Dirt Moving First timer embarking on multiple tasks - rented tractor.

[PatasColo]

Howdy all,
I've been reading this website for a few months, and lots of great info. Thanks for such a great resource.

I have about 1.2 acres of farm-y land, coupled with 14 acres of mountain-y land that we just bought this spring. I'm thinking I'll need a tractor, but am slow to make such a big purchase... So, this weekend will be the first time we have a tractor on the property to do some long-delayed chores. Renting a JD 3320 (I believe; if not, it's close to that model) with FEL and BB. I'd like to 1) move rocks (20-150 lbs each) 2) neaten up the 300 ft driveway (it is rutted from rainstorms last spring), 3) cut a swale for better drainage across our field, and 4) move dirt from a long berm uphill to backfill an area near the house. (I've attached a pic of the land to this post.)

The last task is most critical (backfill); Then the driveway, then the others. I've read plenty of safety and "how to" info on here, but anything else you think is key (for a person getting on and operating a tractor for first time), feel free to chime in. I have the tractor for one full day.

Here's a couple specific questions:
1) The land slopes from the road where the berm is up to the house. It's probably 150 feet distance and 10 to 15 foot rise. How do you best get a feel for turning around on slope and knowing you're not going to tip over? I don't even want to come close! :ashamed:
2) The destination area needing backfill is tight; I don't think the tractor will fit/maneuver with the BB on. The BB is my rear counterweight. My thought is to move all the dirt as close as possible to backfill area (it's going to take a bunch of 150ft trips) with the BB on... Then only remove the BB for the final last bit of pushing all the backfill into place in the tight quarters. Your thoughts?
3) The driveway is dirt and rock... lots of varied broken rock (sandstone) from the slope I live on. It is solid rock on one side and there is a short wall on the other which serves as a retaining wall to hold the driveway in (mortar and big rock wall... very solid). I'm thinking to make a pass with the BB and see if I can even out the ruts. I'll likely grab some rock mixed with dirt from other parts of property to fill in as well. I know this is not permanent, but it'll serve our needs for now. One option is to buy some half-to-inch sharp gravel/roadbase to lay in, but I don't want to create too many jobs, and I'm under no illusion that this'll be the only time I'll grade the driveway.

OK, thanks for your time and input, and if you need more detail, just ask. This'll be my first time on a tractor, so I figure it's a "learning day", but I don't want to learn any "bad" lessons.
Patas

P.S. I can tell you that neither rented tractor nor one I buy is going to get taken up the mountain part of the land... It's a Rocky Mountain foothill, and goes 1200 feet horizontal to the butte crest, with a 300 foot rise. However, way in the future we may take a tractor around to the valley behind via a fireroad (I have a fantasy of building a little stone & wood cabin back there).

 

[TripleR]

Have you looked at the videos on Everything Attachments?

As for turning around on slopes, if you are not yet familiar with your machine or an experienced operator the best advice I can give is don't; either drive or back down to turn around or find a flat spot. Always keep your FEL as low as possible as well as BB if you do decide to try this; experience will be your best teacher and this takes time at least for me.

 

[Porkie]

Very beautiful place ya got there!

Just be careful and start out slowly and on the level areas until you "master" the tractor and it's operation.

As far as slopes go, you have a built in "PUCKER" meter that will warn you when something doesn't feel right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cars, trucks, tractors, none of them like being sideways or perpindicular to travel on a hill or slope. Sideways, a vehicle can turn over in a heart beat. If there's room to turn around at the top that is flat and the hill isn't too steep, you'll be okay. Most tractors only have brakes on the back, so they can slide out on certain types of terrain.

Welcome to the forum!

Sam

 

[PatasColo]

Thanks for the feedback so far fellas. I'll attach here another photo at eye level... it may give a better "person's eye view" of the slope I'm talking about. Not drastic, but not to be ignored. You can see the the garden (lower left corner of picture) has a little 14-18 inch wall on the end closer to us, and is level with the ground farther up, where there is another little wall buttressing up the yard. The tractor will come across the field and garden from the left, and then have to turn up the stone path in the pic, and follow that up to the house. I think it's a good idea to back down from the house, as there is not really room up there to turn around anyway, and then proceed left across the garden and into the field towards the berm.

I'm going to walk it a bunch of times just to really check my route.... slope, rocks and dips, etc. Also, the first time on the tractor I'll just drive it up and back empty, then perhaps do a partially filled bucket a few times to keep getting the feel of things. My focus is to be safe and like I said, enjoy learning how to work a tractor... if there is a hitch in getting the work done, so be it.

Also, I'm hoping to get a sense if a CUT or SCUT is a better choice for my purchase. Folks here been sayin' the SCUTs tend to have lower center of gravity, which is good. But correspondingly lower clearance, and our property is full of beautiful rock. A lot of it coming up in the little field, so clearance is a good thing; tippiness is not. The guy we paid last spring to mow the field broke the blade yoke of his Husqvarna riding mower, and then did some damage to his JD riding mower, all due to the rocks and irregularities in the field (we've been mowing with a walk-behind string trimmer since then, one section at a time).

 

[TripleR]

The gradual approach is a very good one, but depending on the slope may or may not be enough. Go to the Safety Forum and look at some of the posts there; often too little time for the "internal pucker meter" to save you.

I can empathize with the decision between a SCUT/CUT. I chose a SCUT for our residence due to the stability issues. We have other tractors available, but even if we didn't, I would still have picked a SCUT. It is just going to be a matter of which compromises are the least troublesome.

Good luck and enjoy the seat time.:thumbsup:

 

[LostInTheWoods]

Thanks for the feedback so far fellas. I'll attach here another photo at eye level... it may give a better "person's eye view" of the slope I'm talking about. Not drastic, but not to be ignored.

Welcome to TBN, PatasColo. Looking at your picture, my first impression is that your tractor will have little difficulty on this hill. It can be difficult to get adequate perspective from pictures, however, so definitely consider your moves carefully while you familiarize yourself with the tractor.

Also, I'm hoping to get a sense if a CUT or SCUT is a better choice for my purchase. Folks here been sayin' the SCUTs tend to have lower center of gravity, which is good. But correspondingly lower clearance, and our property is full of beautiful rock. A lot of it coming up in the little field, so clearance is a good thing; tippiness is not. The guy we paid last spring to mow the field broke the blade yoke of his Husqvarna riding mower, and then did some damage to his JD riding mower, all due to the rocks and irregularities in the field (we've been mowing with a walk-behind string trimmer since then, one section at a time).

Well, there are rocks, and then there are rocks. My SCUT (Kubota BX2660) has just over eight-and-a-half inches of ground clearance. This gives me plenty of clearance for most of the rocks in my area, as well as fallen limbs and many rutted areas. Comparing ground clearance between SCUTs and riding mowers...well, they're not even in the same class. The relatively low center of gravity, however, also helps keep my pucker factor to a minimum.

Can you give us some idea of what type/sizes of rocks you're dealing with?

 

[k0ua]

Like others have said, go slow, remember Loader Low as possible (and rolled back), but know this: in one day I am not sure you can learn how to be effective with the loader. Don't be disapointed, it takes time to learn to get a good bucket of dirt, or how to dig with the tractor, and I don't think one day is enough. I am not even sure 1 year is enough. I may be a slow learner, but I have been behind a loader control for about 18 years, and I am a lot better now than I was 17 years ago. But all that said you will get some work done, and maybe you can learn faster than I did Also be extremely carefull without the weight on the back of the tractor, they are almost worthless without the weight on the back, especially if the tires are not loaded with fluid for weight,. just dont raise that bucket very high, and never turn if it is. without lotsa rear weight.. wish I was there to help you. at least to get you started safely. Be safe, have fun, get some work done, in that order. Oh, almost forgot, um unless you are pretty lucky, I think you are going to learn some new swear words, unhooking and re-attaching that box blade, on the 3 point, unless you have some kind of quick hitch on the 3 point, getting things lined up by yourself can be a pain at times. Remember if you kick too hard, you can damage your foot.!
James K0UA

 

[GT2]

Another consideration is the cut will prolly hold more dirt. If you need to move a lot, the increased capacity will be nice.

As others have said, pics can be deceiving but your area dosent look that bad.

Also it vary's tractor to tractor, but a "smaller" cut is prolly wider than a scut so c of g may not be a big deal.

 

[PatasColo]

Thanks for the reminder of the Everything Attachments site; I'd looked at a couple things, and looked at some more. Then went to look for FEL techniques, safety, dangers, and really found enough to make you never want to sit in a tractor seat! Obviously, that's not the right conclusion, but it's just to say I got a healthy dose of learning, and a healthy dose of caution which is proper. Have any of you ever had a BB hang up on a rock (read "underground boulder")... I saw that the consequences of trying to pull an immovable object tend to be a flipover, one way or another, if the tractor has enough torque.

And k0ua, I know you're right: that I'll be workin' to learn as much as possible, but one day is just one day, so I'll make sure the focus is safety, fun, then work.

For LostInTheWoods, the rocks on my property are many and varied. I live right at the bottom of a sandstone hogback. Basically a prehistoric seabed which has been uplifted, resulting in a big slope and cliffs off the top end. The farm-y part of the land has a more gentle slope, as you were seeing in the picture, but it's not zero. Anyway, the rocks vary from round to exactly squared, and from baseball and smaller to slabs over 5 feet in any given dimension. In the field, there's a lot of cantaloupe sized which peek out and come up to the surface, and as big as watermelon if you dig in the right area. Also, the land is all bumpy and irregular (not cultivated nor flat).

A lot of the dirt I'm moving from the berm is laced with the baseball to cantaloupe size stuff. I'm going to have to scratch at it with the loader a lot, I know, and it's a bummer that there is no toothbar on the loader edge (rental shop doesn't have). I'll just do what I can.

 

[PatasColo]

P.S. Now that I've put all this out there, I s'pose someone will be expecting before-and-after pictures. :confused2: