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

[PatasColo]

Whoops... Attachment didn't take... This time for sure.

 

[RadarTech]

Good job!

Jack

 

[PatasColo]

Thanks jack. Here's a couple photos of results. Also, renting really helped me to know that I'd prefer a CUT over a SCUT for our land. I was concerned it might be too big to get around all over the place, but it squeezed through just about everywhere. Plus, I was glad to have the higher clearance, large bucket and wider swath. So, I'm keeping my eye out for local deals, but I'm sure we'll be slow to "pull the trigger", unless a deal shows up that we can't pass up.

What I've noticed is that used tractors (SCUTs/CUTs) seem to be about 20-30% more expensive out here (front range of Colorado) than most of the folks on this site (midwest to east). At the used prices here, it seems to make more sense to just buy new... But not sure we're ready for that yet.

 

[PatasColo]

Forgot to describe: The first shot above is the berm that I used to source my dirt... I moved a lot of it. And the second shot is where the dirt went, with the mossrock on top. I need to let it all settle a bit, and also position the mossrock in a more natural fashion, but the heaviest work is done.

 

[dcyrilc]

Forgot to describe: The first shot above is the berm that I used to source my dirt... I moved a lot of it. And the second shot is where the dirt went, with the mossrock on top. I need to let it all settle a bit, and also position the mossrock in a more natural fashion, but the heaviest work is done.

You did a nice job.:thumbsup:

As for buying a tractor...
Great deals do come along, but they don't come along every day. From my experiance and reading about others experiances, it seems to typically take somewhere between 6 month to a year to find a great deal on a used tractor.

If you're patient and diligent, the right deal will appear when the time is right.:thumbsup:

 

[TripleR]

You sure got a lot done in a day. I think you are on the right track with a CUT and renting until you can find the right deal. You might want to try different makes if they are available to find out which one you prefer if you think you might buy new. As to buying used, I would not hesitate to buy anything from the top brands.

Of course now that you have been exposed to how handy and enjoyable these things are, waiting is going to be just a little bit tougher.

 

[k0ua]

We are very proud of you, You are definatley a tractor owning type of guy, anyone that can get that much good out of a one day rental, deserves to own a tractor:thumbsup: I hope you will be able to get one soon, and enjoy all the other uses you will think up for your new worksaver. Again congrats.
James K0UA

 

[rScotty]

Forgot to describe: The first shot above is the berm that I used to source my dirt... I moved a lot of it. And the second shot is where the dirt went, with the mossrock on top. I need to let it all settle a bit, and also position the mossrock in a more natural fashion, but the heaviest work is done.

Hello PatasColo, it looks like you are doing OK. Nice photos. I was curious to see how the weekend would turn out.

We live on a few acres in the foothills of Eastern Colorado and I've owned a number of various tractors over the years. It's a hobby for sure. The tractors have been for playing with on our own land and frankly I could probably have hired the work done for way less money than I have in the tractors - which would miss the point entirely. After all, I could probably hire someone to go fish my creek for me too.

I found that turf or construction tires are a better tread compromise for our rocky dry soil than the lugged Ag tires....and that side-hill stability turned out is more of a limitation to getting work done than horsepower. Winter and plowing snow will bring their own challenges.

If I can help out let me know. I'm sort of a mechanical guy, and enjoy looking at tractors.
rScotty

 

[PatasColo]

Thanks for the kudos, friends. It was a lot of fun. I got on the tractor for another 90 minutes on the morning before they came to pick it up... total 9.5 hours I put on the tractor. "Tilled" the garden using the box blade, moved some large concrete slabs, and did some more digging, and filling & smoothing of the driveway. did I mention I "took out" a small old tree stump "for free" :thumbsup: i.e. it was in the way and when I pushed it with the BB, it came right out... rotted at the roots.

One thing that hampered me a lot was that the BB had no side-to-side tilt. Made it so I couldn't do the swale I'd hoped to do. I tried to be creative, and put the ripper teeth in on just one side, hoping that might pull that corner down into the soil to make a ditch. But the fact that there was no downward pressure (nor much weight) on the BB means it tries to ride more or less level on the ground surface and even with the tractor.... so, no swale. The ripper teeth did put down some very thin trenches in the soil though. :laughing: However, the ripper teeth on one side was a useful technique for loosening the packed soil/rocks along one side of the driveway, and then using that to help smooth out the ruts.

I would like to try out a few more tractors, so I'll see what other types there are for the next time I have piled up a few tasks. RScotty, you are right that I had to watch for sloped areas, even more so because our land is uneven, and easy to drop a wheel into a depression or make one go high over an 8 inch rock. I tried to keep real conscious of what I was doing, even after I got more comfortable/skilled as the day went on... Easy to get over-confident. The JD had construction tires (I think folks call those R4s?), and somewhat worn at that.

I'm just waiting to see what it's like when we have a big snow here... Haven't had one this year yet! And we just moved to this property in late May/early June.

 

[rScotty]

Over the last two months I have worked in the Durango area digging trenches and moving rocks, lots of rocks. I used my rock bucket to sort out the largest rocks and had to order in some clean fill to bed the pipes with.

Tractor needs are sure different out here in some of the Colorado mountains where the soil is half rock and the "dirt" is little more than powdered rock. We just don't have real agriculture type dirt unless it is trucked in.

And that makes our tractors different too. R4 tires have more traction than Ag tires, 4wd, wide axles, and front chains are popular, and a loader for rocks is more handy than any plow, rototiller, or anything that one would normally pull. A box blade is useful for a counterweight but on the ground it tends to hang up on rocks. And traction beats HP every time.

Our rough sloping ground means that a back blade needs to have tilt and offset as well as angle... and needs to be very heavy so that it will roll small rocks along the angled face and off the end without trying to jump up over them.

Even small teeth or a rock bar on the front of the dirt bucket sure makes life easier.
BUT.....
A dedicated quick-change rock bucket is a thing of joy and a great tool for sorting rocks from dirt. I never knew how good they could be until I got a real one. Now I can remove the rocks and leave the dirt behind without ever getting off the tractor...well, that's an exaggeration but I do lift a lot fewer rocks. Good rock buckets cost real dollars; if I'd known how good they were I'd have gotten it decades ago. Found this one used at the Bobcat rental shop.
good luck, rScotty