# Trail Tractor.



## ~martini~ (Dec 20, 2003)

Over here in Pdc land, we've got a new trail building toy. One of the local riders/builders runs a small CSA farm, and he likes euro stuff. This combination gets him some really cool euro toys to play with. the tractor is a two wheeled BCS with a diesel conversion. The attachment is an Italian flail mower. The result is a much more capable DR trimmer. You'd be surprised what this thing will go over. And through.





The result is a perfect width trail. about 36" or so wide. All thats left to do is rake and ride in most cases. Yes, trimming the edges needs to be done to get ride of prikker stuff. 


Yesterday, in about 4.5 hours we mowed in roughly 2.5 miles of trail. 


I'll be going out later today to finish up trimming the corridor, and get a few passes in.


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## ezybike (May 2, 2006)

Just attach a broom and water filled roller on the back and that would be job done.
I am also looking at (trying to find parts) making a machine just like that but with a V shaped blade on the front to push away mid sized debrey.
Good work.
Long Live Long Trails.


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## RHF (Mar 9, 2008)

Very nice. The worst part about a machine like that is probably all the arguments about who gets to drive it & for how long.  

Do you find that the flail mower is better for trailwork than a walk-behind bush hog (like a DR Field & Brush Mower)?


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## Megashnauzer (Nov 2, 2005)

whoa. that's what i need. does it cut below grade like small stobs and stuff? what's the largest diameter bruch it will cut?


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## HypNoTic (Jan 30, 2007)

Impressive little toy. Just one question. How deep can a thing like this go? It seems to just cut the very top most organic layer. I'm not sure we could use that in eastern Canada because our organic layer is few inches thick at least.


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## Megashnauzer (Nov 2, 2005)

are you done with it yet? can i borrow it now?


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## Trail Ninja (Sep 25, 2008)

Megashnauzer said:


> are you done with it yet? can i borrow it now?


 Saw your gyro-trac post. This little guy not good enough for you now?


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## Megashnauzer (Nov 2, 2005)

well, i think the forestry department has a gyro-trac. i've seen the results of gyro-tracing for cutting fire breaks and equestrian trails. i don't know how it would work for bike trails. the trail tractor i would have to buy but i haven't got a good feel for how it works.


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## Trail Ninja (Sep 25, 2008)

That gyro-trac is just EVIL! Cut down the tree and then grind up the stump. THEN grind up the tree!

Not so great for a typical bike trail. i.e. on a sidehill, flag, brush, bench cut, finish groom.

Hell of a brush cutter if you've got easy terrain.


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## Megashnauzer (Nov 2, 2005)

i've got easy terrain. mostly yaupon holly. my concern is cutting stuff even with the ground. i need to cut below grade so the stobs don't poke up when the trail compacts. i've been lopping and then digging out stumps. way time consuming.


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## Trail Ninja (Sep 25, 2008)

Looks like gyro-trac will go a little underground. I didn't see a small version. 6' wide was the smallest I saw.

Some day when I have nothing to do, I'm getting a snowblower and a cutting torch & see what I can come up with. I imagine a cutter like on the gyro-trac that will disc down about 4" but only 24" wide. A roto tiller doesn't work (trust me and don't break yours) but I like the blades on a snowblower.


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## JDM (May 2, 2008)

Trail Ninja said:


> Some day when I have nothing to do, I'm getting a snowblower and a cutting torch & see what I can come up with. I imagine a cutter like on the gyro-trac that will disc down about 4" but only 24" wide. A roto tiller doesn't work (trust me and don't break yours) but I like the blades on a snowblower.


I was starting to think about trying a rototiller. Can you tell a little more about your experience?


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## Trail Ninja (Sep 25, 2008)

JDM said:


> I was starting to think about trying a rototiller. Can you tell a little more about your experience?


My problem was roots. We have a plant called salal that has very tough, long stringy roots. Cedar roots are very similar. The bent-over shape of the tines on a rototiller grabbed the roots, pulled them out of the ground, wrapped them around the drum and then didn't have the strength to break them off so it stalled the tiller.

Five minutes of unwrapping the roots (imagine fishing net on an outboard propeller) and I could do another 2 feet of tilling. Working by hand was faster.

I'm thinking that if I can sharpen the snowblower blades and they just chop up everything to about 4" below the surface but leave it in place, I can rake it out with a leaf rake (one of my favorite tools). I say leave it in place because I've seen the damage a rock can do coming out of one of those things. I'd run it at really low speed so it doesn't throw.


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## JDM (May 2, 2008)

This rototiller/modified-snowblower idea is really intriguing for a challenging section of trail we'd like to build. We have a mile long section on a steep side-slope with a thin layer of loam over very sandy soil. Typical full-bench construction where you broadcast all of the excavated material leaves a loose, sandy tread. Being able to incorporate the loam, and possibly even the duff would ultimately create a more stable tread that still drains exceptionally well.

To be clear, I'm not talking about half bench construction:









I'm talking about a fully supported tread with the top layer incoprorated.









Images from here: https://www.scn.org/sbtp/swbk-trav.html

I'm imagining this sequence:
- leaf rake to removed the loosest leave and sticks
- Rototiller to mix and loosen the soil
- rogue-hoe and pulaski to sculpt the backslope and clean up the stuff too tough for the rototiller
- garden rake to sculpt the tread
- power tamper to compact the tread
- ride your bike on it for fun


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