3PT Hitch Rear Scoops, How effective?

[wolftree]

While I would love to have a new 30 horse tractor / loader / backhoe and a barn full of implements, my wallet says I will be lucky to afford a 20-30 year old compact with 2 wheel drive and a 3pt finish mower and maybe a few other implements for now.

With that said, How effective is a rear mounted scoop in scooping, picking up and transporting dirt and gravel and dumping it at a new location? I have several projects I would like to begin or continue that I would rather not wait until I can afford the super deluxe all in one tractor and the barn full of implements.

I have no plans to move mountains, maybe just level out a few hills.

[magicheater]

While I would love to have a new 30 horse tractor / loader / backhoe and a barn full of implements, my wallet says I will be lucky to afford a 20-30 year old compact with 2 wheel drive and a 3pt finish mower and maybe a few other implements for now.

With that said, How effective is a rear mounted scoop in scooping, picking up and transporting dirt and gravel and dumping it at a new location? I have several projects I would like to begin or continue that I would rather not wait until I can afford the super deluxe all in one tractor and the barn full of implements.

I have no plans to move mountains, maybe just level out a few hills.

Before the advent of loaders they worked great, and they still do, but not with the efficiency/versatility of a loader. If you have old technology by all means use, but if you are to invest, move forward. IMHO

[Soundguy]

a box blade and a rear scoop will do LOTS of work.

as said. not as nice as a loader.. but.. they DO dig. and actually.. with a scoop and box blade.. you can actually dig a lil better than a fewl in some cases.

[Carvel Loafer]

I'm not sure what you mean by a Rear Scoop, but I just have a JD 1026R and use the lightweight BB2048L Frontier box blade for ripping and such and it works just fine in the soil on my property. The loader on my little 1026 is not designed for digging in hard pack, but it does great at moving loose material. So I use the box blade to dig and the loader to move, it works good for a little tractor.

[284 International]

I have used one before, and actually found it very effective within certain parameters. This one was heavily constructed, so weighed as much as a box blade of 4' or so width. However, it only cut along the 2 foot or so leading edge, so was able to dig much better than the box blade would. A little bit of speed filled the hopper well, and the scoop would carry more dirt than a bucket for that size tractor would hold.

Drawbacks are that leveling is virtually impossible, since the tool isn't very wide, and placement in some circumstances is tricky: against a wall or fence, for instance, or into a pickup bed or dumpster. For simply moving sheet volumes of soil, though, I would suggest a rear slip scoop on a 2 wheel drive compact tractor is markedly faster than a loader bucket on the same machine.

[foggy1111]

I've seen pictures where they were using 9N fords and scoops to build railroad beds and roadways. Lots of work can be done with old tech....but it requires a bit of seat time.

[Soundguy]

my yanmar and my 8n moved many, many yards of dirt on my building pad prior to my house being built... then it leveled the slope that became my backyard...

lotsa scoop and box blade work..

[magicheater]

I've seen pictures where they were using 9N fords and scoops to build railroad beds and roadways. Lots of work can be done with old tech....but it requires a bit of seat time.

Yeah, back when fuel costs were minimal and time was not at a premium.

[wolftree]

I had tractors with front loaders and know their limitations and advantages. More often than not my loader became a motorized wheelbarrow or tool tote. I built the home I am living in now by myself using a 14 hp Wheel Horse garden tractor and dump trailer for moving material around the site. I shoveled and hauled in the dump trailer over 80 tons of gravel. I developed some good arms then.

I now have sleeve hitch rear blade, box blade, mold board plow and two disks for the garden tractor. My thoughts are to try and use these in conjunction with a small compact tractor and begin building from there. I have several projects that will be moving dirt from one place to another that I think (hope) the scoop will perform better than me shovelling.

[DAD1220]

I see the key as "better than me shoveling." Even a small scoop will move more than a grown man shoveling, may be hard to place and require some raking or changing to a blade on the tractor. But, "better than me shoveling."