Forestry Road Improvements - Building a Firewood Super Highway -E179

Jason and Karen are investing in woodlot infrastructure again. We're using the Komatsu backhoe to spread 90 metric tonnes of crushed rock on some of our forestry roads to reduce the risk of damaging our forestry equipment. Let us know if you think we are crazy!
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[@outdoorswithlarryrobin]

Hello Jason, nice work 🪵👍🏼🇺🇸

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Thanks guys. I love the backhoe! I can only imagine how nice a new machine would be to operate…

[@raystormont]

Machinery maintenance is always present, however whenever you can reduce ware tear it's almost always a no brainer to make improvements in your infrastructure to lessen future repairs. One question that needs to be answered every time before improvements are started is will improvements work and last so that your capital when limited is deployed effectively. Great job. Ray

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Thanks Ray. I really want this main road to be in good shape. I don't want to put tractor trailers on it again so all of the wood will have to come out to the yard behind the tractor...

[@richardbrowne1679]

Happy Birthday- The road is looking good. It’s hard to get a crown without some kind of blade that you can tilt.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Thanks! I hear you… barely covering the rocks on this pass!

[@brianwestveer9532]

Looking good

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Thanks Brian! Wish we could do the whole network like this ;)

[@marksparkplug7758]

Thanks Jason, Happy birthday. I just did a small section of road also and I have had good luck with using screened asphalt grindings. Take care.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Thanks Mark. Screened asphalt would work well… that stuff isn’t cheap either!

[@budl4656]

Happy birthday woods work on birthday just like me nice road is there nice gravel next to roads the rock is spendee thanks 4 the video Hopefully the wife makes a cake 4 the old guy😂

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Thanks! Our Woodlot is more clay, loam and limestone. Not really any good gravel here. I like building them up and capping with this crushed rock. I got a nice cake!

[@fricknjeep]

hi there looks like you are quite busy your self , well done john

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Yes Sir, we like to keep busy! Thanks for stopping by, Jason

[@savagefirewood]

Happy belated birthday Jason always enjoy your content. Keep up the great work Cheers my friend 👌🏻🔥🇨🇦

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Thank you!

[@larrykerr7712]

Another good job.Well done.Happy Birthday

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Thank you very much!

[@lloydbutler7479]

Good to have the equipment to do the work instead of needing to hiring it out. Only have a brush saw, chain saw, atv and an old MF135 the a blade to ‘maintain’ our main road. The spur ‘roads’ are just atv trails currently.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

We are lucky to have some gear around... we took the plunge on the backhoe in 2008 as an 8 year old used machine and hoped for the best but it worked out really well for us. We pulled a lot of wood out over the years behind ATVs and the old 414! Thanks for watching!

[@philu782]

Happy B ! Perhaps a little present in the form of box blade would be in order. You could pull it behind your Kubota and make nice smooth roads with the appropriate crown and maintain them continuously ... and you don't have to win the lottery for that ;-)

[@OakMountainAcotts]

I was wondering if anyone would catch my dry humour there ;) Dad has a new box blade with rippers for the Kioti. I think it will work well to help us crown the roads a bit and keep the material out of the ditches!

[@EINNHOJ100]

Hey there partner I see your still packing and tipping up those fuel cans. I too done a lot of the bull work by hand but got away as my joints are in reasonable shape for my age. Many people I know have had their shoulder hip and knee replaced. Would a small skidder work better in the winter to get your trees to the yard less damage to your road and forest. happy birthday from john

[@OakMountainAcotts]

I have a little electric fuel pump that I use for the smaller gear which helps a little. You can dump 5 gallons in the backhoe pretty easily so I’ll keep tipping them for a while yet! Not sure if a little skidder would be good or not… definitely would get around through the snow easy!

[@magnerostad6838]

Some things like that in the video on your Kubota too take the final grade on your road. Fine to maintain your road with too.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Thanks for watching!

[@bobfitch607]

Nice work with a limited budget jason. Happy 50 th birthday 🎂 and many more 🎉

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Thanks Bob. I could run heavy equipment every day… I love it!

[@coreyhannan4263]

Happy birthday!! The road looks great. Glad you got to enjoy your birthday in the woods

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Thanks! It is a great place to hang out!

[@glenharrison123]

You folks should come visit in New Zealand and fix my rental driveway, lol

[@OakMountainAcotts]

You should see what we can do with a bigger budget! ;) New Zealand is on my bucket list.... thanks for watching!

[@alittleofthisandalittleofthat]

Look forward to each video you post. Happy Birthday 🍭🎂🎈🎉🎊🎁💐🍕

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Thank you! Wish we had time to make more… darned day jobs!

[@yvesjolicoeur747]

Happy 50th my friend. Awesome job on the backhoe and camera ;)

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Thanks! The camera girl was jumping brush piles this time... she's dedicated!

[@johnval8777]

Happy Birthday, without ditches your roads still going to wash out on the hill

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Agreed. We need to slope them a bit more towards the existing ditches but they are holding pretty good so far!

[@noelstractors-firewood57]

Happy birthday. I’m way over that nice age. 🤭 Great job. Looks great. Wondering if some sort of small road grader machine would help keep a crown on the road. Even a back blade for the international tractor, 7’ wide blade angled and adjust the 3 point to make a crown. We do that with our old Ferguson tractor. It has a 7’ rear blade. And maybe a box blade with ripper teeth to loosen the road before using the rear blade. Just some thoughts Jason. I sure don’t mean to say, that’s how you should do it. Are you getting any of hurricane Lee. Hopefully you not. Jumpins I’m right in the path of it. Have not finished the splitting of Fiona wood yet. Hopefully I don’t have to add Lee wood to the Fiona pile. Have a great day Jason.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Thanks Noel! Dad has a nice box blade with ripper teeth for his kioti. I think as we build these roads up, it will be a good tool to crown them from time to time. NB is in the path as well… we are battening down the hatches tonight to get ready for tomorrow night! Stay safe, Jason.

[@noelstractors-firewood57]

@@OakMountainAcotts 👍🏻👍🏻

[@dhache1195]

Good work you did and the Komatsu still in a very good shape. Years ago I had to do +/- same work as you did but a neighbor suggest me to lay geotextile prior to spread 3/4'' and 1'' and in 12 years I had to fix it only one time, geotextile reduce a lot the ''sinking'' of the crush rock. (I had and still have to ''maintain'' my road but not to ''fix it'' every year) Wish you all the best 👍👍👍

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Hi, the old Komatsu is 23 this year... we try to stay up on the maintenance but it could use a little paint! I've never used geotextile but it makes sense. Is it expensive stuff to buy? Thanks for watching.

[@dhache1195]

@@OakMountainAcotts The way the Komatsu is use, it will survive you, with a basic usual maintenance and keep the rust away. Geotextile; if my memory serve me well, roll of 4m x 100m was less than 300$ 12 years ago and, for me, it worth it. And Happy birthday

[@tomashbaugh8891]

Happy birthday Jason

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Thank you!

[@bwillan]

Gravel road maintenance is an never ending task. Do you have a box blade or land plane attachment for any of the tractors on the property? Touching up rough sections of road as needed would be preferable to doing a major road repair project.

[@OakMountainAcotts]

Dad bought one last year. This is the first pass with some new material since they were built in 1996. Once we get them fixed up, it will be easy to maintain as you suggested.

[@chrisbubar6604]

Great job, happy birthday Jason. You will really enjoy that highway when bringing out more firewood. It's good that you have a pretty good rocky base on your woodlot roads. So wet on our woodlots this summer here in New Brunswick.