I'm only married to the idea because I know the lay of the land around these parts. If they were up north in NY, Chicago, or Philly it might be different. Red Georgia clay is dug everywhere and sent all over the country. People pay large sums of money for Georgia clay. It is the largest commodity we have. Trust me, backhoe's are all over the place. Digging is quick and easy. It's clay not bedrock like up north.. It would be loud for a while while digging but with the machine guns they have they can easly fend off the Lame brains while digging the trench. It could be dug out in a day or 2. They would only need a day or 2 supply of gas to run the damn thing.

 

Yes, for digging a trench its not a bad idea. But its also realistic that most people who are surviving in a ZA, concentrating on just trying to forage enough food to live, and fight off walkers daily, would not go and procure a backhoe. There's a difference between what is possible and what is practical. Its not a fault of the show nor a fault of the characters for not doing this. If we sit here long enough, we could probably come up with 500 ideas that we think they 'ought' to be doing. But that doesn't mean most survivors would really do those things. And its not accurate to call a lack of a backhoe a silly fault of the show. When you are struggling in brute survival, luxuries are thought of last.

 

The way I would see it if I were Rick is, if we do not have max security none of these other things of which u speak matter... Number one priority would be peace of mind that the group is safe in the place we are trying to build a life.. A chain link fence as your only line of defense just does not cut it...

 

Agreed, but when you're dealing with sickness and walkers and other threats, getting a flat bed and a backhoe would likely not be a priority that would come this quickly in any group. The best possible scenarios are not always the ones that would happen realistically. That's the main point. In a real life situation, I don't think most groups living in a ZA would have stabilized themselves to the point of being able to obtain a backhoe and successfully use it. And I think its very realistic that Rick's group has not done this yet. As I said, there are many other things we could think of that we might wish Rick's group would do. But we have that luxury, from our armchairs. In reality, that kind of thing would probably come much slower...

 

With this killer flu going around, this would obviously not be the time to do this.. They had a very peaceful winter with plenty of time to get it done... It would have only taken a couple of days to do when everyone was strong and healthy. But when that mega herd scores a direct hit on the prison it is not going to matter much anyway unless the trench was dug 200 ft deep..

 

Slightly off topic of the backhoe discussion,

It seems like walker traps Morgan style would be quite effective as they could be made inside of the walls by anyone with a spare moment and there also seem to be an abundance of rats. The only issues would be eliminating the walkers and feeding/replacing the rats.

Perhaps barbed wire instead, one string to trip the walkers up the other placed a little in front to stop them rising back up. Issues: only good for one walker layer & isn't very durable

I feel like Im on a roll here

Pit: Using a backhoe (spades is unrealistic) to dig a trench/moat or just irregular pits
Pros: Permanent fixture, requires no maintenance, protects from most vehicles coming from anywhere other than the front.
Cons: Difficult to remove walkers from the pit, dangerous to deliver backhoe, high gas consumption, lots of noise from backhoe or flatbed truck.

Mines: Placing strategic mines under small covers to prevent detonation from anything other than vehicles
Pros: Best possible defence against people
Cons: requires probably a two day trip for the possibility of getting mines, tough to make covers perfectly, injuries could be caused to group members

HMG: collecting a heavy machine gun and placing it in a guard tower
Pros: very good in crisis situations, useful against both people and walkers
Cons: Loud, long trip, limited ammo, small possibility of finding it.

I may edit this and place any others anyone thinks of

 

You know, with the whole backhoe idea that's been bounced around and re-iterated in this thread, the thing that struck me is this: What if, sometime within the next few episodes, they introduced this very idea in the show? Someone goes out and salvages a backhoe and they go to work digging a huge trench. My prediction? Before the show is even over this forum would be filled with threads and comments about just how unrealistic the writers are getting, how easy they make it seem for the group as survivors, and how improbable the whole show is becoming. Oh, and several 'I'm never watching this show again!'s tossed in for good measure.

 

Backhoe? Ha ha are you kidding. Raid a museum for suits of armor and old weapons (maces ,etc). Yeah they are heavy and hot but wait till its coolest then go outside the fence and smash zombies to clear fence. The museum I go to even has suits of horse armor.

 

I think while Michonne is out practising dressage and hunting the Guv she should be keeping her eye out for a compound that has a goddamn high brick wall around it. There must be places like that, e.g. private schools, old mental institutions or private sanitoriums, mansions, etc. Or is a high brick wall not a common thing in Georgia?

 

I would be completely against mines. Too big a chance of injuring people unintentionally. Plus, if you get over-run from another direction and have to get out quick, you could blow yourself up.

 

I don't know where u live, but if u wear a suit of armor in Georgia in the summer, your ass is as good as dead anyway.. Don't have to worry about walkers because the heat will kill you. It is often 95 degrees with mega humidity.

 

They could have easily doubled back to the old people's home in season 1. That seemed pretty well fortified.

 

Except we know from the deleted scenes that that place was overrun.

 

Yes, that would be a good move. In the episode where Michonne and Daryl encountered that giant herd there appeared to be some sort of building like that in the distance.

 

True but if a scene is deleted, they don't have to follow its continuity.

 

If they can dig graves, they can dig ditches. To reduce the walker at the fence doesn't require a giant hole -- a lot of scattered holes could help. If not that, why not put walker-stake contraptions like they have near the front gate, 10 to 20 feet out from the fence, with either small holes or other tripping hazards. Morgan is by himself and he's done more than all 45 of them.

The prison group is lazy or complacent. The walkers build up at the fence overnight because they don't assign people to night fence-walker-killing duty. Tryese can opt out because he doesn't like it. A traitor can feed rats to walkers at night because there is no night lookout. When Maggie and Glenn are up there, they sleep or goof around. Michonne nearly got killed because Maggie wasn't paying attention. Nobody but Carl helps Rick with the farming. Glenn's only work is occasionally grave digging. Carol was a real hard worker, but nobody helped her. Although not dangerous, the people in isolation in the admin building with nothing to do don't even bother to pick up all the papers on the floor.

Team Prison doesn't need a council. It needs work crews and a no-nonsense foreman.

 

Put tarps over the fence so the zombies cant see other side. Then have head sized holes where they can stick their heads thru to take a peek and then zap have a guillotine set up there. Head falls in basket then you poke it with sharp stick.

 

I always thought that this particular pit was there before things went to hell.
Maybe Martinez just happened to come across an area that had some underground piping being prepared, or even a swimming pool being laid and just used them to his advantage.

 

A Guillotine? That is brilliant! Your killing me, Smalls..