Wet clay and sinking BX2380

[Mlarv]

So to make a long story short. I have a BX2380 that loves to sink in the wet clay here in Eastern TN. I had a tree fall on my place last year and decided to take any tree down that might fall on my place again. I had a track hoe for a few weeks and did most of the work. I took the clay and crap dirt and piled it up. I took the top soil and piled it in another place. I am starting to fill the in the low spots with the clay and crap dirt before I put the top soil on it.

The problem is I sink as fast as I get into the pile. I pull it down and pack it then go two or three more times before I sink again. The pile is dry just the ground leading up to it is soaked. What can I do to make it easier to get to the pile.

Or do I just keep going at it slowly and sinking and filling etc. There is a natural water flow in that area I am trying to move over a bit.

Mike

 

[Tire Biter]

I’ve used planks before to accomplish what yer doing. Planks with cleats. I put a chain on them to move them around. Major PITA .Use thick oak or hickory planks At least 12 inches wide. Other than that, I stay out of that stuff till it’s dried out. If it’s an area that don’t dry, good luck.

 

[BigG]

They make rubber matts to put down on soft ground. They are very heavy and you will need the tractor to drag them off the trailer. Some of the rental stores are keeping them in stock now.


Do you have a set of ramps for your trailer that you could put down to get across the soft spot?

 

[NCL4701]

If it’s that fine clay that has the viscosity of clam chowder when wet and concrete when dry it can be a real PITA to deal with in areas that stay wet permanently or longer than surrounding areas. We have a ford across a tail race from a neighbor’s pond that has zero sand, zero rock, just that clay down to who knows how far. Can barely walk across it without getting stuck. Drive across it three times with the tractor even in dry weather and it is literally lower viscosity than a McDonald’s vanilla milkshake. Not a huge problem crossing with a 4 wheeler or UTV a few times a week or even with the tractor once in a while but it’s just a continual irritation and no way to make multiple trips with a trailer of firewood across it. The creek crossing with sand, I could smooth up a bit more and drive my pickup across it.

Option 1 for that stuff is always dry it out if you can. Reroute the water flow, drain or fill in any depression, etc.; just get the water off of it. Since you have a tractor, if you can rearrange the drainage to dry it, that’s by far the cheapest, easiest, and most effective solution. If you get it dry, it will turn to concrete and you can drive anything all over it.

If you can NOT get it dry (as in my case with the tail race crossing) then you need to start looking at the planks/mud mats for a temporary fix. If you need a more permanent fix you could put rock on it, starting with something pretty large like rip rap and topping with smaller stuff if you like. I just dumped about 3 yards of busted concrete and miscellaneous busted masonry in the tail race crossing. Over time, it might swallow the whole lot of it, (haven’t run the tractor on it much) but it’s better now than it ever has been before.

In my case, my next step, if the masonry is a total failure, is to toss a culvert in it and call it done. So far I’ve been too cheap to put $500 into a 12’ x 24” galvanized culvert, but that’s not really relevant to your issue.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Use Typar to cover the ground.

 

[Motion]

Consider a couple of loads of sand, it'll tighten it up. Just my .02

 

[johnjk]

Sounds like you are back in my woods. I've had to use the bucked a few times to help push/pull me out of that sticky stuff. If you have springs or natural wet spots, ultimately you will need to move that water out of that area to dry it up. Do you have enough runoff where you can trench it out a ways and let it drain for a week or two? Maybe pack in some landscape fabric, rock and a pipe to help redirect the water away from where you need to work. My land is so flat, I just need to detour around the swampy area and come in from a different angle. Was gonna do a lot of dirt moving back in January when it all froze up but then we got 3' of snow and I missed that window of opportunity,.

 

[Mlarv]

@NCL4701 It is the milk shack stuff. When I am done with this area it will go back to grass I think.

I am looking at rerouting the water flow though this area. That is why I piled up the crap dirt, so I could use it to fill in the low spots. I just didn't realize I was putting it in the worse spot to get to. 15 feet to either side and it would not be a problem.

The plank idea might work better than the mats. Because I already have the planks. I will be renting the mats this summer to dig out an area around my dock. I will be renting an excavator again to do that, but I need this done first. I have to wait for the lake to drop a few feet before I reclaim all my soil.

The sand idea may be an option.

I think the Typar will just sink in with the tractor. I do have a roll and might test it out.

Thanks
Mike

 

[NHSleddog]

Binder.

Sand, gravel, clean fill etc. The way to fix clay is mix it with something else so it is no longer clay - lol.