Update: Ignored the soft ground and now my backhoe is stuck

Turns out, a five-minute soil check could have prevented this whole mess.

2 comments

2 Comments

What exactly did the ground feel like when you first started digging, was it pure mud or more like a spongy layer over hardpan? I've seen machines sink fast in those deceptively dry looking spots that hid a ton of water underneath. Figuring out what you hit could help next time, or even for getting it out now. That's such a rough spot to be in, hoping you've got a bigger tractor nearby to pull it free.

price.wesley11h ago

Yeah, that spongy layer over hardpan is exactly what got me last spring. I was digging a drainage ditch and the top seemed firm, but once I broke through, it was pure soup underneath. What worked for me was using wide planks under the tracks to spread the weight out. I had a friend bring over his skid steer to help pull, but we still needed those boards to keep from sinking further. Took us a good three hours to get it free, and we learned to test dig with a shovel first in suspect areas.