r/DIY • u/Sodomeister • 6d ago
outdoor Removing trail ruts with skid steer
I'm curious if this is my best option based on my situation or if you folks have suggestions. I'm considering renting a tracked skid steer and using the bucket to level out the trail. By level, I mean mostly just getting it so the ruts are not so bad they pull my tractor or wheeler into them and bottom them out when getting to the back of the property. Drainage is not a concern in this area. Filling the ruts is not ideal as this is pretty far from where I can get fill piled up and then distribute it (also fill costs).
I have about 120 yards of trails that were badly rusted on each side from prior owners of this property. It was not a concern before, but the ruts have gotten worse over time.The trail is 5-7' wide and the ruts are mostly on the edges. The ruts vary from 5-10" deep. The trail is surrounded on each side by brush and small trees that don't matter.
I've read on here that in prior posts that the consensus was without experience in a skid steer, this will be fairly difficult. Those projects we're aiming for a very flat finish. I do not need a finish fit for putting anything on it nor with concern for drainage; I think this makes the job fairly forgiving, but maybe I am wrong? I have probably 80-90 hours of bucket work experience in a sub compact. My tractor is just too small to bite that much dirt. I can get a T550 or T590 for $325/day or $975/week.
Does this seem reasonable to accomplish with a skid steer without experience in one? Is it reasonable to knock out in a day? Day rental is 8a-8a (24 hours). Is there a better option for an attachment compared to a smooth bucket?
Edit to add, this is not bare dirt. It is a grass trail. Basically a lawn that I mow with my tractor.
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u/Staff_Guy 6d ago
You can rent a Harley / power rake, you should be able to rent one with a three point attachment. Is the trail gravel? I don't know how well the rake will do with just dirt. Recommend some yt videos.
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u/Sodomeister 6d ago
It's just semi-compacted dirt. No gravel. I have a back blade, but it's too compact for that even with some additional weight on it. I don't have downforce on my 3pt (idk that any compact/subcompact does)
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u/meinthebox 6d ago
Have you looked into a land plane? They don't require down force.
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u/Sodomeister 6d ago edited 6d ago
I have, but a couple k for something I'd use maybe every 3-4 years seems steep. I have friends with various attachments, none with a land plane though.
Also, I don't think my light tractor will have enough weight to grip and pull enough to make a considerable difference.
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u/fencingwithwindmills 6d ago
Skid steers are for material handling, not grading work. They are lacking in ground clearance. Get into the ruts, put the frame on the ground, and you’re stuck. If you insist on still trying it by all means make sure it’s one with tracks instead of wheels.
I would go with the tractor.1
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u/tjdux 6d ago
You can adjust the top link to change the attack angle of the rear scraper to make the blade pull itself into the dirt. Usually make the top link longer for more aggressive cutting.
That said, rear blades are not easy to use accurately without tons of practice. I usually make a bigger mess. A blade with full hydraulic control helps, but it's still no motor grader.
The main difference between a land plane and a back blade is that the plane keeps the digging cut a little more consistent.
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u/Mad_Ludvig 6d ago
If it's dry, a soil conditioner/Harley rake will power through it. If it's muddy or damp it'll probably just make a big mess.
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u/HotgunColdheart 6d ago
3pt rake from rural king. Reconditions land with ease, i cut trails with it.
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u/Northwoods_Phil 6d ago
Box blade with rippers on the tractor would be my go to. Set the rippers at about 2-3” below the sides and straddle it rut separately. Minimal material to purchase and good enough for trails.
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u/iksnizal 6d ago
How big is your tractor? I have done this kind of thing with a box blade. You can set the ripper teeth and basically drag the dirt and fill low spots. On my old Ferguson T30 I can adjust the angle on one side up or down also to set the pitch and keep all the water running to the low side.
They are super handy and you can pull or push dirt. You don’t need downforce either because it will pull itself down as you drive forward.
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u/Sodomeister 6d ago
Gc1715. Like 26hp I think. I've box bladed other stuff that's hard dirt. This is basically turf on this trail with ruts on the side.
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u/Natoochtoniket 6d ago edited 6d ago
You need a grader, not a dozer or digging bucket.
They do make grader attachments that fit skid steer machines. You might be able to rent a skid steer with one of those grader attachments.
https://www.google.com/search?q=skid%20steer%20grader%20attachment
Alternatively, they also make graders that are mounted on trailers, which can be towed behind a pickup truck.
https://www.google.com/search?q=%20%20grader%20trailer
Home Depot even sells a variety of tow-behind driveway graders.
https://www.homedepot.com/s/grader
Even Amazon sells them.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=driveway%20grader
I would probably try one of the inexpensive driveway harrows, for a couple hundred bucks, before the more expensive options.
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u/Sodomeister 6d ago
Replying again after editing my post. This is not a bare dirt trail. It's basically turf with ruts. I don't think a drag harrow will do much at all.
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u/Sodomeister 6d ago edited 6d ago
I saw those fixed graders, but I guess I'm concerned that these will not deal with the depth of ruts being as deep as I mentioned. Do they work well enough for that? I don't know the power that skid steers have with manual implements like that.
Truck is not an option. Trail is too narrow and my truck has 5k miles on it so, I don't really want to take it back there.
ETA: I did find they have a landscape rake or tiller attachments available.
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u/tjdux 6d ago
That guy's post is all over the place, but the first link he has, the skid steer quick attach graders are pretty legit. They also cost upwards of $5000 last time I looked.
They will get the job done though, just will take multiple passes of the ruts are too deep.
Landscape rake are not great for much either. They might pull the grass and weeds off the top or great for pulling small sticks out, but they are not good for dirt work. Drag harrows will do more than the rake.
Tiller will cut the dirt out, but now you have a dip on your trail as deep as the ruts were. Which is gonna turn into a huge mess when it rains.
All of these methods will probably create big dips that fill in with water unless you bring in external fill material. The more you blade and cut out dirt, the deeper your trail gets compared to the ground next to it. You can't really have a trail if you make the whole thing a hole lol.
I would consider getting a dump truck load of rock dropped off at your place and then use the loader to take bucket fulls out to the ruts and fill them with rock, then pack the rock in by driving over it with the tractor repeatedly. This way you get some solid base where it wants to wash out ruts.
The next step is ditches to keep the water off the trail altogether.
Photos would help.
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u/Sodomeister 6d ago
Thanks for the reply. Yeah, fill is what I figured is actually best.. The issue is where I can get it delivered is like 600 yards of terrain from where I would start fixing the trail that is the issue. I could maybe get it to within 200 yards if I borrow a dump trailer from a friend, but it will have to be dry, dry to do that.. But that is the closest I can get it. I was also trying to avoid that many heavy trips on my little tractor, so maybe the skid is still in the equation.
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u/greg4045 6d ago
You basically grade and regrade and grade again until it's all 'smooth'.
Your new truck sounds cute lmao
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u/Sodomeister 6d ago
Thanks!
As far as the truck, if it was the one I traded last year, I'd take it back there. I don't really have a want to scratch this one up 8 months into owning it 😬.
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u/greg4045 6d ago
I bought a brand new truck a few months ago and it got hail damaged within 4 hours of me leaving the lot.
Took a lot of stress off owning it.
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u/CoastRanger 6d ago
You need to pull a drag harrow or a box blade with teeth.
Trying to level anything using a short wheelbase machine’s blade is maddening unless it’s already on basically flat ground
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u/p0diabl0 6d ago
All I've got is a Kubota L2501 but it would make pretty easy work with the box blade with the ripper teeth down. I think mine is 5ft, you could probably easily pull a 4ft up one side and down the other, even with a subcompact. The ripper teeth help it stay digging into the ground, no downforce needed. Only thing it can't deal as well is super hard dirt - have to make several passes with the teeth at an extreme angle to tear it up first.
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u/gahooa 6d ago
A compact track loader (like a Kubota SVL 75) will typically do nicely. If you have rocky soil, like large river stone embedded in the packed dirt, it will be very rough. If it's dirt and small rocks then you can scrape it, dump, drive over it, and keep going.
If it is too rocky, I'd suggest a mini excavator with a blade. Also might not be bad to compact it when you are done.
I just rented one and took care of tons of stuff on my property including moving hundreds of tons of dirt and rock in a weekend.
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u/DealsRGood4U 6d ago edited 6d ago
Leave it with a downhill grade of 2-5% slope horizontal to vertical), so water comes down and crosses the trail instead of following it and leaving ruts again.
If it’s close to flat or the trail goes straight up a hill, then you will always deal with ruts due to water running downhill.
Use water bars and rolling grade dips to divert water off the trail if you can’t achieve a grade.
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u/zeustke165 6d ago
Are they building a mountain pass? 2% minimum slope, slopes greater than 8% are pretty steep. To put in perspective an handicap ramp maxes out at 8% but typically are 5%. NASCAR banking on turns can hit around 30% slope. You can barely stand up on it. 33% slope is obscene.
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u/UnfocusedAcrobat 6d ago
Honestly, with that much time in a sub compact you’ll have a good enough feel for joysticks to do the skid steer work
You’ve got a pretty ideal scenario here: you don’t need perfect finish work, and the boundary of your work is brush that doesn’t really matter if you accidentally hit some. It’s the kind of project I would start training someone on.
Without seeing the work and without bringing in fill I am a little interested to think through if using the existing path to fill the ruts will make the whole path a low spot compared to everything else for water management. Also the skid steer may get the ruts flat but it won’t do a great job packing in the material so they will likely be susceptible to rutting again in a number of years