Transporting dredge and equipment to remote areas, Any ideas ??

[jog]

I am looking for ways that people have come up with for getting there dredges, highbankers, just about anything into remote areas.
My back has been getting worse and am looking to modify my equipment. Anybody got any great brain storms?

 

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[strickman]

I was using a set of hand trucks , someone else needed them worse than I did [stolen] . So now I have a deer cart, it can carry a hefty load .Has two wheels ,folds up .should work well ,also can be towed behind a 4 wheeler. you can find them anywhere between 45.00 -145.00 .

 

[CGC Miner]

Hmm, somewhat dependent on your terrain and equipment. After much searching I found a plastic wheel barrow with 2 large bike tires and a single bar type handle. I removed the front support legs and I use it to truck my 3" highbanker combo over 1/4 mile to the river over afew hills and rocks offroad. It works pretty well though pulling about 100lb in each load up hill after the day is quite the workout.
The other dollies and hand trucks I've used seem to work well on flat, smoothish terrain but with smaller tires can be a real pain.
I saw a pic somewhere where a guy attached 2 bike wheels to his dredge to help wheel it down to the river. A highbanker with one tire at the tail of the sluice and sort of handlebars by the hopper. Looked like one of those childrens 3 wheeled sport strollers.
A metal framed back pack can be useful to haul your motor long distances or over uneven terrain.
Nothing really makes it easy or fun, unless you have a work cart/trailer and can pull it behind an atv.

My dream transport would be a Rokon trailbreaker with a heavy duty custom trailer.
CGC

 

[FiresEye]

You didn't mention price range, thus I suggest you look for old thrown away bikes, and rims, certain items can be put together to form a freely made rolling transporter mechanism. There's no need to get fancy.. I once picked up a rain gutter and made a sluice out of it. That was easy, what you're talking about is a little more complicated... we are talking about applying the technology of physics to a simple machine to produce easy results..

 

[Hoser John]

DEER carriers rock the hauling world as they are lightweight but built for 100's a pounds. BRAKES are the absolute inperative addition to any/all carriers for safety sake as dredging /mining equipment is insanely expensive nowadays-John

 

[jog]

I have thought about mounting 4 dropped spindles with 4 20" BMX wheels on the corners of my 4" dredge. Gravity and some rope would work great for the getting in, but getting out is the hard part. Have considered a chainsaw winch but there not cheep.
I would probably have to get a permit to run that on Forest Service land, Ha Ha.
Has anyone ever made a sled and slid there gear in on that, and if so did it work OK?
Thanks for all the ideas and keep them coming I enjoy hearing different ways that people use there brains and know how.

 

[Hoser John]

6" triple sluice down over 1,000" on a 65-90 degree slope into Clear Creek canyon on 4 pieces of metal siding drilled ,tied and lashed utilizing boulders,trees and downfall for many MANY tieoffs but pounds and pounds were the reward. BUT after dredging all day that 1 1/4 mile trail just short of straight up was a chore and dredging gas,lunch and me down the hill in the am was not much fun either-John

 

[strickman]

amazing !!!!! that is determination !

6" triple sluice down over 1,000" on a 65-90 degree slope into Clear Creek canyon on 4 pieces of metal siding drilled ,tied and lashed utilizing boulders,trees and downfall for many MANY tieoffs but pounds and pounds were the reward. BUT after dredging all day that 1 1/4 mile trail just short of straight up was a chore and dredging gas,lunch and me down the hill in the am was not much fun either-John

 

[jog]

Falling down is easy, getting back up is the hard part!

 

[jog]

6" triple sluice down over 1,000" on a 65-90 degree slope into Clear Creek canyon on 4 pieces of metal siding drilled ,tied and lashed utilizing boulders,trees and downfall for many MANY tieoffs but pounds and pounds were the reward. BUT after dredging all day that 1 1/4 mile trail just short of straight up was a chore and dredging gas,lunch and me down the hill in the am was not much fun either-John

John...
Was the gear pulled up the same way or packed out?

 

[AU Seeker]

Old car hoods work well for a dredge sled, using a winch for lowering and winching it back up.

For less steeper terrain, I had plans to build a wheeled setup using 2 electric scooter motors, batteries and the rear 12" wheels that had internal brakes built into them along with the 2 throttle controls as the power portion/steering via the 2 throttle controls and the other 2 front 12" wheels from the same scooters on the other corners of the dredge, this would've been all detachable and mounted with square steel tubing that will slip into the square tubing of the dredge frame where it attaches to the floats of my 4" Keene dredge.

This would have been my ultimate dredge moving setup, but the 2 key words "had plans" states that this is no longer an option for me, I was going to use the parts of 2 electric scooters that still were in decent condition that my now teenage kids had outgrown to build this setup, BUT my wife while I was at work one day decided to haul some other "metal scrap" to the recycler along with the aluminum cans we save, well to my utter dismay she hauled the 2 scooters and some other "junk" as she put it along with the cans, the other "junk" just happened to be from my scrap metal stock pile that I use for modifying and building whatever I needed around the house, our vehicles as well as prospecting equipment!!

The worst part was she only got about $50 for the "other" metal scrap, the 2 scooter batteries cost $85 a piece new, the 2 motors $100 a piece, rear wheel assemblies $60 a piece, the list of other scooter parts and other metal I had collected or had left over from other projects that are not cheap go on and on are but just a memory now, she now UNDERSTANDS that my "junk" is off limits to her "cleanups/extra money" projects!!!


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[jog]

Au Seeker...
Sounds like she needs to do a little packing to make it up to you.
I have also thought about a sled made from a sheet of aluminum but it all comes back to the up hill part.

 

[Hoser John]

32 trips total for all equipment,supplies and camp ON MY BACK. Only bad piece was the 18hp briggs with that righteous special big bore 350s pump and that took 3 people to do for safetys sake.Everything else taken apart to the smallest part to trudge up that ungodly hill. I'll find some pics and try the dowsizing stuff again as this is one of the few forums I have trouble posting pics on-John

 

[Bum Luck]

Ever consider a burro?

If you're the social type, it will give you something to talk to..............

Seriously, they're a great pack animal for obvious reasons.

If you don't want to go that route, how about a travois arrangement, with larger and light wheels on the back, like trail bike wheels. That puts the weight on the ground, but still is directed by you. Heavy motor on the bottom, lighter stuff on top. For sticky areas, it should have wheels on the body side as well and a rope to drag through them.

For a rope, get a heavy piece (15') of marine grade braided nylon at least 5/8". Spend money on thus item. Nice and easy on your hands, and way strong.

 

[CGC Miner]

I'm not endorsing this product but the pictures show something that can be built fairly easily.
My cart is basically like this cart cut off at the cross-member above the single wheel.
And I use full size bike wheels.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180571036727&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

[patches63]

have learned the hard way,concise and carefull sampling prior to launching an ardous expedition.have mistaken isolated honeyholes for widespread deposition before.and packed in more than was necessary.4inch or smaller,pontoons rarely needed.sharp saw/cordless drill,fabricate any sort of stand/framework.and eat a BIG breakfast.

 

[Seamuss]

Light weight gravity fed dredge in semi-remote area works for me. No gas or heavy pumps to carry. Small tributary streams with a lot of color(black sands and a lot of fines with small pickers) and some bedrock showing often not to awful far from road.

 

[patches63]

recipe for success.such as 10 biscuits,stuffed with bacon,shredded cheese,pickled jalapeno slices,bit a real mayo.on an crackin mate. must have fuel.

 

[Seamuss]

Yes to the fuel and pass on the gas for the dredge. Did I really say that?

 

[patches63]

extra fuel on yer pak mate,after brekkie.grin.allwork here cobber. whiskey for my men,beer for my horses.