Attachment(s) for cutting a pad into a slope?

[NF6X]

I have an L3301HST with BH77 backhoe and LA525 loader, a GS1560 grading scraper, and a few other sundry attachments. I've put a little over 80 hours on it so far, and I'm still a tractor noob.

I have a moderately hilly 5 acre property, and I want to level out a new spot to place my three 20' sea containers. I'll be moving a lot more dirt than I've moved before as I cut into a slope to make a level spot, and I wouldn't mind some advice about how to proceed from more experienced folks. I've done basic tasks like cutting weeds and re-grading my dirt road, but I haven't done significant earth moving before.

Would it be effective to do most of the digging and earth moving with my loader, or is some other attachment much better suited for this kind of task, such as a box scraper? I picked a grading scraper over a box scraper for my initial purchase because it seemed like an easier attachment to learn to use for basic road maintenance, but I'm wondering if this project makes it time to save up to buy a box scraper. In any case, I think it's time to add a tooth bar to my bucket.

 

[hope to float]

Use the backhoe for digging and use the loader for moving.
Remove the topsoil first before you start digging into the gravel and pile it aside for use later.
Remember that you are not going to be digging to level the ground to its lowest point. Use high areas to fill low areas and you won't have to do so much digging. You will get it level enough by pushing and pulling loose gravel around with the loader. Remember to tramp it well by driving back and over on it or better still hire a whacker plate for that (You will only need it for a couple of hours at most).
Personally, if I was putting in containers, I would have a very slight fall towards the door. Great for the annual power washing and any water that gets in will work its way to the door
It's not a house you are building so anything within reason will do.
It sounds like an ideal starter project to familiarise yourself with your equipment.
Slow and steady.
You may find that you will have to ventilate the containers if you are planning to store the tractor in one. A warm machine going into an airtight container may rust like hell (At least they do around here)
Best of luck with it.

 

[NF6X]

Aha! It didn't occur to me to use the backhoe for digging such a large area, as opposed to a smaller hole or trench. But I guess that makes sense: I don't need to move the dirt with the backhoe, but just use its superior ripping force to break stuff up so I can scoop it and move it with the loader. Thanks! That gives me an excuse to get a lot better with the backhoe, too. I haven't done much with it yet, so my backhoe operating is still slow and jerky.

I think the containers will probably end up sitting in an entirely cut area, with the fill being used for the work area in front of the doors.

Where the containers are sitting now, they're gradually settling into the ground as the bunnies living underneath excavate under them. So I'll need to address that in their new location. I'm hoping that setting them on a few inches of jagged crushed road base rock will prevent the bunnies from tunneling underneath them?

I do need to add ventilation, even though I don't plan to park my tractor inside them. It gets humid inside them.

 

[Missouribound]

It's cute that you call them bunnies.
That aside, make sure that you have adequate drainage below the container. If water sits under the container and can't escape humidity is the least of your problems.
I've seen wooden floors rot out and metal panels rust and pit from sitting in a wet spot. And it doesn't take that long for that to happen. Ventilation is a good move but it doesn't help the underside dry out.

 

[NF6X]

Bunnies, rabbits, destructive little fleabag coyote treats, whatever... I don't begrudge them building themselves a nice home, but I just don't want them undermining my containers to do it. Maybe I should cobble together some sort of hutch for the ones I displace when I move my containers? Chasing their cute little furry butts gives my dog plenty of entertainment (and luckily for the rabbits, they're very good at getting away).

Good point regarding drainage. I think the gravel should help as long as I give the water a good way out, right? Maybe with some bigger rock at the outlet point to prevent stuff from washing away; I think my contractors called it "rip rap" or something like that during my home construction. The site where I'd like to place the containers isn't at a low point on my property, so there's a place for drainage to go rather than pooling under the containers. I'll also need to prevent erosion by water flowing past from further uphill.

 

[Creature Meadow]

Some good ideas so far and maybe if you take some pics and post of the proposed site for the containers it may help in providing additional ideas.

 

[NF6X]

Let me see if I can figure out a way to take pictures that show anything useful beyond nondescript dirt.

 

[rjcorazza]

I leveled a cargo box and basketball court slab with a rotary tiller, followed by front end loader. I only needed to remove about 12” of dirt on the high side though. Finished it off with a box blade.
The cargo box has been sitting on 8 railroad ties for the past 20 years.



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[Beaudeane]

With backhoe & loader u can level a big area in a little time. I agree that the tiller then loader work would finish it off nicely. U will be an old pro with a little seat time. Or u will be much better at it than u are now as a newbie, that’s the best way to learn and the way I got sorta proficient at it. It’s way more fun to be tractoring than any job I’ve ever had.

 

[NF6X]

It's pretty hard to take pictures that show the terrain well, but let's see if these make sense. This is hilly ground with terraces cut into it from when it was a citrus orchard. In this first picture, I'd be cutting down to the dotted line, with the doors of the 20' sea containers right about where the line is. I'd cut into the next higher terrace to create the pad.

Here's the same spot viewed from the right side. The dirt from the cut would be moved over to fill in a working area in front of the container doors, in the left half of the picture.

 

[Russell King]

You may want a swale and berm above to guide the water around the flat area.


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[SDT]

It's pretty hard to take pictures that show the terrain well, but let's see if these make sense. This is hilly ground with terraces cut into it from when it was a citrus orchard. In this first picture, I'd be cutting down to the dotted line, with the doors of the 20' sea containers right about where the line is. I'd cut into the next higher terrace to create the pad.

Here's the same spot viewed from the right side. The dirt from the cut would be moved over to fill in a working area in front of the container doors, in the left half of the picture.

Tractors are not excavators.

Why not rent a skid steer or just hire an excavator.

Dean

 

[NF6X]

You may want a swale and berm above to guide the water around the flat area.

Good idea. Thanks!

Tractors are not excavators.

Why not rent a skid steer or just hire an excavator.

Because a tractor is what I have.

 

[torch]

Somewhere on this site are pictures from someone who dug out a large pond, complete with island in in the middle using his B or BX series FEL, so it can be done. But purpose-built machinery is going to get it done a lot faster.

If you have the time, patience and inclination then go have fun with your tractor. Post pictures! If you need it done ASAP, then hire bigger equipment or a contractor.

To put things in perspective, I bet the guys who dug the first subways with hand shovels and wheelbarrows would have considered a little compact tractor and FEL to have been a paradigm shift!

 

[NF6X]

Yup! I have lots more time than money, and there's no deadline on this personal project. So I just need to do it safely and effectively, not necessarily efficiently.