To tough to Mole 5 yr dd field

[Matt L]

I've gone away from contractor with d8. Partly because of cost of low loader to move it a few hundred years down the road, partly because the steel tracks cause too much surface compaction which then needs rectifying with a deeper than I'd like cultivation

Understand the low loader costs for the moves but steel tracks don't cause more compaction than rubber tracks rubber tracked machines just weigh a lot less than D8s which is why there is a bit more compaction

 

[mikep]

Understand the low loader costs for the moves but steel tracks don't cause more compaction than rubber tracks rubber tracked machines just weigh a lot less than D8s which is why there is a bit more compaction

Weight alone is not the cause of soil damage but weight and slippage are. A heavy steel tracked machine when used in moling conditions should give minimal slippage and be the better option for the soil.

 

[Matt L]

Yes fully agree. As always though there is a compromise.

We check the soil at moling depth prior to doing any for our clients. Sometimes it is only just fit at 600 when the surface is a little bit damp and this is where slippage comes from.

That and people that don't check the soil at the depth of the mole. Too dry and your just wasting time and money

 

[mikep]

Yes fully agree. As always though there is a compromise.

We check the soil at moling depth prior to doing any for our clients. Sometimes it is only just fit at 600 when the surface is a little bit damp and this is where slippage comes from.

That and people that don't check the soil at the depth of the mole. Too dry and your just wasting time and money

Knew a contractor many years ago who charged more for moling in the wrong conditions. He would tell the farmer it was too dry but if they insisted he charged an extra 50p for wear on his mole. That was a lot in those days and clarified the mind, he didn't care if he lost the job as whoever did the job would not make much on it. One of the true characters he made his own moles out of ex ww2 surplus and reckoned the steel plate he used was armour plate and the moles were train axles.

 

[Cutlerstom]

Weight alone is not the cause of soil damage but weight and slippage are. A heavy steel tracked machine when used in moling conditions should give minimal slippage and be the better option for the soil.

That's a nice theory, and I understand where you are coming from, but in practice, the effort required to pull out the track marks of a D8 is far greater compared to that of a Challenger 75