# Moving large rocks



## Squatter (Jan 8, 2014)

Does anyone have some good tricks for moving heavy rocks up to a few hundred yards? Tried a wheel barrow and trolly which are good for the ones I can carry, but the ones I REALLY want are almost impossible to get into the barrow.


----------



## Bogrider (Mar 31, 2014)

You could try a two or four ton come a long winch. Probably your best bet if you're by yourself. You'll just leave a trail from the boulder dragging.


----------



## 9.8m/s/s (Sep 26, 2005)

A hand truck like this will handle up to 400lbs or so fairly easily-

600 lb. Capacity Heavy Duty Hand Truck

After that, you're in come-along territory. Come-alongside are incredibly slow, but you can get huge projects done by yourself. If you go that route, make sure to get chain instead of webbing to wrap the actual rocks- webbing will stretch and cost you half your pull length. Having a friend who can use a pry bar while you use the come along will speed things up significantly.


----------



## twright205 (Oct 2, 2011)

I use a deer sled, hunters and ice fisherman use them to haul stuff. certainly can handle most you can move yourself..

Hauling Rocks on a Stone Boat, Sled, or Dolly - Hosta Forum - GardenWeb


----------



## Cotharyus (Jun 21, 2012)

All good advice so far. Of course, I like to use a mini-ex to move big rocks. A bit of a sling, you can kick the side of the rock up with the bucket, slip the sling under it, set it down, then hook the sling on the bucket, and off you go.

That said, I've got a few rocks that I'd like to move that I can't use the EX on - it won't even begin to touch them. The rig I've come up with, but not yet tested, is actually a triple set of come-alongs running at angles to pull the rocks in question to where I want them, but it involves at least 6 people to make it work.


----------



## slocaus (Jul 21, 2005)

Some good threads here already.

http://forums.mtbr.com/trail-building-advocacy/rock-sling-designs-837610.html
http://forums.mtbr.com/trail-building-advocacy/spartacus-heavy-lifting-tool-758131.html


----------



## DaveVt (Jun 13, 2005)

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#tbm=shop&q=ball+cart+nursery&spd=2817167727567455307 That's what we use.
2 guys with 2 rock bars can move some serious rock.


----------



## 127.0.0.1 (Nov 19, 2013)

stoneboat'n using a honda civic hood from a junkyard

with a stoneboat one person can move a lot of rock, [of course in the
pic I am being assisted by Mr Sqweeks] but you'd be surprised how much tonnage I move by myself, one rock bar, one crowbar, and a stoneboat.


----------



## epic (Apr 16, 2005)

I think I'd find different rocks. Or instead of bringing the rocks to the trail, bring the trail to the rocks.


----------



## Fattirewilly (Dec 10, 2001)

Squatter said:


> Does anyone have some good tricks for moving heavy rocks up to a few hundred yards? Tried a wheel barrow and trolly which are good for the ones I can carry, but the ones I REALLY want are almost impossible to get into the barrow.


Grip Hoist and a skyline if mechanized is out.


----------



## Cotharyus (Jun 21, 2012)

Fattirewilly said:


> Grip Hoist and a skyline if mechanized is out.


You got any pictures of that setup?


----------



## 127.0.0.1 (Nov 19, 2013)

Appalachian trail builders do this all the time

moving rocks with skyline

https://www.google.com/search?q=mov...Wo-VJKENo3hsAS8s4H4CA&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&dpr=0.9


----------



## ray.vermette (Jul 16, 2008)

A rope puller:

Maasdam Pow'R Pull 3/4-Ton Rope Puller - 100 ft. rope-A-100 at The Home Depot

Nice long pull length. Helps if you have a stone boat or log rollers under the rock to help smooth the journey.


----------



## dburatti (Feb 14, 2004)

A good book I think every trail builder should own is Moving Heavy Things by Jan Adkins. I bought it about a decade ago and refer to it, as needed.

D


----------



## ray.vermette (Jul 16, 2008)

^ Nice find. I just ordered it from Amazon.


----------



## dirt pirate (Feb 26, 2009)

My favorite tool for handling rocks.


----------



## Fattirewilly (Dec 10, 2001)

Cotharyus said:


> You got any pictures of that setup?


Fortunately no! I've also heard of a car jack being used to lift or reposition very large rocks.


----------



## bpressnall (Aug 25, 2006)

epic said:


> I think I'd find different rocks. Or instead of bringing the rocks to the trail, bring the trail to the rocks.


A seemingly logical response that no one seems interested in. I do wonder why anyone would have to move huge rocks such distances to build a trail.


----------



## Cotharyus (Jun 21, 2012)

bpressnall said:


> A seemingly logical response that no one seems interested in. I do wonder why anyone would have to move huge rocks such distances to build a trail.


There are lots of reasons to move large rocks to a trail. Sometimes it's the only way to safely build a TTF. Other times, it's to use as a retaining wall for a switchback build up. Sometimes, you just really want the rock to be a feature, but there's no sustainable way to get the trail to the rock.



Fattirewilly said:


> Fortunately no! I've also heard of a car jack being used to lift or reposition very large rocks.


That's too bad. I've actually used a hi-lift jack and a come-along to move a rock a couple feet. But I really just needed that rock to move a couple of feet, not put it somewhere specific.


----------



## bpressnall (Aug 25, 2006)

Cotharyus said:


> There are lots of reasons to move large rocks to a trail. Sometimes it's the only way to safely build a TTF. Other times, it's to use as a retaining wall for a switchback build up. Sometimes, you just really want the rock to be a feature, but there's no sustainable way to get the trail to the rock.
> 
> Sorry, I sometimes forget not all terrain is like my local trails. Here they have jokes like, "Skippy Super Chunk-the official peanut butter of the area". On occasion we've used rock bars to to move rocks a few feet, but that's about it.


----------



## Wildfire (Feb 4, 2004)

*Sky hook*









Anyone ever hear of of moving rocks with a tethered hot air balloon? Neither have I, but I know tethered ballons have been used for logging so in theory, it's possible. Somebody please try this and report back.

When moving rock, it's important to have an understanding of basic rock terminology. Rocks can be classified into:

a) Leaverite. These are rocks that would be super cool for your trail project but, lacking teams of Egyptians or divine intervention, are just too darn big to move. Leave 'er right there.

b) BFRs. Big ****ing Rocks are what you want to shoot for: nice big rocks massive enough to stay in place at least until the world ends. The catch is that these are not so easy to move.

c) Large Gravel. These puny little 50-60 lb pebbles are mostly commonly used due to their ease of placement but, particularly if they are bowling ball shaped, will tend to work themselves loose. Avoid them if you can, unless you can use adjacent to BFRs to hold them in place.

d)Schist. All others.

Once you've identified the type of rock, it needs to be moved into place:









I've done a fair bit of moving rocks with a skyline griphoist system. It works great in the right location but the equipment is fairly expensive and can be dangerous in untrained or unthinking hands. Tensioned wire ropes under high loads are nothing to trifle with. We used this system in the alpine zone to avoid damaging the tundra and aluminum tripods for the supports. This is the Hatcher Pass trail crew in action building the Gold Cord Lake Trail.
















As mentioned earlier, rock bars can move and place some big rocks. No matter what method you use, you'll likely still need them for final positioning.

Also, as mentioned, a standard hand truck made for moving appliances and furniture works good for 200 - 300 pounders or larger if there's a decent trail to roll it on.

Good luck. Quality rock work gives a trail a nice touch that many of us take for granite.


----------

