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Replace your timing belt! If you not replaced the timing its not a full service. Its about $100 for the parts plus labour vs cost a new engine. Just because it looks OK doesn't matter. The only way to be certain Is start from new!
Hang in there! I grew up on a farm in Missouri and we were always having to weld up something that broke or pull something out that was stuck. Just comes with the territory. Your doing great!!
Hi Shaun! Small advice from someone who had 30 years offroad with commercial vehicles in the snow and sandy and gravely deserts in Iceland. Truck like that will get stuck in any loose material, gravel, sand, snow and ice, because it is too light! Doing work like dragging anything or towing, you need to find something heavy to load it with. I would suggest two 1000 liters water toads. Then when you plan to go to town, empty them and fill in town and haul them back to the plot. But keep them on when you use it.
Yeah. We use the small Japanese trucks in my country, and it's so light that it gets stuck in a few inches of soft gravely soil. Didn't think a truck this heavy can still be too light.
Shaun, don’t try to invent a wheel that already exists. The oil rigs in the oil fields in Texas are placed in locations such as Dustups. Go see how they build their roads and use some “best practices”. This will save you time and money in the long run. Those roads should use a base material that has a mixture of aggregate and clay. You will need to find a way to wet it to keep it compacted. This is how the roads were built where I lived growing up. You also need to possibly look into tires like the military uses for their vehicles that go off road. They have a very tough side wall. They just don’t run smooth on the highway. Just some suggestions from someone who has been through similar situations. I do respect your relentless perseverance for success. Stay positive and keep counting the small wins.
I also worked in the oil fields, in CA. In the Belridge field, we oil sanded the main feeder roads. You probably can't do that anymore, however. However, even though the fields in CA are somewhat like desert, there isn't much sand. It's just, well, dirt that turns to mud in the short winters.
Changed and repaired tires for 10 years, you need off road all terrain type tires or the rocks will jab in-between the tread lugs and cut the steel cords, around here it's known as stone drilled. Until you get tires made for gravel even brand new tires will keep getting destroyed or punctured. And battery powered impacts have amazing torque these days.
As a semi truck driver, I'd change tires to off-road the same day. Highway tires are a nightmare to drive on dirt, or gravel. They're also secured more on the top, and less from sides, so any rock will destroy the tires from the side 😅 Still, it's good to see this truck on the ranch
well i do not drive a semi, but i do drive my bicycle in offroad and snow condition... and i wouldn't do it on Slicks either...and the best profile is useless if you pump em to the maximum psi... i use half of the pressure i would use otherwise on the road, giving you more contact surface, more grip on the loose materiel... my five cents of thoughts...
2 things yoiu Need Shaun, I'm a fellow Texan but lived in West texas for over 15 years. Worked in the oilfield the entire time. i know a few things about getting stuck. Cheapest fix for you getting stuck all the time will be a wench from Harbor Freight *badlands* they have a 12k and a 18k wench, next you will need a land anchor. just do the google search its easy to weld one up. I promise you thats a must being where you are at. Love the content keep up the great work! Clay Miller
In mexico , many villages are on long dirt roads very similar to yours. They will keep a huge old tractor tire or two on on the turn off from the highway. If a big truck has business down that road, he will chain the tire to his bumper and drag it his delivery then turn around and drag it back to the highway when hes done. Its an unspoken thing down there
As I understand it, its a 'cheap' way of grading the road. Its not as good as a proper run-over, but it helps keep the surface in shape, especially of the surface has corrugations.
regarding the current drain on the truck battery: Pull the neg cable, and put a multimeter in Amps in series with the chassis and the neg battery terminal. You should have 0.0A with everything off. If you read anything else, go through the fuse panel and pull the fuses one by one. When it drops to zero, you have found the circuit with a sneak path in it.
Waste of time. Just install a new alternator, 20 minutes-done. He'll be chasing his tail and going down rabbit holes unplugging everything in the engine bay and short circuiting who knows what with your method.
Just put a kill switch/Battery disconnect on the neg side and when its going to sit for more then a few days, hit the kill switch and the battery will be ready to go when you come back. My son has a jeep that sits a lot and the battery was always dead even after about 4 or 5 days until we installed a simple kill switch at the battery. Its been fine ever since, you just have to remember to kill it before you leave.
You need a cheap tractor for ferrying equipment from the state roads to your camp on those private rds. You should buy more farm equipment that is designed for off-road conditions, if you aren't going to fix your roads. That dump trailer and truck is nice, but everything you're buying is designed for road use. If your manure source is local, it'd be easier on equipment to transfer the manure from your dump trailer to an off road manure spreader or trailer, once you get to those rough roads. Then pull the off road trailer with a nice old tractor to your final destination. You can buy some fantastic 70s or 80s vintage tractors, like a good old Steiger, that could make light work of everything. Often times you can buy that old equipment for the price of scrap.
Yes. I live near farms and see the equipment. Off-road tires on that highway dump trailer is just a stopgap. Tractors can pull big wagons full of material, but those wagons are designed for off-road use. Farm equipment is what Shaun needs to look at.
A long time ago I tried to warn him about the street tires he had on his pickup and they were wrong for his application. He responded that he didn’t want loud off-road tires on his truck (but he eventually put proper off road tires on it several months later). Looks like a repeat. Ignorance (which he admits to) is unfortunate…but ignorance + stubbornness is really bad.
Lower your tire pressure on the truck and reduce speed while on the back roads. 14ply tires can handle the lower pressure while hauling the loaded trailer. Just keep the speed down. The lower pressure will GREATLY improve sand traction!. I'm talking about going to 15-20psi. Use your compressor to raise the tire pressure when back on the pavement.
The tires you have are closed tread highway tires, open tread off road tires will help alot more. Plus get a tire gage made for trucks and check all of them every time before using. The front tires are recaps, which is bad to have let alone illegal to use on steer tires. At work they use a battery powered impact to remove and install lugnuts followed by final tighting with a torque wrench.
I respect your fight to continue to go and I am cheering for you! Some constructive feedback as someone who has spent a lot of time driving on the off-road in my life. You are hard on tires with how you approach the terrain. Slow down more than you think you should and think a few steps ahead what can go wrong. You should never be bouncing like that in the cab with the hops. Avoid that whenever possible. Hopefully that will help you get more efficiency out of your equipment and keep your costs down. All of us are cheering for you!
Omg! You are going to be the most patient human in Texas in know time, your perseverance is admirable! Thanks for sharing your determination to make a difference for all.
Get yourself a handheld impact driver. The old school variety. And a decently big handheld sledgehammer. As someone who has grown up in the rust belt of the USA - it's a very useful tool for stuck on lug nuts. It's not just the rotational force, it's the direct impact on the threads that pops items loose. They're cheap and can be kept in a truck cabin easily.
Secondly, use wax as a penetrating oil. Trick from the heavy equipment maintainers. Torch the nut or bolt, and rub it down with a hunk of paraffin wax.
Shaun, I love your content. I have become somewhat addicted. I wanted to touch on your mindset behind all of this and using your project management mindset and being efficient. The truth is the efficiency is in the prep. You struggled and wasted many hours on this because of the lack of foresight and preparation. Perhaps what you may want to do is reach out to the community on RUclips even and present your plans and ideas before hand almost for peir review. I wanted to express the project management to field much like in the construction process mindset. Many times project managers miss or don't even consider the problems in the field prior to making there plans. They end up with problems much like what you've been having.
Brandon really earned his paycheck this episode haha if I ever come to Dustups i’m bringing him an ice cold beer for that man 🍺 keep up the good work fellas. I’m committed to seeing this through.
I once heard this piece of wisdom that I've added to my life ever since. "Do not go cheap on what keeps you separated from the floor", Shoes, Tires, Mattress, etc.. I'm not saying you went the cheap route, but yeah it's a great advice.
Anyone who thinks driving off road without off road tires, while being a heavy vehicle needs to take a min and think. It’s just like the meeting of summer tires during the first snow of the season. Not going to work out for ya. Sorry I like what he’s trying to do. But boy oh boy is there a lot of planning that’s not happening. With a project of this scale it’s best to start small and perfect what you’re doing. All I’ve seen is Shawn, Try to think big and always fall short. It’s great that he’s using this to learn. But that does mean that every failure needs to be a bigger failure than it should be. If he would just perfect what he’s trying to do on the smallest possible scale, he would learn quicker and have more successes.
Hi Shaun, greetings from New Zealand love watching your videos. while i know the soil types isn't exactly the same as what you have when i was working on a cattle station in Australia we used a road drag that was made out of 3 pieces of railway iron, the 3 lengths were positions at angles so it would push rocks and dirt all the way from one side to the other and then back. this drag worked great an filling in hole but kept the earth in the road to help kept it built up, thought this might help cheers.
Thank you, Shaun, for sharing, I learned a lot about the difficulties of moving heavy loads in a desert environment. That’s an education that I really appreciate, and it helps me to understand what people went through in the past trying to work in this environment and also the challenges that people skilled in the trade are able to overcome working today. There are so many variables it is hard to anticipate everything, especially for a beginner. Your tenacity and focus on learning are admirable. Best wishes!
I’m listening to a list of challenges when I’m blindsided with, “Oh ya, the driver does t know how to drive a stick”. Pretty funny moment! Good luck with that….and now back to the video for me.
This is a serious off road scenario. Straps, boards, winch, snatch block, anchor kit, bottle jack, and offroad tires. Get a full recovery kit at this point. Issue is always money though, and ROI. Dont skimp on safety.
I think there’s a few things going on here… Weight in those heavy duty trucks will allow the suspension to flex properly so you don’t lose traction so quickly when the road surface is uneven. Also highway/road pressure for those tires both truck and trailer are really high to handle the load and prevent heat buildup on pavement. But at the speed you drive offroad heat won’t be a problem. Instead high pressures mean less footprint which is less traction. It also means every pokey rock you drive over is driven hard into one spot of the tire, and if it’s the sidewall this is especially a problem. Airing down to where the tires can actually flex will help a ton. Also air down more than you think. Lastly, your other vehicles that are 4wd capable should always been in 4wd on your land - this will help reduce wear and tear on the roads and create fewer uneven spots.
Warranties on those tires! Consider a dump bed on the truck. Those terraces have been a nightmare for access. Consider finishing what you have, then finding & fencing in an easy-access area for your next biomass farm. Time is money. Calculate the hours lost just from this. At times you had 3 guys on the issue. Dozens of man hours. That's most of the cost of a fence right there. You're not "giving up" by looking for an area that's easier to maintain. The resources for a fence, solar panels and a water pump far outweigh the tiny bit of advantage you get from your gravity feed on the terrace. With love, man. Cheers!
You fight and never give up! You may know how to do everything the first time but you keep going. You are an inspiration to all of us that aren’t mechanically inclined. Love this channel!
Doze an area for easier maneuverability when using the dump trailer. The flatter the better (aside from ramps for loading the trailer). Having a staging area will help speed up preparation.
Hi Shaun. I drive small garbage trucks with manual stick shift on all kinds of terrains and inclines. To not get stuck, I use the clutch like an artist. The wheel must never slide. You have to find that point where the wheel barely starts turning, it gains grip, and you slowly and carefully give more speed to the wheel while maintaining traction. Otherwise, I also use the rocking motion when the wheel is in a pit. Basically, on rough patches my foot is always on the clutch which is never released; just pressed more or less , to give the wheel the exact speed it needs. There are a lot of tricks to handling trucks in inclines and rough terrain, which you learn by experience. Another help might be deflating the tires so that they gain surface area and don't sink in the sand/ gravel.
What a rough episode, glad to see you're all still alive and kicking. It would have been nice to get some severe service tires for the truck, like for example, Bridgestone L317's. Put one of your water totes on the back of the truck and use it for ballast, it will help even out the weight distribution on the truck and give you better traction. On our farm trucks we would weld several hundred pounds of iron to the back of the frame just before the back bumper. It helped quite a bit with towing and traction around the farm and on gravel and snow. I have seen some folks get good results with military surplus vehicles (for example, Ambition Strikes youtube channel). I don't know if those are in your budget. Anyways, best of luck and keep chipping away at it! Thanks for the videos!
This dude is awesome I watch every week . He shows the real struggle of everyday work. Of starting something new and not knowing what to do. It's great to see someone grow in a path that they love. Thank
2 things: First, driving a highway rated truck on primitive roads is not optimal. You are gonna get stuck a lot and burn thru tires. (35 year truck driver both on and off road). It just goes with the territory. Second: Why not put a hitch on that dozer? At the very least it's be a great backup plan for when you DO get stuck. Also it'd be easier getting that trailer across the dams & out to the terraces. Just thinkin...
Hey bro the land that my wife and I once built a house and planted a bunch of trees on and, then later sold was like exactly the same ecosystem as this. We were on the other side of El Paso. In the limestone sections of lower chihuahua desert ecosystems just like yours. All super overgrazed and choked up with the exact same plants. Out of maybe 30-40 different species it seemed like Arizona Ashe took and actually grew well. It’s the alkalinity of the soil. It’s essentially crushed limestone. That’s what people call ‘poof dust’ when you excavate. If you drop white vinegar on your soil I bet it would fizzle as if it was poured on baking soda. Our spot was exactly the same- try it. It’s crazy alkaline and even with water you need the right genetics that will actually grow instead of just stay the same size or die a few years later. We ended up selling that property I during Covid when the market went berserk to buy our next land. All I’m saying is - if your serious about a forest you should really stop all these crazy experiments. My neighbor was 64 and had spent nearly 30 years experimenting in the same ecosystem and basically failed everything lol. Just do what’s tried and tru. Drill a well. It’s literally your only chance at even having a chance at growing a forest. You probably have already spent close to what it would take. Expect 850-1000 foot. I’m starting to suspect you might be failing on purpose here. It hard to put into words what I’m trying to tell you. Look at anything within your ecosystem that’s grown more than 4 and a half feet off the ground. I just feel bad like I need to tell you or something idk bro. It will never work without water. Stop wasting money on grandiose plans and get water. Then think about bio mass. It’s hard to convey how many people I’ve talked to who come to the desert and buy the cheapest land possible with the dream of creating a ‘food forest or forest or homestead’ without knowing anything about their soils first. It’s incredible how many people come and then leave. All they do is make piles of trash way out in the desert lol. Just focus on water then you can have the freedom to start experimenting. I’m telling you with absolute certainty that no earth works or amount of mulch will help you grow anything in these ecosystems. Ps- most horses are fed on alfalfa that’s almost always sprayed with glyphosate. You can’t use conventional horse manure on gardens anymore because it will kill all your microbes. The only horse manure that is safe if from horses fed exclusively organic hay which is near impossible to find down here. You should definitely test a handful of seeds germination in it before adding it to your soil. Stop floundering and make water your only goal.
Sell the truck and get a six wheel drive military dump truck like the guy on the Ambition strikes channel, something designed to actualy do the job that you're doing instead of continualy making do and mending. Also get a winch, land anchor and an impact gun as a bare minimum. Love what you are trying to achieve, hate seing you struggle.
This episode reminds me of many oilfield clusters ive been involved in. Youve got the right can do attitude tho. Keep up the good work. If it was easy anyone could do it
I have a large ranch where things are much steeper and more hazardous. The key is the roads. You need to get a box scraper behind your dozer. This will help with soothing things out and help to compact any soil. Do it before a rain and don't travel them again until it's dry. You have lots of issues, but the scraper will help to bury and remove the sharp rocks.
1) There should be a diff-lock on your truck. 2) Use six large tires chained together like a 6-pack to smooth out terrain. 3) A chicken tractor with a dozen chickens will regenerate the soil and provide eggs while doing it. Maybe something to consider....
I want to say I commend you of your perseverance and willingness to learn from your mistakes. Not many a man would post or film their mishaps they encounter along the way. It is easy to give advice from a seasoned professional but remember they all been in your shoes one time or another or have had information passed down to them from others who have gone through what you are experiencing now. Although one would love to see you go through a day without hiccups but I don’t think on any given job sites that various problems and equipment breakdowns don’t arise on a daily basis. But I do like how others are willing to pass on their experience to help you succeed in the future. I applaud all your efforts and enjoy seeing how it all comes together little by little. I think the progress is amazing and I pray one day rain falls your way. We can say whatever we want from the comforts of home but you are the one who’s out there doing it. We only learn from experience and sometimes the most costly experiences become the greatest lessons we never forget. Keep up the fantastic work to everyone at Dustups!❤.
Thank you. That's what drew me to this channel at first. Then, meeting Shaun, he has an infectious personality, the first time out to Dustups. My son and I were out there for a week in the summer. Now, it seems that not long ago, I brought my DRASH tent out. We continue to work on the infrastructure to make building the desert forest easier to do.
Sell dump trailer and make the flatbed into a tipper. Simple kit you can buy to convert the bed to a tipper. Ambition strikes on there u/tube did it to there army truck. or find a used tipper bed. This way you will have some weight on the rear of your truck helping alot with traction. If you do want to go a step further a diff lock on your truck. Seems quite a nice truck so worth the investment. A Diff could be sort used it would not take long to fit. With as you say 25500lb gvwr you should be able to carry 10k or maybe 12k as you truck is so short its probably quite light. A trailer with that truck is a hassle you could do without. Love what your doing keep it up.
I would recommend taking a breath, then research commercial and military vehicles used in the deserts through the world for finding oil, transporting military goods, you might find a useful vehicle designed for a specific task you need. Also any organic waste from farms, ranches and food producers makes great mulch or biodegradable ground cover.
For what he's trying to do down there, a mil-surplus 4WD or 6WD dump truck would do a lot of things he needs to do, and do it ten times better. I see this a lot when people with no experience try to "cheap out". In the long run, they wind of spending as much, or more, money than if they'd just bought the right equipment in the first place.
@@excitedbox5705 I don‘t know about COMMON sense. Since the truck is digging itself in to the soft sand, intuition tells you that more weight means digging itself in deeper… common sense would probably say more surface contact equals more traction. So probably reducing tyre pressure would be common sense. but yes, on the hillside, weight in the back would help and that could be widely known, even by amateurs like him or myself 😊
1. American trucks are rubbish, but... 2. even if it has a dif, Shaun didn't read the manual. 3. This channel is getting more about Failures than "greening the desert" with each episode. 4. In 5 years he will successfully grow 5 trees using 10 trucks, 20 SUVs, 50 shipping containers, 1 Million gallons of petrol etc. while all that equipment and fuel will require 100,000 trees somewhere in the world to be cut. I'm slightly exaggerating, but it's about it. But Shaun is making his fame on social media.
@ woh! That‘s a lot of negativity. He is trying to accelerate progress so we all get to see results sooner, but the desert is fighting back. I, for one, like that he‘s being transparent. And I‘d rather get an update with no planting updates than wait several weeks for just those.
Yo Shaun,I got a tip for you if you ever manage to read this but you can use the manure and so many different ways. One of them being that if you soak it in water and drain it, you can use the liquid as a fertilizer for your plants.
Great video. Hot tip, tyre pressure need to be lower. You want them to mould over sharp things rather having the pressure create a focus point. Also do not spin your tyres as you will find rocks will slice them more. Sidewall protection is king. Thanks
I am a heavy equipment guy for the last 40 years, my neighbors 5 year old daughter says to put stake bed sides on the truck and hall the manure on the back of the truck. cheers from Commyfornia.
Probably could put sides on and load manure on the back of the truck and also pull the loaded trailer at the same time, The question is, would the manure be heavy enough in the back of the truck or would you still need a water tote as well?
We admire your determination in forging a new path. That dozer was the best purchase you made, especially now that it is repaired and operating well. It has helped you in so many ways!!!
Shaun, it looks like the tire issue is going to be an ongoing problem. They are pricey but you might want to look into getting airless tires. I've got them on my own dump trailer and I LOVE THEM!
Thank You. HAPPY NEW YEAR. My grandfather had a 40 acre farm and a 6th grade education. New tires for grandma's car and his road truck every 5 years, He had a milk route and a farm tractor, they would get a new tire every year after the tobacco sold in the fall and he had money to spend on them and could take them off on his taxes. It just is what it is.
man, what a gruelling ordeal. really good of you to stay positive throughout it all. i hope you get the support you need (and remain fulfilled by the work) till your next review year where you've mastered all these new problems! 💪
Hey Shaun, your a stronger man than me. To me this isn't about a desert forest, it's about a man following dreams and overcoming any obstacles. You've set yourself a near impossible task but your just so positive and pragmatic!
Keep reading your comment section and don't worry about how we might criticise your efforts. Most of us got these lessons at the end of, and this is the cleaned up version, "How stupid do you have to be to (add misfortune here)?" All of us are in your corner pulling for you. The one thing I will mention is the size of your loads. It takes experience to know how much of any given material is TOO MUCH for your equipment or infrastructure. The hassle you have had moving that manure trailer tells me you might want to get less next trip by about a third. I wouldn't know anything about it except I used a dump trailer hauling trash into the landfill for years.
If you have an air Locker installed in the rear differential it will help out tremendously. The open differential sends all the power to the tire with the least amount of weight on it
And one day, you will be sitting at the table with family and friends, enjoying a meal, telling horror stories and you can tell them about your tire hell. Love your work and dedication. Keep it up.
I think you need to consider how much you are hauling in that trailer. Too much weight, plus your roads and I doubt you will avoid this tire destruction from happening again. Half loads or repair the road properly. Good luck with the continued good times! We are watching.
Was thinking the same, first few run's with maybe half load, till road is smoothed out. The Road needs to be a lot wider, clear of those thorny bushes and rocks at the sides. Also if the truck has a compressor on it. Use it to help take off wheel nuts with wheel nut gun.
Your trials and tribulations/adventures make me appreciate "infrastructure." We take so much for granted. Also, I can't tell you how much I have learned whether it be syntropic agro forestry, biochar innoculation or desert ecosystems; I never leave your channel disappointed. Thanks for not editing out the rough spots!
No suggestions from me Shaun. Just acknowledgment of one bear of an episode where nothing went right and you still kept slogging away. How you didn't blow up, swear, scream, punch a cow I'll never know. Your skill set and ability have grown so much in the short time since starting your coverage of dustups that you should be incredibly proud. The learning never stops. The stoppages slow and your ability to deal with them in a timely manner keeps decreasing. Great job on this episode.
Seconding this positive take! Keep at it, because by the looks of it with the teaser footage, there's a whole bunch of plants in the works, and I'm stoked to see the impending progress, and literal growth, of Dustups Ranch! One big suggestion though, is maybe try to firm up those roads a little bit, if at all possible. It's going to be an ongoing problem, and actually a much BIGGER problem if you get the rains we all want you to get. I'd start with a sprayer for sure, and maybe just spray some water on the road to help firm up some spots, and then you also need a way to tamp it down, which you can probably just do with the dozer. I'm thinking you'll need some kind of binding agent too, but also you might want to specifically firm up the sides of the road in spots, so that way the loose gravel doesn't always want to push/erode/fall/slide outward. A relatively easy way to do this would be to stack (brick-lay) some bags of pre-mixed concrete along the borders where the road is the most prone to eroding or falling away, and then spray the bags down, so they (at least mostly) harden in place. Hauling the concrete bags and the water with the truck will also help with traction issues, if nothing else, but they can also serve to solidify those squishy roads too! One last thought: there seems to be a fair bit of sand/dirt in some spots where the road is, and not enough sand/dirt in some spots where you want to be growing plants. You might want to come up with a medium/larger scale sifting solution, so you could get some of that usable sand/soil where you want your plants to grow, and also get a certain measure of gravel/rock OUT of where you want plants to grow, and onto the road to firm it up some. Yes, this last suggestion might be tedious work, but if you compare it to having a garden and gravel/dirt driveway at home, if your driveway was full of squishy soil that your vehicles always sink into, which soil would be a decent starting point as soil for planting in, AND your garden had a LOT of rocks and gravel that would help make a decent base for the driveway, wouldn't you rebalance that a little bit? I'd pick out 1 or 2 "softest road spots" and 1 or 2 "rockiest planting spots," and try some re-balancing there, via sifting. If it works out, great! If not, it was just a trial and another good learning opportunity.
Keep up the amazing work Shaun and Brandon (and new friends!). You guys are progressing so well, and always have a good attitude about fixing problems instead of making new ones lol. I can’t wait to see future progress as you guys fix the road and get more people and soil amendments to your property. Stay on the path you’re on, I would love to come out and tour/help in the future. Kavalame!
GVWR is not the towing capacity. It's the gross weight of the vehicle plus the payload. For towing capacity you're looking for the Gross Combination Weight Rating, then subtract the weight of the truck. It's probably also 26k# because if your truck and trailer weigh 26,001 together, you need a CDL.
Just wanted to lift up some words of encouragement to Shaun! You are a diligent fighter and you stay true to reaching your goal, no matter what is thrown at you. Keep fighting!
Don't even worry about all the tire problems. I have been stuck in the sand out here and yes even have had a blow out. In fact I had one last night on the way back out to my property. Tires out here are just like flip flops at the beach. You just seem to lose or damage a few. I have gone through 8 tires out here in the last year. These county roads eat them up like a kid does candy.
Hey Shaun, I am not sure if Brandon shared with you but I have 4 billboard tarps that you might be able to use. Lmk if you are interested in them. You can get my contact info from Brandon.
Hey Shaun, you’re project looks really tough, it’s awesome to see you learning and persevering. I can imagine the frustration. Despite all the lessons, your content is truly inspiring. As a young human with similar interests I really appreciate your DIY attitude, you’re open with your mistakes and take opportunities to learn. Beyond getting to watch an epic project your channel has given me a glimpse into dealing with hardships in a mature and efficient way. You’re a digital role model. Best of luck with the forest.
15:10 the best tool I ever bought was my battery powered impact wrench. I freaking love that thing because it means I don't have to resort to doing all that to remove stuck bolts. Good on ya for getting them all off! Persistence for the win!
Thank you to Bombas for sponsoring this video! One Purchased = One Donated, so head to bombas.com/dustups and use code dustups20 at checkout for 20% off your first purchase.
that destroyed tyre must been russian army surplus
Replace your timing belt! If you not replaced the timing its not a full service. Its about $100 for the parts plus labour vs cost a new engine. Just because it looks OK doesn't matter. The only way to be certain Is start from new!
Hang in there! I grew up on a farm in Missouri and we were always having to weld up something that broke or pull something out that was stuck. Just comes with the territory. Your doing great!!
Maybe tracks are better suited here than tires
Maybe build a pipe system powered by solar panels
Hi Shaun! Small advice from someone who had 30 years offroad with commercial vehicles in the snow and sandy and gravely deserts in Iceland. Truck like that will get stuck in any loose material, gravel, sand, snow and ice, because it is too light! Doing work like dragging anything or towing, you need to find something heavy to load it with. I would suggest two 1000 liters water toads. Then when you plan to go to town, empty them and fill in town and haul them back to the plot. But keep them on when you use it.
It is easy to see what's wrong in the comfort of the sofa, but yeah. That truck needs some weight above the driving wheels.
@@Kjeleman So the guy needs to be out there suffering in the heat before he's allowed to provide what looks to be solid advice? Really?
@@bruisersdilemma354not tell mention the reason he knows what he said to be true is because of his suffering. Dudes just being an ass to be an ass.
35 years in tyre game I would definitely be recommending some drive tyres on the rear axle instead of those all purpose tyres
Yeah. We use the small Japanese trucks in my country, and it's so light that it gets stuck in a few inches of soft gravely soil. Didn't think a truck this heavy can still be too light.
Shaun, don’t try to invent a wheel that already exists. The oil rigs in the oil fields in Texas are placed in locations such as Dustups. Go see how they build their roads and use some “best practices”. This will save you time and money in the long run. Those roads should use a base material that has a mixture of aggregate and clay. You will need to find a way to wet it to keep it compacted. This is how the roads were built where I lived growing up. You also need to possibly look into tires like the military uses for their vehicles that go off road. They have a very tough side wall. They just don’t run smooth on the highway.
Just some suggestions from someone who has been through similar situations. I do respect your relentless perseverance for success. Stay positive and keep counting the small wins.
❤❤❤
This is a great comment, I've even decided to look into this just because it sounds interesting!
I also worked in the oil fields, in CA. In the Belridge field, we oil sanded the main feeder roads. You probably can't do that anymore, however. However, even though the fields in CA are somewhat like desert, there isn't much sand. It's just, well, dirt that turns to mud in the short winters.
Filter fabrics FTW!
I worked the rigs in the patch Rock Springs Wy, and we had multimillion $ budgets for access and site prep
Changed and repaired tires for 10 years, you need off road all terrain type tires or the rocks will jab in-between the tread lugs and cut the steel cords, around here it's known as stone drilled. Until you get tires made for gravel even brand new tires will keep getting destroyed or punctured. And battery powered impacts have amazing torque these days.
The guy from Iceland is absolutely right about the water tanks. You can kill two stones with one bird.
He needs to research about terracottem it will help him a lot
Nothin better than gettin two birds stoned at once
As a semi truck driver, I'd change tires to off-road the same day. Highway tires are a nightmare to drive on dirt, or gravel. They're also secured more on the top, and less from sides, so any rock will destroy the tires from the side 😅
Still, it's good to see this truck on the ranch
First thing I thought of when I saw those highway tires .
well i do not drive a semi, but i do drive my bicycle in offroad and snow condition... and i wouldn't do it on Slicks either...and the best profile is useless if you pump em to the maximum psi... i use half of the pressure i would use otherwise on the road, giving you more contact surface, more grip on the loose materiel... my five cents of thoughts...
2 things yoiu Need Shaun, I'm a fellow Texan but lived in West texas for over 15 years. Worked in the oilfield the entire time. i know a few things about getting stuck. Cheapest fix for you getting stuck all the time will be a wench from Harbor Freight *badlands* they have a 12k and a 18k wench, next you will need a land anchor. just do the google search its easy to weld one up. I promise you thats a must being where you are at. Love the content keep up the great work!
Clay Miller
What's he going to tie his winch to? An ocotillo?
@@AmericanDrinker i dont know what a land anchor is but I think thats what you would tie the winch to
Harbor freight sells wenches now ? 😂😂
I habe a 12k winch amd a land anchor. They work great
Land anchors are a lifesaver out there.
In mexico , many villages are on long dirt roads very similar to yours. They will keep a huge old tractor tire or two on on the turn off from the highway. If a big truck has business down that road, he will chain the tire to his bumper and drag it his delivery then turn around and drag it back to the highway when hes done. Its an unspoken thing down there
Does the tire dragging smooth out the road?
As I understand it, its a 'cheap' way of grading the road. Its not as good as a proper run-over, but it helps keep the surface in shape, especially of the surface has corrugations.
regarding the current drain on the truck battery: Pull the neg cable, and put a multimeter in Amps in series with the chassis and the neg battery terminal. You should have 0.0A with everything off. If you read anything else, go through the fuse panel and pull the fuses one by one. When it drops to zero, you have found the circuit with a sneak path in it.
It's comments like yours that make the DUSTUPS comment section a gold mine of knowledge!
Thank you!
Waste of time. Just install a new alternator, 20 minutes-done. He'll be chasing his tail and going down rabbit holes unplugging everything in the engine bay and short circuiting who knows what with your method.
Just put a kill switch/Battery disconnect on the neg side and when its going to sit for more then a few days, hit the kill switch and the battery will be ready to go when you come back. My son has a jeep that sits a lot and the battery was always dead even after about 4 or 5 days until we installed a simple kill switch at the battery. Its been fine ever since, you just have to remember to kill it before you leave.
Awesome comment, good to know how to do it right
@@cluckhead1913 what is an alternator going to do when the truck is not running for a month? do not say stuff you do not understand.
You need a cheap tractor for ferrying equipment from the state roads to your camp on those private rds. You should buy more farm equipment that is designed for off-road conditions, if you aren't going to fix your roads. That dump trailer and truck is nice, but everything you're buying is designed for road use. If your manure source is local, it'd be easier on equipment to transfer the manure from your dump trailer to an off road manure spreader or trailer, once you get to those rough roads. Then pull the off road trailer with a nice old tractor to your final destination. You can buy some fantastic 70s or 80s vintage tractors, like a good old Steiger, that could make light work of everything. Often times you can buy that old equipment for the price of scrap.
Sounds like good advice.
Yep. it should be 4WD with big tires/wheels given your soil. (I am a real farmer)
Yes. I live near farms and see the equipment. Off-road tires on that highway dump trailer is just a stopgap. Tractors can pull big wagons full of material, but those wagons are designed for off-road use. Farm equipment is what Shaun needs to look at.
I would recommend a Unimog, you can get them with a crane, tipp-bed and so on.... Or any other old armytruck with all Wheel Drive
Yes tractor and bunch of attachements
My first thought; Those tyres really look unsuitable for that terrain....
A long time ago I tried to warn him about the street tires he had on his pickup and they were wrong for his application. He responded that he didn’t want loud off-road tires on his truck (but he eventually put proper off road tires on it several months later). Looks like a repeat. Ignorance (which he admits to) is unfortunate…but ignorance + stubbornness is really bad.
@@marko6128 I see the same pattern. The willingness to admit failure is admirable, but not learning from them is disappointing.
You need Paris Dakar quality. You will also need deep pockets.
@@marko6128 Yes, he keeps making mistakes and mistakes. I've been watching his videos hoping to see progress but it's just a repeat of f-ups.
Lower your tire pressure on the truck and reduce speed while on the back roads. 14ply tires can handle the lower pressure while hauling the loaded trailer. Just keep the speed down. The lower pressure will GREATLY improve sand traction!. I'm talking about going to 15-20psi. Use your compressor to raise the tire pressure when back on the pavement.
This is the preferred approach in outback Australia.
The tires you have are closed tread highway tires, open tread off road tires will help alot more. Plus get a tire gage made for trucks and check all of them every time before using. The front tires are recaps, which is bad to have let alone illegal to use on steer tires. At work they use a battery powered impact to remove and install lugnuts followed by final tighting with a torque wrench.
I respect your fight to continue to go and I am cheering for you! Some constructive feedback as someone who has spent a lot of time driving on the off-road in my life. You are hard on tires with how you approach the terrain. Slow down more than you think you should and think a few steps ahead what can go wrong. You should never be bouncing like that in the cab with the hops. Avoid that whenever possible. Hopefully that will help you get more efficiency out of your equipment and keep your costs down. All of us are cheering for you!
Those Overton kiddos are getting so good at the animations! I love seeing those woven into the episodes.
Excellent contributions! All the best from the UK for 2025 - keep keeping on with both the desert and animations!
You need a tire sponsor
He did that! The tires are on his blue Toyota ✌🏾
I feel like his "mistake" with the tires is a good trick to get a tire company to sponsor him...
The truck needs off road tires
Omg! You are going to be the most patient human in Texas in know time, your perseverance is admirable! Thanks for sharing your determination to make a difference for all.
Get yourself a handheld impact driver. The old school variety. And a decently big handheld sledgehammer. As someone who has grown up in the rust belt of the USA - it's a very useful tool for stuck on lug nuts. It's not just the rotational force, it's the direct impact on the threads that pops items loose. They're cheap and can be kept in a truck cabin easily.
Secondly, use wax as a penetrating oil. Trick from the heavy equipment maintainers. Torch the nut or bolt, and rub it down with a hunk of paraffin wax.
Shaun, I love your content. I have become somewhat addicted. I wanted to touch on your mindset behind all of this and using your project management mindset and being efficient. The truth is the efficiency is in the prep. You struggled and wasted many hours on this because of the lack of foresight and preparation. Perhaps what you may want to do is reach out to the community on RUclips even and present your plans and ideas before hand almost for peir review. I wanted to express the project management to field much like in the construction process mindset. Many times project managers miss or don't even consider the problems in the field prior to making there plans. They end up with problems much like what you've been having.
Brandon really earned his paycheck this episode haha if I ever come to Dustups i’m bringing him an ice cold beer for that man 🍺 keep up the good work fellas. I’m committed to seeing this through.
He really is a patient man.
I once heard this piece of wisdom that I've added to my life ever since. "Do not go cheap on what keeps you separated from the floor", Shoes, Tires, Mattress, etc.. I'm not saying you went the cheap route, but yeah it's a great advice.
lol, I like that saying… don’t go cheap on what keeps you separated from the floor.
Office chair as well
Also applies to jetpacks.
Anyone who thinks driving off road without off road tires, while being a heavy vehicle needs to take a min and think. It’s just like the meeting of summer tires during the first snow of the season. Not going to work out for ya. Sorry I like what he’s trying to do. But boy oh boy is there a lot of planning that’s not happening. With a project of this scale it’s best to start small and perfect what you’re doing. All I’ve seen is Shawn, Try to think big and always fall short. It’s great that he’s using this to learn. But that does mean that every failure needs to be a bigger failure than it should be. If he would just perfect what he’s trying to do on the smallest possible scale, he would learn quicker and have more successes.
Hi Shaun, greetings from New Zealand love watching your videos. while i know the soil types isn't exactly the same as what you have when i was working on a cattle station in Australia we used a road drag that was made out of 3 pieces of railway iron, the 3 lengths were positions at angles so it would push rocks and dirt all the way from one side to the other and then back. this drag worked great an filling in hole but kept the earth in the road to help kept it built up, thought this might help cheers.
Thank you, Shaun, for sharing, I learned a lot about the difficulties of moving heavy loads in a desert environment. That’s an education that I really appreciate, and it helps me to understand what people went through in the past trying to work in this environment and also the challenges that people skilled in the trade are able to overcome working today. There are so many variables it is hard to anticipate everything, especially for a beginner. Your tenacity and focus on learning are admirable. Best wishes!
I’m listening to a list of challenges when I’m blindsided with, “Oh ya, the driver does t know how to drive a stick”. Pretty funny moment! Good luck with that….and now back to the video for me.
This is a serious off road scenario. Straps, boards, winch, snatch block, anchor kit, bottle jack, and offroad tires. Get a full recovery kit at this point. Issue is always money though, and ROI. Dont skimp on safety.
I think there’s a few things going on here…
Weight in those heavy duty trucks will allow the suspension to flex properly so you don’t lose traction so quickly when the road surface is uneven.
Also highway/road pressure for those tires both truck and trailer are really high to handle the load and prevent heat buildup on pavement. But at the speed you drive offroad heat won’t be a problem. Instead high pressures mean less footprint which is less traction. It also means every pokey rock you drive over is driven hard into one spot of the tire, and if it’s the sidewall this is especially a problem. Airing down to where the tires can actually flex will help a ton. Also air down more than you think.
Lastly, your other vehicles that are 4wd capable should always been in 4wd on your land - this will help reduce wear and tear on the roads and create fewer uneven spots.
Warranties on those tires! Consider a dump bed on the truck. Those terraces have been a nightmare for access. Consider finishing what you have, then finding & fencing in an easy-access area for your next biomass farm. Time is money. Calculate the hours lost just from this. At times you had 3 guys on the issue. Dozens of man hours. That's most of the cost of a fence right there. You're not "giving up" by looking for an area that's easier to maintain. The resources for a fence, solar panels and a water pump far outweigh the tiny bit of advantage you get from your gravity feed on the terrace. With love, man. Cheers!
We need you on the ranch to manage this operation. Bring your cattle prod to help motivate the crew.
Great points!
You fight and never give up! You may know how to do everything the first time but you keep going. You are an inspiration to all of us that aren’t mechanically inclined. Love this channel!
Don't let all the negativity from arm-chair experts get you down!! Keep on chugging forward!! You will be rewarded!!
You're commitment is as impressive as your project. Cont success. I'm addicted watching.
Doze an area for easier maneuverability when using the dump trailer. The flatter the better (aside from ramps for loading the trailer). Having a staging area will help speed up preparation.
Tough lessons but no quit. Way to go Shaun!
Hi Shaun. I drive small garbage trucks with manual stick shift on all kinds of terrains and inclines. To not get stuck, I use the clutch like an artist. The wheel must never slide. You have to find that point where the wheel barely starts turning, it gains grip, and you slowly and carefully give more speed to the wheel while maintaining traction. Otherwise, I also use the rocking motion when the wheel is in a pit. Basically, on rough patches my foot is always on the clutch which is never released; just pressed more or less , to give the wheel the exact speed it needs. There are a lot of tricks to handling trucks in inclines and rough terrain, which you learn by experience. Another help might be deflating the tires so that they gain surface area and don't sink in the sand/ gravel.
You may consider keeping snow tyre chains in the trunk to avoid being stuck in the sand.
Since you have low phone coverage, a walkie talkie in each vehicle for security communications
What a rough episode, glad to see you're all still alive and kicking. It would have been nice to get some severe service tires for the truck, like for example, Bridgestone L317's. Put one of your water totes on the back of the truck and use it for ballast, it will help even out the weight distribution on the truck and give you better traction. On our farm trucks we would weld several hundred pounds of iron to the back of the frame just before the back bumper. It helped quite a bit with towing and traction around the farm and on gravel and snow.
I have seen some folks get good results with military surplus vehicles (for example, Ambition Strikes youtube channel). I don't know if those are in your budget. Anyways, best of luck and keep chipping away at it! Thanks for the videos!
Or, as Marry Poppins would say, "a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down."
This dude is awesome I watch every week . He shows the real struggle of everyday work. Of starting something new and not knowing what to do. It's great to see someone grow in a path that they love. Thank
You either need equipment suited to the environment or to suit the environment to the equipment. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
What a nightmare.
2 things: First, driving a highway rated truck on primitive roads is not optimal. You are gonna get stuck a lot and burn thru tires. (35 year truck driver both on and off road). It just goes with the territory. Second: Why not put a hitch on that dozer? At the very least it's be a great backup plan for when you DO get stuck. Also it'd be easier getting that trailer across the dams & out to the terraces. Just thinkin...
Maybe an army surplus 6x6 might suit your use case better?
@@AlPencewon't do highway speeds.
Hey bro the land that my wife and I once built a house and planted a bunch of trees on and, then later sold was like exactly the same ecosystem as this. We were on the other side of El Paso. In the limestone sections of lower chihuahua desert ecosystems just like yours. All super overgrazed and choked up with the exact same plants. Out of maybe 30-40 different species it seemed like Arizona Ashe took and actually grew well. It’s the alkalinity of the soil. It’s essentially crushed limestone. That’s what people call ‘poof dust’ when you excavate. If you drop white vinegar on your soil I bet it would fizzle as if it was poured on baking soda. Our spot was exactly the same- try it. It’s crazy alkaline and even with water you need the right genetics that will actually grow instead of just stay the same size or die a few years later.
We ended up selling that property I during Covid when the market went berserk to buy our next land.
All I’m saying is - if your serious about a forest you should really stop all these crazy experiments. My neighbor was 64 and had spent nearly 30 years experimenting in the same ecosystem and basically failed everything lol. Just do what’s tried and tru.
Drill a well. It’s literally your only chance at even having a chance at growing a forest. You probably have already spent close to what it would take. Expect 850-1000 foot. I’m starting to suspect you might be failing on purpose here. It hard to put into words what I’m trying to tell you. Look at anything within your ecosystem that’s grown more than 4 and a half feet off the ground. I just feel bad like I need to tell you or something idk bro. It will never work without water. Stop wasting money on grandiose plans and get water. Then think about bio mass.
It’s hard to convey how many people I’ve talked to who come to the desert and buy the cheapest land possible with the dream of creating a ‘food forest or forest or homestead’ without knowing anything about their soils first. It’s incredible how many people come and then leave. All they do is make piles of trash way out in the desert lol. Just focus on water then you can have the freedom to start experimenting. I’m telling you with absolute certainty that no earth works or amount of mulch will help you grow anything in these ecosystems.
Ps- most horses are fed on alfalfa that’s almost always sprayed with glyphosate. You can’t use conventional horse manure on gardens anymore because it will kill all your microbes. The only horse manure that is safe if from horses fed exclusively organic hay which is near impossible to find down here. You should definitely test a handful of seeds germination in it before adding it to your soil.
Stop floundering and make water your only goal.
TLDR!!!!!😵💫😵💫
@@Michaeloftheland hard truths
Yes ... water is needed ... either rain or well.
@@herbfromhouston1960 No. Water will bring mosquitos which will bring malaria.
Most straw is treated with grazon for weed control, when composted broad leaf plants won’t grow in it
You probably don't read many of the comments, but I suggest putting a trailer hitch on the dozer.
the "council of many" does rock
Sell the truck and get a six wheel drive military dump truck like the guy on the Ambition strikes channel, something designed to actualy do the job that you're doing instead of continualy making do and mending. Also get a winch, land anchor and an impact gun as a bare minimum. Love what you are trying to achieve, hate seing you struggle.
This episode reminds me of many oilfield clusters ive been involved in. Youve got the right can do attitude tho. Keep up the good work. If it was easy anyone could do it
I have a large ranch where things are much steeper and more hazardous. The key is the roads. You need to get a box scraper behind your dozer. This will help with soothing things out and help to compact any soil. Do it before a rain and don't travel them again until it's dry. You have lots of issues, but the scraper will help to bury and remove the sharp rocks.
The problem is that it's constantly raining there, so the roads never have a chance to dry out.
I'm glad to see you keep working thru the difficulties.
I have no opinion or advice , I can talk to you about snow ,ice and impatience . Cheers from Alberta 😊
1) There should be a diff-lock on your truck. 2) Use six large tires chained together like a 6-pack to smooth out terrain. 3) A chicken tractor with a dozen chickens will regenerate the soil and provide eggs while doing it. Maybe something to consider....
Regenerative farming, Joel Salatin … those ideas are gold. Start small! I think this project is awesome. Great advice Cynthia
I want to say I commend you of your perseverance and willingness to learn from your mistakes. Not many a man would post or film their mishaps they encounter along the way. It is easy to give advice from a seasoned professional but remember they all been in your shoes one time or another or have had information passed down to them from others who have gone through what you are experiencing now. Although one would love to see you go through a day without hiccups but I don’t think on any given job sites that various problems and equipment breakdowns don’t arise on a daily basis. But I do like how others are willing to pass on their experience to help you succeed in the future. I applaud all your efforts and enjoy seeing how it all comes together little by little. I think the progress is amazing and I pray one day rain falls your way. We can say whatever we want from the comforts of home but you are the one who’s out there doing it. We only learn from experience and sometimes the most costly experiences become the greatest lessons we never forget. Keep up the fantastic work to everyone at Dustups!❤.
Thank you. That's what drew me to this channel at first. Then, meeting Shaun, he has an infectious personality, the first time out to Dustups. My son and I were out there for a week in the summer. Now, it seems that not long ago, I brought my DRASH tent out. We continue to work on the infrastructure to make building the desert forest easier to do.
Sell dump trailer and make the flatbed into a tipper. Simple kit you can buy to convert the bed to a tipper. Ambition strikes on there u/tube did it to there army truck. or find a used tipper bed. This way you will have some weight on the rear of your truck helping alot with traction. If you do want to go a step further a diff lock on your truck. Seems quite a nice truck so worth the investment. A Diff could be sort used it would not take long to fit. With as you say 25500lb gvwr you should be able to carry 10k or maybe 12k as you truck is so short its probably quite light. A trailer with that truck is a hassle you could do without. Love what your doing keep it up.
8:00 - Omg that little pause right before the fire eyes did it for me. Great comedic timing.
I would recommend taking a breath, then research commercial and military vehicles used in the deserts through the world for finding oil, transporting military goods, you might find a useful vehicle designed for a specific task you need. Also any organic waste from farms, ranches and food producers makes great mulch or biodegradable ground cover.
Maybe contact tire manufacturer to test their product 😊
Ya if he hadn't already bought that because that if good for highway but not off road
military surplus
For what he's trying to do down there, a mil-surplus 4WD or 6WD dump truck would do a lot of things he needs to do, and do it ten times better. I see this a lot when people with no experience try to "cheap out". In the long run, they wind of spending as much, or more, money than if they'd just bought the right equipment in the first place.
The fuel economy on military vehicles is atrocious
Keep on rocking, Shaun!
You are determined! Love watching,
Also Shaun get some solar lights or ultrasonic pest Repeller for dessert mice that will nest in your engine compartment and chew on the wires.
I'm surprised that truck doesn't have dif lock up switch on the dash.
My thought exactly. Back wheel hopping -> diff lock
It probably does, but Shaun didnt read the owners manual. He also lacks the common sense to put weight over the rear wheels when towing heavy loads.
@@excitedbox5705 I don‘t know about COMMON sense. Since the truck is digging itself in to the soft sand, intuition tells you that more weight means digging itself in deeper… common sense would probably say more surface contact equals more traction. So probably reducing tyre pressure would be common sense. but yes, on the hillside, weight in the back would help and that could be widely known, even by amateurs like him or myself 😊
1. American trucks are rubbish, but...
2. even if it has a dif, Shaun didn't read the manual.
3. This channel is getting more about Failures than "greening the desert" with each episode.
4. In 5 years he will successfully grow 5 trees using 10 trucks, 20 SUVs, 50 shipping containers, 1 Million gallons of petrol etc. while all that equipment and fuel will require 100,000 trees somewhere in the world to be cut.
I'm slightly exaggerating, but it's about it. But Shaun is making his fame on social media.
@ woh! That‘s a lot of negativity. He is trying to accelerate progress so we all get to see results sooner, but the desert is fighting back. I, for one, like that he‘s being transparent. And I‘d rather get an update with no planting updates than wait several weeks for just those.
Thanks!
I can’t wait to see the future of your desert forest. Thank you for doing this. It brings hope to the world.
Every episode is a rollercoaster, really love what you're doing out here (also love the animations) :)
Yo Shaun,I got a tip for you if you ever manage to read this but you can use the manure and so many different ways. One of them being that if you soak it in water and drain it, you can use the liquid as a fertilizer for your plants.
Great video. Hot tip, tyre pressure need to be lower. You want them to mould over sharp things rather having the pressure create a focus point. Also do not spin your tyres as you will find rocks will slice them more. Sidewall protection is king. Thanks
I am a heavy equipment guy for the last 40 years, my neighbors 5 year old daughter says to put stake bed sides on the truck and hall the manure on the back of the truck. cheers from Commyfornia.
Probably could put sides on and load manure on the back of the truck and also pull the loaded trailer at the same time, The question is, would the manure be heavy enough in the back of the truck or would you still need a water tote as well?
We admire your determination in forging a new path. That dozer was the best purchase you made, especially now that it is repaired and operating well. It has helped you in so many ways!!!
Shaun, it looks like the tire issue is going to be an ongoing problem. They are pricey but you might want to look into getting airless tires. I've got them on my own dump trailer and I LOVE THEM!
Thank You. HAPPY NEW YEAR. My grandfather had a 40 acre farm and a 6th grade education. New tires for grandma's car and his road truck every 5 years, He had a milk route and a farm tractor, they would get a new tire every year after the tobacco sold in the fall and he had money to spend on them and could take them off on his taxes. It just is what it is.
man, what a gruelling ordeal. really good of you to stay positive throughout it all.
i hope you get the support you need (and remain fulfilled by the work) till your next review year where you've mastered all these new problems! 💪
“Adapt & overcome” !
This guy impresses me in every new video.
Hey Shaun, your a stronger man than me. To me this isn't about a desert forest, it's about a man following dreams and overcoming any obstacles. You've set yourself a near impossible task but your just so positive and pragmatic!
Your perseverance is equally amusing and inspiring.
Keep reading your comment section and don't worry about how we might criticise your efforts. Most of us got these lessons at the end of, and this is the cleaned up version, "How stupid do you have to be to (add misfortune here)?" All of us are in your corner pulling for you. The one thing I will mention is the size of your loads. It takes experience to know how much of any given material is TOO MUCH for your equipment or infrastructure. The hassle you have had moving that manure trailer tells me you might want to get less next trip by about a third. I wouldn't know anything about it except I used a dump trailer hauling trash into the landfill for years.
Yeah,
Enjoy watching. 😊
Happy New Year 🎉
I appreciate you showing your challenges and frustrations.
The way to get a tire that's stuck in sand/dirt out, is by pouring some water on the ground where the tire is stuck. It will help gain some traction
If you have an air Locker installed in the rear differential it will help out tremendously. The open differential sends all the power to the tire with the least amount of weight on it
And one day, you will be sitting at the table with family and friends, enjoying a meal, telling horror stories and you can tell them about your tire hell. Love your work and dedication. Keep it up.
Ohhh Shaun,...I laughed, but a painful feeling for you came with it. OMG! Compounding nightmare...
Shaun keep going. You are doing the most important work on the land. Bringing life back to a barren land.
I think you need to consider how much you are hauling in that trailer. Too much weight, plus your roads and I doubt you will avoid this tire destruction from happening again. Half loads or repair the road properly. Good luck with the continued good times! We are watching.
Yes way too much weight for the trailer no weight over the axel
Was thinking the same, first few run's with maybe half load, till road is smoothed out. The Road needs to be a lot wider, clear of those thorny bushes and rocks at the sides. Also if the truck has a compressor on it. Use it to help take off wheel nuts with wheel nut gun.
That's some rough, tough luck. Hope it works out. You just don't quit!
Your trials and tribulations/adventures make me appreciate "infrastructure." We take so much for granted. Also, I can't tell you how much I have learned whether it be syntropic agro forestry, biochar innoculation or desert ecosystems; I never leave your channel disappointed. Thanks for not editing out the rough spots!
No suggestions from me Shaun. Just acknowledgment of one bear of an episode where nothing went right and you still kept slogging away. How you didn't blow up, swear, scream, punch a cow I'll never know. Your skill set and ability have grown so much in the short time since starting your coverage of dustups that you should be incredibly proud. The learning never stops. The stoppages slow and your ability to deal with them in a timely manner keeps decreasing. Great job on this episode.
Seconding this positive take! Keep at it, because by the looks of it with the teaser footage, there's a whole bunch of plants in the works, and I'm stoked to see the impending progress, and literal growth, of Dustups Ranch!
One big suggestion though, is maybe try to firm up those roads a little bit, if at all possible. It's going to be an ongoing problem, and actually a much BIGGER problem if you get the rains we all want you to get. I'd start with a sprayer for sure, and maybe just spray some water on the road to help firm up some spots, and then you also need a way to tamp it down, which you can probably just do with the dozer. I'm thinking you'll need some kind of binding agent too, but also you might want to specifically firm up the sides of the road in spots, so that way the loose gravel doesn't always want to push/erode/fall/slide outward. A relatively easy way to do this would be to stack (brick-lay) some bags of pre-mixed concrete along the borders where the road is the most prone to eroding or falling away, and then spray the bags down, so they (at least mostly) harden in place. Hauling the concrete bags and the water with the truck will also help with traction issues, if nothing else, but they can also serve to solidify those squishy roads too!
One last thought: there seems to be a fair bit of sand/dirt in some spots where the road is, and not enough sand/dirt in some spots where you want to be growing plants. You might want to come up with a medium/larger scale sifting solution, so you could get some of that usable sand/soil where you want your plants to grow, and also get a certain measure of gravel/rock OUT of where you want plants to grow, and onto the road to firm it up some. Yes, this last suggestion might be tedious work, but if you compare it to having a garden and gravel/dirt driveway at home, if your driveway was full of squishy soil that your vehicles always sink into, which soil would be a decent starting point as soil for planting in, AND your garden had a LOT of rocks and gravel that would help make a decent base for the driveway, wouldn't you rebalance that a little bit? I'd pick out 1 or 2 "softest road spots" and 1 or 2 "rockiest planting spots," and try some re-balancing there, via sifting. If it works out, great! If not, it was just a trial and another good learning opportunity.
Every man made comfort thing we have in this world started with people like you, solving thousands of problems for a pyle of $hit😅
Youre awesome
Excellent work, Ian! A "Tiring" Meltdown....Haha....Awesome!
You could consider getting a spray adapter for a water tank and wetting the road before the rain to start the hardening process of the road.
Could the intense sun be breaking down the side walls on the tyres? Maybe when parked if they were covered it might help?
Keep up the amazing work Shaun and Brandon (and new friends!). You guys are progressing so well, and always have a good attitude about fixing problems instead of making new ones lol. I can’t wait to see future progress as you guys fix the road and get more people and soil amendments to your property. Stay on the path you’re on, I would love to come out and tour/help in the future. Kavalame!
GVWR is not the towing capacity. It's the gross weight of the vehicle plus the payload. For towing capacity you're looking for the Gross Combination Weight Rating, then subtract the weight of the truck. It's probably also 26k# because if your truck and trailer weigh 26,001 together, you need a CDL.
How about getting an old military truck like Brent has..those things usually have robust tires and a decent engine.
M35 deuce and a half exactly what he needs
Because it costs Brent $250 in fuel just to drive down and back up his mountain. The mpg on civilian versus military trucks is night and day
Congrats on the truck, but you really need a *military 6x6 truck* for this terrain
Just wanted to lift up some words of encouragement to Shaun! You are a diligent fighter and you stay true to reaching your goal, no matter what is thrown at you. Keep fighting!
I love how far out your depth you are
Don't even worry about all the tire problems. I have been stuck in the sand out here and yes even have had a blow out. In fact I had one last night on the way back out to my property. Tires out here are just like flip flops at the beach. You just seem to lose or damage a few. I have gone through 8 tires out here in the last year. These county roads eat them up like a kid does candy.
Hey Shaun, I am not sure if Brandon shared with you but I have 4 billboard tarps that you might be able to use. Lmk if you are interested in them. You can get my contact info from Brandon.
Hey Shaun, you’re project looks really tough, it’s awesome to see you learning and persevering. I can imagine the frustration. Despite all the lessons, your content is truly inspiring. As a young human with similar interests I really appreciate your DIY attitude, you’re open with your mistakes and take opportunities to learn. Beyond getting to watch an epic project your channel has given me a glimpse into dealing with hardships in a mature and efficient way. You’re a digital role model. Best of luck with the forest.
15:10 the best tool I ever bought was my battery powered impact wrench. I freaking love that thing because it means I don't have to resort to doing all that to remove stuck bolts. Good on ya for getting them all off! Persistence for the win!
What I appreciate about this saga is your demonstrating the mindset needed to battle thru adversity and succeed. Wishing you further success in 2025.
I think that new truck would be a lot happier with the trailer dump bed on the back of the truck. Better weigh distribution, just my two cents.
More weight on rear. Happy New Year
Mate can I suggest using the Miyawaki method and just get planting the forest