GL3240 Update -- 3yrs & 600 hrs

[TalonDancer]

Welcome back - it sounds like you're really getting your investment back on that machine. Any pictures?
-Jim

I took a lot of pictures documenting the recent under ground electrical service project but none of them have the 3240 in them

Here are two pictures that show how I dug the trench. The 1st pic shows the section where the trench went below the septic and several drainage lines. The 2nd pic shows the 100' nearest the utility pole. These pics were taken as I was installing the 3" sch 40 PVC conduit, set on 3" high "chairs", bedded in sand that the utility co will use to pull the primary from the utility pole to the surface mounted transformer (AKA big green box).

You may be wondering where the 60+ tons of spoils went Since I knew that the utility co would require me to use manufactured sand for the fill, I hauled off all of the spoils in 42" square pallets with 2' high sides to the future house site where we needed high quality fill anyway. These pallets are visible in the 1st pic. My pallet fork has 1" holes burned 6" back from the tips of BOTH tines. I installed bolts that stuck up far enough that I could lift a full pallet 8.5' in the air and dump it like a bucket. It turned out that I could fill roughly two pallets for every back-hoe setup. So it became pretty routine to load two pallets with the back-hoe and then dump the pallets before repositioning the tractor.

Talon Dancer

p.s. I'll post pictures of some of the other projects as time allows.

 

[TripleR]

Very impressive, you have saved enough to pay for your tractor.

 

[TalonDancer]

During the construction of the 3 bay garage last year, the GL3240 was used mainly for lifting with the pallet fork. I kept the BH90 back-hoe on for balance.

A lot of the lifts were done with a tow strap attached to shackles though the 1" holes in the tips of the fork. In the 1st pic I'm loading the 24'long 16"x3.5" southern pine GLULAM onto horses for sanding, staining, and urethaning. The 2nd pic show the GLULAM being lifted into the metal saddles (covered with blue padding). For scale: the bottom of the saddles are over 9' above ground level and that is a COSCO 22ft adjustable ladder.

BTW Positioning a GLULAM into saddles (only 3/8" wider than the GLULAM thickness) at over 9 ft in the air, is when you really appreciate the fine control you get with an HST Plus. We set this GLULAM with only 3 people. Me on the tractor, a helper on the ladders and my wife on the ground sighting in the alignment (AKA calling the shots).

Talon Dancer

 

[TalonDancer]

Very impressive, you have saved enough to pay for your tractor.

Thanks.

The real testament to the value of our 3240 is that my wife cheerfully tells anyone that the Kubota was one of the best things we've ever purchased. The only problem is, I think she'd trade me off before she'd let the Kubota go

Talon Dancer

 

[crazyal]

I have plenty of the round rocks, lol. It's those nice flat rocks that even a novice like me can make into a wall that I hate you for. It's amazing just what you can do with a tractor to help build. I was able to set a 21" I-beam on top of 10' posts with the BH. I don't think I got any pictures of it because having that much steel flying around pretty much made sure my step brother and I were paying attention to what we were doing.

I haven't had a chance to play around with my 4240 yet but once I do I'll dig up your old thread about adjusting the HST. I did find two things that are a little annoying though. First there's a fender support that's spot welded to the side of the fender but not to the top and it a weird noise, almost a grinding or rubbing noise, just a little when you lean a little on the fender (usually while backing up). The second is the safety switch in the seat is real touchy. If you lean off to the side to see around the hood you'll have to restart the tractor. Both can be adjusted.

 

[TalonDancer]

.....It's amazing just what you can do with a tractor to help build......

Exactly. It's the miracle of hydraulics and attachents

It took 4 guys and lot of heavy lifting to put the metal roof on our cabin. But it only took 2 guys and the tractor to put the exact same material on the 3 bay garage. And the only reason I didn't do it with just me and the tractor was because I don't like carrying around 3'x16' sheets of metal 14ft up in a stiff breeze

Talon Dancer

 

[crazyal]

Here's my trusses going up and a second one of an old air force lift to work on jet engines that I lift with forks to work off of.