Looking for a better way to cross a lawn with little damage.

[Eric]

Does anybody know if anyone manufactures a reusable matting material to lay down on soft lawn areas to avoid causing damage and leaving ruts? Often I'm performing some type of back yard demo or excavation work and I need to make many trips back and forth over an existing lawn area.
People really love to over water their lawns here in California for some strange reason. I know a Bobcat track loader would help with this problem but our next major investment is going to be a mini excavator. Any other ideas???

 

[Mr Jimi]

Try 4X8 sheets of 3/4 plywood? not cheap but will do the job and save them for them for the next job

 

[Eric]

Try 4X8 sheets of 3/4 plywood? not cheap but will do the job and save them for them for the next job

Plywood kinda works but I need something with a better life span and performance.
Here are some sites I found that have what I'm looking for. From what I have found so far, I like the mud traks best (the last one). Has anyone used any products like these?
------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.eventdeck.com/

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.rola-trac.net/ST.htm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.mudtraks.com/

 

[sterlclan]

Plywood kinda works but I need something with a better life span and performance.
Here are some sites I found that have what I'm looking for. From what I have found so far, I like the mud traks best (the last one). Has anyone used any products like these?
------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.eventdeck.com/

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.rola-trac.net/ST.htm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.mudtraks.com/

a buddy of mine has some that he uses with a water truck for well drilling some kind of rubber things looks like the ones in the top pic but smooth thwy work well but do leave marks I have used plywood with some success but some damage is inevitable Good luck Jeff

 

[Tazza]

a buddy of mine has some that he uses with a water truck for well drilling some kind of rubber things looks like the ones in the top pic but smooth thwy work well but do leave marks I have used plywood with some success but some damage is inevitable Good luck Jeff

No matter how carefull you are you will damage lawn, i have done it driving over my mums lawn really carefully doing long runs and doing very large turns as to not rip the grass up, it looks ok afterwards but the next day it starts to go brown because it gets crushed. You really need something to distribute the pressure better, i would have thought thick ply wood would work well, but it is very costly to do it this way.

 

[jmatt20]

a buddy of mine that digs a lot of pools uses trenchplates. he rents them ,they deliver and can place them or he moves them himself. they are 1 inch thick steel so they spred the load over thier entire area. it seems that they would crush the lawn but they are about 4 by 8 foot in size so the ground loading is only about 100 lbs per foot spread evenly. i didn't believe they would work but i went over to a place where he had dug a pool and the day they lifted the plates the lawn looked a little flat but there were no wheel ruts. a week later you couldn't tell that they were there.

 

[m610]

a buddy of mine that digs a lot of pools uses trenchplates. he rents them ,they deliver and can place them or he moves them himself. they are 1 inch thick steel so they spred the load over thier entire area. it seems that they would crush the lawn but they are about 4 by 8 foot in size so the ground loading is only about 100 lbs per foot spread evenly. i didn't believe they would work but i went over to a place where he had dug a pool and the day they lifted the plates the lawn looked a little flat but there were no wheel ruts. a week later you couldn't tell that they were there.

I have used the interlocking grating used to create temporary parking areas and it works extremely well. Trouble is that they are quite heavy and load up the trailer. They are similar to the grating used on drawbridges and have square open holes. When you pull them up the grass looks like a waffle but it regrows quickly and seems to come back stronger. The main drwaback is that you hear some strange noises running a skid steer on them.

 

[destro]

I use a all wheel steer with turf tires; That helps, but bottem line you,ll see some sign of being there... destro

 

[LCCorp111]

I use a all wheel steer with turf tires; That helps, but bottem line you,ll see some sign of being there... destro

Ok I'll let you in on a secret, but don't tell anyone. I go to a semi-trailer repair shop and ask for old trailer doors. 1" to 1 1/4" thick plywood, steel lined, 4'x9', I cut them in half long ways. And the best part, they are $FREE.99! Yeah, they have to pay the garbage service to take them so they are more than happy to supply you with all you need. Take off the hardware and your ready. A little heavy but they last a long time and I have had no damage at all to grass.

 

[Iowa Dave]

I have a deal with 2 lumberyards that I take their dog-eared/damaged 5/8 and 3/4 plywood for half price. I have well over 100 sheets, some of it is 7 or 8 years old at least. Nothing will be a better combination of inexpensive and lightweight. The rubberized pads that Bobcat and others sell are higher priced than gold!! We use forks to load, unload, and store--so only hand labor is laying then down at the exact point of use in the lawn. I have a laborer watch as we are working to keep the plywood in the exact place as the sheets will move/slide some. Others have called plywood expensive--maybe it is for a one-time deal--but when factored over dozens or hundreds of jobs, the expense per job is pennies, AND NO DAMAGE TO LAWNS! Plywood easily saves us HUNDREDS of dollars per job when you consider time and material to fix damage. And if you need an odd shape for some reason, just pick out an old tattered piece and cut it to fit. While the sheets are easier to move and place with 2 people, one person can do it all--impossible with heavier materials. Any heavier material will use up trailer GVW and laborer's backs. When you factor in cost--under $10/sheet--I don't know how to beat plywood. We also use it if removing and re-using mulch or stone. Rake it on the plywood, then put it back down once dirt work is done. Once again, lawn is protected and mulch/stone not mixed in with dirt or sod.