How does a EFL work for grading and yard work???

[cmb1998]

I am in the process of building a house and have some extensive landscapping I want to do. My lot is 3.5 acres and completly flat, lots of mature tree's, with plenty of room to work. I want to move some dirt around, mow the feild, build a small pond (maybe 2 ft deep, 10ft diameter), and do lots of grading.

I have been comtemplating purchasing a tractor but not sure how well what I am looking at will work. I have been looking at a TC30 with front loader. How well does an EFL on a smaller tractor like this work for moving dirt around and doing some grading? I rented a JD 110 awhile back it worked really well, but it was a much larger tractor...

The soil is soft and I am not talking about a lot of digging, just scraping the top 12 inches of soil off in a few areas.

Anyone with expereince would be great!

Thanks,

Chris

[LBrown59]

Should work fine.

[CHDinCT]

Any of the smaller tractors with a front end loader (FEL) will work fine for moving dirt around especially with four wheel drive. Smaller tractors will just take smaller bites of soil. I assume you're talking about moving piles of dumped soil and the like. If you're looking to dig, a toothbar helps a lot when using a FEL, but a backhoe works a lot better.

Four wheel drive helps by increasing traction as you push into the pile and when transporting the load as the tractor's center of gravity will move further forward of the rear wheels thus reducing your traction at the rear wheels. Appropriate ballast on the three point hitch is really important in a small tractor that does not weigh as much as the full size utility tractors.

[timswi]

You should be fine. As stated, a toothbar will make that much faster. It won't dig like a skid loader, but you're not paying labor either. Pile moving is a snap, ground leveling of existing land may be a little slow.

[Charlesaf3]

FEL is great. But you might find a box blade equally useful

[LBrown59]

Originally Posted by CHDinCT

Any of the smaller tractors with a front end loader (FEL) will work fine for moving dirt around especially with four wheel drive. Smaller tractors will just take smaller bites of soil. I assume you're talking about moving piles of dumped soil and the like. If you're looking to dig, a toothbar helps a lot when using a FEL,
1*but a backhoe works a lot better.

Four wheel drive helps by increasing traction as you push into the pile and when transporting the load as the tractor's center of gravity will move further forward of the rear wheels thus reducing your traction at the rear wheels. Appropriate ballast on the three point hitch is really important in a small tractor that does not weigh as much as the full size utility tractors.

Originally Posted by timswi

You should be fine. As stated, a toothbar will make that much faster. It won't dig like a skid loader, but you're not paying labor either. Pile moving is a snap, ground leveling of existing land may be a little slow.

1*Another thing that works really great is a tiller.

[mswlogo]

For finish grading I can't imagine using a FEL. I rented a power rake which is an incredible gadget and will do it better and faster than a FEL will.

YouTube - Power Raking 101

[dodge man]

For moving the dirt around and digging, the FEL works great. For getting a yard really smooth, not that great. I agree, a power rake works great, but they are expensive, and I don't think I could rent one around here. I box blade might work O.K. to smooth things out. Using a tiller to break the dirt up and then back dragging with the FEL might work O.K. also. I have seen people talking about the Ratchet Rake. This might imporve the FEL and help smooth things out when back dragging, but I'm not sure. A landscape rake also is good for smoothing things out. I would say the power rake is the hot ticket for getting a yard ready to seed all things being equal.

[fire72]

I second the suggestion about the box scraper. Another implement to consider is your basic back scraper blade. After I had all the piles of soil moved, the back blade was by far the easiest way to get my final grade. It's relatively light and doesn't tend to dig in like a box scraper can. It's also one of the least expensive implements, and comes in handy in the winter for snow plowing.

Other options to consider are back dragging with the FEL or using a landscape rake. The rake is a great tool for getting rocks and roots out of the yard, but is less useful in the long term as the back blade. Your house, your money, your decision. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[bake321]

Be very carefull. I just replaced a hydraulic cylinder on my loader. Snapped a piston rod in two doing a little dirt work.

Bake