! The cattle guard came out sharp.
Very impressive work, its no wonder your staying busy. Well done.
Great looking finish on that gravel road and that final grade looks great too. All good stuff. I'd have to get out of there quick in order to not see it get messed up. Not sure what a cattle guard is but man wouldn't a dog or animal break a leg in that grate. Looks like a huge drain to me. I don't know, that's new to me. Ouch.
Yair . . . As I say this is one of the joys of this forum . . . we call them "grid's" and (to me) it is fascinating to think that they are unfamiliar to Fastdirt There are hundreds of thousands of them throughout Australia even on major highways although on some of the state border crossings they just paint them on like this . . . For installation on normal tracks these days they are available like this . . . . Cheers.
Thanks to all you guys for the comments and thanks for looking! We are in the middle of the natural gas rich Barnett Shale. At my place I've been down 20' and have never seen a pebble. An eight mile down the road I dug a hole for my father in law and hit a shale slab at five feet or so. It's like that all over his 5 acres. It looks like stamped, colored concrete. Pretty weird. When the clay is moist it's a pain to compact with a tire equipped machine...the moguls I spoke about show up. This time of year I call it popcorn clay. Cracks are showing up everywhere. When we were in the middle of a drought, I stuck a tape measure in one over 10' deep. It grades ok dry, but if there's any moisture underneath it'll bring chucks up from below. Crazy stuff. Yeah, there are a lot of landowners selling off plots and city folks are buying it up like candy. It's good for business. I'll move out farther if I have to for space! Ha! Since hardly anyone wants to pay for vibratory compacting, I wheel roll it then backdrag on the way out to cover my tracks and I'm out of there. I don't want to be there the first time they drive off the edges or cut the corners. Like Scrub mentioned...cattle guards are all over here too. They work for the most part, but I've seen frisky steers jump over them a few times. Funny thing is that the property owner put the cattle guards in to keep his dogs out of the road. When I was leaving I watched both of them walk across like it wasn't even there.
Here are some precast end sets for a couple of new homes. 30' culvert pipes on my 25' trailer. We're legal 5' over here with flags.
While we were setting the second set when the well guys showed up...a week early. They tried to cross the bar ditch with the drilling rig. Hard to tell from the pic, but the ditch is 4' deep off the road. The brains (boss) came to save the day. (clears throat)...no chains to be seen!
Nice work you were doing, those are some nice pics. Wow that Case, are those LT tires on the front?
Thank you. Yep, those are LT's. At least he has a license plate!
JNB, the driveway looks great. The backhoe/trailer deal did steel the show:OMG
Very impressed with the work pics. Agreed the loader/backhoe is comical.
That driveway looks really good!! Is that actually how that backhoe showed up? With the boom up and everything?
Yep. Gotta keep the bucket up in the air so folks don't run into it. The guy had the bucket curled around the front of the trailer and that's it for holding it on.
I'm still confused on the cattle guards but I am going to google to learn. I am only as smart as google. I am really speechless about the wild wild West backhoe transport.
Backhoe transport made simple: Only in Texas!
Nice :thumbsup Here's some pics from this week. This driveway was pitched toward the garage a lot. I intended to regrade and expand the gravel further down the hill. I ordered a semi load of base and a load of rock topping. The outside edge was over 12" thick. I decided to strip it all and start over. There was plenty of base for regrading and the expansion. Cut a swale to pickup runoff from the hill and got the base all straightened out. 106* and pretty dusty. Some days you're the bug.
You can see my topping stone on the street between the trees. 3/4" minus limestone topping from my spot in the shade. Not a very good pic, but at this point I was plenty tired of melting in my boots.
Today's job. The homeowner plans to have me spread topsoil in the future, but the builder's guy cut the drainage at the house 8" lower than the elevation at the bar-ditch at the street. I figured I'd straighten things out while I waited for trucks and save myself some grief if it rains. Truck drivers...
A few more. I broke two steel lugs on the Case last Friday. New tracks and rear idlers should be here tomorrow.
Are you using Frank Bartel Trucking as your hauler? Those look like Bartel trucks. Jeff
Yep, I use Bartel the most since they have a ton of trucks and they've always taken good care of me. I also have five other haulers I use depending on the job.
Those edges though!!! Beautiful work. Do the cattle guards fill up with water during rains?
Nedly - Thank you! Yes, if the cattle guard isn't setup with some type of drainage it will fill up with water. I offered to put in pipe for the one in the previous post, but the property owner planned on installing a sump pump. This is a more typical setup that has openings on both ends for drainage. I placed this cattle guard for a gas patch location running through private property. Here's another cattle guard setup. I clean this one out for the landowner every couple of years. In the lower right hand corner you can just make out the drainage pipe.
I still cannot get over how perfect you keep your edges. Keep the pics coming.
LC - It's the box blade that makes the nice edges possible. I grew up on skip loaders (landscape tractors) and never really got into the skid steer thing when it got popular. I can't pick things up with my feet and I don't walk on my hands, so I always thought the foot control deal was dumb. A lot of my work involves drainage problems and this one was no different. With no ditches on the road sides, the natural drainage runs just inside the properties and perfectly inline with a very shallow water main. I moved the drainage path and cut swales to redirect runoff to new culvert pipes under the built-up driveway. For all the room out in the country, I've always thought it's pretty strange that due to narrow roads, deep ditches or trees there's often not enough room to get truck and pups or end / bottom dumps into a lot of the jobs.
Sixty nine tons of base and a semi load of limestone topping to finish it off. Got a track and rear idler delivery in today. Fastdirt made the referral and Eric from Rubbertrax set me up with a great deal! :thumbsup
We're seeing more and more of these 2 acre homesites sprout as the farmers and ranchers die off. Most of the kids don't want to farm or ranch, so the acreage gets split up and sold. I had worked for the homeowner before, cutting a swale and spreading gravel for around his new shop. This trip the owner wanted to correct the drainage and keep the mesquite trees. The back area had a few drainage berms left over that steered runoff back towards the back of the home. As thick as the bermuda grass is it'll pop right back up with a little rain.
A opinion question for you: How would a extremely conservative Yankee ( from NJ) with a D8K, a D4G, a 938G, a 977L, a 321C, a Raygo 84" roller and 3-Loader/Backhoes do if he moved to your piece of Texas to relocate his contracting business?
RB- I think you'd do quite well. Keep in mind that although there's a lot of work here, there's also a lot of equipment. There are a ton of guys doing work for cheap too. I feel blessed to have found a niche. Bumpsteer - I think some of the return to farming has to do with it being very lucrative to grow corn for ethanol. I have a relative in Iowa that is making a killing growing corn. He busts his tail and works every angle possible. Not my cup of tea, but it works for him.
Got the tracks and new rear idlers on yesterday morning before it got too hot. I've always taken tracks off and put them back on using 4x4 cribbing two high. 'Course that was with old tracks and rear idlers. After I got the new track off I realized that I didn't have enough clearance under the new rear idler to get the new (thicker) track on. For once I was glad to be working on gravel. I dug out a hole to get the first track on. For the second track I drove the machine up onto a couple of 4x4's and set the cribbing three high. Plenty of clearance to get under the idler.
Kudos! That hay spear is the ticket to replacing rubber tracks.:thumbsup Before I sold my mini I would drop the bucket and use the thumb rolled all the way out to place the track. The two tines of the thumb could be used to lift and push the track into place. Never thought about a hay spear, I bet it works very well in lifting and placing the track over the sprocket.
The hay fork worked ok....but note to self. Don't leave your forks on the job when you plan on swapping tracks over the weekend! :Banghead
On another note...and one of the things that makes hanging out at HEF so cool. My wife was on FB today and gets a messenger call on her cell from Hock (hmearth). I'm kicking back relaxing on a Sunday afternoon and he's on his way to the job Monday morning in Australia. We talk shop, family and tons of other stuff. Like I said...
I like your little helper on the track job
No one is going to steal that track before Dad gets it on his machine! Those little ones are the meanest ones around! As long as he doesn't pull the trick my dad's dog did one time. Dad was changing the tires on his car and when he went to put the lug nuts back on found out the "Butch" had been hiding them! Took about an hour to find them!
JNB, I really really really hope those tracks work out for you because I now feel liable and responsible. There is nothing like new tracks for a couple days then it hurts seeing new cuts and gashes. I'm glad it worked out so far and I have seen your appreciation and I appreciate it. You're right this place is great. Best place I've come across. I like your saying... There is a lot of work out there but there is a lot of equipment out there. Makes think every time I want to grow.
LC & KS - Yeah, that little pup is all over it, that's for sure! While I was lining up one of the rear idlers and shims with sweat running in my eyes she was licking my hand and (of course) it was ticking me off. But, she's too darn cute to punt across the yard! I think her name is Sis, but my boy keeps changing it so maybe not. :beatsme Fastdirt - No worries! My feeling is that the aftermarket tracks are all about the same, although these tracks do look beefier than some I've seen. Eric from Rubbertrax was great to work with and that's what counts most. Remember...these tracks are on a Case. At the rate things are going with it they may just outlast the machine! .....wait....
Here's a backyard pond fill-in. The property is at the low end of a subdivision. They dug out all of the clay for the dam wall and the soil below was too sandy for the pond to hold water, so it became more of an eyesore than anything. At over 10' deep, the overflow washout had become a hazard for their kids. Before I started the homeowner's tree guys did me a favor and cut all of the trees off flush with the ground. The day I started the job I had a track problem, so while I was waiting for the shipment I spruced up their driveway.
Cutting the new runoff pathway. With rain chances that night I stockpiled and focused on getting the swale and banks rolled in nice and tight. In true Case fashion it broke with a couple hours left on the job.
Once again...the tractor had to finish the job. Man...this is getting old. I'm a sucker for old bottles.
That turned out great. You could not ask for anything better than that. How long did it take you to do the whole job?
It took a little less than 2-1/2 days LC. Separating the good from the bad (and stockpiling the good) turned out to be a lucky deal once the ctl sprung a leak. The tractor could have ripped the hard clay, but it would have been one heck of a fight and taken quite a bit of time since it was full of roots as well. Spreading out of the pile was a lot easier. While I was finishing things up the homeowner was busy broadcasting grass seed and setting up a couple sprinkler towers.
That turned out great, nice job. Your Case might be my T250's cousin..
I can see why they were seeding it before you left. It did not need anything else done to it. 2.5 days is pretty quick to move a lot of dirt with the skidsteer and tractor. If you run out of work down there we can sub some jobs to you
CM - If Case was supplying horses to the US Calvary back in the day, we would have lost the West. LC - Sounds fine to me, but I'm running your 90! :cool2
I had to endure this brutal commute for a couple of days this week. Then 2.5 miles down a private access road to a 125 acre getaway. The job was to improve two washed out areas on their ATV trail, hog out small catch basins and install owner provided culverts. The hills were a lot steeper than the photos show. When I scouted it out with the landowner we spent a lot of time dragging the skid plates on his Polaris Ranger. The owner had a ctl there for a year or so. He thought it was a 90hp Kubota, but the size on the broken track looks to be for a T200 size machine.
A few more.
And a few more. The first washout was a quarter mile from the parking area and the second one about a half mile. I touched up a lot of the trail just to save my back.
I've done a few jobs like that. Sure is peaceful out there. Looking good, now it's time get back on the Ranger and test it out at speed. I saw those bottles you posted. Looks like my collection. I've done a few searches and there are some valuable ones to be found. There is a "story" of a guy who found one will operating that was worth several thousand $$$$'s... Could be true, could be a tale but it's enough to get me interested.
How's this for expansive soil? The crack is one of many in my pasture and that's my wife's size 6 in the pic. Who says men can't multitask? I picked up a few rolls of coastal bermuda from the job I was on today and dropped off pipe for tomorrow's job. Momma happy= Daddy happy!
For some reason the heat / humidity was really bothering me this week, so I didn't take the time to take many pics and just hustled to get the jobs done and get home. This is the third driveway in a row that I've done on this road. When the ditches were excavated they left a hump at the top of the slope so the driveways are the drainage path. This is not how I wanted to start my day. On a one day job I always like a good hour to regrade before I see my first truck. It seems my hauler is training a new dispatcher and the first truck was there when I arrived a 7AM. And...before I could stop the driver, I saw that the topping rock arrived on the first load. With the only spot to dump being the street, I had to shuttle the 26 ton load to the back to get it out of the way so I could grade and add a load of base.
Here's a regrade of my wife's dirt clod arena. She had been dragging the box blade around to knock down the weeds, but the cracks were getting pretty wide so I dug it out a bit with the Case yesterday afternoon. We're going to be moving further out before next summer, so no sand in this one! This is one of the "black holes" beneath the cracked areas. You can be grading along and see the ground move out in front of the bucket, then a big chunk of clay just rolls right up. Weird.
Don't feel bad about the trucks, many a day has been ruined by trucks either showing up at the wrong time, not at all or doing whatever they feel like. The driveway sure did turn out good though.
This particular hauler has been pretty good about getting what I need, when I need it. But, every once in awhile they do shove a wrench in the works. There are a few other haulers I use, but these guys have truck and pups, end dumps and belly dumps, and a bunch of them too. It's hard to beat the one call versatility.
A bit of grading and gravel for parking and access to the customer's new shed.
Forty-six tons of road base in and roll compacted. Poor little copperhead got caught up in the action. It didn't both me too much. Finished it off with a 10-wheeler load of crushed limestone.
I finally got to finish this project for my tree service customer. Since the last time I was there they purchased an adjoining property and needed access through the overgrown right of way and drainage area. This line was pretty easy to locate. It looks nice and smooth, but it was too spongy to walk on. Spread the mulch and chip piles that were in my way every time I was there before.
Finished the job off by placing a loop around the raised mulch bed with 96 tons of road base.
Nice clean work JNB!:drinkup I'm a stickler for straight, neat lines on a gravel drive, well done.
Hows the Case been treating you lately?
Thanks CM! The Case has been working fine. I guess if you through enough money at anything it'll work. I do need a new joystick since I have no auxiliary hydraulic functions at all now in the right stick. It's been going out for awhile. I also have an annoying code that pops up from time to time indicating a hydraulic filter restriction. The dealer says it's a bad sensor and a known problem.
Damn that's a big copperhead!
Funny, my wife thought it was pretty big when she saw the photo. It was actually only about 12" long. It looks fat 'cuz I flattened it.
There is so much I could do with that quote but this is a G rated Forum.:angel
Looking good. You do keep that gravel in line and it looks good. Cool truck shots. That is so wild with pup trailers and dumping them. If it wasn't for the internet I wouldn't know those exist. How much can one truck bring? Case is looking good. Guess the snakes are out in March...great.
You got a good laugh out of me and the wife with that one CM! The truck and pup combo is legal here at 23-24 tons depending on the rig. Here's a nice easy job from today replacing a crushed culvert pipe. The pup has already dumped and the truck is dumping over the tongue. It's not the most efficient way to dump, but we don't have too many tri's or quad's around here. It's better than laying 24 tons out of an end dump all in the street and 10-wheeler loads are expensive.
I showed my comment to my wife and she died laughing. Now back to the paying gigs. Those dumps with pups are interesting, we don't have that combo around here. Our tri's can legally carry 24-25 tons depending on the truck. What's a load of rock like that run? I pay $450-550 average on a 25 ton load of #57's or 3/4 crush. It can be over $600 depending on location. What caused the culvert to collapse?
I'm not sure, but the culvert looks like a D10 was working in the area. I have one company with tri's that can haul 20 tons, but that's about it. They're cheap haulers but I don't use them much since they only like to haul out of one pit and that pit's material sucks big time. My usual hauler averages $480 for 1.5" roadbase and 23-24 ton loads. Some material/locations are cheaper and some a little more. There used to be a nice 3/4"-minus utility rock that I used for topping, but the owner died and his kids are mixing in the junk material to get rid of it. On the last job photos with the storage shed my driver "snuck" a load of rock from their concrete plant to see if I liked it. I got a price on the rock today so I'll be using it for topping in the future.
Great thread! You do some awesome work for having some fairly basic equipment. Keep the pics coming!
Very interesting to me. In all my years I've only used tandem trucks for gravel. Thanks for sharing. I have to assume the pup haulers ask you about access and room to dump when you place the order. Edit: Had a second thought..... In a narrow limited space can they dump the pup out, then pull out and park the pup on the street. Then unhook the pup trailer and then back the truck in alone to dump. Seems possible.
Thank you and welcome to HEF! :usa Actually, the dispatcher always asks me if they can send an end dump. I work mostly rural, and there are a lot of tight entrances where nothing with a trailer will fit (including mine), so I shuttle loads in from the entrance quite a bit. The worst is when I have a job with plenty of room and pretty grass on each side. If the belly dumps are busy they try to send me end dumps(they can spread a little between the lines), but it's not always possible. Nothing worse than spreading out material dumped out of the truck in a straight line over the tongue of the pup. Unhook the trailer??? C'mon now, we are talking about truck drivers here. What I'd really like to see are a few old transfer rigs show up around here from Cali. That'd be sweet!
That is a good looking culvert, it does look like a D10 was working in the area . Man I would hate to see some of the tri-axle drivers in our area try to back a pup, they can barely back a straight truck. Still impressed with your work, it is always perfect!
Thanks LC! From time to time my wife asks "What ever happened to that job you looked at (insert location?)" I always tell her that you never know what's going on with folks and that sometimes they won't be ready to actually get a project done until sometime in the future. This is one of those jobs. I received a "go" call on this project one year to the date from giving them a proposal. The slope above the driveway had slipped over the years and covered up the drainage swale, moving it onto the driveway. The center curve in the swale was also too sharp and moved any runoff contained at the bank back onto the driveway. Sorry, but that tree has to go! There are over 200 trees on the property, so saving this one wasn't a priority (for me anyway.)
I had asked the homeowner to leave the tree at the corner so I would have leverage to remove the stump, but I guess that sometime during the year he got tired of looking at it. One of grade 8 bolts couldn't take the massive pressure of the mighty CASE. Prepwork for the new driveway done. It's raining, so I'm hoping to get it in tomorrow.
Yeah, they're always so proud, "I did the hard work for you, I cut the trees down to 2" above the ground, now all you've got to do is dig the stumps and pile the trees!"
You got that right! Finished pics. The driveway is a little steeper than the pics show.
This has me a bit concerned. At 300 hrs. both tracks are developing splits at the seams.
Hi John yeh I have the same problem it's from pushing out heavy loads (I think) that's what I come to after my 4th set tracks in 3500 hrs of running where the real concern is inside the track where the carrier rollers run when it starts destroying itself there and chopping out start worring about the life of the track as you know 90% of my work is on rock and I put a new set of drb tracks on last week as they chopped out where the carrier roller runs I can get some picks of the tracks when I'm in the yard next
Yair . . . Hey fellers . . . what's the reason for those strange long hitches on those little trailers? Cheers.
Good to hear from you Hock. I think you're on to something there. Looking forward to the pics. It's a combination of weight spread for bridges and the ability to jack-knife over the tongue and dump both loads into a pile. Pup trailers hold about 10-11 tons, so a truck and pup combo can deliver the same amount of material as a semi end dump or bottom dump in one trip. With the pup trailer disconnected, the driver can utilize the truck for smaller deliveries or tighter areas.
Another top notch job JNB. It really does not look like the same driveway anymore. The old 2 foot above the ground deal never really works that great, maybe if it was 10 feet above the ground it would work better
Yair. . . Gotcha JNB. I think the must be the main factor as that extreme length is not needed to dump over the hitch. Those "pup" trailers were called "pigs" in Australia and were used back in the late 'sixties and 'seventies in up to four axle configuration. The regulations must have changed as you seldom see them now (around here anyway) and the standard gravel setup is a body and three axle dog . . . where some of the blokes can put them has to be seen to be believed. Cheers.
JNB that split on the left looks like it's going down the factory seam. What kind of warranty do you have on those?
Warranty is 1000hrs. We'll see how good they are at backing it up.
We've been in a never ending rain cycle lately, so not much to post as far as work goes. My wife snapped pics of this track loader while we were driving south of Decatur yesterday. It's normally a hay field. We're not flooded as bad as the Houston area, but with another storm rolling through last night and yet another expected tonight, it's getting old.
WOW ! That some heavy duty rain fall JNB ....Thanks for sharing and my prays go out to all of the good people in the great state of Texas effected by this terrible weather... Farmer
Very nice grading work!! Im also a sucker for nice clean gravel lines..also hope you dont get flooded out and prayers for those who do
Thanks guys. Got a culvert installed last week in between rain showers. Crossing my fingers that I can finally get out tomorrow to get at least one day in this week. With landowners getting older, quite a bit of grazing land is being sold in 10-20 (or more) acre lots everywhere around here. I'll never understand the kids not wanting to continue the tradition. My dad was a postman. I would have been thrilled if he had owned a nice chunk of property that I could take over. The backfill came from one of the drainage terraces. With no cross fences and cattle still grazing, I chose to dump it over the fence instead of cutting and splicing it back together.
Nice work JNB...Looks great man ! .I took over my farm from family. They were dairymen their whole lives, we live on what is referred too as a century farm, passed down through the years and held within the same family name for more than a century. I own and actively farm over 1000 acres....would not give that amount of land up for anything...I don't have to worry about an unruly neighbor either since I am the neighborhood and then some....keep up the good work my friend and stay dry down there...
Good man PA! I love to hear those stories. Up until high school I lived in Iowa and stayed out at my uncle's farm every chance I got. He was my favorite uncle and in my young mind he was the coolest guy alive. My two cousins worked the place with their dad, and I guess I took it for granted that they would take it over when he couldn't. One became an architect and the other a teacher. Nothing wrong with that, but I always thought that they bailed on him. A few years later, my uncle ended up (reluctantly) selling to a co-op and moving to town. He didn't last long after that. It's like the party was over so might as well turn out the lights.
Are bottom dump trailers used in your area?
Yes, my hauler has bottom dumps and I do use them on longer roadways or parking lots. The biggest problem here are the narrow country roads with deep bar ditches on either side. That makes access pretty tough a majority of the time. I built a long driveway winding through the trees a couple years ago and had bottom dumps, end dumps and truck and pup combos running all at the same time. Forty five loads spread in three days with my tractor. With no exit available at the other end and placing over geo, it was a bit hectic. I thought I had some better photos but I was a little busy at the time. This one will have to suffice.
JNB, I noticed in some of the photos you installed what looked like precast cattle guard benches. If so can you say were you got them? Looks like you do good work. I'm in NE TX also. It's hard to find folks that do really good work, I bet you stay plenty busy.
The landowner already had them, but I'm pretty sure that they got the guards and precast pieces from these guys http://www.unitliner.com/cattle_guards.html . If I were to install another one I'd elongate the holes so there would be adjustment in both directions. As they come there's only adjustments one way.
Hmmm...so what's up here?
I'm guessing one of those orange things is about to jump up on your trailer?
Trade in?
Until it's on my trailer it didn't happen...
Great thread JNB. Love seeing guys take pride in what they do. I'd rather have one of your gravel drives than some of the concrete ones I've seen! Lol Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Thanks Dmax! I appreciate it.
See ya! Well, hello there.
JNB, What is the black material under the gravel in the pic from 4/21/16?
Legdoc it's geotech fabric. JNB is CNH free now?
Thanks for sharing JNB, I am a new skid steer owner and learning everyday what can be done with them...your shared work really helps me understand what I could be doing, But... I need to increase my seat time. :notworthy
You got yourself a new machine JNB ? So Happy to hear you finally were able to move away from the nightmare that was The CASE.....great thread my friend...
Congrats JNB! Did you get all three? Welcome to the Forums Pop Archer!:drinkup
Nice let us know how you like it. I have a Case 450 and keep thinking about trading for a TV 380 Case or the SVL 90 Kubota. I've been pretty rough on my old Case and have had very few issues. We have a great Kubota dealer here and I already have a M9960 so kinda lean towards the Kubota. Around here we see more Kubotas than anything else.
I don't know how to multi-quote, so I'll just say that the Case is history and I'm happy to be moving on. That thing was like a blind date with Lorena Bobbitt. Ran out of time today, but I'll have more info and pics of the new SVL90-2 after I pick it up tomorrow.
I can hire a priest to do a "pre delivery" exorcism for you just to be on the safe side. I ll do it on my own nickel too ..... Congrats on the New machine and I wish you the very best of luck with it in the most sincerest way my friend !
Click the little icon to the right of "Reply with Quote". Click all the posts you want to quote and on the last one hit "Reply with Quote". All the posts you've checked will be quoted.
That one is easy to miss! It's the one circled in red below: And if you want to just quote part of a long message you can highlight and then delete the stuff you don't want to make it easier to know what you are referring to in your message. Just make sure you leave any thing inside the brackets[ xxxxx ].
Ha! Now that would have gotten some attention at the dealership. Thanks CM, got it. Well yeah...it's easy when you know how. Thanks for the assistance!
It's official now, I picked up the new machine this morning and I put a few hours on it. This was the last SVL90-2 around this area in the system. No high flow, which is just fine with me. I haven't needed it in three years or so. I would've liked to have it for resale, but not enough to go with an unfamiliar dealer to get it or pay the extra $8k for a first-year SVL95.
that's a sweet machine. id like to get one in the next couple of years. congrats
That is one beutiful machine JNB ! Congrats ! If anyone in this world desires a brand new machines, it would be you. Now get to work , no time for forums anymore, you have payments to make......ha ha
Nothing like putting a new machine to work for the first time. I'm with you JNB, I steer away from first year production models. Add a $8K increase and it's a no brainer. I hope it serves you well.
Congrats. I think you will like it! I wish you the best of luck with it as well!
I got and Svl 90 last summer really like the machine. It was the last one the dealer had that doesn't use DEF. One less thing to worry about, it is a dirt moving son of a gun. Seems to pick up a pretty heavy load and handle it well.
Thanks, I think it's pretty sweet too. It was either this machine or a Tak, but I already had a great relationship with the Kubota dealer. It made my decision pretty simple. Thanks buddy! Yeah, I may have to go after jobs further than twenty minutes from the house now. Thanks CM! I've been burned twice with first year models in the past. I have a pretty thick skull, but I eventually learned from those negative experiences and won't let it happen again. Thanks LC! You know I've been wanting one for awhile. The additional weight handling over my Case was one of the draws. I mostly move dirt, but also set quite a few precast culvert safety ends. The Case was sketchy with the 18" 6:1's on anything but flat ground. I've rented the SVL90 in the past to set the 24" ends and it handles them easily.
Here's the second time in the last month I had to take the flatbed to the shop. Actually the day after I picked it up from the first time. The first time it had a no start when warm and limp mode / shut down because of a faulty fuel control actuator...or so we thought. First day back, hooked it up to the trailer/machine and it didn't make it to the job before it went into limp mode and shut off again. Got it started and it blew an injector and filled the crankcase full of fuel. So yesterday it's "fixed", and the guy waits for me at the shop after closing so I can pick it up. I make it less than 5 miles and the limp mode / shut down deal starts all over again. Of course the shop is closed and everyone has gone home. I finally got it started and limped it back to the shop. The shop is reputed to be one of the best Cummins shops in Texas and now it's back there for the third time. I'm steamed to say the least.
Iron Planet has auctions every week, I'd put that Dodge in the line up. There is nothing more frustrating that having a truck or piece of equipment that you can't depend on. Bobcat comes to my mind.
Wait a second here, I must have been livin under a rock or something....When did "CASE" start building trucks ? He he he.. Couldn't resist JNB... Man you have some poor luck. Time to send it down the road before it nickels and dimes you to death...I have been running the Duramax/Allison equipped trucks the last few years with very good luck but that's me and I know just as well as the next guy that no matter who makes it, they all have the strong and weak points....good luck my friend. Maybe third times a charm.
Yeah, it's kinda weird...It's my first Dodge and I fully expected the truck to fall apart around the Cummins. Seems it's going the other way around. I was always a Ford guy, but they put out such junk for so many years following the 7.3 that I just don't know now.
Which diesel repair shop are you using? Just curious, since I am just down the road a few miles from you.
It's Texas Diesel Power in Weatherford. I was originally going to take it to some guys in Lewisville, but the freeway work makes anything in town a mess. A few Saturdays ago it took me over an hour to go from the Krum area to Bill Utter for parts.
Yes, I have heard that place in Weatherford is pretty good, as is the one in Lewisville. Have you tried Delka's Repair here in Denton? Lyle Delka has always done a good job for me. I have used his shop on several diesel pickups, Bobcat loader, and Cat equipment repairs. His shop is east of town on Collins Road, just off Fishtrap Rd. The place is always busy, and full of diesel pickups. Jeff
Thanks for the referral Jeff, I'll get them in my phone. One of the guys that's no longer at Kubota told me about a shop over that way a couple of years ago. I couldn't remember where it was or the name, but that's it. I sure wish folks around here would advertise so they could be found by more than word of mouth!
JNB is the Dodge a 6.7 or 5.9? I've had really good luck out of my Dodges but did have to replace a turbo on the flatbed back in December. My nieghbor is having similar issues as you with his and they told him the computer is going out. Something with the fuel logic.
It's a 5.9. Funny, my wife was talking to her farrier and he had the same problem with his truck. He was in Kansas at the time and the dealer traced it down to the ignition switch of all things. So my wife starts searching it out and found an article that outlines a ton of problems associated with the switch... shut-downs, no starts, check engine light, limp mode and rail pressure codes among other things. Who knows?
I'm sure they will get it figured out, even some of the best shops have trouble sometimes. A friend of mine has 20+ years experience with the Dodge/Cummins and has had his own shop for about 12 years now. He says he still gets stumped and some issues are a little tricky. I wouldn't sell it unless you plan on buying a brand new one to replace it, at least you know what you got now. I know people with 400k plus on the 5.9's you just gotta keep fixing them. LOL
Ive always bought used, traded off trucks every 2-3 years, and never got into many issues with them. 4- 5.9 trucks, even had a Sterling single axle semi 10 speed with an M-11+ Cummings in it, then got screwed by some troopers, sold what I had and bought a brand new 2011 Cummins 4500 with the aisin transmission. It's been a beast of a truck with 11.5' flatbed. I'll haul 32k# with it easily. I dont have an issue with any emissions crap on it, that stuff went MIA around 800 miles of owning it. Going back to payments wasn't fun though, and I wasn't aware at the time but they slap a $10k commercial vehicle fee on it at time of purchase, crazy.
Nothing wrong with buying used pick ups, I buy both new and used depending on what the truck is to be used for. I just don't like trading things because of a few issues just to buy something else that may or may not have issues. Of course there comes a point to let it go. I usually let my mechanic tell me when to do that. We've been friends forever so that helps. I hope JNB got the Dodge rolling again without spending an arm and a leg. Diesel repairs can add up quick.
It's been awhile, so I figured it's about time that I updated my thread. Installed a 60' culvert pipe entrance and sloped safety ends. Starting the driveway. The landowner has a couple of semi rigs so everything was upsized for room to maneuver.
This area has great select fill 2' down, so I dug a couple borrow pits to get to the good material for the 4000 sq ft house and 5000+ sq ft shop pads. I had the boy out for a couple of days to consolidate topsoil piles and get in some good seat time. Spreading out some of the 17 semi loads of roadbase used on this job. The material likes to separate, and using a tooth bucket actually helps a bunch.
Last of the pics for this job.
Looks great JNB! I like those pre-cast headwalls. It make's me smile bringing your boy to work with you, some of the fondest memories I had as a child was going to work with father. He taught me how to work, earn money and be a man.
My 14 year old in the first pic asked his mom of he really had to go back to school. He likes the taste of a little green I guess. And I mean a little green.
Pics of a clearing job a few weeks ago. The bamboo was real thick and a real pita.
A little poser shot then outa there.
Right on!:drinkup I started working summers full time around the age of 13, I enjoyed going to work with the guys and also enjoyed the green. I had spending money that I could buy what I wanted, within reason on a $2 hour wage.:tong Thought I was in high cotton and it taught me how to work and earn what you want in life.
JNB your work is impressive it's not very often you see a finished product like the ones you've posted. How are you liking the Kubota? I'm still wanting to trade up for a Case TV380 or a SVL90, also looking at the SVL75. I noticed your trailer is a single wheel, any trouble with the wieght of the Kubota? I know they are heavy machines.
Thanks JS. I'm very happy with the SVL90. I actually would have been fine with an SVL75, but I wanted the higher lifting ability and stability when setting the 6:1 precast culvert ends that TxDOT specs. We do quite a few of them each year. I can't suggest the Case you mentioned. I'm done with that brand. I will say that my old TR320 did grade quite well, but I absolutely hated the way the TV380 felt FWIW. I'm pushing it with the weight of the 90 on my trailer. I run the machine pretty far forward with a lot of pin weight to keep things legal and use G-rated tires as well. The problem comes when I stick a heavy cutter on there too, so my plan is to go with a heavier spec'd trailer with super singles this year. I'd go with a shorter/lighter bumper pull, but I need the 20+5 length to haul 30' culvert pipes legally. I seem to work on a lot of dead end roads with small turnarounds, and being able to back under the tongue is really handy.
Thanks for info on the Case. I really like my Case 450 and liked the newer Case I sat in a few weeks ago. I'll probably end up with a Kubota though. The 75 would work for me but bigger is better most of the time. I may just see what I can get the best deal on. I hear ya about trailers being to long. Reason I ask about the single wheel is I have a 20+5 with singles and a 31+5 with duals both are nice trailers and pull good but the 36 is just too long and hard to turn around. I really need to sell it and get a 30' but sometimes the extra 6' comes in handy. The G rated tires do help. I ended up putting 14 plys on my cattle trailer because of having so many flats.
Thanks for the photo updates JNB. I always like looking at your work. Top notch for sure. Glad you like the Kubota. We have been very happy with ours. Only thing to watch for is bottom rollers. We had one go out and might have another on the way.
Thanks for the info. I know you guys operate in sand quite a bit. How many hours on your machine?
It seems as though sand .likes to destroy every kind of undercarriage I will have to check but I think it is real close to 750 hours.
Here's a few pics of a new circular driveway I did awhile back. I set a new culvert and sloped steel ends, and ran a couple of 4" drainage stub / sleeve pipes for the landscaper to use later. A couple of "always in great demand" machine shots.
A shot of the new spur attaching the new circle to the old shared driveway. I topped the new roadbase with 50 tons of crushed granite from Oklahoma. It was the owners choice to match existing. Not enough variance in aggregate size for my liking. The granite doesn't lock in like the crushed limestone I normally use. Hmmmm, no finished shot. :Banghead
Looks good. Did you dig down a little to make a trough for gravel to sit in? I did this on the road behind my shop and couldn't believe the dirt pile I ended up with. How many hours does a job like that take you and do you get set up with any of your costmers to maintain the drives? Reason I ask is it seems like people kinda freak out about price when it comes to building a road and then they don't have a way to maintain it. I think I've said it before but a friend of mine spends several days a month maintaining roads he's built for folks with a road runner blade. Usually charges $100. It's a good way to fill in between jobs.
JNB you do very professional looking work sir. Thanks for sharing your pictures.
Looks good. Did you dig down a little to make a trough for gravel to sit in? I did this on the road behind my shop and couldn't believe the dirt pile I ended up with. I only remove down low enough to remove the organic material on most jobs. Of course, this depends on each individual job. On this job I had a very deep ditch to deal with and I was able to use all of the organic on the wings/banks. You know how bermuda is...it'll be growing back with the first decent rain. How many hours does a job like that take you... This job was a couple hours away (reflected in the price of course) and it took about 30 hrs. over four days. The culvert supplier is actually a half an hour the other way from my place which was a bit of a pain. The gravel pit is also kinda far away from this area too. I usually don't travel this far for work, but I did a referral job down the street and then was referred for this one. ...and do you get set up with any of your costmers to maintain the drives? Reason I ask is it seems like people kinda freak out about price when it comes to building a road and then they don't have a way to maintain it. I think I've said it before but a friend of mine spends several days a month maintaining roads he's built for folks with a road runner blade. Usually charges $100. It's a good way to fill in between jobs. I school them on the use of Roundup and how speed and turning when stationary can ruin a driveway...IE, tell the fedex driver to slow down or else! The Roadrunner is awesome and I'm getting one for my ctl this year, but I also have a landplane for my tractor. It uses less fuel and hauls easier since it's a bunch lighter, so I use it for maintenance. I'm setting up my 20 year old with a trailer and he'll be doing gravel driveways when needed and most of the maintenance. By next March we'll be expanding our services, but I won't go into it much yet since I have competitors that monitor my photo threads online.
Thank you and thanks for checking it out!
Thanks for the pics JNB, looks great as always. How many hours on the Kubota now? I woulds hate to see some of the dump truck drivers around here try to pull, back and dump the pups like you have. How many tons can they haul with the truck and trailer?
145 hours on the 90 so far. My bout with the nasty gout slowed me down for three solid weeks. What a pain! The truck and pups can haul 24-25 tons. There are only a handful of drivers that deliver to my jobs. I like to think I've made them better at what they do since I'm the first to chew their tail if they get rock where I don't want it and have to clean it up. Some of the guys I've seen from the same company couldn't back their own butt into a toilet stall.
Nice clean work JNB.:thumbsup Do you do your own layout for driveways like that one? The granite looks like #67's which I agree doesn't have enough fines for a driveway. It will end up being pushed and moved around too much with vehicular traffic. DGB or road base makes the best driveway. Once rained on and compacted it's hard to cut it with a skid steer.
CM, I do all my own layouts...heck, I scribble up the plans in my spiral and then have to figure them out lol. Yeah, not my choice on the topping material on that one. The crushed limestone I normally use is an unwashed 3/4" down to chat size. I place it at what I call a "rock and a half" thickness and always over a good roadbase. Since it's unwashed, it has just a bit of fines in there for a binder and sets in nice and tight.
Sorry to hear about being off for three weeks. I know that sure would mess up a schedule. The 90 is tier four correct, any issues? 25 tons is what we can get on a tractor trailer around here. Depending on how the truck is built 20 to 22 on a triaxle. I bet you cringe if you see a driver you don't recognize
I wasn't quite off for three weeks, but I kept my schedule down to the absolute minimum. It was pretty tough trying to get into the machine that's for sure. I couldn't run the tractor at all since it's a hydro and my right ankle / foot was a big no-go. The 90 is the last of the interim Tier 4's, around here anyway. I got a call from my buddy / manager at the dealer and got the word that a buyer that ordered three machines backed out on one and this was the last in their system. They call it a dirt machine since it lacks high flow, but that doesn't bother me one bit. The only thing I'd use high flow for would be a mulcher, and I'll rent the entire package the few times that I need it. If it burns to the ground...it ain't mine!
Returned to the same job from a couple pages back. Used dirt from the pool dig mixed with a bit of leftover topsoil to finish off around the structures and added another 72 tons of road base to extend and dress up the existing parking areas.
That turned great! I sure wish I had some dirt like that to grade Your bucket looks bigger than ours, might be an allusion but it looks bigger?
I wish I could work this area all the time. Most of the time it's nasty black clay and limestone shale. The bucket is an 80" Bradco hi-capacity. I had used this same bucket on a rental a few times and knew I didn't want a low profile long floor. Even with the high back I can still see the teeth without leaning forward in the seat. You can also back drag using the area just behind the cutting edge without leaving tooth marks. Works great for spreading gravel. I do a lot of combo work, and it's nice not having to take along a second bucket.
I was right it is bigger I heard Kubota was starting to use Landpride buckets but some dealers were offering the Bradco. I think Bradco builds a great product. How does it handle the big bucket?
I wish I'd gone with an 84", especially for working up against buildings and curbs. I used an 80" bucket on a rental SVL75 when they were out of smaller tooth buckets and it handled the big hi-cap just fine.
My how time flies! Looks like it's been over eight months since I updated this thread. I noticed this morning that I have photo emails in my folder from January 2016. I'm sure a lot of them are photos of the same old stuff so I'll sift 'em out and post up a few of the more interesting ones. First off...everyone enjoys a bit of carnage, so here you go. Never mind...the new forum format not only sucks but it requires using a host site to post pics. Too much trouble and I'm not going to bother.
No it doesn't. Click More Options - click the upload file, upload pics from computer and click post as full size not thumbnail.
Thanks CM, I would have never taken the time to search that process out on my own. Here's your reward. End of three days of brush clearing and decided to do the new landowner a favor and throw a bit of dirt over the (seemingly) dry creek and fill in some ruts on the other side so he could check out with his ATV. Filled up the ditch, drove across and dumped a full bucket on the other side...backed up and down she went. And down and down and down. Luckily I had my son working with me. It took him about ten minutes to get the door clear enough so I could get out. The bucket is holding the machine up in this pic. I was in a new area with no local contacts whatsoever. Took a drive down the road and a lady gave me some vague directions to Tommy Bob's ranch. When I find the place and knock on the door, an 82 year old man answers and I tell him my stuck problem. He proceeds to give me a ton of VERY humorous grief. After he ran out of ribbing material we unhooked a disc from his 120 something HP John Deere and he headed on down the road some eight miles to my stuck 90. Turns out he used to own the property I was on and knew right where the machine was. Problem was the tractor was too big to get through the trees so he drove right through the neighbor's side yard and around their trampoline to get back there. It took everything that four wheel drive tractor had to get the Kubota out. Since I was in the machine helping and my boy rattling chains, I don't have any pics of the extraction, but the 90 ended up with mud up to the top of the exterior grab handle. I gave ole Tommy Bob some well deserved cash for helping and he talked our ears off for a good half hour. Good guy
Took me a few tries to get the hang of it. I've run into that a few times over the years - a bottomless muck hole. Glad you found the 82 year old to pull you out.
I always enjoy your pics JNB, its impressive what you do with your CTL, how is the kubota treating you?
Thanks Nedly! The 90 has been a great machine. Tallied up 600+ trouble free hours in the last 13 months. I did blow out the door glass cutting under some oak trees, but that was entirely my fault.
That was a good stuck machine photo. I stuck my Case 440 last week, a customer asked me to move a 2000 lb slab of concrete, which wanted to tip my 440 it was about 6 long by 5 wide and on the thick side 18"s thick. I used my hydro grapple and went to where she told me to go. I was moving through thick grass about 5' tall and could not see much. Drove right off into a creek 3' down. It was all i could do to get loose of the concrete. My F550 in 4 x 4 and me in the machine would not move it. Took the truck, the machine and the 12k warn winch to pull it out. Luckily there was a tree within a 100' of the front of the truck. She said "Oh sorry, i forgot there was a drainage ditch there". Took me 1 hour to get out. I was doing a quick FREE favor that turned out to not be so quick.
Glad to see the 90 is treating you right. Ours fills in as a third dozer sometimes on lot fill jobs.
I got a Warn winch on my truck too. Used it to pull the stumps and move the tree logs.
Great man. You did a nice job.
Well, since I can't really do much complaining about Landclearer slackin on updates or CM's drastic lack of 953 pics without updating my thread a bit...here goes. Nothing special to report...we've just been doing like we do. The best part is that my son has been doing a lot more on his own and taking a bit of the load off of the old guy (that's me... ) Here's a few pics of his very first "on his own (for the most part)" building pad. The owner had been dragging dirt around with his tractor for quite awhile, but just to fill up the slope. This place has sandy loam topsoil with a nice select fill below, so we stockpiled the owner's mini-pad and started over. I helped the boy lay it out, gave him instructions scratched out in the dust on his tailgate and turned him loose. He did pretty good.
Damn fine work on that pad JNB. I've seen pads done by the "established ones" that don't look 1/2 that good. As far as the (cough,cough) 953 pics - I've been busy.
Hey JNB. You should be proud, that pad looks great. The Kubota still doing ok? Yeah I know i've been slackin for sure. So busy here, if I'm not working I sit down and fall asleep 5 minutes later. I guess thats what happens when you get old(haha).
I hear ya! I just turned 62 last week and need to stretch just to get out of bed. The 90-2 isn't perfect, but it continues to be a great performer. Still on the original tracks at 1680 hours and zero trips to dealer for warranty work. I did knock out the front glass cutting brush under a live oak, but I replaced it with a double coated lexan which hasn't scratched much at all. Speaking of the door... being able to flip it up and talk to the guy on the ground when we set precast culvert ends is an awesome feature.
We made a few videos with the 90 last winter. Man, has it really been that long? Anyway, I couldn't send you directly to my channel if I had an internet guide dog, so here's a link to a vid. I'm sure you can find the rest from there. Edit...And there it is right in the post? Wow, technology!
Glad to hear you are happy with the 90. We have about 1200 hours on ours with original tracks as well. The only thing we have done to ours is two bottom rollers and two cutting edges. I agree, the roll up windshield is a great design. It’s a selling point to me.