Mini excavator can work anywhere, including steep slopes. Sunrise Trail, McDowell Sonoran Preserve, City of Scottsdale, AZ.
Walk-behind micro excavator can make trails as narrow as 18 inches. Belix Trail, Eldorado National Forest, CA.
Multifunction mini loader and self-propelled, self-dumping, 1 cu. yd. capacity buggie. Springbrook Park Trail, City of Lake Oswego, OR.
ATV pulls a self-dumping trailer for efficient installation of crushed stone and woodchip trail surfaces. Arastradero Preserve, City of Palo Alto, CA.
Self-propelled power carrier can transport up to 1000 pounds on trails as narrow as 24 inches. Southfork Cottonwood Creek Trail, Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, MT.
Three-way dumper, shown here adding fill to the outside edge of a paved trail. Cedar Sinai Park, Portland, OR.
Motor home (40 foot) helps keep our mobilization costs down.
Equipment & Tools
NWWS' experienced crews use a wide variety of narrow, lightweight and nimble hydraulic and powered equipment. We use hand tools for final shaping and cleanup as needed. Our careful use of both mechanized and hand tools produces naturalistic trails that often look as if they were entirely built by hand.
Minimizing impacts with appropriate mechanized tools
For trail construction, we use equipment narrower or the same width as the finished trail whenever possible. We have a tiny, walk-behind excavator that fits on an 18" wide trail. Our other mini-excavators have adjustable-width tracks that can fit many narrow trails. Our variety of haulers, dumpers, and belly dumps have various widths from 24-48".
For trails 4' wide and up, we use larger excavators and 48" wide trail dozers for main tread work.
For hauling bulk materials such as crushed stone, we often use ATVs to haul specially made trailers, dumpers, and belly dumps. On trails narrower than 48", we have narrow loaders, dumpers, and haulers that can fit on trails as narrow as 24".
With the exception of the 48" trail dozer, our equipment runs on rubber tracks or rubber tires to minimize site impacts.
Steep slopes are no problem
Our excavators can work on cross slopes up to 70% or more. We dig the trailbed as we go, using the extending excavator arm to work above and below the trail without leaving the trail. Rocks, stumps, and roots are easily dug out and moved, and we can skillfully place rocks off the trail to minimize site disturbance.
Tight places are no problem
We're skilled at working in tight spaces. We commonly work within inches of trees, rocks, plants, water and other site resources without damaging them. We use hand tools as necessary.
The compaction benefit
Mechanized construction also helps to harden the trail surface through compaction, making it more resistant to erosion and tread wear. In addition, we can also use trail-scaled rollers and vibratory compactors to compact the surface as necessary.
Final finish
We use hand tools for final shaping and cleanup as needed. As a company, we pride ourselves on leaving newly built trails so naturalistic that they look as if have been there for some time.
Equipment inventory
Following is some of the major equipment we use for trail construction and maintenance:
- Mini-excavators
- Mini-dozer (SWECO)—4 ft. wide
- ATV w/self-dumping trailer—1 cu. yd.
- Bobcat loader
- Concrete buggy—1 cu. yd.
- Boulder Buster—breaks large rocks without explosives
- Rock drill—gas powered
- Power carrier—1000 lb. capacity