Reducing erosion V for downhill trail.

[jimh406]

I’m thinking about leveling a erosion V where existing drainage happens for my UTV. Total length is probably around 50 yds.

There is quite a bit of a V. I can straddle it with the UTV, but of course, it would be easier if there was more level area for the UTV tires on each side of the V. I don’t expect a lot of runoff to cause significant erosion since it doesn’t rain much and it’s a very short distance.

I’m thinking that I could use the bucket only to make it more level and leave less V in the middle. I don’t have to make it flat, but just want it to be a bit easier to traverse at a bit higher speed.

The bucket is wider than the UTV. I’ll have my ballast box full of bricks in the rear and the tires are loaded.

Am I getting ready to mess up, or as long as I take it slow will this be reasonably safe. I can wait until later in the year to give it more time to dry completely out. I’m just thinking/planning in advance.

The basic drawing shows a V and what I’m proposing to do.

 

[old and tired]

Do you have any other implements that you can use? Like a box blade?

You are going to use (most likely) the weakest tool for heavy digging. FEL like to scoop soft material. If you have a tooth bar to break up the hard ground more, that would help.

Personally, you will want to invert that V so water will not run down the middle (instead, run down the sides like ditches) Or else you'll be doing this again...

A box blade with scarfiers down to breakup the ground so you can reshape it. Also, a rear blade to help dig the ditch and move that material into the middle, raising up that section.

How hard is the soil?? If it's pretty hard, your R4 tires will just spin...

 

[swpflipper]

The box blade is the best tool. Depending on how hard the surface is or rocks, it could do it in a few passes.
If you don't have one and the ground is soft maybe weight the bucket and back drag in float. Using the cutting edge of the bucket on a hard surface is not something I would do. Soft surfaces, yes.

 

[Motion]

As always do as you feel is best. You're correct to wait for drier weather. I'd consider breaking up the soil down to at least the bottom of the "V" and then crown it. If you have a cultipacker seed it. If not and you have R-4 tires then load the bucket wit bricks, seed it and walk the tractor across the width of the road to compact it. After get a couple of rolls of straw erosion blanket, stake it down and I believe you'll be good. Just my .02

 

[jimh406]

I don’t think I did a good job explaining. I’m not trying to prevent the natural water drainage that I called erosion. It isn’t an existing road. Because it’s offcamber, I’m not wanting to go down it with the tractor and then try to fix it.

It’s a bit of a cart before the horse kind of a deal. I want to make it relatively flat with no offcamber before I take the tractor down it.

I’m talking about the slight indent in between the lines in the picture. I hope you can make it out. Note: the area between the lines is about 40-50 ft. Yes, that’s sagebrush that you see. I’ve driven over it as needed to retrieve deer/elk with the UTV, but of course, the UTV is way more stable than the tractor. I’m just looking for a way to eliminate the offcamber for the “trail” for the UTV because if I slid at the wrong time, I could possibly roll the UTV over.

I wouldn’t think of driving the tractor down that hill without making it level first although some of you might. A rear pulled attachment seems to increase the risk of rollover with the tractor, but if I knew everything, I wouldn’t be asking the question.

Thanks for the responses so far.

 

[old and tired]

So the V is a side view of the terrain and your direction of travel will from left to right of your first post and in the same direction with the yellow lines of the 2nd. Also, the 50 yards is how wide between the yellow lines are, correct?

How deep is the V (are we talking canyon or also about 50 yards?) Photo doesn't have much of a scale, at first I thought it was the moon....

The "erosion" and "downhill trail" is throwing me off, I guess...

 

[Motion]

Recap, a "V" deep enough that if you went in, could flip a UTV, downhill, straight, erosion, doesn't rain much. How did the "V" get there to begin with? Whatever you add to bring the "V" up to grade needs to be incorporated and compacted into both sides of the trail to act as a unit. If water gets into the old "V" with loose material, you'll have a 50 foot water slide. A winding flat trail may allow water to exit to the right and left as it goes down hill. Good luck

 

[jimh406]

We get 12-14 inches of precip a year. I’m not sure how it was formed (glaciers?), but there are lots of similar curvy paths down the hills.

Maybe it would make more sense to go down with a pick/mattack/shoel and manually take off as little as possible to improve it, but do little damage.

 

[Tughill Tom]

Fill it with rip-rap and be done.

 

[bcp]

From the description and aerial, I suspect it is a natural erosion feature the OP wants to use as a UTV trail, but the V bottom could lay the UTV on its side if a wheel gets into it.

Do you have a rear blade or box blade for your tractor?

Bruce

 

[JimmyJazz]

You might be asking for trouble but in my neck of the woods we have the sometimes dreaded Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DNCR). They employ all kinds of experts to assist with everything imaginable and even some unimaginable things. Often permits and studies are required before a broom can be used. Having said that it might be worth cautiously approaching your state sponsored equivalent for a recommendation. Consider it a chance to redeem some of your tax dollar funded chips.

 

[skeets]

Welll you could just keep pulling an old set of steel box springs back and forth through the gully, BUT if it is BLM land you might get your hanging appendages in the ringer so to speak. If it is your land then I wouldnt think there would be a problem.. you got a good quad drag something through it

 

[jimh406]

I do have a tooth drag harrow that I use with the UTV.