winter roads

[Quebecnewf]

In our area the land is very boggy and soft. Does anyone out there in the group have any experence in making winter roads If you do how did you do it and what types of equipment did u use to make them and what type of machinery did you haul on them with

[slowzuki]

There is a fellow in norhtern manitoba with a good webpage on making winter road with old IH bulldozers.  The webpage is www.kingofobsolete.ca I think.

In NB I make winter roads of a different sort for skidding wood out.  The tractor is run with the buckets down a little further in every day and trees are dragged out.  This is easier with a winch, just drap the trees first.  After a day the snow turns almost like cement and you can drive on it perfectly.  The road stays frozen in the spring longer than the stuff around it so sneaks an extra week of cutting in.

[Quebecnewf]

Slowski

Thanks for the reply. When you say tractor are you talking about the tractor that is shown in your gallery. How far do you haul the logs. What do you do if you get a big batch of snow. What time do you start your road. would you be able to amke a road that a 4 wheel drive truck could pass over with a load of logs . How wide do you make your road. I saw the web page you mentioned pretty neat looks like the guy is a real scrounger of old tractors.

Hauled some logs myself to day by snowmobile will post pic when daughter returns with camera later this aft.

Paul

[slowzuki]

Hmm, if the tractor is a red one with cab and loader then yes!  We haul the logs normal skid distances, 300 m or so.  If I was going further I would get a forwarding trailer or sled.

It is fine in up to say 2 ft of snow, after that we have to use the blower or loader to plow the road as opposed to just packing it down.  If it is a dry cold snow it takes longer to pack.  Many people here have old government v-plows they chain onto the loader bucket to plow the winter trails if opening a new one in mid winter.

I don't know how the truck would do... after using ours for a few days I can take our 4wd Suzuki Sidekick on them no problem.  A truck would need a wider road I think.  Another fellow has a small dozer than he opens winter roads with.  Early on he plows so the frost will go deep and freeze good then he lets it pack.  The pack insulates and keeps the road good.

I won't say dates as you are much more north than me but as soon as the snow stays good we start working the not so wet areas.  The wet areas are saved for Januray on so when trees are winched accross it freezes quickly for working the next day.

Slowski

Thanks for the reply. When you say tractor are you talking about the tractor that is shown in your gallery. How far do you haul the logs. What do you do if you get a big batch of snow. What time do you start your road. would you be able to amke a road that a 4 wheel drive truck could pass over with a load of logs . How wide do you make your road. I saw the web page you mentioned pretty neat looks like the guy is a real scrounger of old tractors.

Hauled some logs myself to day by snowmobile will post pic when daughter returns with camera later this aft.

Paul

[pappy]

There is a fellow in norhtern manitoba with a good webpage on making winter road with old IH bulldozers.  The webpage is www.kingofobsolete.ca I think.

slowzuk,
Thanks for the cool link, it's a good read... and I thought it was cold in these parts   

[Quebecnewf]

the guy that opens the roads with a small dozer How far does he make the roads does he keep them open all winter. I am hoping to open a winter road across boggy ground but I'm not sure of how to go about it.What do you do first let the ground snow over or start working it before the snow falls

How do you work the ground before it freezes its like crossing a lake if you go too soon you get wet (if you go too soon on boggy ground you lose the dozer) and I'm not kidding on our ground they have lost machines and there still lost today.

[slowzuki]

The guy with the dozer uses it for keeping the skid roads for his horse logging and sleigh rides open.  They work longer on a good road.

Re the timing it depends on the weather.  If we get a good freeze before snow, you can get onto the wet spots early, right after the first snows.  If we get snow first, you can't drive on it with a dozer or tractor for awhile.  You can take snowmobiles across and pack the snow so it freezes sooner for the dozer or you can winch trees through to pack it down.

I don't like getting into wet places here very early as it is rocky and rough with streams etc.  Going later makes the snow level out the bumps.

If using a dozer I would get a small one, easier to get out if stuck.

[Gary_C]

Here in Minnesota, they will "freeze a road down" across a swamp by making a light pass with a small wide pad dozer to clear off any grass and pack the snow after the temps are below zero. Then they will wait a few days for the road to freeze solid. However this past winter it did not work because we had snow before it froze hard and there was no frost in much of the swamps.

I have not done this myself, because I have not seen any trees on the other side of a swamp that I wanted that bad. Those wide pad dozers will float over some pretty soft ground, but when you start to see ripples in the ground around your machine, it's too late.       

If you try to stop and back up, you may not see the nose of that dozer again.   :'( :'(

[Quebecnewf]

thats the problem here the ground is soft and deep. A few years back while working on a hydro line with a muskeg which is a tracked light grounf pressure machine. They felt it settle and before the driver had time she was gone as far as I know they left it there.

I guess the trick is to start as soon as you can and keep working it all winter. We would be looking at 12 to 15 klm of road. Ground is very wet so once it freezes if you can keep the snow of it it will freeze deep You could haul big loads.

[redpowerd]

ive allways wonderd about spreading layers of sawdust over winter roads to keep a good ice pack.

[slowzuki]

12-15 km

That is a lot of road.  Is it all through swamp?  Can you stay on high ground for most of it?  I ask as there is a good chance of putting the road over a spring that keeps it thawed all winter...

thats the problem here the ground is soft and deep. A few years back while working on a hydro line with a muskeg which is a tracked light grounf pressure machine. They felt it settle and before the driver had time she was gone as far as I know they left it there.

I guess the trick is to start as soon as you can and keep working it all winter. We would be looking at 12 to 15 klm of road. Ground is very wet so once it freezes if you can keep the snow of it it will freeze deep You could haul big loads.

[Quebecnewf]

No it would be all over marsh. There should be no problem with springs . No high ground. There is one advantage if you can keep the snow of for a few weeks it will freeze very deep and stay frozen long after the rest is melted out.

Sprucebunny gave me a link to a neat looking machine
http://s2.invisionfree.com/snowgroomingtalk/index.php?showtopic=606

What do you think should I order one

Paul