Dirt Moving Is a FEL truely built to "dig" or

[Gary Fowler]

I totally agree that they are not designed to dig but it can be done if you go slow and especially if you use an implement to scarify the soil a bit first. I dug a nice little pond with mine using the scarifiers on my box blade to loosen the soil while at the same time scooping up the previous pass made with the box blade. I don't have any problem digging with my FEL in soft loamy soil or removal of pond sediment from dried up ponds. They work well for that but the sediment really loads the front end on a tractor.

 

[4shorts]

The FEL isn't the ideal way to dig but before we got the little BX25D we planted hedging last summer with nothing more than the FEL on the 5740 and a few shovels. It worked OK for us.

 

[Baby Grand]

You can dig with the FEL, but it has to be done in a way that doesn't overload the FEL frame.
Basically, you peel off an inch at a time, over and over.
This is easy on the machine, but slow work.
Rocky soil will probably require a tooth bar.
Here's a test pit 6' wide and 4' deep:
View attachment 334889

 

[k0ua]

They will dig. I dug the top of a a fair sized hill off to build a shooting berm with. But they are slow, and the more rocks you have the worse it gets. Also the bigger heavier tractor and loader, the better. I agree with the others in that if there is some way to break it up first, the better off you will be. I have dug plenty of shallow trenches, like 4shorts showed for planting bulbs or flowers.. It is quick and easy. To dig a pond?.. well I hope you have nothing but good black dirt!

 

[big bubba]

sure do agree fel is not really designed for excavation. but as noted, one can fake it. tooth bar a must. you can also "shave" layers in 2-3" increments if you have the time. comes down to the right tool for the job. why pretend for something that it's not designed? having said that.....a larger, heavier machine w/larger wheel diameters, limited slip & maybe loaded rear tires & a tooth bar make a world of dif. can't imagine doing anything like that with a bx/b/or L series. been there before.... just don't trash your fel or hydraulics fantasizing being a dozer or trac hoe. that's what hiring it out is all about. & let you and you wild beast roam the frontier to other new horizons.... best

 

[workinallthetime]

all of this i know, i am hoping all these people who complain about their new scut of whatever color will read some of this before they complain about the performance of what they bought. i have a tooth bar, it stays on most of the time, but when a true "digging" job comes along i use the bh.
toothbar's are like a cheater pipe on a 3/8 ratchet, sure you can do it but push it to far and something is going to break.
good job fella's hopefully someone will read this thread and learn a little something

 

[Earl Ohl]

Those are all good points that everyone brought up so far. Back in the first week of February we needed our septic pumped out due to me being stupid & not having it done in the summertime like I should have. The tank was completely full & the system shut down & the tank alarm kept going off. After having an "emergency" pump-out, the septic guy said I had to dig up the tank so they could get the lid off & pump out the solids tank. The emergency pump-out might only last us a few days. So the choices were to go rent a back hoe, get someone in with a backhoe, let the septic company do it, or use what equipment I had. With time being of the essence & money being short I decided to try it with my B3030HSDCC & front end loader. It was a slow, tough going job. The ground was frozen to about 1.5 ft. down. That ATI tooth bar was worth it's weight in gold. I never would have done it without the tooth bar. It took me several hours to dig it up but I got it done by going slow & being very careful. The septic company was surprised when I called them the next day & asked them to come tomorrow to pump it out. Like I said, I was very careful & I didn't bend or break anything. I would NOT recommend that anyone do this though. The potential is there to do major damage to the tractor &/or loader.

 

[FatSlob]

That's why it is called a "front end loader" and not a "front end digger."



Bruce

I disagree. how do explain a 953 or 963 track loader. They are a front end loader but are used for excavation. Backhoes are used for such. Bottom line, Utility tractors are not construction machines and are not reinforced for such work. They were not designed for heavy construction. If you want to do heavy construction, you buy a machine designed for such work. Front end loaders can be in many different categories so this statement is partially but not totally false. Im not that old but have been in mass excavation for 20 years

 

[bcp]

But we are talking about compact tractors, usually, and the loader is an attachment, not the designed function of the machine.

Bruce

 

[two_bit_score]

I agree, none of the utility tractors that are talked about here on TBN were ever designed to do anything with there loaders other than to move loose material. I believe that you have to get into industrial type tractors before you get into units that are really even considered to have any digging capability and even then when there is serious digging to be done, it is almost always done with an excavator.

I doubt that there are ANY pictures in the sales brochures of the tractors that are talked about most often on TBN that show the tractors moving anything other than loose materials. Seems like mulch in the 30hp and under sizes and soft dirt with the 30-50hp sizes. A lot of the times with a back hoe on the tractor. 50hp+ show moving hay bales.

Most sales brochures show the FEL loaded with about 3-5 small bales of hay or loose shavings. Maybe a few cut up limbs. :laughing: