How to move this rock Update: Rock Moved

[AldeanFan]

I want to move this rock about 12'
The only price of equipment I have easy access to is a compact Kubota tractor. I don't need to lift the rock and put it in a truck or anything, just want to roll/drag/ slide it to a new spot.
Thanks


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[racinfarmer]

Re: How to move this rock

Does the Kubota have a loader? If so, roll it with the loader.

 

[magimerlin]

Re: How to move this rock

Sooo. What's your question? You have access to a tractor so use the bucket and roll that big boy to its new spot...

sent from what use to be a great country...

 

[AldeanFan]

Re: How to move this rock

I have no idea what this rock weighs, I don't want to break my neighbours little tractor trying to do something way beyond its capabilities


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[rsanter]

Re: How to move this rock

A couple of chains around it and pull it with the tractor

Bob

 

[AldeanFan]

How to move this rock

Look for a future post from me on how to fix a Kubota tractor [emoji6]


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[The Cobbler]

Re: How to move this rock

Look for a future post from me on how to fix a Kubota tractor [emoji6]


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and a rock in the middle of my yard where the wife doesn't want it LOL

 

[schor]

Re: How to move this rock

You won't break the tractor by rolling the rock. The tractor will lift before it breaks, if it lifts then you know you can't do it.

 

[jeff000]

Re: How to move this rock

A couple of chains around it and pull it with the tractor

Bob

Depends how big the tractor is and how big the rock is. A 3*3*3 rock is heavy, I couldn't drag one with Volvo L50 loader, ended up rolling it with the bucket. The ground being loose didn't help with traction.

I'm picturing the tractor as a little lawn tractor.

 

[ozyborn]

Re: How to move this rock

Measure and estimate the weight. Rent a fork lift to handle that size and move it.

That being said. I would just tell my 2 boys to leave the rock alone and not move it over there. Within a couple hours it will be over there somehow.

 

[G-ManBart]

Re: How to move this rock

Generally speaking, no sub-compact tractors can lift that rock, and probably most compact tractors can't either.

Roll it with the loader, but make sure to use the center of the bucket, not a corner. If you use a corner it can easily bend the torque tube between the two sides of the loader.

This was my old compact tractor....about 6,500lbs with the loader and 1,400lb counterweight on it, and it had no problem rolling this massive boulder.

 

[manwithtools]

Re: How to move this rock

That's a pretty big rock for a compact tractor to move, trust me I have a 33hp Kubota B series. That's certainly a decorative rock. I wouldn't use the loader to roll it even if it could; it will scar the rock up.

I'd consider trying to chain it up and pull it. If you could get it on a sheet of plywood first (using the loader carefully) that would make it much easier to pull.

Might even roll it with some help from a few friends - excuse to drink some beer and maybe make $10,000 form Americas Funniest Videos if you film it.....

 

[NUTTSGT]

Re: How to move this rock

Don't be surprised if a section of the rock breaks off when you try to move it.

 

[G-ManBart]

Re: How to move this rock

You won't break the tractor by rolling the rock. The tractor will lift before it breaks, if it lifts then you know you can't do it.

Not necessarily true. I had enough counterweight on my last tractor that I could max the loader and not lift the rear tires. In fact, many things I moved were too heavy to raise to max loader height, but I could get them off the ground. With the blue tractor pictured above, it would lift 2,500lbs to full height, and quite a bit more down low. So, it really depends on how the tractor in question is set up.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Re: How to move this rock

The back of the tractor will be lifted off the ground before you hurt the tractor trying to lift it. Like said before lift with the center of the bucket.

 

[xtremek]

Re: How to move this rock

Tow strap or chain wrapped around it, and pull away. My 8n moved a couple about that size up out of a ditch. It was all the Old Mule could do to get the job done. A neighbor wanted them and moved them with his (much littler) Kubota with no issues.

 

[AldeanFan]

Re: How to move this rock

Lots of good advice here as usual.
It's a little tractor like a BX25, definitely not meant for moving big rocks but might roll it.
There is a paved parking lot in the direction I want to move the rock, About 30' from where the rock is now.
I'm thinking I can put a sheet of plywood down for the rock to slide on, push with the tractor bucket and if that's not enough, pull with my truck and a tow strap from the parking lot.


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[AldeanFan]

Re: How to move this rock

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know how to calculate the weight of a rock? I'd be interested to know what it might weigh.


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[AldeanFan]

Re: How to move this rock

Don't be surprised if a section of the rock breaks off when you try to move it.

This would be a big problem, wife loves the rocks, there's a matching one on the other side of the driveway.



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[Fly320s]

Re: How to move this rock

Granite weighs about 150 pounds per cubic foot. A BX25 loader can only lift about 500 pounds, so it won't be able to pick up that rock. Roll it or slide it on skids.

 

[AldeanFan]

Re: How to move this rock

Granite weighs about 150 pounds per cubic foot. A BX25 loader can only lift about 500 pounds, so it won't be able to pick up that rock. Roll it or slide it on skids.

Thanks, that puts my rock over 2,000 pounds!


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[dutchgray]

Re: How to move this rock

Measure it, calculate the volume, rock is around 2 ton per cubic yard.
I'd put money on that being no more than a Ton.

 

[Dberglind]

Re: How to move this rock

This may help:

 

[AldeanFan]

Re: How to move this rock

That being said. I would just tell my 2 boys to leave the rock alone and not move it over there. Within a couple hours it will be over there somehow.

Best answer so far! Sound like my brother and me when we were kids




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[James-W]

Re: How to move this rock

Many years ago, when I was kid, my older brother and I helped a guy move a large rock. It was terribly heavy so lifting it was out of the question, we had to drag it or roll it in order to move it. We figured we could drag it easier than try to roll it since it had an irregular shape not conducive to rolling.

We got a piece of heavy duty flat plate steel and we welded a heavy duty angle iron to one side of it. Then we made holes in the angle iron and steel plate so we could attach a heavy duty log chain. Once that was done, we put a chain around the rock and tried to roll it onto the plate steel. It took awhile, but we finally got it to sit in the middle of the plate steel. Then we used the guy’s small tractor to pull the plate steel with the rock on it. It moved fairly easily because the plate steel just slid on top of the sod. It did, however, make a ”dent” in the ground where it slid because the rock was so damn heavy. But we were able to move the rock without incident.

Perhaps something like this would work for you too.

 

[G-ManBart]

Re: How to move this rock

The back of the tractor will be lifted off the ground before you hurt the tractor trying to lift it.

People say this all the time, and it's not really true.

If you're lifting the rear tires off the ground, you are massively overloading the front axle, and that can cause damage very quickly. Some makes and models are known to snap front hubs/spindles when they get overloaded....oh, and the replacements don't exist, so yo have to find a machine shop/fabrication place who will charge somewhere around $1,500 to make a new one for you.

The blanket statement that lifting the rear tires will prevent damage to the machine is simply wrong, and can lead to expensive repair bills. That's especially bad when it's someone else's tractor.

Lifting the rear tires might save the loader from damage in some situations, but not always. There have been times people try lifting something near the limit, the rear tires raise but a bit, the load shifts, overloads one side of the loader, and bends the torque tube connecting the two sides...oops. Tires raising didn't stop that one from happening.

 

[Super Mech]

Re: How to move this rock

Several years ago I moved a rock twice that size by dragging it with a Grand Cherokee. We wrapped in cables and away it went. I would be very careful with that thing, it looks to have a fracture off to one side of it. If you apply force the wrong way a 1/4 of that rock will fall off. Only good side is that it will be lighter then.

 

[mcmlvif100]

Re: How to move this rock

If you assume that it's granite, then the density is ~170 lbs. / cu. ft.

Estimating the rock to be 2 ft. x 2 ft. 2 ft. (which is probably on the low side), it would weigh ~1,400 lbs.

If, instead, it was 3 ft. x 3 ft. x 3 ft (which is almost certainly on the high side), it would weigh ~4,600 lbs.

Reference: http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/density-solids-d_1265.html

 

[CNGsaves]

Re: How to move this rock

+1 to roll or slide.

Ancient Eqyptians & Mayans moved stones with fulcrum/lever and people power !!

 

[viikinki]

Re: How to move this rock

How about chainhoist and tripod ?

 

[Pluribus]

Re: How to move this rock

IMHO, the only way a BX25 is going to move that rock is by rolling it, and even that will be a challenge. You might be able to lift a corner; that's it. Doubt it could pull it, and even trying to pull it with something bigger will likely make the rock dig in. You might be able to make the tractor lift a corner of it (if you're lucky) to get something like a sheet of plywood under it to slide or to roll it, but that's about it. Steel bucket to rock is going to make a mess of the rock unless you figure out a way to use a wood cushion.

Alternative idea: Do you have any connections with someone who owns a wrecker or some other piece of equipment with a big winch? Using fabric lift straps with that setup to pull it where you want would be well worth the cost. Of course this depends on access, pull direction, etc. Depending on your potential anchors, lots can be done with cables, straps, and ****** blocks.

 

[matt_i]

Re: How to move this rock

If trying to pull, getting traction will be the biggest issue. I have an IH 460 utility tractor in the 45hp range, with lugged ag tires that I believe could move it *if* I could get the tires hooked up to the ground. I have torn up great chunks of turf when I couldn't get power hooked up to the ground. What I have done in response is hook the chain to the back leg of the 2 bottom plow, this acts as a lever to increase loading on the rear tires. The plow is not standard, it had been to someone's "welding shop" before I bought it and they about doubled the structure with heavy steel.

I would try a pinch & point bar and a wooden 2x fulcrum to distribute load just to see if I could rock it by hand (this is a 6-1/2' long forged prybar, see also McMaster carr for examples of same) You could always use the pinch bar in addition to pulling.

 

[ChevyEFI]

Re: How to move this rock

Use the Flex with the viscous AWD. Once the driveline shoots out, you'll know it's closer to 3^3 ft than to 2^3 ft.

 

[AldeanFan]

Re: How to move this rock

Use the Flex with the viscous AWD. Once the driveline shoots out, you'll know it's closer to 3^3 ft than to 2^3 ft.

Thanks, that's why I have a 4x4 Tundra


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[brownbagg]

Re: How to move this rock

dig a hole beside it and bury it

 

[AldeanFan]

Re: How to move this rock

IMHO, the only way a BX25 is going to move that rock is by rolling it, and even that will be a challenge. You might be able to lift a corner; that's it. Doubt it could pull it, and even trying to pull it with something bigger will likely make the rock dig in. You might be able to make the tractor lift a corner of it (if you're lucky) to get something like a sheet of plywood under it to slide or to roll it, but that's about it. Steel bucket to rock is going to make a mess of the rock unless you figure out a way to use a wood cushion.

Alternative idea: Do you have any connections with someone who owns a wrecker or some other piece of equipment with a big winch? Using fabric lift straps with that setup to pull it where you want would be well worth the cost. Of course this depends on access, pull direction, etc. Depending on your potential anchors, lots can be done with cables, straps, and ****** blocks.

This sounds like good advice,
I used to have friends in the towing business that would know exactly what to do, but they've all moved away or died. That Makes me feel old


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[Jeff Ivers]

Re: How to move this rock

I moved a very large rock using a tow strap wrapped around the rock and connected to my E150 van - drug it 50' across grass, then another 50' of gravel. When I hit the gravel, I had to stop about every 5' and rake the bunched up gravel from out of the front of the rock.

 

[PelicanPines]

Re: How to move this rock

I have rocks that size... if the tractor won't move it... roll it with a 4x4 and landscape bar... two fairly strong peeps... should be no issue. My guess... it's less than 1000 pounds. I rolled one that size with my wife... about 60 feet...

 

[Showkey]

Re: How to move this rock

How about chainhoist and tripod ?

Sorry....but.......then what ?

That works if you build a sled, set it on the sled and then drag it.......

 

[58Yeoman]

Re: How to move this rock

A few years ago, I moved a rock a bit smaller than that with my Ford Ranger, 5x8 landscape trailer and a 2 ton engine hoist. Removed ramp from trailer, ratchet strapped the hoist to the end of the trailer, then lifted the rock with the hoist. The front of the trailer lifted, which lifted the back of my Ranger. Luckily, it's 4 WD. I pulled it about 300' to the front of the yard, where it sits today. Wish I'd taken pictures.