T-Post installation

[TheMan419]

Ok great brain trust....

We are putting in horse pasture. T-posts and then string wire on them which will be electrified.

I am a tractor newbie. I have a New Holland Boomer 24. I have read up and watched video on using the bucket to push the T-Posts into the ground.

Soil is sandy loam and pretty soft.

The corners will be wood posts and I have a buddy with a 3 point post hole auger that we will use for those. Those will also be cemented in place, as will the posts needed for the gates.

How reasonable is it for a newbie to think I will push the posts in with the bucket? Also any tips?

 

[fidowanttobe]

String a tight wire FIRST, then pound posts otherwise it is crooked. We have done the loader push thing but only in the spring when the ground is damp. Almost a horse apiece to post pound or to loader push on the speed to do it so, .....

 

[hawkeye08]

I've put some in, pay attention to any angles due to uneven ground. Off just a bit is usually ok, but if off very much, you can easily bend posts.

 

[TheMan419]

String a tight wire FIRST, then pound posts otherwise it is crooked. We have done the loader push thing but only in the spring when the ground is damp. Almost a horse apiece to post pound or to loader push on the speed to do it so, .....

Oh yes we will run a string first to tell us where the line is to go. I just want to use the loader to push them in rather than pound them in. Also fall here is damp so we are good on that score.

 

[bcp]

If the ground is not hard, one person could probably do it faster manually than with a tractor pushing.

Here are some video ideas. Using the bucket down force on a guide pipe may work almost as well as the hydraulic pusher style. If you make the guide pipe as long as the desired above ground post length, it becomes an automatic depth gauge.


Putting in fence posts with the tractor - YouTube

How To set a T post with a tractor - YouTube

Tee post Driver System - YouTube

Hydraulic Post Pusher - Post Driver - YouTube

Bruce

 

[TheMan419]

If the ground is not hard, one person could probably do it faster manually than with a tractor pushing.

Here are some video ideas. Using the bucket down force on a guide pipe may work almost as well as the hydraulic pusher style. If you make the guide pipe as long as the desired above ground post length, it becomes an automatic depth gauge.


Putting in fence posts with the tractor - YouTube

How To set a T post with a tractor - YouTube

Tee post Driver System - YouTube

Hydraulic Post Pusher - Post Driver - YouTube

Bruce

Problem with one person doing it is I need to set like 100 of them and the physical labor involved I think would destroy my shoulders.

The first two videos are how I envision it, but with a pipe as a depth gauge as well as helping the post not bend. It looks to be a combination of downward curl plus pushing down on bucket. It might appear that having some weight in the bucket would help too.

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

If the ground is wet enough and you don't have a bunch of rocks in that sandy loam it could work. I'd do it more like the 3rd video so that you could drive essentially parallel with the new fence to push them in rather than having to turn in 90 deg for each one if you used the center of the bucket. The downside to using the side of the bucket is the twisting force on the loader which you'd have to be careful of.

I'm pretty sure that first video has the bucket curled down just to provide a flat spot of the bucket to sit on the top of the post. I wouldn't want to do 100 of them with a driver but I wouldn't want to do it alone with the tractor either. It's still 10x more productive to have a helper that can position the post while you push it down

 

[tcreeley]

When I use my bucket to drive them, I have the bucket flat and perpendicular to the post. Otherwise it wants to drive the post at an angle. I don't use the curl except to level the bucket first.

The pain is if you hit a rock and have to pull the post. Wrap chain around the post a couple of times, hitch to bucket and lift. Comes right out.

I'll start the post by hand - jamming it then lower the bucket on it. A helper is nice. With a helper you'll find that you have a better view on levelness than they do, from your seat. Of course a magnetic level makes sense.

I use the 6' steel t posts from the feed store.

You could do the reinforced corners with the t posts and skip the wood + cement. I like steel with white (2-3) 6' fiberglass posts in between. In my area the frost heaves everything even set 4' down. Using steel t posts, and fiberglass posts, every summer I can use the bucket on the steel and a hammer on the fiberglass posts to push them back down. I use 3/4" or 1" electric tape. Lasts for years and has good visibility.

I order my 6' fiberglass posts from these guys : 3⁄8" FiberRod SunGuard 6'

 

[Militoy]

I guess you guys have a lot more skill with a loader bucket than I do - I found both driving T posts with a bucket and digging holes for chain link with a 3 point auger to be harder with the tractor than without. I guess I should watch the videos when I get the time. When I have more than 20 or so to set, I hire a few local boys to help.

 

[holeycow]

Rent a post pounder for a day. Pound all your posts, including the corners. Concreted posts heave worse than not. I have never had much success pushing posts with the bucket. Break/bend posts and when you are done a fenceline everything is crooked. For occasional single posts it can work well. If you want a nice line of posts, forget it.