Front loader essential?

[rScotty]

These are good for shallow ditches. Open part faces the rear of the tractor. Adjust your top link to increase or decrease the 'angle of attack' into the ground. Bucket pivots inside the frame, piece of rope to the trip lever on the back, and you can dump without leaving the tractor seat.

Pond Scoop:

The only real problem with a scoop like that is that it works just barely good enough that a person could start to think they could get by without a front end loader. One of my neighbors fell into that trap - About 20 years ago he found the nicest, cleanest, and just beautiful compact 40 HP IH tractor I've ever seen for $1800 with a scoop so he grabbed it. It's been a beauty for 20 years now, and my buddy still doesn't quite understand all the extra work he's been doing or the fun he has been missing.

Regardless of the tractor, get a FEL with 4WD and power steering if there is any way you can swing it.
Luck, rScotty

 

[fried1765]

Hi
I just finished building a house, now I have a 1.5 acre area to transform into a garden, a garage to build, drive way to put in and drainage ditches to put in on a sloping site. I have big piles of dirt that need to be used to contour the place as well. I was thinking of getting a used older 30hp tractor , however I am struggling to find one with a front loader and seems to be difficult/expensive to add one after. Got me thinking maybe I could manage without the front loader and the following rear mounted implements would cover my requirements:
1. Backhoe for general digging
2. Rear dirt scoop/transport box for moving piles of dirt/stones
3. Rear forks - general lifting
4. Box scraper

Maybe a trailer as well.

So can I manage without a front loader?

For the work you are planning, do not buy ANY tractor without a loader!

 

[Tractor Seabee]

My experience: I struggled with a box blade for several years. Spend a lot of time messing with the spoils after making a bunch small piles. Fabricated an aggressive tooth bar for the FEL. What a difference especially on hard ground and sod. Then I got a six way rear blade (manual). After getting the sod up it was the cat's meow for moving dirt, leveling, and angle cuts like your shallow ditches; cast the spoils in a windrow then pickup with the FEL. Both small BB and a RBs need weight added to keep them from skipping with the no down pressure of a 3P. They want to follow the existing contour w/o the added weight.

Ron

 

[chim]

I still have one of those scoops. Back in '92 when I bought the Ford 1210 (without a loader) I picked up a scoop and it served me for years. It was THE tool for making a swale along the one side of our property, about 300 feet long. One problem was keeping the front wheels on the ground when there was a good-sized load of wet dirt in it. The little Ford has a pair of suitcase weights in the front and it still lifted off the ground sometimes.

Ten years later, our B7500 had a loader, so the scoop mostly sat after that. Wifey is the one who seemed set on getting a loader on the B7500. Her folks had a farm just around the corner, and on the odd occasion there was a need for a loader, we could grab the Massey.

I did press the scoop into service perhaps two or three times since getting tractors with loaders when I had a good bit of material to move. I could use it plus the loader to save a few trips.

 

[grm61]

Fel and a hoe:thumbsup:, might cost a little more up front...but if you have things to do, and like being self sufficient, and don't want to rent every time you have to dig a hole or ditch....I would recommend them both.

 

[mikester]

Regardless of the tractor, get a FEL with 4WD and power steering if there is any way you can swing it.
Luck, rScotty

Loader AND power steering AND only $1500!?

Ah the good old days of $0.10 bag of chips and bottled pop.

 

[guitarman]

Definately again what ever size tractor you get an fel will make it much more versatile, as for the back hoe all depends on how much trenching and digging you think your going to do. If post holes and planting trees a pto post hole digger is a lot cheaper than the BH and can be easily removed for what ever other implements you might get.

 

[wdchyd]

A tractor without a FEL is just a slow ride to the mailbox

 

[freedomlives]

For several years I got by with just two wheel / walk behind tractors. Lots you can do with one, but you can't lift loads of dirt/gravel, haybales, or anything else needing lifting.