''steep slopes on dozers''

[ih100]

Were you the first person to do a 1:1, Cam? Sounds like you think you were.

 

[Cam85]

He'll no

 

[ih100]

Sorry, that probably came across a bit harsh. Long day combined with little sleep and gastritis does that.

The bit I don't like about 1:1 is the crease in your backside cheek where you slide into the corner of the seat cushion for hours at a time.

 

[Cam85]

That's ok mate I probebly should have gorne in to a bit more detail.
Funnily enough it took 5 years and a lot of encouragement from my employer at the time b4 I would climb on 1 in 1.
My last employer thought I was effin crasy when he watched me run his d6r strait across a 1 in 1 and at one point hit a bit steeper and slid to the bottom.
I told him to spot watching and go but a new seat because my bum was going tear it up

 

[Scrub Puller]

Yair . . . Its an old revived thread this one and I haven't read it through again.

All I can say is (same with lots of things) just because you can do it doesn't mean to say you should .

Running steep side slopes (I have found) with proper planning is seldom necessary.

Stand above a tractor working side slope and you can hear the walking gear complaining . . . in my mind I can see the metal coming off the flanges and it fair sets my teeth on edge.

Overlapping onto the slope board thread (we called them batter boards) I reckon they are the ducks guts and gets away from all that bull$hit.

I have only had the luxury of using one a time or two and I would consider one essential in big cuts with a scraper crew . . . far quicker and easier on the tractor than working on the slope.

They don't have to be fancy to be effective. The one I used had no hydraulics and was held on by three pins. It laid against the batter (slope) and was or dropped off or fitted as needed . . . took about five minutes with an offsider on the ground.

They have to be built strong though. That one on the 8H had (I think) an 8x8" diagonal brace that pinned on the push beam near the trunnion.

I think it had just three settings 2, 2.5 and 3:1 which were true when the blade was level . . . you could of course provide more adjustment holes and make it any thing you liked.

This was of course in the days before excavators and I cut some batters in rough and gnarly country pretty much spot on . . . the job could have been done with the grader but it would have taken time and been hard on the tyres and machine.

Cheers.

 

[Cam85]

Hey scrub good to hear from u.
The modern high track tractor seems to Handel steep batters a bit better than the old flat track stuff.
Diff steer is the go.
Propper planning is good but no matter how well u plan something u still wanna run the blade over it at the end and tidy it up right.

 

[ih100]

You're right, scrub, it is seldom necessary, but some of the work I've done it's been the only option. I'm no more a fan of seeing the sides of the track rails disappear ten times faster than usual than I am of having the armrest rammed up my backside. It's only ever been a "get out of jail" option and I much prefer being on the level.

As for those slope boards, I've never seen one in the UK but one would have made my life a lot easier over the years. So many jobs I've dome I could have done faster and safer. I'm guessing they aren't too robust if you're heavy-handed though?

 

[Scrub Puller]

Yair . . . ih100 . I have to say that from memory I never studied it and always gave it everything the tractor could give . . . there is only so much you give it with a steering clutch tractor. . . I found the best technique was to shave it and take multiple cuts to work back to the line . . . it was sometimes necessary to reach up there and winkle out a high spot with the corner of the blade.

I often thought they would be extra good on a TD24 or something with a two speed track system . . . I can imagine one on that new D8 size hydrostatic Deere folks on here are talking about . . . what a bloody dream setup to operate that would be.

On decent cuts I always had the the scrapers slot out against the toe so the batters were always a good floor deeper than the cut . . . they were checked for truth and at that stage they were finished to all intents.

Cheers

 

[R.D.G013]

Yair . . . ih100 . I have to say that from memory I never studied it and always gave it everything the tractor could give . . . there is only so much you give it with a steering clutch tractor. . . I found the best technique was to shave it and take multiple cuts to work back to the line . . . it was sometimes necessary to reach up there and winkle out a high spot with the corner of the blade.

I often thought they would be extra good on a TD24 or something with a two speed track system . . . I can imagine one on that new D8 size hydrostatic Deere folks on here are talking about . . . what a bloody dream setup to operate that would be.

On decent cuts I always had the the scrapers slot out against the toe so the batters were always a good floor deeper than the cut . . . they were checked for truth and at that stage they were finished to all intents.

Cheers

Outfit I worked for back in NZ many yrs ago made a batter blade for a TD 15B out of an old grader blade, was hyd adjustable was real handy doing batters, didn't have to get a grader come an trim as the dozer could trim the batter as it was cut down.

 

[Cam85]

Rd.g13 why ? A dozer can trim at 1 in 1 no troubel at all these days I can do it with a direct drive flat track if I want steeper than that push up or down still don't need a grader or a stupid lookin contraption bolted on the blade I fail to c the point.

Hey scrub u alwase loose ground when u batter off why cut at the toe when u can cut a bit wider batter off and use the excess to nip and tuck to desired position?


Ps have u got the poops with me no replies 4 a while.

Have a look at how to angel cut a hill side that should explain a few things.

 

[ih100]

Yair . . . ih100 . I have to say that from memory I never studied it and always gave it everything the tractor could give . . . there is only so much you give it with a steering clutch tractor. . . I found the best technique was to shave it and take multiple cuts to work back to the line . . . it was sometimes necessary to reach up there and winkle out a high spot with the corner of the blade.

I often thought they would be extra good on a TD24 or something with a two speed track system . . . I can imagine one on that new D8 size hydrostatic Deere folks on here are talking about . . . what a bloody dream setup to operate that would be.

On decent cuts I always had the the scrapers slot out against the toe so the batters were always a good floor deeper than the cut . . . they were checked for truth and at that stage they were finished to all intents.

Cheers

Scrub, I started batters with clutch and brake machines, but after getting spoiled on hystats I wouldn't want to got back. I've never been on a batter with anything as big as an 8, but I imagine a bigger mount multiplies the rail and roller wear.

Have all of your batter boards been home made? Wouldn't mind seeing a picture or two.

 

[Cam85]

Ih100 putting an d8r up on a batter is no big deal but putting an 8L up on a batter is stupid the modern tractor dezine is far superior in relation to balance and weight to track on ground ratio undercarriage dezine and so on.
An L series tractor is to heavy 4 it's tracks and will spit em but an r will Handel it no troubel.

I can't finger out why people are against it talking about track ware n stuff anybody would think where talking about hanging on a batter all day every day.
Where talking about half a day at most now and again simply to trim it of and make it pretty what's the big deal ?

U should b creating the batter as u go and just tidy it up at the end.

If people are that stressed about it take it on a bit of an angel problem solved.

 

[ih100]

Not sure anyone else is stressed about it, Cam. Anyway, I think we've got the message that you're the man on batters, so what more can we say? I'm gone.

 

[Scrub Puller]

Yair . . . ih100 .I have only actual used the one as mentioned in the #125post . . . it was home made and looked it but, as I say, it worked extremely well . . . no hydraulics. Just pinned at required angle with blade level blade tilt gave come and go as required.

I only seen a couple of others, both hydraulic but not as stoutly built, I assumed they were factory jobs.

Cam85. No worries mate. No stress here at all . . . just saying as I believe it is . . . that is to say:-- machines, almost any machine works best on the level and in the right application a batter board on a dozer can be a handy bit of gear.

Irrigation channels are one obvious application where you are cutting batter all the time.

Cheers.

 

[ih100]

Thanks, Scrub.

 

[nicky 68a]

Done these batters for last seven years with a D5H lgp on std grousers.I would go down one a month or so and spend a couple of days getting them as steep as I could.Was sand that was dry as snuff,so side trimming wasn't an option.Not for me anyhow.Was hard on tracks.

 

[nicky 68a]

cutting batters by eye in good clay with towed scrapers is easy enough if doing it by yourself.This particular batter goes down about 130 vertical feet, so the back wheels do slip abit.You couldn't go back up to retrim them if it's wrong.Would need a dozer.

 

[nicky 68a]

The batters on this end of the job were filled batters,not cut.I pulled my tractors off them 2 years ago as it was too hard on the old machines.Having to overfill engines and transmissions and then run the undercarriage off them started to upset me especially as they had a nice new D6K on the haulroads that wouldn't go near the batters,so I said I would stop coming down to trim them up.After 2 years of different drivers not being able to do the job,I ended up having to drive their machine this summer.The batters were that far out that I roughly civilised them with a D8 in a cut and fill fashion.It had gone way past the 'just trim 'em up' stage and after hoovering about 10,000 cube up them,down them,and across them,they were starting to take shape and totally transform the pit,which appeased the disgruntled planners.I then spent a week trimming them up with a D6K of theirs on the side slope running somebody elses coins of the tracks.

 

[nicky 68a]

I got them ready for topsoiling by the end of a very dry September.They said that they would have a go at them.As of Christmas this year,they remain untouched after the driest autumn on record......

 

[ih100]

Very nice work, Nicky. Got to say the "K" is my weapon of choice for that kind of work as well. That's if there's one available.