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Author Topic: Mechanized Equipment for Trail Building  (Read 2980 times)

emandrews

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Mechanized Equipment for Trail Building
« on: October 28, 2014, 07:51:28 AM »

To those who have experience with mechanized equipment for cutting trail, what is your favorite piece of equipment?  We are building a trail in Muncie and have been looking into renting something to make things go a little quicker.  I have read that that the Ditch Witch SK500 is a great option but am not sure we can get our hands on one. A local rental company has a Dingo 420 with a small bucket available, but I'm not sure how useful that would be. Any tips on specific machinery, rental companies, or knowledge of machines in the area that we could potentially borrow would be fantastic. Our trail is coming along great, but some earth moving equipment would really help.  Thanks!


Emily




Paul_Arlinghaus

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Re: Mechanized Equipment for Trail Building
« Reply #1 on: October 28, 2014, 10:43:15 AM »
While I can say that Dingos are not well regarded for trail construction (low clearance), it is hard to answer your question without knowing what you need to do with it.


Getting the correct piece of equipment is not the main concern.  Its having the correct person running the equipment.   Since you are asking the quesiton of what equipment to get, I will assume that you do not have an experienced trail builder with experienced doing mechanized construction.


HMBA does not own or rent mechanized equipment. When we need mechanized work, we hire professional trail builders who have their own equipment.  I would strongly encourage you to consider this option.


If you still want to rent and run equipment, I would strongly suggest at least sending someone to learn how to build with mechanized equipment.  There are a couple ways to do this.  One is to take a mechanized trail building training class.  I would look for training from the Professional Trail Builders Association  http://trailbuilders.org/


They will likely have a mech training class at the professional trail builders conference in May.


If you can't find a class, the next option is to find a pro trail builder who is willing to let you volunteer for a week helping them build trails, in exchange for mechanized training and experience. 


The training and/or experience will allow you to understand what piece of equipment will fit your needs and ensure that you know how to make efficient use of it when you get it.
HMBA: Director of Trail Development / Secretary

 

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