Building Lake Corona

4570Man · Jul 10, 2020

dragoneggs said:
Sure... and some don't have that resource. No argument that there are always better ways to do things. Now let's tune back to the lake build.

The argument wasn’t what equipment anyone has. The argument was a tractor moves dirt better than a CTL. I don’t even have one, I wish I did but a CTL makes a tractor look like a joke doing dirt work.

dragoneggs · Jul 10, 2020

4570Man said:
The argument wasn’t what equipment anyone has. The argument was a tractor moves dirt better than a CTL. I don’t even have one, I wish I did but a CTL makes a tractor look like a joke doing dirt work.

Roger that! I would love to have a small CTL from the little exposure I have had seeing them work. Do they come with a rear PTO? If not, are they sort of one trick ponies?

4570Man · Jul 10, 2020

dragoneggs said:
Roger that! I would love to have a small CTL from the little exposure I have had seeing them work. Do they come with a rear PTO? If not, are they sort of one trick ponies?

There’s no rear attachments for them. They’re construction equipment not maintenance equipment or farm equipment but they’re far from a one trick pony. The loaders on these vs a tractor is really no comparison. Their arms are almost indestructible, they’re much more controllable and they have way more hydraulic flow.

lilranch2001 · Jul 10, 2020

I sure do like reading the OPs posts regarding his pond build!

deezler · Jul 10, 2020

dragoneggs said:
Roger that! I would love to have a small CTL from the little exposure I have had seeing them work. Do they come with a rear PTO? If not, are they sort of one trick ponies?

Nah no rear PTO, but they have enough hydraulic flow to run numerous hydraulic attachments off the front loader. post-hole diggers, brush mowers like Jk has, etc
You cant really see behind you well at all, so you wouldn't want to run any rear attachments anyway.

jk96 · Jul 10, 2020

The TV450 CTL is 90 hp, 11,000+ lbs with weights. I also have a 62 hp Kubota L6060 tractor. If I'm moving dirt, brush cutting, doing grapple work, or almost anything else that requires a front end loader I'm on the CTL. Mowing & road maintenance I'm on the tractor. Until a few years ago when my business finally took off and I stopped putting all of my profits back into it I couldn't afford a CTL. Everything prior to owning a CTL was done with the tractor. There is no comparison between the tractor and CTL when it comes to moving dirt or digging. It's what they were designed for. The tractor is painfully slow compared to the CTL. There's a reason the only pic of the tractor in this thread was pulling out my stuck CTL. About the only time I could see an advantage to the tractor would be moving dirt over a long distance with a fairly smooth road. With that said if I could only own one machine it would be the tractor for versatility, but I can tell you this pond wouldn't have been dug with it.

bindian · Jul 10, 2020

jk96 said:
About the only time I could see an advantage to the tractor would be moving dirt over a long distance with a fairly smooth road. With that said if I could only own one machine it would be the tractor for versatility, but I can tell you this pond wouldn't have been dug with it.

Exactly what I have been getting at. When I rented the CTL, I quit hauling the dirt to where I was spreading it. Just too long to go there and back, time wise. Instead, I dug down into the soft pond bottom with the CTL, where my tractor's front tires would sink in when picking up a bucket load of damp dirt.

Then, I piled it up right close to the pond with the CTL and kept digging with the CTL, as it was rented. Later, I moved that pile of spoils with my tractor. The CTL and a tractor complimented each other here. One machine did better than the other at two different tasks. But either was never the wrong machine. Maybe a less efficient machine. When it comes to efficiently (profits), one machine sometimes just won't cut it. Then you bring in more machines and or help.

True, I could never dig your pond with my tractor loader backhoe because of all those trees.
hugs, Brandi

4570Man · Jul 10, 2020

I can totally understand not wasting time driving 300 feet one way with a rental machine. I can also understand not doing the same thing with a machine you owned to save track wear. But as far as time savings you’re not. A big CTL with a 2 speed will move dirt 300 feet faster than the tractor. The bigger bucket is the main reason. Another fact you’re not looking at is the CTL is capable of scooping a heaping bucket of packed dirt. The tractor not so much. You’re wasting more digging and piling up dirt to move again. But like I said earlier they’re neither one good for going that far. That’s like comparing a ratchet vs adjustable wrench for hammering.