Trail grooming is a critical part of East Fort Rock trail maintenance. Due to our soft soils, moguls develop very rapidly. Once they reach a certain depth, not only is riders' experience decreased, but they will ride the edges of the trail and control of trail width is lost. Regular grooming will slow the development of the moguls and reduce the interval between reconstructions.

Equipment

• Fill out the Equipment Checklist before and after operating equipment.
  
  
• All quads use premium unleaded fuel.
  
  
• All quads must be operated in 4WD LOW RANGE when dragging.
  
  
• The most effective combination to date is to groom with three drags in the following order:
  
  
  • First—grader bit, cutting bit, or other hard drag
  • Second—electric hard drag
  • Third—pasture drag (tine harrow)
  
  
• The objective is to move dirt, not make time. The most effective speed is about 3 to 5 mph with a maximum speed of 7 mph. Any faster than this will reduce effectiveness and tear up the equipment.
  
  
• Dragging is tough on the equipment—if the quads get hot, stop and let them cool off.
  
  
• The Polaris quads are belt–driven. If a belt gets excessively worn, stretched, or burned, the quad will lose power, vibrate, or get very hot (or all three). To prevent this:
  
  
  • Engage the throttle gradually. Do not "grab a handful" or drag race.
  • Operate in 4WD LOW RANGE when dragging.
  • Be sure the parking brake is off before accelerating.
  • If the drag gets hung up on a rock or stump, do not "gas" it to try to dislodge it. This can seriously burn the belt.
  
  
• Do not operate the quads with the headlights on, especially if towing the electric drags. It will drain the batteries.
  
  
• It is best to run four quads together so that the last one can help lift the pasture drag over obstacles or remove large rocks that are rolled up and may become a hazard.

Grooming Techniques

• Do not drag across gravel or paved roads. Raise the drags before getting to the road so that material is not deposited in the road. Creating a groove or leaving material in the road could become a liability concern. If there are extra people for rakers, rake in the groove in all non-paved roads.
  
  
• Do not drag across cattle guards or grates, especially those used as trail counters. Raise drags before reaching cattle guard so there is not a mound before or in the cattle guard. Take a reading of trail counters before and after crossing.
• Drag slowly. Keep an eye on how well the drags are working and do not overwork the quads.
  
  
• Adjust the tongue and wheels so that material is cut off the top and deposited in the bottom of the moguls. The wheels on the electric drags should be down a little at all times.
  
  
• Raise the drags when crossing rocky or cobble areas to avoid damage to the drags.
  
  
• We do not want to over–maintain the trail. We want a trail experience, not a highway experience. It is important not to alter the intended difficulty level of the trail. Rocks add difficulty and interest to a trail, do not remove all of the rocks (or any of the rocks in some trails), only a rock that creates an unusual or unexpected hazard.
  
  
• If a rock or stick gets caught in a drag, stop and remove it so that a groove is not made in the trail, or equipment gets damaged.
  
  
• Avoid turning around and raise the drags if turning is necessary. Turning with the drags down can create a confusing "spur" for the riders and you may unknowingly be impacting a sensitive plant or cultural site.
  
  
• Your work is important and will be appreciated by hundreds of riders. Take the time and effort to do it right and be proud of what you've done.
  
  
• Just in case no one else says it: Thanks for your help!