Buying Advice Newbie TBN looking for advice on 4x4 tractor

[deezler]

Pretty sweet! Should be able to get some serious work done.

Nice truck and trailer setup, glad you didn't let that factor limit your choices.

[Eric67ct]

Thanks! Now I need to figure out how to load rocks that I have pulled up with the backhoe into the loader. Is there a secret to getting rocks into the FEL?

[meburdick]

Yeah...

Take the bucket off, install pallet forks, and lift the rocks.

Seriously.

[deezler]

^ thats a crap ton of work though. Especially without the quick detach bucket. If the rocks physically fit in the bucket, it really shouldn't be that hard. It helps to be pushing against something else solid, like having the rocks in front of a tree or another big rock. Worst case, you might have to get off the tractor (or use a helper) to pry the rocks into the bucket.

I haven't done a whole lot of this (not many big rocks out here), but my technique is to optimize the bucket angle, to best slip the bottom edge of the bucket up under the rock. Drive forward (you may push it a few feet) until its center of gravity is into the bucket. Then tip back to roll/slide it all the way in.

[Gary Fowler]

Get a thumb for your hoe (hydraulic preferred) and move those rocks with the hoe. As for getting them in the bucket, you have to get the bucket completely flat with just a slight down angle so as to slide under the rock without picking up a lot of dirt. Sometimes the rocks just want to slide no matter what so you have to muscle them in. I have loaded tons of rocks with my FEL and sometimes they load easily and sometimes you have to back them against other rocks or tree or dirt pile to get them in the bucket.

[Eric67ct]

I'll try that. The initial couple of rocks I pushed by hand into the bucket (some of them are large - couple of hundred pounds), but some are too flat to move. I was thinking of buying a grapple to hook onto the top of the bucket. Would that help?