• Having trouble using the site?

    Contact support
  • You Should Now Be Receiving Emails!

    The email issued mentioned earlier this week is now fixed! You may also have received previous emails that were meant to be sent over the last few days - apologies, this was a one time issue and shouldn't happen again!

Tips For a City Slicker Moving to the "Country"...?

Naaman

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
May 13, 2020
657
326
Hello All,

Just bought a house on a couple of acres of dirt.

Looking for some tips with the following items:

I need an entry-level option for maintaining a dirt road. A lot of my neighbors have tractors, but that's well outside my budget for now (we all share a 1-mile-long dirt road with lots of hills). At the moment, I could probably afford a creative $3K option if anyone has any creative solutions...? It might be a year or two before I have "tractor money." 😅

Anyone have any noteworthy experiences with septic tanks? Mine is fenced off, so there's not much worry of it getting parked on or driven over.

I've got a shared well (50/50 with my neighbor, no other parcels have an interest in the well). Is there anything I need to be mindful of with regard to water usage/conservation? I've been wondering whether drilling a private well would yield any benefit (either an "administrative" benefit or a benefit as a water resource) ... Not quite sure.

The property includes an elevation change of about 15-20 feet with the home on the upper half, and the back yard having a cliff-like drop with a dirt ramp near the middle of the property. I see a lot of potential with this set up, but not sure of the downsides (other than flood/drainage for the lower portion). Anything I should be taking into consideration as far a property maintenance/development?

Any help is appreciated!
 
#1 thing- you're going to have a thought that goes something like this...
"What would make this community, town, etc better is if..."
Keep that 💯 to yourself. No one wants you to change a single minute moment of the way they live their lives, see their lives, what they have, what they don't have, and they don't want your opinion about it.
Once thats mastered, you're a good neighbor.

Septic tanks will only have issues at the least opertune time (think winter). Don't flush wipes, etc down them. Get them pumped on time, or early (depending on time and useage of property). Make sure not to plant anything in the leech field of the tank, or any heavy equipment over those if shallow.

For the road- how old is the road? Been driven on a 100 years, and was a main cattle path before hand? Or a newly cut sand and clay dirt path that had some 3/4" crush laid down 6 months ago before the lots were sold?
Likely some type of equipment, even a small used chinese hobby tractor will be a minimum, but tons will depend on the soil composition and climate- same goes for property care.

Congrats though on making it to- your new slice of heaven.
 
#1 thing- you're going to have a thought that goes something like this...
"What would make this community, town, etc better is if..."
Keep that 💯 to yourself. No one wants you to change a single minute moment of the way they live their lives, see their lives, what they have, what they don't have, and they don't want your opinion about it.
Once thats mastered, you're a good neighbor.


Septic tanks will only have issues at the least opertune time (think winter). Don't flush wipes, etc down them. Get them pumped on time, or early (depending on time and useage of property). Make sure not to plant anything in the leech field of the tank, or any heavy equipment over those if shallow.

For the road- how old is the road? Been driven on a 100 years, and was a main cattle path before hand? Or a newly cut sand and clay dirt path that had some 3/4" crush laid down 6 months ago before the lots were sold?
Likely some type of equipment, even a small used chinese hobby tractor will be a minimum, but tons will depend on the soil composition and climate- same goes for property care.

Congrats though on making it to- your new slice of heaven.
I totally agree with the bolded part. It's the reason I've been looking for such a property. Took a LONG time to get my wife on board with it, but now she's into it, too. 🇺🇸

I'm not sure how old the road is, but the property is at the very end of the road, and has been there over 20 years. It's Arizona, low desert dirt (rocky and somewhat "hard" dirt). Not much rain (less than 10" per year average), but possibly susceptible to flash flooding during a monsoon.

Thanks for the feedback!
 
  • Like
Reactions: GTOJOSH
Shared wells are a good thing. A new pump will run you $1500 minimum to replace. So that cost would be split in the case of a pump failure, which will happen eventually. Also, a water cistern is an amazing thing. Set it up on a timer so it fills up and isn’t working your well pump so much. The on/off cycle is what’s hard on pumps-they’re made to run so that part won’t hurt it. Talk to a local well pump guy or two. They can steer you right if they are honest. Also consider a water catch system off your gutters for garden watering if you want to save well water. You can generally pick up a small low end tractor for around $5,000 plus or minus. An old ford tractor with a back blade on a 3 point hitch is good for road maintenance/snow removal. If that is out of budget, maybe you can work a trade deal of some sort with a neighbor for them to blade the road of washboards or plow your snow out after a storm. One last bit of advice-set up a shooting range and make it a habit of shooting often. It’s good for the practice and it is good for people to know you shoot😆. Congrats on the new place!
Edit to add: septics are not high maintenance if you do the things @GTOJOSH said. If you’re a small family then pumping once every few years is good enough. That should only run you about $300-$500 each time. You definitely don’t want to cave in your drain field so avoid driving across it if at all possible. I’ve seen the tanks hold a LOT of weight, but they aren’t rated for it.
 
Last edited:
As far as driveway / road maintenance goes, all you really need is some type of drag which can be pulled behind your car, truck or ATV.
A piece of I-beam, railroad track, chain link fence, etc., will do the trick; it isn’t rocket science, lol. Chain it to your hitch and make a couple passes up and down the road.

Septic systems are very expensive, take care of it. As previously stated, DON’T flush baby wipes, ever!

What part of AZ?

Congratulations!!
 
As far as driveway / road maintenance goes, all you really need is some type of drag which can be pulled behind your car, truck or ATV.
A piece of I-beam, railroad track, chain link fence, etc., will do the trick; it isn’t rocket science, lol. Chain it to your hitch and make a couple passes up and down the road.

Are you grading a black dirt field?

Any sort of road here will laugh at your efforts. Although anything short of a road grader is not doing much.

Used road graders are cheap if you have the tools to keep it running. A homeowner grade one would likely cost you more in transport than the purchase price.
But adding a few gallons of oil here and fixing a hydraulic hose there will give you something that will actually move dirt.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mtrmn and Naaman
Shared wells are a good thing. A new pump will run you $1500 minimum to replace. So that cost would be split in the case of a pump failure, which will happen eventually. Also, a water cistern is an amazing thing. Set it up on a timer so it fills up and isn’t working your well pump so much. The on/off cycle is what’s hard on pumps-they’re made to run so that part won’t hurt it. Talk to a local well pump guy or two. They can steer you right if they are honest. Also consider a water catch system off your gutters for garden watering if you want to save well water. You can generally pick up a small low end tractor for around $5,000 plus or minus. An old ford tractor with a back blade on a 3 point hitch is good for road maintenance/snow removal. If that is out of budget, maybe you can work a trade deal of some sort with a neighbor for them to blade the road of washboards or plow your snow out after a storm. One last bit of advice-set up a shooting range and make it a habit of shooting often. It’s good for the practice and it is good for people to know you shoot😆. Congrats on the new place!
Edit to add: septics are not high maintenance if you do the things @GTOJOSH said. If you’re a small family then pumping once every few years is good enough. That should only run you about $300-$500 each time. You definitely don’t want to cave in your drain field so avoid driving across it if at all possible. I’ve seen the tanks hold a LOT of weight, but they aren’t rated for it.
I've been considering a water cistern. My initial thought was to have the well feed it, then have it feed the house for such a time as a pump failure.

I've looked at rain catchment as well, but we don't get much rain here, so it would only provide water sporadically. I've also been looking at using my grey water for gardening (or whatever else it might be useful for).
 
Good advice about not trying to change the way things are. I think the number one complaint when I lived in Idaho about the folks moving in from out of state (read liberal shit holes) is that they move in, become politically active and advocate to change things to the exact sort of liberal shit hole they just escaped from.

Also good advice about a cistern. I have a private well that cost me about $8000 to have drilled and cased to 300 feet. I installed the solar powered pump myself. It fills a 1000 gallon tank. I use a different solar powered pump to supply the house. The well pump is controlled to be variable speed and I have it set to pump at 10% of its capacity, sitting 10 feet from the bottom of the well. We hit water at 230 feet or so, so it's sitting in a good column of water. By turning it down low and sitting above the bottom, it's not pulling up sediment and not pumping dry. It took it almost all day to fill that 1000 gallon tank. I emptied, cleaned and moved that tank once and it still took most of the day to refill. No big deal, once it's full, that pump only kicks on for about 30 minutes a day. Just me and the wife...even if (when) the well pump fails, we have several days of water available. I have a 5 stage filter system before the reverse osmosis and UV system for the water we ingest. Shower water and such does not get RO and UV treated.

I have no idea if a new well could even be placed on your property but I'd be checking that out.


As far as road maintenance, be a friendly sort of guy and discuss that part with the folks already maintaining that road. It will only take you screwing it up once to be "that" guy. Personally, I'd pitch in on some fuel or hydraulic oil and let them continue to maintain that road.
 
Check your water, just because there is an existing well that people have been using doesn’t necessarily mean the water is safe. I almost bought an off grid house in the new area where I recently moved from a local realtor (so I figured everything would be on the up and up). We ended up not purchasing the house due to location but fast forward a wile & after moving to the area we found that from what we understand all of the ground water here has excessive and dangerous high levels of radium. That was never mentioned to us from any of the houses we looked at that had wells. It apparently leaches out from the rocks here (I am no expert). But we found this out after inquiring as to why the county has such an extensive (think hundreds of miles of dirt and gravel roads all with public water) public water system that is brought in from a source quite far away.

Just something to look into if you haven’t…
 
I don't have any specific advise but you said you were in AZ. In the early 80's I attended NAU in Flagstaff and worked part time at a feed and tack store.

One of the guys who worked there lived somewhere north of town. He had some sort of water catchment and had put down black plastic to channel any rain into it. A plane flying overhead spotted it and he got an official letter from the state saying he was to cease and desist stealing the states water, etc etc.

He fixed the problem by replacing it with clear plastic and spreading some gravel over it.
 
  • Love
Reactions: Maggot
I need an entry-level option for maintaining a dirt road. A lot of my neighbors have tractors, but that's well outside my budget for now (we all share a 1-mile-long dirt road with lots of hills). At the moment, I could probably afford a creative $3K option if anyone has any creative solutions...? It might be a year or two before I have "tractor money." 😅
Don't fall into the "I gotta have the latest greatest Kubota front wheel assist estate tractor" trap.

Get a good old tractor that is cheap to buy, easy to operate, maintain and repair.
You can get a ton of work done with a tractor like my 1954 IHC Super M that was put together with loader for under $2000.
I have had it for a long time and although not used much any more it still comes out from time to time to earn it's keep.
Just can't kill the damn thing :LOL:
sm ls.jpg


Oh yeah, and to have good neighbors..........be a good neighbor
 
Don’t.

But if you have too… read Noel Perrin’s “Rules
For rural immigration” and follow them
Like you are a Mexican with warrants driving an unregistered car… and the border patrol is behind you.”

And never…. Ever… use the words “well back where I came from, we….”

That will get you hit with a shovel.

Sirhr
 
Last edited:
Don’t be afraid to pitch in when it comes time for gravel on the road. I live on a shared gravel road with eight houses, each with a chunk of acreage. Most people have taken it upon themselves to buy a load of gravel every now and then. We are closer to the front, so we have put gravel here a time or two, and the people in the middle have done it a few times down their way, all except for the assholes at the back. In 20 years, they haven’t put gravel on their part of the road, ever! It’s in disrepair. They have NEVER even offered to chip in for the fresh gravel at the front, or middle, yet they drive it every time they go in and out. All they ever do is bitch about everything, to the point that we will walk off if we see them coming. Don’t be that guy!
 
And +1 on a vintage tractor. You can generally find older Fordsons for pretty short $$. Just make sure they are a Three Point Hitch... not proprietary. Bucket will be one of the most useful things you can have. Back Blade or Box blade for driveway will let you grade. Drag mat is worth its weight in gold.

Also, a good ATV can drag a mat. Or there is a really great driveway grader made by DR Mower up in VT. These work great for grading, smoothing, etc. a driveway. Will pull behind a good lawn tractor or an ATV. Which in AZ seems more useful than a lawn tractor. There are lots of pull-behind pieces of equipment and an ATV won't break the bank... Used Polaris 500 or so is a tank. So is Honda Foreman.

All that said... 2 acres isn't the maintenance headache that, say 30. Or 300 is. So while it sucks... the driveway on a 2 acre property can be handled by dumping off some crusher run and breaking out the tine rake.

Cheers,

Sirhr
 
Nobody has mentioned it yet so I’ll chime in. The water well sharing is important - know what the refresh rate is during wet and dry years - know what it can handle. If you get animals you will need to know that so you don’t starve everyone from water while trying to keep pets hydrated. It could become a point of contention otherwise.

And fences. For the love of peace, do not get animals your fences cannot handle. And at any rate, always keep fences in good working order. One thing I always do is put in a gate between myself and the other landowner big enough to run a tractor through so we can work on stuff together, put animals back in their place if they get through, etc.

Welcome to the land of forever work. Your weekends are now mostly shot. But it’s not a bad life at all.
 
I didn't notice how long the driveway is, but here is another driveway grader option for ruts, holes, etc. if you have an ATV or UTV: https://www.abiattachments.com/product/gravel-rascal-atv-driveway-road-grader/

I have the TR3E property edition for my Kubota tractor. It is well built and I can also use it for tilling food plots.

But, I d like the idea of sharing expense with a neighbor that has the equipment...
 
Nobody has mentioned it yet so I’ll chime in. The water well sharing is important - know what the refresh rate is during wet and dry years - know what it can handle. If you get animals you will need to know that so you don’t starve everyone from water while trying to keep pets hydrated. It could become a point of contention otherwise.

And fences. For the love of peace, do not get animals your fences cannot handle. And at any rate, always keep fences in good working order. One thing I always do is put in a gate between myself and the other landowner big enough to run a tractor through so we can work on stuff together, put animals back in their place if they get through, etc.

Welcome to the land of forever work. Your weekends are now mostly shot. But it’s not a bad life at all.
I'll just add to this, but generally speaking if your well isn't producing 10gpm, you'll need a cistern (possibly two if it's a really low producing well), to insure you have a consistent source of water for the home and any livestock (if any on a small 2 acre lot).
 
  • Like
Reactions: WaltHer
Don't fall into the "I gotta have the latest greatest Kubota front wheel assist estate tractor" trap.

Get a good old tractor that is cheap to buy, easy to operate, maintain and repair.
You can get a ton of work done with a tractor like my 1954 IHC Super M that was put together with loader for under $2000.
I have had it for a long time and although not used much any more it still comes out from time to time to earn it's keep.
Just can't kill the damn thing :LOL:
View attachment 8584894

Oh yeah, and to have good neighbors..........be a good neighbor

You keep a lariat on your tractor? You are good!!

Thank you,
MrSmith
 
I'll just add to this, but generally speaking if your well isn't producing 10gpm, you'll need a cistern (possibly two if it's a really low producing well), to insure you have a consistent source of water for the home and any livestock (if any on a small 2 acre lot).
@MarinePMI brings up a good point. It happened to me on a water well that had a very low refresh rate due to a high water table that was fine until a drought. What I did was get a 3000 gallon water tank (black so nastiness doesn't grow inside of it) and hooked up a simple 1GPH irrigation dripper to a standard water hose and let it fill the tank. Took a little while, but I was also able to fill the tank over a few months with no ill effects. I also put this tank next to my barn and tied in gutters to it to catch rain. Obviously I used a strainer and a 55 gallon pre-catch unit with a bypass to remove all the initial dust, bird shit and leaves from the good water that goes into the tank (this water goes through the strainer AFTER the bypass is full - no need to strain that). The amount of usable rain water that comes off a roof is quite a bit. Just make sure your tank is lower than the gutters on the roof so that it will flow into the tank and not back up.

You need that cistern/tank setup anyway in case the water pump goes down. Ask me how I know.

Here is what to use, found everywhere. You can probably get by with a 2GPH or bigger dripper, I just used what I had.



Make sure you either have a good foundation for the cistern in either in concrete, gravel or very good hardpan that wont erode over time with water runoff.

Here is a good PDF on what to do. My setup is a "simpler" derivation of this using stuff that is readily available from Tractor Supply, Ace Hardware, etc. so I can replace it easily if required.


If you need any other info feel free to PM me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Naaman
Install a driveway alarm, it’s nice to know someone is coming up the drive before they get to the house. I recently replaced my old one, got one off amazon that is wireless and has about a half mile range. Works well and it was cheap.
I have a driveway alarm on one of my feeders a couple hundred yards from the house. for night hunting hogs while drinking whisky in the barn.
Bar hunting
 
Hello All,

Just bought a house on a couple of acres of dirt.

Looking for some tips with the following items:

I need an entry-level option for maintaining a dirt road. A lot of my neighbors have tractors, but that's well outside my budget for now (we all share a 1-mile-long dirt road with lots of hills). At the moment, I could probably afford a creative $3K option if anyone has any creative solutions...? It might be a year or two before I have "tractor money." 😅

Anyone have any noteworthy experiences with septic tanks? Mine is fenced off, so there's not much worry of it getting parked on or driven over.

I've got a shared well (50/50 with my neighbor, no other parcels have an interest in the well). Is there anything I need to be mindful of with regard to water usage/conservation? I've been wondering whether drilling a private well would yield any benefit (either an "administrative" benefit or a benefit as a water resource) ... Not quite sure.

The property includes an elevation change of about 15-20 feet with the home on the upper half, and the back yard having a cliff-like drop with a dirt ramp near the middle of the property. I see a lot of potential with this set up, but not sure of the downsides (other than flood/drainage for the lower portion). Anything I should be taking into consideration as far a property maintenance/development?

Any help is appreciated!

Drive slow so your neighbors don't get choked out with dust on the main road, when it rains hope you have 4wd

Your creative 3k dollar option for your own driveway is cheap gravel/road base

Shared well needs to be deeded with the county and you'll split the electrical bill by how much water you use (both houses should have a meter) if it's not deeded the neighbor could cut you off, drilling a well in a normal place costs 10-12k for whole setup

Not sure what you mean by 10-15ft drop on your property but if you're building a house be mindful of setbacks (you can't build within a certain distance of your property line, septic tank
 
  • Like
Reactions: Modoc
I'll just add to this, but generally speaking if your well isn't producing 10gpm, you'll need a cistern (possibly two if it's a really low producing well), to insure you have a consistent source of water for the home and any livestock (if any on a small 2 acre lot).


I’m gonna say maybe to this, depending on the depth of your well and the static level. My well is only 3.5 gpm but the pump is at 492’ and the static level is 26’ below ground.

I have 600 some odd gallons in the pipe.




P
 
So much great input in here. Thanks, everyone!

I think for now I will see about comping my neighbors who have the wherewithal to work on the road when needed. Maybe see if I can "ride along" and learn a thing or two about it.

I think the first issue I tackle will be the water tank. (y)
 
Oh, I know some of you guys are gonna hammer me on this…

Naaman, What was your upbringing/background?
Middle class to white trash? Or Silver spoon…?

Do you have any blue collar trade experience or any sort?
ie… When the crap hits the fan, can you work with your hands? Do you like to, and look forward to working with your hands? Literally for the fun of it.

Political mindset? Independent to Liberal?
Cistern and grey water?…did you Google that, or do you have experience with those two items?

Thanks
 
Last edited:
Oh, I know some of you guys are gonna hammer me on this…

What was your upbringing/background?
Middle class to white trash? Or Silver spoon…?

Do you have any blue collar trade experience or any sort?
ie… When the crap hits the fan, can you work with your hands? Do you like to, and look forward to working with your hands? Literally for the fun of it.

Political mindset? Independent to Liberal?
Sistern and grey water?…did you Google that, or do you have experience with those two items?

Thanks
I grew up a middle class kid. My mom worked really hard to raise me and my sister…
 
Oh, I know some of you guys are gonna hammer me on this…

Naaman, What was your upbringing/background?
Middle class to white trash? Or Silver spoon…?

Do you have any blue collar trade experience or any sort?
ie… When the crap hits the fan, can you work with your hands? Do you like to, and look forward to working with your hands? Literally for the fun of it.

Political mindset? Independent to Liberal?
Sistern and grey water?…did you Google that, or do you have experience with those two items?

Thanks
I be the grammar nazi asshole here.

If he tried to google it, he might get the right links. The proper spelling is "cistern."

I had the right to remain silent, I did not have the ability.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Earnhardt
Dont buy chickens to free range and expect them to not be killed by coyotes or neighbor dogs....or racoons or opossums.

Be kind to the local wildlife(except racoons).

Your neighbors dog or cat will probably visit you...be friendly and drive slow.

Dont treat "the country" like the city....
County roads are not walking paths, bicycle paths, or any other path except for travel to and from your destination...not for recreation.
If you want to walk...get a treadmill.

Dont be a douchebag and buy a razor, sxs, gator, dirt bike, go cart, or 4 wheeler to ride around making noise and clogging roads....brantley gilbert doesnt know what he is talking about.

Turn your music down after 8pm...in the car or the house.... we country folk get up early.
 
Oh, I know some of you guys are gonna hammer me on this…

Naaman, What was your upbringing/background?
Middle class to white trash? Or Silver spoon…?

Do you have any blue collar trade experience or any sort?
ie… When the crap hits the fan, can you work with your hands? Do you like to, and look forward to working with your hands? Literally for the fun of it.

Political mindset? Independent to Liberal?
Cistern and grey water?…did you Google that, or do you have experience with those two items?

Thanks
I'll put it this way:
I chose this place because of my values (personal, political, spiritual, work ethic, etc, etc, etc).

As for my capabilities: one day I'll stop learning. On that day, I'll be dead.
 
I haven't read the whole thread and if mentioned, I've forgotten.

Number one rule : Mind your own business .

Some exceptions..... If you see a known robbery occurring or house / structure fire ,or livestock out ,someone stuck in a ditch ect ect....it's time to act.

After reading up few posts above, one might or could come to the conclusion that ,someone that is calling themselves' country people ,are actually someone who moved to the country ,been there a while ,and now want to "lay down the "law " "., OR they are just a grouchy asshole.........DON'T be that somebody.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Naaman
I haven't read the whole thread and if mentioned, I've forgotten.

Number one rule : Mind your own business .

Some exceptions..... If you see a known robbery occurring or house / structure fire ,or livestock out ,someone stuck in a ditch ect ect....it's time to act.

After reading up few posts above, one might or could come to the conclusion that ,someone that is calling themselves' country people ,are actually someone who moved to the country ,been there a while ,and now want to "lay down the "law " "., OR they are just a grouchy asshole.........DON'T be that somebody.
I interpret it as "friendly" ribbing. Any intended hostility is a reflection of the one expressing it.
 
I interpret it as "friendly" ribbing. Any intended hostility is a reflection of the one expressing it.

Not start any shit, but the post I'm talking about.......I didn't take as " friendly ribbing ". Sounded more like a fuckin busy body to me. Granted I could've taken it wrong ,if so ,I " miss read the room ".