Fence gate on a hille question

[Mike CHS]

We are about to finish our first pen that will be our temporary paddock for sheep soon to come. It will transition to the goat pen after we finish the next 5 acre section of fence. The problem I'm having is I need a gate on the opposite side of the driveway but since the slope is so steep I'm limited to how I can position the gate without having a foot or more gap on the low side. I'm looking at installing at a slight angle and I have enough stone and gravel to level the low side if what I'm doing will work with opinions from the more experienced on here. The 1st pic is the pen that we are finishing today. That gate will be used to move live stock between the pens. I will use cattle panels temporarily in place to keep them going where I want and the dogs will be on either side if they want to push things. The gate we need is directly opposite from this but will be almost at a right angle to the other gate as shown in the second pic. The slope we are trying to work around is in the last pic. (If I upload correctly) We had planned on having them straight across from each other but our inexperience let us convince ourselves that the hill could be adjusted to. When I started laying out timbers I saw how big the gap would be and decided to look for a Plan B which moved the gate to a slight angle to give me room to maneuver after entering the pen without being at the edge of the 10 degree slope as soon as I enter. There will be other gates on the flats but they have to be done after this pen.

We originally thought the pen we are now finishing would be good till we finished the next section but of course that plan has changed. We didn't originally see the woody area in the pen to be a problem but recent experience with herding sheep in woods (or trying to) has shown that to be problematic to say the least.

This post is a lot of wind to ask if anyone can see any major fault with my layout. I'll use H-braces at both sides of the gate and the remainder of the run will be conventional except I'll be using more T-posts and less wood posts. There is no way to enter the paddock from the downhill with anything other than my tractor or golf cart due to the angle if I don't angle the gate to give me room to maneuver. The 2x4 laying at an angle represents the gate placement. I will have to fill in with gravel to make the area level but that's no big deal.

The slope in the last pic shows how steep the run will be down hill.

 

[Baymule]

What size is your gate? With swing room and a slope being a problem, I wouldn't go any smaller than 16'. We have a gas pipeline easement on our property and we put up a 16' gate from our "yard" to the pipeline and haven't regretted it. There is a line of forest on the other side of the pipeline and we need that sixteen foot gate. I put a 12' gate going from the pipeline to the horse pasture and sure enough, DH took out the gatepost. It currently has a T-post Band-Aid and we'll be putting up a 16' gate.

Looking at your layout, if you need swing room, maybe inset your gate and angle the sides of the inset? If you need the gate to reach across the lane to meet up with the other gate, then maybe a 20' gate?

 

[Mike CHS]

That is a good suggestion. I was thinking just an 8' gate but I haven't tried maneuvering in there with that small of a gate (especially with the tractor and bush hog). This gate will be mainly for moving sheep from pasture too/from the catch pen (which will be the dairy goat pen). I will take a dry run on the spot tomorrow and see if a larger gate would be better. We had originally planned using the gate to control sheep movement but our dogs are proving to be better than expected.

We will have cattle panels available for flighty critters but not sure we will need them.

 

[Baymule]

You need more gates than you think and they need to be longer than you think you need. An 8' gate? On a farm?

 

[NH homesteader]

I glanced quickly and thought that said you need more GOATS than you think you need. Which BTW is totally accurate

Anyway we have teeny tiny gates. But we don't have a tractor.

I like to hear that the dogs are doing better than you thought they would be. Yay! That's fantastic!

 

[Baymule]

My gates are 12' gates with a couple of 16' gates, should've had more 16' gates.

 

[greybeard]

Smallest gate should be 12', and that's minimum for sure. I do have one 10' gate but only because it is on a pond dam, and anything wider would mean it latched or swung off to the down side of the dam and I was loathe to do much digging in the side of that dam.
16' gates are heavy and tend to sag badly. 2 8 footers will serve the same purpose with less weight per mounting post, altho a wheel at the swinging end can help--IF, it swung over level ground..
As far as space below the gate on a slope, just mount the gate to match the slope instead of mounting it straight and level, even if it means using these type mount pins where you can make one much longer than the other. TSC sells them here, as do a couple big box hardware & building stores.

 

[Mike CHS]

I'm glad I posted since I didn't even know that gate bolt was available (will be picked up today). I won't have as much slope since after reading and listening to ya'lls input we are moving further up the slope and more toward the house and going with two eight foot gates.

 

[Bossroo]

Smallest gate should be 12', and that's minimum for sure. I do have one 10' gate but only because it is on a pond dam, and anything wider would mean it latched or swung off to the down side of the dam and I was loathe to do much digging in the side of that dam.
16' gates are heavy and tend to sag badly. 2 8 footers will serve the same purpose with less weight per mounting post, altho a wheel at the swinging end can help--IF, it swung over level ground..
As far as space below the gate on a slope, just mount the gate to match the slope instead of mounting it straight and level, even if it means using these type mount pins where you can make one much longer than the other. TSC sells them here, as do a couple big box hardware & building stores.

A hint for installing the mounting pin hinges - install one extra one in the middle , but upside down so that when an animal tries to stick their head through the gate frame bars it then can't lift the gate off the hinges. Another tip that I use on my ranch is to install the 16' or longer or even 2 -8' gates that slide along the fence on opposite sides of the opening ) gate on rollers so that it slides along the side of the fence to open.

 

[babsbag]

Another tip that I use on my ranch is to install the 16' or longer or even 2 -8' gates that slide along the fence on opposite sides of the opening ) gate on rollers so that it slides along the side of the fence to open.

Pictures? Please.

When I use those hinges on gates I always put them on so they "face" each other and the gate can't be removed. Harder to install but keeps goats from taking down the gate and once they learn how they are very adept at it. Pure Brats.