Best CUT attachment for this kind of earthmoving?

[redman135]

I second shooterdon on post #14. Contractors can do a better job at NO risk to your new tractor. You do mention MULTIPLE humps and hollows.
2nd point, strip out the topsoil THEN fill the hollow with subsoil(you or contractor), and finish by reinstating the topsoil and seed.
In time you will learn a new term"mission creep," as your skill level goes up, so does the number of jobs the tractor can do. EVERYONE experiences this.
Good luck which ever way you jump.

 

[tallguy104]

Not necessarily... it all depends on what you want/need the implement to do. If all you really want to do with a bucket is scoop up stuff (dirt, gravel, compost, etc...) then a regular bucket is all you'll ever need.

Unlike our North American friends a "Grapple" for a tractor FEL isn't readily available (= $$$!) here in Aus, so when it comes to that function, Aussies tend to opt for the 4-in-1. (Yes, I've got one). I like having it because it does more than one thing so I have options (scoop up stuff, grab medium tree trunks/limbs, back-drag stuff...). More 'bang for the buck' for a single purchased implement versus buying 2 or 3 specific implements.

Ok I've dug a little deeper, and it does appear that I will loose an additional third of the FELs Rated Operating Load (290kg) by choosing the 4-in-1 (135kg) over the regular bucket (68kg), as jchonline pointed out. So I guess this means had I chosen the regular bucket I could have lifted around 222kg (290-68kg), whereas with the 4-in-1 I'm down to 155kg. Ouch. Hopefully this won't translate to too much of a limitation in practice...I guess we will see.

It's funny, if you search Aussie forums for information on 4-in-1 buckets you will see universal praise for 4-in-1s over regular buckets, even on sub-compact and compact tractors, and yet when you search North American forums you find almost the exact opposite. I guess Aussies just love their 4-in-1s like you've said Wagtail!! I totally get the rationale given by our US friends though, and in hindsight I think I would have picked the regular bucket for my situation. At least my Aussie neighbours will pat me on the back and make me feel like I've made the right decision I suppose

 

[the old grind]

Perhaps a 4-way bucket is the alt to having SSQA and more specialty stuff to buy. It just won't work that well on <25 hp machines folks are buying. What you don't want to sweat is buying the highest hp for a frame size and then getting to a lot of regens because you don't use it all.

Any time we aren't running at PTO rpm (only for PTO use, you knew that) we're kind of babying a diesel. It's likely why I use the little 26 hp for typical FEL/bucket work, just to get it warmed up enough. (2k-2.2k rpm all day)

Don't know what brands are available in Aus but would recommend Branson if Kioti isn't as easy to find. I know it's a lot of bucks (~30k US here) but If I was starting over (after 20 yrs) I'd look at a Branson 3515H, esp vs any of my similar 33 & 35hp NHs.

BTDT with larger and smaller CUTs and I wish my horizontal and vertical jaw grapples were on as powerful a loader as the Branson's or Kioti's. Anymore, for many of us just having SSQA is like having running water or central heat. I'm upgrading a 33hp '04 NH's 12 LA FEL to SSQA, have grapples/buckets and diverter working with the T1520 already.

Yeah, stuff costs money but you only pay for the right stuff once, and it lasts. btw, IMO a flail mower (with hammers) is like Thor's hammer vs any rotary for cutting width, power demand, and not leaving windrows. IMO that and a 48" -54" (light wt) HD grapple are the two most useful implements. 5' box Blade, LR and '6 landscape rake are a given with anything ~25 hp & up.

$.02 US, $.02 US, $.02 US & you knew that. (Yanmar, TYM, & Mitsu have good models in this 'class')