Tractors, Mini-TLBs, and Life

   / Tractors, Mini-TLBs, and Life #1  

MChalkley

Elite Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2000
Messages
3,239
Location
Eastern Virginia
Tractor
EarthForce EF-5 mini-TLB (2001)
I'd like to hear from the TBN gang on the subject of what you use your Compact Utility Tractor for. I'm interested because I want to see how the EarthForce Mini-TLBs fit into the usage patterns of typical CUT owners. I'm not talking about differences in operation, but rather what you do with your CUT and, if it's not obvious, why. I'm going to use the information to try to get an idea of how adaptable the EarthForce form factor is to the "typical" CUT user's needs.

Some of you have perhaps looked at my "Goodbye Kubota, Hello EarthForce" thread in the "Other Brands" forum. (I'm sure nobody has read it all. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif) If so, you have some idea of what I bought the EF-5 to do, and why I replaced my L4310HST with it. But, in view of the fact that I bought the next to largest EarthForce model (and the biggest one is near Case 580 size), remember that there are 5 models of EarthForce machines smaller than the one I got. A good idea of the specs for the units can be got from <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.earthforce.com>the EarthForce web site</A>.

So, how do you use your CUT, and do you have any thoughts on whether and why or why not a Mini-TLB would serve you as well, or better? What are the issues? Money, size, what? With due respect, I'm not talking about preferences of how you do what you do - you can't know whether you like rear-mounted blades better that front-mounted ones if you haven't tried both, for example. I'm just talking about what the two kinds of machines will and won't, can and can't, do.
 
   / Tractors, Mini-TLBs, and Life #2  
Mark, I doubt that anyone could remember what all he/she uses his/her tractor for; bound to miss or forget a few things./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif Let's see:

Pasture mowing
Lawn mowing
Garden Tilling
Garden and other plowing
Garden cultivating
Trailer towing (various things in the trailer)
Dirt and gravel moving, spreading, smoothing, etc., including filling in an old stock tank, cleaning and enlarging another stock tank, digging foundation for house
Pallet moving (fuel barrel, bricks, trash barrels and other things)
Mowing small buildings on skids
Lift one corner of a barn to put a post in after a windstorm
Tow boat to launching ramp
Carry lawn chair and fishing gear to creek to go fishing from bank
Brush removal
Pull other stuck vehicle from borrow ditch
Lift neighbor high enough to prune trees without using ladder
Lift engine and transmission to set into chassis of vehicle
Pull trees down and drag trees
Backfill around foundation
Fill ditches after installation of water and electric lines
Dig ditches
Load utility poles on trailer
Clean out barn, move and spread the fertilizer
Pull spray rig for insecticide


Oh well, it's a start./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
 
   / Tractors, Mini-TLBs, and Life #3  
All I do is cut the grass 3/4 acer ,till the garden,snowblow or
plow 110' drive plus other little things.
Also do things for the neighbors as well. The JD 855 is way over kill but I got it dirt cheap, and if I find extra work for it all the better.
 
   / Tractors, Mini-TLBs, and Life
  • Thread Starter
#4  
Bird - Wonderful list! That lawn chair and fishin' gear totin' is gonna be trouble, for sure. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif
 
   / Tractors, Mini-TLBs, and Life #5  
I use my JD4100 to do the following:

- mowing the grass with the MMM
- rotary cutting the property to keep down weeds and brush
- plowing the garden area
- rototilling the garden area
- cleaning out neighbors barn and sheep manure pile
- repairing subdivision roads
- using the FEL to pull, push, carry, destroy, cut, dig, etc.
- use the rear blade to cut new drives, level them, spread gravel, move snow, etc
- middle buster to break ground, dig furrows for potatoes, corn, leeks, asparagus, electric lines, or any other trenching job that seems possible
- pull a small utility trailer
- pull out stuck backhoes (believe it or not!!)

Probably missed a couple of things.

Terry
 
   / Tractors, Mini-TLBs, and Life #6  
For us, the JD1050:
mow with 6' befco rotary, JD 25A flail mower and JD 90 boom flail. We mow about 90 acres every 3 weeks in the summer for one customer, 4 miles of railroad right of way, and about 5 acres at a bulk cement plant distrubution center.

The 955 with fel:

with box blade, lot clean ups, load and haul excess fill material on lots. With 5' KK rotary, mow the smaller lots and trim while the wife mows the large areas. Snow removal in the winter on our own property.

Use both on our 10 acres, pulling fence, mowing, and will work on landscaping of new home this summer.

In our line of work, I need tractors with 3 point hitch, PTO and in some cases, 4 wheel drive for the hills and soft areas. It is becoming increasing more clear to us, we need a tractor with a cab and a/c. As our business grows, we need more mowing production in the hot summer months. My wife usually mows 5 days a week in the summer, 7 am to about noon. She can't take the hot afternoon sun. We both usually mow together in the evenings.

Paul
 
   / Tractors, Mini-TLBs, and Life #7  
cutting grass
cutting fields
snow removal
clearing brush
dragging trees
dirt moving
grading
snow removal
digging rocks out
pulling stuck delivery trucks(yesterday)
lifting things i cant
digging trenches for drain line(this spring)
anything else i can think of
snow removal
mentioned snow removal a few times, cause i do a lot of it/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
 
   / Tractors, Mini-TLBs, and Life #8  
Garden rototilling
Tine cultivator
Snow removal (bucket n' rear blade combo)
Field mowing/brush hogging
Landscape raking: followup to dozer work, for seed prep, repair rain erosion damage
FEL work including material distribution of topsoil, sand fill, wood chips bark mulch, drainage stone, field stones, firewood, logging debris, loader fork use
Carryall transport
Heavy load handling: FEL, boompole
Blade work
On site trailer handling

Future plans include
Subsoiler/middlebuster
hydraulic dump trailer
3pt mulch layer,
mechanical planter

maybe a 3pt finish mower someday too

The 4100 handles my needs well right now. I am only maintaining a combined 10 acres and have to transport the machine approx 200 mi between properties several times a year.

A small 3pt backhoe would be nice to have but seems limited in what it can do. Probably not very cost effective.

Getting a larger tractor would have to include a larger truck too.

Been to the EF website. The machines are definitely /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif

DFB
 
   / Tractors, Mini-TLBs, and Life #9  
What I do with my tractor,,,,ok here goes,,,,whatever makes me money... I'm not to picky when it comes to the job and I use it as a tractor,,,run the tar out of it. Bottom line,,,,is it making me money...

Never drove an Earth Force so I can't compare the two, or compare it's strong points versus weak points of both tractors. But I can say the biggest weak point on my Kubota is the loader. I don't believe it has as much oooppphhh as my last one. Then again it might just be me.

Overall Mark your going to get the same twenty or so answers. You know all the basics that the compacts excell at and also their weaknesses. So after having the compact, you would be the best judge as to how the earth force excells at something compared to the compact. Or on the other hand the compact really shines compared to the earth force.

Price would more than likely be the factor in alot of the choices. As well as having to change over the existing three point attachments. At this time there would be no way that I could afford to do what you just did. A healthy bit of pocket change there. Don't know how much you have invested but the bottom line is As long as it makes you more than its total costs your doing ok.


Would be nice to have a backhoe. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Or a few of those kubota parts u have left over. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Did I answer your questions??
Gordon
 
   / Tractors, Mini-TLBs, and Life #10  
Flower garden. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
 
 
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