Using a tractor as a bulldozer

[MarkV]

I am rather surprised by how many say not to take the tractor into that stream bed. Maybe I am missing something. The OP said that the bottom is almost totally gravel/stone with a little sand and that in the photo's the water was much higher than normal. I wouldn't go in there during high water but at low water I sure would not hesitate to drive on a gravel base or worry about getting stuck. I've been on forest road crossings that were pretty much the same thing in different vehicles. River stone like that isn't going to cut up tires anymore than putting stone on a drive. Of course if the gravel beds in the photo's are only the top foot or so it would make a difference.

MarkV

 

[radioman]

Well , if you got the time, you can use the kubota to move the materail, just don't expect to push it in place efficiently. It made for scooping and moving from point A to point B which the OP wants to do. However from judging from the pictures, its pretty rocky. He may need to get a toothbar to aid digging to scoop up the stuff. I agree with others wait till dry spells to do this work to do as much he can. Just plan ahead to get yourself out if you do get stuck somehow.

 

[Knight]

Hey if you pay me by the hour, I'll come with my tractor.
Of course, I need to get paid for driving my tractor there first.... I'm in Connecticut. How far is it?

 

[NBstunter]

Hi all!

I have a Kubota L4630 (47 hp) with FEL also from Kubota. I was wondering about whether I'd be able to use it as a bulldozer. There is a creek on my property that has burst its banks and is flooding a field. It is pretty shallow, at most 1 foot deep when the water is low. It burst its banks during high water, but after the water dropped, it is continuing to flow into the field, making the field unusable. I have been wondering if it would be possible to use the tractor to scoop/push some gravel from the old stream bed into the new, so as to simultaneously make the old stream bed deeper (and encourage water to go there) and block up the new stream bed.

My concerns are: would the loader bucket be able to handle it? It seems a lot flimsier than the buckets on bulldozers and it does not have any teeth. I have used it to dig up topsoil before, but that's a lot softer than gravel. Should I get teeth or a heavier duty bucket?

Anything else I should know about if I'm looking to attempt this? By the way, I'm not doing this until at least April. The stream currently has about 4" of ice on it

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Edited to add:
I will not be uprooting any trees.

will not be uprooting any trees? i have done that tons with my L2800 and made ditch's as wide as the tractor and 6 feet deep just from putting it in low gear and when it starts to spin pick the bucket up some. as far as im concerd a good tractor will do almost anything a bulldozer can it will just take time in some cases a lot more time


edit: i saw the pics and i dont see a problem at all i have had my L2800 in 2 feet of water [up to the floor boreds] no problem just keep the battery and intake above water and alls good

 

[scoutcub]

as far as im concerd a good tractor will do almost anything a bulldozer can it will just take time in some cases a lot more time


Naaah can't buy into that one. Two completely different animals.

 

[YuriM]

Hi again. I'm sorry for laying low for 2 months, but the weather wasn't exactly conducive to digging stream beds if you know what I mean.

Snow is all gone now and I've been out to the stream bed to look at it. It's pretty low water right now and the old stream channel is now completely dry. All the water is heading into our field. Makes me cringe just looking at it.

The one thing still bothering me about taking up this project (whether with an excavator or the tractor) is the material making up the stream bed. It's mostly fairly large rocks (anywhere between 2" - 8" in diameter... perhaps it was incorrect for me to use the word "gravel" before), with a few more massive boulders (2-3 ft) in there. Put it this way: I have not really been concerned about equipment getting stuck. I'm more concerned about the ability of equipment to dig into that. All of it is pretty densely packed, as much if not more than our gravel driveway, and I know the FEL has a hard time making a dent in that (luckily, as it means I don't tear it up when clearing snow).

I can try get some photos of the bed itself if that would help.

Thanks for all of the advice so far, guys, it's been a lot of help!

 

[TripleR]

Yuri, based on your last post, I wouldn't try it with your tractor, sounds like a job for something heavier; just an opinion. You might want to pay someone to do it.

Renting equipment is often a good idea "if" you know what you are doing, but if you don't it may be a waste of money. An experienced operator with the right equipment should be able to fix it to where it won't happen again. If you are experienced and confident in your abilities, by all means rent something, but if you are like me with no experience with an excavator or dozer it will be a waste of money.

Just an opinion.

 

[brin]

Yuri, from what you have described you need a track loader to go into that stream bed or a small excavator. Your tractor with an FEL will not handle 8 inch rocks that are imbedded and it is dangerous when your wheels start rolling over them and you are useing the FEL - not to mention that is not what your tractor was made to do and you can damage it..Just my thoughts...Give it a small try and see and then stop if you see a problem

 

[Glen Watkins]

Sounds like a job for an excavator with operator!

 

[Reg]

Hi all!

I have a Kubota L4630 (47 hp) with FEL also from Kubota. I was wondering about whether I'd be able to use it as a bulldozer. There is a creek on my property that has burst its banks and is flooding a field. It is pretty shallow, at most 1 foot deep when the water is low. It burst its banks during high water, but after the water dropped, it is continuing to flow into the field, making the field unusable. I have been wondering if it would be possible to use the tractor to scoop/push some gravel from the old stream bed into the new, so as to simultaneously make the old stream bed deeper (and encourage water to go there) and block up the new stream bed.

My concerns are: would the loader bucket be able to handle it? It seems a lot flimsier than the buckets on bulldozers and it does not have any teeth. I have used it to dig up topsoil before, but that's a lot softer than gravel. Should I get teeth or a heavier duty bucket?

Anything else I should know about if I'm looking to attempt this? By the way, I'm not doing this until at least April. The stream currently has about 4" of ice on it

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Edited to add:
I will not be uprooting any trees.

I have deliberately AVOIDED reading the 4 dozen or so other replies to this, but I can guess what they say.

So, I will try to put down FRESH thoughts and not comment on the comments (-:
GENERALLY it is a BAD idea to try pushing with a tractor the way you can with a dozer or even a skid steer. The FEL just isn't built for it.
The particular situation you describe would probably make it difficult to perform the usual operations of dragging material forwards with a rear mounted implement such as a box blade, rear blade or rake, unless the stream is very shallow and/or has a known good bottom that you feel OK about driving through.
Pushing material back with a rear mounted implement can bend lift arms and the rear axle may be vulnerable to whatever it hits if the lift arms fold up.

One thing I MIGHT try if the gravel is free is to curl the bucket all the way in and float it.
According to what angle you get you MIGHT be able to push some gravel, or it might just skid across and have no effect at all.
The BIG thing to NOT do with a FEL bucket is to roll it forwards and use the bucket's bottom as a push blade - there is a HIGH probability of it catching something and tweaking the loader frame.
If this is "wet lands" I wouldn't touch it - I probably should have said that right up front.