Digging with a FEL..

[creeky]

I don't know how much digging you need to do, but I used my fel to dig a 100 foot ditch in an afternoon.
Basically I rocked the fel back and forth on an angle (kinda like texasjohns pic) until I got under the grass/weeds. then I took off the top layer. then I went back to area and just dug it out. took a rock back and forth sometimes to get started but once it was in it would cut through the soil okay.
The soil was mostly silt though. so ...
One thing for you guyz with soft soil driveways. i'm using road tarp, kinda expensive, but once you put it down your gravel can't migrate into the ground. then I used 3" crushed rock (the jagged crushed rock locks together) 4" deep and then put a 1-2" layer of 5/8 road surface. two years and it's still good. probably dress it a bit this year.
I got this technique from a U of Minnesota I found online.

 

[like2wheel]

Many good advice here -- my advice is going to be redudant - You can dig with the FEL - it just takes time and you can't exactly scoop up more dirt. I used my fel to dig a ramp down to where I need to use my BH since it wouldnt reach the depth I was aiming for. (20 ft deep with 6 ft BH reach.)
The hardest part is backing up the 45% ramp with a FEL full of dirt and it was all the way up to prevent dirt falling out. Talk about pucker factor all day long.

You cant have too much weight in the back. loaded tires and whatever you can put on the back for weight.

WOW! Talk about dangerous! I'm sure you were very careful but I suspect a good deal of luck was involved too.

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Yeah, sounds interesting.
20 feet down w/ a BX? I'd like to hear more about that project!

 

[Deano]

Many good advice here -- my advice is going to be redudant - You can dig with the FEL - it just takes time and you can't exactly scoop up more dirt. I used my fel to dig a ramp down to where I need to use my BH since it wouldnt reach the depth I was aiming for. (20 ft deep with 6 ft BH reach.)
The hardest part is backing up the 45% ramp with a FEL full of dirt and it was all the way up to prevent dirt falling out. Talk about pucker factor all day long.

You cant have too much weight in the back. loaded tires and whatever you can put on the back for weight.

Pictures!!!

 

[radioman]

Sorry guys -- I know you gonna hate - but these are the only pics I took. It was for a sewer project I was working on and couldnt find pic that had me driving down digging out a ramp to go deeper for my BH. If you can picture this - its a single lane going straight down to hole. I literally had to sit back on seat hard to keep the cutout from kicking in. The top of the ground was waaaayy above the rops and all I saw was walls going down and back up. I was trying to find the old sewer pipe from the sinkhole I found in the yard and was trying to figure out what happened. The old clay pipes actually sunk over 8 ft from original position in middle of yard. It was over 6 feet deep at house end,, the old main sewer was even deeper then that under the street. It actually sucked there since most of the soil was ashes from old landfill from 1920's. Found lots of intact old bottles too.

 

[mike69440]

use a toothbar but expect to move 10x more dirt than using a backhoe/excavator.

More more dirt than an excavator? Huh? Same size excavator as tractor with toothbar should outdig tractor at least 5X-10X. Problem with excavator is you need dump truck or trailer to haul away spoils.
PS my L39 with HD toothbar bucket digs well, but it is no excavator.

Toothbar for a bolt on Try Long.

 

[bucktaker]

I have used my pallet forks as kinda of a pick. Stick them in and break up the ground as deep as it will go then switch to the bucket to dig it out. never needed a hole deeper than 3-4 ft deep

 

[David Devuono]

Just thinking about how much more traction I have with AGs on my MF135 going forward as opposed to reverse. Makes my wonder if during the ramp digging process if one could reverse out of the hole easier with the Rear tires flipped side to side? Don't know if there would be much difference with R4's. My plan is to dig out a basement for my retirement home. As it will be in a hill side I won't be backing out of much of a hole though.

 

[cartod]

Seems like a middle buster with a whole lot of weight strapped to it, combined with a toothed FEL would be the perfect setup for a dig.

 

[jobguy]

I sharpened the cutting edge on the bucket which made a world of difference. By the time you finish the lip will be dull (and safe) again. When I dig out Lilac bushes I also sharpen the side edges which helps cut roots.

 

[bullockcm]

More more dirt than an excavator? Huh? Same size excavator as tractor with toothbar should outdig tractor at least 5X-10X. Problem with excavator is you need dump truck or trailer to haul away spoils.
PS my L39 with HD toothbar bucket digs well, but it is no excavator.

Toothbar for a bolt on Try Long.

Not to speak for sierradmax but I am fairly certain you aren't understanding what he meant. I believe he meant you would need to move significantly more dirt with the tractor than the backhoe/excavator to accomplish the same result. Not that the tractor would out dig the backhoe/excavator by a factor of 10.