How to smooth bumpy terrain on a slope?

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How to smooth bumpy terrain on a slope?

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rent a bobcat and just go at it scrapping and spreading until you get it like you want it

after you are done you can see if you need to get a load of sand to fill in any of the remaining low spots

harley rake attachment for a skid steer

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I considered discing the entire property

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just be careful with doing such things as water and gas lines are often less then a foot under the ground and could be destroyed if you do

i think discing is a bad idea because then the whole yard will need to be continuously worked to get it all flat and smooth rather then just your problem area

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just your problem area

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The whole yard is my problem area. Land was all raw land that was clear cut after we bought. Majority of the property slopes towards the road and is full of ruts, uneven areas, etc. I’m wanting maintain the slope but reduce the ruts and “bumps”. It’s not enough to require a dozer but I’m not sure the best action.

What equipment do you have now?

do you have a tractor with a box blade or land plane?

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it cost her right at $5k for a 200x250 ft yard

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OP has 10 acres… Luckily the math isn’t directly linear. Also, as you mentioned dirt + tree removal costs more.

OP, if you don’t have equipment, you’re gonna have to hire it out. Simplest and cheapest is a tractor or skid steer with some combination of disks, tiller, or Harley rake and a land plane/leveler. Con to this is that it’s gonna take a lot longer, particularly if you need a lot of material moved around.

A dozer is relatively cheap per hour for the amount of work they can do. If you want some of the hills knocked down, a dozer can make quick work of that in no time, but not great at soil prep (eg for planting grass).

Typically looking at $1000-1500/day for dozer work depending on distance and fuel cost. Skid steer and tractor is a good bit cheaper, but won’t move material nearly as well.

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I have a skid steer with bucket and 6 way dozer blade and a tractor (not sure what attachments are needed). Have the time to do so looks like this is going to be my best option.

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If you have equipment and time, it’s definitely something you can do yourself. It may not be perfect, but you’ll get better at it and the equipment will always be there.

Depending on how bad the overall condition is, ie water drainage, large trees/stumps, large quantity of dirt, it may be worth a rough grade with a dozer. Based on your previous description, it doesn’t like you’re in bad shape.

10 acres is a lot of property to tackle. I’d try to section it off and tackle it pieces. This is what I did for my 4 acres, and it’s taken me a couple years to get it all (weather gets a vote too).

I’m not sure how well the dozer blade works on the skid steer vs the land plane, but I’d imagine you can make it work. If not, a land plane is a great implement for grading relatively level property and getting it to a fine grade. If the hills are undulating, it may require a little more manipulating on the hydraulics.

You’ll need something to bust up the ground to move it around. In order of depth light to deep (and consequently expensive to cheap), it seems a Harley rake (PTO), tiller (PTO), or disk is your best options. Advantage of Harley rake is that it does phenomenal for working in fertilizer or other soil amendments prior to planting.

I’ve played around on my property with a set of disk, box blade, and a land plane and been able to get satisfactory results. When I needed to move large volumes of dirt, I hired out a dozer to come in and help (knocked down and spread 500+ yds in a couple hours). I’ll then come back and disk, grade, and plant grass when I’m ready.