Ground protection mats???

ATH said:
These mats have been in this yard all summer. Finally took a pic today. I saw a cement truck on them earlier in the year.

Any idea what they are?
(edit...LOL, after posting the pic, I realized it says on the mat what they are! - I had to zoom into original pic to read it better. Fods - getfods.com - looks like they talk about mud maintenance - I didn't find any mention of protecting the ground from rutting... they weigh 430 lbs. anybody use these?)

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As posted by someone else, to knock off mud. They put that down at the exit to a local mulch supply business in the winter months.
 
Woodman said:
How have your access mats held up? Have you ever used alternamats or duradeck mats? I'd be curious how they compare. $160 is barely half of what other companies are selling 4'x8' mats for.
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No complaints with the mats. I’m not like some companies that have to use them daily and so I’ve only had them out maybe 10 times but I haven’t seen anything that makes me question the long term durability of the mats.
 
We’re thinking anchors for the uphill end on steep slopes, a roadless island job is coming up that will be a bit of an ask. Those links look like $10-15 per which adds right up!
 
Mats are indispensable on many jobs, imo. Used them in a new way last week:

A section of custy's lawn was no-go due to presumably sensitive septic area below. I dropped two 20" dia. trees across the area without impacting the noted lawn area and it eventually came time to drag the trunks out of this area. Custy said it was ok to drag the logs across the 20' wide area cuz he wasn't worried about the grass but I smelled a rat and presumed he wouldn't be happy about long, 4" deep furrows. So we used the kubota to drag one end of one of the trunks just far enough off the rough area where it's stump was and onto the lawn area where we placed a mat, smooth side down, for the butt to drop onto. And then the kubota pulled the log while the groundie easily pulled the mat with a mat hook, and the log traversed the 20' lawn are with zero impact. Rinse and repeat with the second trunk.

It was quick, easy, and very effective.
 
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Some people have no clue that dragging a log will rip stuff up.

Lots of people don't carve a pencil point and thread a chain through a bored- through hole for skidding, either.
I never have... but I'll try it.
 
RyanCafferky said:
Another trick that I’ve seen is to make a homemade log slider out of part of a plastic 55 gallon drum. They have very low friction and a large surface area. I have a job coming up where I’m going to use this technique to limit impact to a hillside in a natural area we need to get logs out of.
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The portable winch cone is well worth the money too, take some photos of the setup when the job comes up
 
flushcut said:
My mats have more than paid for themselves this muddy hell hole of a winter. I’ve posted this before but you all need one for logs.
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The fat low pressure tires float over soft ground.
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Beat me to it. I was going to say much the same thing about the arbor trolly except those tires will dig in to soft ground before yours will.
 
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