Owning a small tractor is a blessing.

[tacticalturnip]

Today I used the Kioti to move the dumpster, that's it, and I'm thankful to have this tool.

 

[Oaktree]

1950 style Bumper jack. The bottom metal plate was Notorious for falling over sideways. View attachment 3578831

Not to mention that they didn't always grip the bumper very well either.
Had a '65 Impala when I was in my early 20s, front bumper was so high off the ground that the jack was almost to the top by the time the tire was off the ground. More than once was glad I had blocks under it!

 

[tacticalturnip]

My '86 Ford LTD Crown Victoria had a little slot that a metal tab on the bumper jack would slip into. It was my first car, and I used that jack a lot. Looking back, I don't know how it ever worked worth a damn, I'd never trust it now.

 

[careyo63]

My '86 Ford LTD Crown Victoria had a little slot that a metal tab on the bumper jack would slip into. It was my first car, and I used that jack a lot. Looking back, I don't know how it ever worked worth a damn, I'd never trust it now.

I know that setup. BTDT..... Bent a few of them.

 

[tacticalturnip]

Over the weekend I got that front yard mowed, well so much as I can call it that. I was pretty excited that things were going my way, so I started on the back yard.



I didn't hit that tarp, but merely got too close; the vacuum effect was impressive. That tarp was sucked off the pile of wood it was covering before I knew it. Fortunately it only tangled in the blades, I shut it down before it got into the spindles.

I almost got through the remainder of the back yard when I encountered a familiar problem. It wasn't a rock this time, but finding a rut that the Kioti had made early spring. I felt this one.



I just took the bent blade off and played the rest of the game with half a deck.

I must say, however, I'm real impressed with the XT2 itself. I'm beating the hell out of the poor thing, and it's been a trooper.

 

[tacticalturnip]

After two years of inactivity I broke the garden plot up; a box blade is not the best tool for the job, but it's what I have.

This rock came as a bit of a surprise when the shanks caught it.

 

[Jstpssng]

After two years of inactivity I broke the garden plot up; a box blade is not the best tool for the job, but it's what I have.

This rock came as a bit of a surprise when the shanks caught it.

View attachment 3642528

Rocks are our best crop. It always amazes me that they've been picking them out of the potato fields for 150 years, yet still find more each year. Then I see members like Sawyer Rob posting pictures of the soil he turns and I can understand why farmers abandoned their land here and headed west.

 

[tacticalturnip]

Rocks are our best crop. It always amazes me that they've been picking them out of the potato fields for 150 years, yet still find more each year. Then I see members like Sawyer Rob posting pictures of the soil he turns and I can understand why farmers abandoned their land here and headed west.

It's bringing back a lot of memories from when I was a kid, a lot of remembering how much I hated picking up rocks...

Thankfully, now I have my own children.

 

[Jstpssng]

My soil is typed "Telos-Chesuncook", and "Chesuncook-Telos." Translated it means "small rocks with a little soil mixed in. At one time I had picked the part I till pretty good. Then I had a brainstorm of plowing it deeper than normal to bury the weeds. Now I have to pick it again.
The clue should have been the number of times I tripped the plow on buried rocks.

 

[masseyrider]

In the farming days I hit innumerable rocks over the years.
2 standout.
I was v-plowing in the orchard.
Not deep, maybe 8-10".
That ground had been worked for a 100 years or more and most recently when we put the peach orchard in.
How did this monster hide so close to the surface for so long?
I was zipping along in 1st high, kinda bored, then I was almost on the hood of the tractor.
The v-plow caught the rock, got bent all out of shape and almost stalled the Massey.
How it didn't break the lift arms off the tractor?
Similar in another orchard block I was preparing for planting.
Ploughing up aboot 10 acres, boredom sets in.
The rock was shaped like the old rubber erasers we had in school.
Aboot 2' wide, 5' long and 18" thick.
It was sitting at around a 30 degree angle long way down a foot or so underground.
The plow went under the high end and again stopped the tractor instantly with me over the steering wheel almost losing teeth on the hood.
I give Massey every credit for building a tough rear end.
This rock took the neighbors backhoe to dig out.
Again! Where and how do these rocks hide out for so long and then one day just show up?
Not just the fist sized ones but the big SOBs.
Then where does driveway gravel go?

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

Would a rock like that stop a chisel plow in its tracks? Or would it slide over it?

Just wondering if it is limited to a bottom plow. I also thought the shear bolt would have helped with the violent stops. ?

 

[tacticalturnip]

In the farming days I hit innumerable rocks over the years.
2 standout.
I was v-plowing in the orchard.
Not deep, maybe 8-10".
That ground had been worked for a 100 years or more and most recently when we put the peach orchard in.
How did this monster hide so close to the surface for so long?
I was zipping along in 1st high, kinda bored, then I was almost on the hood of the tractor.
The v-plow caught the rock, got bent all out of shape and almost stalled the Massey.
How it didn't break the lift arms off the tractor?
Similar in another orchard block I was preparing for planting.
Ploughing up aboot 10 acres, boredom sets in.
The rock was shaped like the old rubber erasers we had in school.
Aboot 2' wide, 5' long and 18" thick.
It was sitting at around a 30 degree angle long way down a foot or so underground.
The plow went under the high end and again stopped the tractor instantly with me over the steering wheel almost losing teeth on the hood.
I give Massey every credit for building a tough rear end.
This rock took the neighbors backhoe to dig out.
Again! Where and how do these rocks hide out for so long and then one day just show up?
Not just the fist sized ones but the big SOBs.
Then where does driveway gravel go?

I am told there is something with the heating and cooling that pushes them to the surface, but I know damn well the ground forms them out of sheer spite. That rock wasn't there before.

 

[Jstpssng]

Frost action is amazing. My Ford 101 plow has a trip, so breaks away when I hit a rock. Otherwise I would have shared your experiences.

 

[Yander]

You are absolutely right, using jack stands would have been the smart thing to do, and I have them.

It only takes one mistake; I was not thinking, and that's said by so many others in a bad way after the fact- assuming they are still around. I don't mind taking this scolding because I knew better, and still let convenience lead my way.

nah, just get yourself a 4 x 4 by 8 and cut it to fit under your loader as a prop and you are good to go. I've used my loader this way with a board backing up the hydraulics. Nice looking property BTW.

 

[tacticalturnip]

It's my in-laws property, we are just blessed to live here at an extremely affordable rate; it's the house my wife grew up in.

My father-in-law is the groundskeeper at an estate and him and his wife live on the property in a lovely little house, and as such various family have lived in their home over the years keeping it occupied. About a decade ago my wife's cousin moved out and her parents suggested we sell our house and move in, so we did.

While I do miss the freedom that comes with owning ones own property, it really has worked out well. Plus, when my father-in-law gets an idea about bringing down a tree, moving heavy objects, or some other spur of the moment thing, I'm here to help him with both a tractor and myself. Keeping him from getting himself in trouble as he gets older.

I am blessed.

 

[tacticalturnip]

I came home from work today to find the garage looked... different.



Something was off with the driveway as well.



This wasn't exactly where I left it either.



My wife and kids decided to prank me, and the missus learned to operate the Kioti from a YouTube video. It's not as easy to start as her fathers Deere 4520, lol. She did not, however, initially learn to raise the 3 point hitch- and she dragged the box blade shanks across the garage floor and into the driveway before figuring it out. I told her I'm not upset, but she gets to explain it to her father.

 

[tacticalturnip]

Had a nice day today; put the middle-buster through the "garden" plot, thinking it might bring more rocks to the surface. Suffice it to say, it did, lol.



I did find a nice spot for it, and it'll keep me from mowing too close to the corner. Force me to use the trimmer.



Also, just for laughs, the middle-buster looks real small behind the Kioti.

 

[tacticalturnip]

This is basically my catch-all thread, I suppose.

 

[anomad]

...Then where does driveway gravel go?...

If you find out, let me know. We'll make a killing on reclaimed gravel. I'll bring my tractor.

 

[tacticalturnip]

If you find out, let me know. We'll make a killing on reclaimed gravel. I'll bring my tractor.

I'm pretty sure it's hiding with my matching socks.