Well I guess I'll be the first to start "opinionating" (my new word creation!)
Second to the loader is the backhoe. Whether ditching, or "weeding" i.e pulling mass piles of blackberry vines off of my small fir trees, picking up brush piles with the hoe, "raking" with it in areas that I can't get my other "baby" tractor in (BX) digging stumps, cutting a shallow ditch to put the front tire in so I can cut a terrace in a hill side, using it to make a road down a hill by cutting the high side and putting it on the low side and even if I'm trying to go somewhere to pick some stuff up in the woods with the loader, using the hoe to move my tractor "butt" around as need be. Not to mention getting the tractor unstuck about a zillion times. Picking up the firewood logs in the woods in place with the hoe so I can cut them standing up (my back loves the backhoe), so I can cut them right then before they get dirty and dull the chainsaw. Using the hoe to lift car parts where I can't get in with the loader. Keeping my ditches clear so I don't flood. When my wife first saw the backhoe she wondered if we'd ever use it! Then she tried to plant something at the house we were building, hit a watermelon (glacier spud) and fell in love with it! (the backhoe not the spud!)... Except when I was helping her and managed to MASH the downspout. Practice Practice Practice! There's probably other things I'm not thinking about, OH YEAH, changing a rear tire sure is easy by lifting the tire off the ground with the outriggers!
Third thing would be the on-off loader forks I now have. My Ford had a set that you had to pull the loader bucket off to use. I bent them up doing logging (not their intended use) and took the loader attachment and welded on an entire 3-pt fork attachmentt on to it, super heavy duty was great for hauling logs cleanly to the firewood pile even across the bad areas.
It did require removing the bucket though, I didn't have any kind of a quick change setup except that I replaced the bolts with pull-pins, which still required someone else to goose the loader controls while I played with the pins. I found myself not putting it on and trying to do things with my back or the bucket or the backhoe.
Now I have a set that hangs on the loader bucket, and I can go get them and put them on WITHOUT GETTING OFF THE TRACTOR! My first time and it worked great! To remove I have to get off, flip three bars in 10 seconds I'm back on the tractor, drop them and away I go, could do it in a Tuxedo. I find myself taking them on and off quite often. You can see what these look like (not on my tractor) at this link:
http://www.oldcarparts.mygarage.com/images/Forks.jpg
Third and a half isn't an attachment, it's another tractor, a BX2200, which I use kind of like a clown in a parade cleaning up after the horses! I make the mess, my wife gets it graded real nice with the BX2200. She can do this with what I believe is a great all around tool, a rear rake, with flip down grading blade and sides.
I also have a traditional box scraper with pin down scarifiers (teeth) which I've used with the BX where I can't get the L35 loader or Hoe. I tow the BX to another piece of property and that Box scraper is my poor man's backhoe. Saves a lot of wear and tear on the loader assy. The flip down grader blade on the rake is for LIGHT grading or gravel spreading, not for digging. What makes the rake marvelous is the two adjustable wheels so it can float literally on the surface or go down an inch or however you set it. Rake also tilts sideways to throw your rocks off into a row if you wish, or get through a narrow area.
After that it would be the upcoming removable bucket tooth bar for the loader on the L35 (and possibly on the BX). They are great not just for digging, but for raking brush and wood debris without digging up the dirt and not seeing what you're doing. Teeth on the Loader bucket are also a great extra parking brake mechanism, and will really help if you are trying to hold the tractor in place while using a backhoe. I have teeth on my Ford but they are welded on and I don't have the benefit of finish grading with the bucket edge. The removable bar will give me the best of both worlds, at least it will be if I can ever get the thing, am having one hell of time getting it actually here! Digging in a dirt pile is much easier with teeth on to help concentrate the initial force.
Once I get that mounted I also want to get a "loader rake" which can be used to better pick up odd objects and brush.
You can see what these look like with this link...
http://www.oldcarparts.mygarage.com/images/loader_rake.jpg
Also coming is a hydraulic thumb for the backhoe.
And most important, that all important feature the BX has that the L35 doesn't...
A CUPHOLDER!
And as to dissatisfaction? Well I had a brushhog and I found it a nasty loud cloud making device. It did do the job intended though! I just couldn't hack the cloud of ground up whatever going in my body past my goggles, past my filter mask. If I had to do that a lot I'd get a good sealing cab or scuba tanks. I'm blessed with allergy's to dust etc, a double edged sword, after 49 years I still have 2-3 weeks I can win a sneezing contest but as a 14 year old I wasn't able to tolerate smoking and had to quit after my first week!
del
Good luck and let the wallet start shrinking!
Someone else mentioned something I have to disagree with. That comment was a suggestion to either by cheap implements or used ones. A cheap implement is just that and my feelings are you will regret it (from what I've seen) Used implements are great if they are OK. If the person has used his box scraper or rear grader bar over sharp rocky ground it may have lost much of it's life. The nice thing about quality implements is that you can usually get replacement parts! Some paint, maybe a new edge and presto!
[email]oldcarparts@mygarage.com [/email]
