Ditch assist

JFH3006

Ten Pointer
I have a 12 ft wide ditch that I have to cross with a 4whlr.
( had bridge but rotted out). Water stays low enough to cross but with heavy rain can become high and strong for short periods. I can cross now but getting a little older and want to make some type of solid type assistance ramp to add to each bank of ditch to make going up and down safer. Ideas???


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josh

josh

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
How steep and deep are the banks?

I’d say replace the bridge

We’ve used 10” diameter logs as main beams and then 2x6’s for the surface and they hold up for several years and sturdy enough for an ATV
 

JFH3006

Ten Pointer
Bank is only about 4ft and not real steep. Poles may work but hard for me to get there and into place.


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bigblue

bigblue

Eight Pointer
Sounds like you're more looking something to lay on the bank for more traction? How about wood pallet skids? Some businesses have them and sometimes just want to get rid of them...
 

JFH3006

Ten Pointer
Big Blue that is correct. Unsure how long pallets would last with it being damp all the time and faster water at heavy rain times


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pattersonj11

pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Depending on how wide you make your bridge, you could cut the telephone poles ahead of time and drag them into place. I’ve never attempted to stand up a 16’ or so power pole, but I would think it’s possible by hand. Stand it vertical and give a slight push to the other side. Shimmy into place and you have the beams. Top it with your choice of decking.


I also believe you could use 16’ 4x4s or 4x6s on edge. I suspect you could use treated 2x4s if you use enough of them. May have a little bounce in the middle...all depends on the design and construction.
 
pattersonj11

pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Whatever you go with, if you set it on a concrete fitting to keep it out of the dirt, I suspect you will get more years out of it. Cement block.....or I have sat backs of sacrete on the ground and let them cradle the bridge. I never open the bags, it won’t take look for moisture in the air to harden them. They probably will never be as hard as if mixed like the directions.....but this isn’t for 18 wheelers.
 
Infamous1

Infamous1

Eight Pointer
They are all up and down the sides of the road, decent chainsaw and you are in business!!

Lol subcontractors usually have a pile at their yard and sometimes will even load them for you. We just asked a crew one day and they told us where to go. We bought 4 poles from the lady in the office but no one was around to load so we just slid them on my trailer.
 

nchunter

Twelve Pointer
Infamous1 said:
They are all up and down the sides of the road, decent chainsaw and you are in business!!

Lol subcontractors usually have a pile at their yard and sometimes will even load them for you. We just asked a crew one day and they told us where to go. We bought 4 poles from the lady in the office but no one was around to load so we just slid them on my trailer.
Click to expand...

Location of the office?
The location I used to get them quit dealing with the public. Used to give away all the used poles. Now you have to get on a list and wait for a call.


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Infamous1

Infamous1

Eight Pointer
nchunter said:
Location of the office?
The location I used to get them quit dealing with the public. Used to give away all the used poles. Now you have to get on a list and wait for a call.


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Click to expand...
Mastech in Asheboro, it has been a few years now that I think about it though.
 
SomeHuntingGuy

SomeHuntingGuy

Eight Pointer
pattersonj11 said:
I’ve never attempted to stand up a 16’ or so power pole, but I would think it’s possible by hand. Stand it vertical and give a slight push to the other side.
Click to expand...

Im a pretty fit guy in my late 30s and no way in hell would I be able to flip anything larger than 10’ by hand. Those things are soo heavy.

I used telephone poles for my farms perimeter fencing, cut in 9’ lengths and they were a bear to manhandle.

I took 25-30’ poles and drug them w my truck. I think a 12 foot could be drug by an ATV as long as it doesn’t get hung up, but I have no 1st hand experience.


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Deerherder

Deerherder

Ten Pointer
Would the poles they sell at Agrisupply that look like mini-phone poles work?

I need to put a foot bridge across an 8 foot deep ditch that’s about the same wide. Was thinking of those or 4x4 posts as the spans.

We have also bought logging mats in the past for situations like the OP has, but those can be expensive.
 
Redheadduck

Redheadduck

Eight Pointer
Old power poles, I prefer the creosote ones. I deck my bridges with 2x6 and space them 1 1/2" apart. That allows water to flow thru the bridge, and will usually keep high water from floating it out of place.
 
Rescue44

Rescue44

Old Mossy Horns
SomeHuntingGuy said:
Im a pretty fit guy in my late 30s and no way in hell would I be able to flip anything larger than 10’ by hand. Those things are soo heavy.

I used telephone poles for my farms perimeter fencing, cut in 9’ lengths and they were a bear to manhandle.

I took 25-30’ poles and drug them w my truck. I think a 12 foot could be drug by an ATV as long as it doesn’t get hung up, but I have no 1st hand experience.


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Click to expand...

I've got a 2001 Artic Cat 500 4x4. I've pulled cut down trees along the field borders as as big as 12" diameter, several likely bigger. Quiet tall and all the limbs added drag as well as the trunk. Ground was firm. That model had a hi/lo range. Used lo range.
 
dc bigdaddy

dc bigdaddy

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Deerherder said:
Would the poles they sell at Agrisupply that look like mini-phone poles work?

I need to put a foot bridge across an 8 foot deep ditch that’s about the same wide. Was thinking of those or 4x4 posts as the spans.

We have also bought logging mats in the past for situations like the OP has, but those can be expensive.
Click to expand...
Just a foot bridge, yes, 3 of them side by side with the boards across all 3 will be plenty for you to walk across. I would make sure you have plenty of bearing on each side
 

DFisher

Eight Pointer
I was able to grab a couple leftover W8 steel beams from work, and some galvanized grating, so my bridge will hold up the world if I can get it all into place. Same layout as yours basically, beams are 14', grating 6' wide. I plan to set cinder blocks at 4 points, 2 each side, and fill them with concrete, and set the beams on the blocks. I will place threaded rod into the concrete, then use those to secure the beams into place. Now if I can just find the time.....
 
Triggernosis

Triggernosis

Ten Pointer
Treated 4×6's will support a 4-wheeler just fine. About 10 years ago, I built a 12' span bridge for a local farmer to move 1,200 lb steers from one pasture to another using 4×6's and 2x6's and it has held up fine. I drive my Honda Rancher across it all the time.
 
SomeHuntingGuy

SomeHuntingGuy

Eight Pointer
It’s not necessarily relevant to the conversation but I think there are some on this form that could benefit from it:

The agriculture treated posts, and telephone poles, have way more chemical in them than anything you’ll get up Lowes or Home Depot. In my opinion this is a good thing because they last longer.

If you do go to Lowe’s or Home Depot and look at the label on the ends of the pressure treated stuff, they have the amount of chemical that they are pressure-treated with. Ground contact rated it is typically .15, non-ground contact is typically .015. Clearly that means you get 10 times more chemical for ground treated contact rated than non.
Agriculture treated is a different kind of chemical (I think) and there’s a lot more of it. When I built a post and rail fence several years ago I found that Home Depot decking was rated for ground contact whereas Lowes was not. I bought every board they had in the store (300ish x 16ft). I don’t believe it’s that way anymore. I also used round posts from a local farm supply vs the square 4x4s.


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bwfarms

bwfarms

Old Mossy Horns
You could take 4 posts and tie them into pairs to span the width of the tires. Tires stay in the groove so no slipping out. Maybe a few braces along the bottom.
 
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