Newbie hello

[k6dyc]

Just received my tc yesterday as a Christmas present from my wife; ain't she wonderful? I've already read the entire forum here and you guys certainly represent a wealth of information. I'm active on a number of other forums related to weather stations, and now I have another site to visit regularly.

I think Sandi got a great deal on my new C turbo with heat/ac. It came with the standard bucket and pallet forks, and she got them to throw in the first service for free. They gave me $9,500 trade for my 10 year old JD 24hp utility tractor with a Land Pride tiller and box scraper. I thought it was worth about $5K. We ended up paying less than $24K delivered, after the trade. We've been looking at them for at least a year.

So far all I've been able to do is take a little drive around the property. We only have about 17 acres, but we're building a barn for the horses on the plateau above the house. You can take a look at it using my weather web cam, it's part of my weather page linked in my sig. I'll come up with a number of projects I'm sure, one of the first will be fence re-routing to the barn and new auto-waterer. I've got a guy coming tomorrow with a backhoe to dig the water and power line to the barn.

I look forward to visiting and hope to be able to contribute at some point.

 

[jmfox]

Didn't the missing tractor ruin the surprise?

A new toolcat and you're own weather station, life's good in Co. What are you using to plow the snow?

jmf

 

[k6dyc]

The dealer showed up with the tc and took back the tractor at the same time. I was here for that surprise.

I've been plowing snow with a Yamaha 450 Kodiak ATV with a blade, and I have a walk-behind 2-stage snow blower (that I never plan to walk behind again). About once or twice a year the driveway gets too drifted to drive out with my Excursion or F350 and I have to do some blowing and plowing. I'm going to wait and see if I can handle the drifts with the tc.

 

[jmfox]

You've made a huge leap. The question now will be plow or snowblower. I plan on buying a Toolcat next year and have yet to decide which option is best for me (the plow is much cheaper). Currently I'm using a Polaris Ranger with a plow, and I know there will be no comparison in power, ability and versatility. I am very interested to read your experiences with the TC compared to the small tractor and atv. Do you have room to store your TC inside? Thanks for joining.

jmf

 

[dsb5610]

Rick,

I would say you got a great deal on the Toolcat. You may find that the bucket is all you need for snow removal. Do you have any mowing plans for the Toolcat?

dsb

 

[Thomas]

Welcome k6dyc.
Glad Santa arrive early.
Interesting weather sight.

 

[k6dyc]

jmf, I'm going to see if the bucket will get me through this season with the snow. We'll see. My wife has used our Polaris Ranger to haul hay from the hay shed to the horses for years. It has the poly top with steel/glass front and rear enclosure, but the canvas doors. The doors just sit against the ROPS and don't provide a good fit. There are lots of areas where snow and rain get in. Before I knew I was getting the tc I went out and got her a Christmas present of new heavy poly doors that seal very well. She says she wants to keep the Ranger for going to and from the barn and doing horse stuff just because it is convenient, faster and smoother. She does love her Ranger. With the new barn I'll be able to keep the atv, Ranger and tc in one of the 10'x40' sheds.

dsb, unfortunately I don't need a mower since I have no water rights to the nearest irrigation ditch. My upper pasture is planted with dry land hay that produces from spring to mid summer but then dies back for lack of water. It's really dry here, summer and winter. I previously lived in Bakersfield, CA and I thought it was dry there with 25-30% RH in the summer. Here it matches that regularly, especially in winter when it gets cold and dry.

So far I'm like a kid in a candy store, I can't wait for the weekend so I can move some dirt and clear the snow from inside the soon-to-be barn.

 

[CRJCaptain]

Hi Rick,

Congratulations and welcome to the forum...your TC should come in handy with your horse chores and snow removal. Keep us posted on your experiences...

Regards,

Dean

 

[jmfox]

I'm also considering keeping the Ranger for chores. It is much lighter than the tc and seems to be able to get on the lawn and other soft spots when everything else is making ruts. And, it is always nice to have two 4 wheelers in case one gets stuck. (It happens).

jmf

jmf, She says she wants to keep the Ranger for going to and from the barn and doing horse stuff just because it is convenient, faster and smoother. She does love her Ranger. With the new barn I'll be able to keep the atv, Ranger and tc in one of the 10'x40' sheds.

 

[jmfox]

Did you get any of that Colorado snow in your neck of the woods? It sounds like you received the Toolcat just in time.

jmf