ORIGINAL:
I have about 1900 Linear Feet of perimeter around relatively flat farmland that I want to make it impossible for off-road vehicles to go through.
Installing over 380 bollards (at $300 each) would cost over $114,000.
One option I'm seeing is simply digging a ditch around the entire perimeter. A standard V trench probably won't be enough, so I was thinking of creating an "anti-tank ditch" instead which consists of using two bulldozers.
One bull dozer is inside the trench, and when it angles up with the excess dirt, the other dozer pushes the excess dirt toward one side. They alternate going front and back. You can see a demo video by googling "AEBV Kodiak's making anti tank ditch."
I thought of using HESCO barriers, but those are pretty expensive too and don't hold up well over long periods of time. Jersey, Concrete Barriers could be an option, but they are super expensive as well when including transportation.
Are there alternative options that I'm not thinking of? Do you see problems with creating a mini "anti-tank ditch"?
WHAT IS the composition of your soil?
Is it soft and sandy and fills itself in when digging holes or is it hard and compacted like clay where it keeps its form when you dig into it?
OR
????
More info required
You are talking about stopping vehicles right? nothing will stop people except people.
Chain link with coiled barbed wire around the base would probably work pretty well.
Or diy caltrops out of T-posts cut in half, bent into a U, and then welded. Small enough to hide in the grass, but big enough to jack up pretty much anything that tries to run them over.
It looks like Low Tensioned Cable guardrails have been widely used in the United States. This shows a detailed breakdown of the different types available.
It looks like 15 feet per post spacing is possible for low tension wire, but you should obviously expect a very large deflection to occur.
In that case, you will want to have the barrier for probably at least 12' from areas you are trying to protect.
The weakness of a low tension system vs a high tension system is that it seems as though one crashed car will weaken the entire side of the fence (the cable will slump to the ground and cars can just go over it)
vs. a high tension system, which will take multiple hits.
So if you're not anticipating a mulitple car ramming experience on the same side, you can probably get away with a low tension system.
You also need to keep in mind that you are just trying to prevent someone from offroading on your land. A basic barrier will suffice. No offroader is going to drive their rig head long into a steel barrier and risk destroying what they've built... they will just go elsewhere.
Now if you are wanting it for defense from something else, then sure...
What you got on your 2.5 acres that makes you want to invest tens of thousands of dollars to install a fortified perimeter that will, by it's mere existence, attract immense amounts of attention to yourself and will not deter or block anyone except for those who would be dissuaded by a simple fence?
Oh I should add that if you make it noticeable and thus interesting someone will get curious enough to come looking! A fence like everyone else’s (can be built better/stronger, but look the same) or a hedge will not stand out as something that should be checked out!
Patrolling the property regularly checking fence and looking for places folks are accessing your property is necessary in many/most places.
A firm, but polite stance with trespassing works well in most areas. Some folks are @sses and you’ll have to take a harder approach one you run across them!
regarding the low tension cable, My ex's younger brother went thru one on a dirt bike, not knowing it was there. He broke his neck, died on the spot. The owner lost the law suit, the property he had fenced, his home property, and his desire to live in the small community. just sayin
the long cable was rusted , blended in with the surrounded fall foliage and was strung across a trail. 10 year old kid vs wire. kid lost . so did the owner. 1970's so don't remember the rest of the info
Plant an 'invasive' cane break with strips along the desired perimeter to mow or bush hog the shoots to keep it in check. Or you can walk it during the time of year it puts out shoots and step on them to control spread. Pick a species that's edible, and you'll have bamboo shoots as a food source.
Are any parts of your perimeter low? If so, perhaps flood it to make a pond or marshy area. If the mud is deep and liquid enough, vehicles would have a hard time getting through. That would help keep the total cost down.
I can think of better low cost barriers, but the cheapest would have to be bamboo, hands down. Where it grows the thicker varieties and allowed to do its thing, it will make a wall you just aren't getting through without a dozer or forest fire. Takes a bit of time and it is hard to make behave, but it will create an extreme barrier all on its own. In time you won't even be able to walk through it.
Dendrocalamus giganteus will grown almost a foot taller some days, gets to be about a foot in diameter and 50 feet tall.
I’ve only been around the smaller clumping bamboo which wouldn’t work for this project and then of course the running bamboo that would certainly do the trick, but would mess up other things too much in most cases!
Just like the idiot that thought multi flora rose was a good idea in this part of the world!
Well, you can see the pictures in my link. It's the biggest bamboo in the world. At a foot in diameter and about the same separating each other it will be both a tree and people barrier. At 40' high, no one is climbing over either.
The work will be training it to get in a fence line instead of a round clump. That means saw and spade work.
No doubt it will be a real labor over time. But it won't take over everything and it meets the hell out of the OP's golden criteria of being cheap. A starter shoot pot is under $100. It becomes a wind and sun break, makes useful timber, and the shoots are edible. No one can accuse you of planting a deadly barrier trap either. I have yet to hear someone being sued because their tree killed someone when they crashed into it.
If this species doesn't work for you there are other large diameter clumping bamboo species. There is an entire fan subculture out there to draw advice from and the internet is littered with their interest groups.
Bamboo has been used for centuries as barrier and privacy screening.
South Korea has these over the highways leading to the north.
It's a massive box of concrete blocks. You pull the pin on the charge holding them up and presto, the road is closed and stays that way.
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