Digging Clay

[ryer]

Hello guys...new to board. I live in South Texas...sandy loam type soil with a clay hardpan. I dig a lot of water ways and ponds on my property using rental equipment such as Bobcat 763 skid loader and a Case backhoe (to dig the clay to line the ponds). This clay is as hard as concrete. I am considering purchasing a Kubota B26 TLB for this purpose as well as hundreds of tree stump removals (live and post oak), a 1/2 mile sandy road to grate and to clear a lot of brush. I have 37 acres...limited budget...would this tractor possibly fit the bill? Thanks for any input.

 

[Matt_Jr]

Ryer, I live in Northern Va, and have a lot of clay and large rocks in my area. I bought my BX24 for driveway maint (250 ft) and found I love to dig too. If I hit a rock I just dig around it and pull it out. However I guess It depends how big you want your ponds to be. If your clay is as hard as concrete just get some explosives. Who doesn't like to dig and blow stuff up?
I

 

[wushaw]

The Bobcat will beat the TLB26 hands down for digging, it is heavier and has more hydraulics.

The B26 will do it but it will be slower. Digging with the FEL on the b26 won't be like on the Bobcat, it is more difficult on the tractor, I found a Box blade to work best then use the FEL to pick up spoils.

Digging up the oak trees won't be too bad as long as they are not too large, the bigger they are the longer they will take.

 

[alchemysa]

The Bobcat will beat the TLB26 hands down for digging, it is heavier and has more hydraulics.

I've never used a Bobcat but the visibility must be fantastic compared with a normal tractor. That would make digging so much easier. And the tight handling of the skid steer would make it so much faster. My very rough guess is that a skid steer would dig at least 4 times faster than a standard tractor with a bucket. Maybe even 10 times faster! If digging is going to be a major part of your bucket work then you should have a test drive first.

 

[SamWalton]

I am sure the B26 would perform well and is a good choice and value for this type of work but if you want to complete these tasks more efficiently you may want to consider the L39. This TLB is stronger and only about 6K more in cost.

 

[krackerjack9]

Wish I had some that clay for my ponds, Im down in Orange Grove,tx and its just about impossible to hold water in the ponds down here. yep even tried Bentonite had bought a semi tractor trailer load 25tons worth and it slowed it down alot but the water just leaks down about a inch every week or so. Before it was a 2 inches about every 4 or 5 days
I traded in my L3400 and got me a L4400 man what a difference. Im glad I made the change.

 

[john_bud]

You may want to look for a used industrial TLB. 6x the machine for the same price (used). For the price of a new B26 TLB you can get a 8-10 year old Case 580 or similar. Be much easier digging!

jb

 

[ryer]

Thanks for the input guys. I have a test drive with the B26 scheduled this week. Jon Bud, I used the Case 580 (construction king) to dig the bulk of the clay in the pond. It was the only machine that would dig deep into the clay but for what I have left know, it is way too big of a machine. I have thousands of oaks trees to maneuver through and you cannot turn that machine. The Bobcat dug great when I got down to the hardpan. It was like driving on cement and I could scoop the sand and haul it off. However, the Bobcat on top of the sand got stuck almost instantly and was very unstable. I now have 2 acres of water, so that's the bulk of the pond digging, but for cleaning out the ponds, maintaining the creek waterways, the road grating and some small expansion of the pond is what I am looking for now. I even believe the B26 is too large to fit where I need to go now without heavy timber clearing...which I try to avoid. Will let you know. Thanks again.

 

[wushaw]

I don't blame ya on trying to avoid any timber removal, it takes forever for any of the Oaks in your area to get to maturity.

 

[ryer]

Wushaw,
Do you have post oak or live oak in your area? I have included a Google Earth shot of my property. All the water ponds and creeks were man made. It has taken me a number of years. I think you can see my dilemma with all the oak trees and how heavily forested the land is. As you can imagine, it is a wildlife hot spot. I have left many submerged stumps for fish cover. This pond is loaded with fish but attempting to maintain the depth of the pond with all the foilage falling into the water and building up muck on the bottom, is a major problem. I have the ability to pump water from one section of water to another by placing sand bags in certain areas and draining the area. This is where I think a tractor will come in handy scooping out the muck after it dries.