My First Rock

[tsteahr]

A little over a month ago I got my first tractor, a Massey GC2410. I have had almost no free time to use it until this weekend. I figured a good first task would be to use the BH to pop some of those pesty rocks out of the ground. The ones I almost always hit with the mower even though I know they are there. I figure I'll start with a small one, just a little bit of rock sticking up out of the ground. 45 minutes later I get this thing out of the ground... It was so heavy I lifted up the front of the tractor when I tried to lift it out of the ground with the BH. I had to put 400lbs in the FEL just to get the front back on the ground so I could drag it out of the hole.

The pic is the moving it out of the yard. It was to big to carry with the BH, even with the thumb. I was not sure the little Massey would lift it, buy she had just enough lifting power to get the rock off the ground enough that FWD then got me onto the woods to dump it.

Sorry for the long post. I'm just so proud of this little GC I had to share. She is one tough little machine. My only past experience was with a lawn tractor that I always had maxed out and could never do what I wanted. This GC never seems to strain, even when pushed. The little jobs goes with ease. FEL full of rocks, down a rough slope and dump? No Problem! Just take it slow and keep it low. Fill the holes with some soil from the dirt pile? 5 minute job. I can't get over how stable this machine is on a slope. I was a little nervous, but the rears are filled and I have not had any pucker factor yet.

I can't let the wife know what was brutal manual labor is now fun! Otherwise I have to find another way to get brownie points.

 

[whistlepig]

About the nicest rock I have ever seen! A shame to waste it. Loaders are the best tool of all. Don't now how I got by with out one for so many years.

 

[crbr]

Nice rock. I'd love to have that in my yard. Rocks have a certain attractive character about them.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

So you have been hitting that little "pebble" in your yard all of this time and haven't done anything about it!

 

[whistlepig]

There is a place that sells rocks on my hour drive to work. In the uppity part of town. Gated communities all around. I'll bet that there rock would fetch $200.00 - $300.00 there. People would fight tooth and nail for it.

 

[pdseifert]

I'm with the rest.. I would love to have a few of those to have in the yard.. above ground that is

Awesome job with that rock!!

 

[JoelD]

Great rock.

Wished I could easily transport rocks to Ohio, I've pulled 100's like that one out of the ground. I've got nothing but rocks.

You can't been a backhoe or excavator when it comes to rocks.

Post a picture of the entire machine.

Joel

 

[Runner]

The first one is always special.....

I recently moved some rocks from my pasture up to the house for landscape decorations. I think if I just wanted to get rid of it, I'd have been tempted to just dig the hole deeper with the hoe and then push the rock back in.

Sounds like you had fun though...er...ah...got some valuable WORK done!

 

[etcallhome]

Very nice rock----It's nice to be able to do little jobs like that and not hurt your back !! Just sit back and be amazed what our little tractors will do !!

Enjoy

Good day have fun and be safe

 

[tsteahr]

Thanks for all the positive comments! It is nice to not kill your back getting work done. That is the number one reason I got the machine. In this neck of the woods, rocks are mostly a nuisance. The idea is to get rid of as many as possible. The plan of digging a deeper hole and burying the rock might seem like a good one, until you realize the only thing you are going to find when you keep digging is more rock. There is a very good chance you will hit something much bigger.

Attached are another couple pics of the entire machine. More pics are in this thread from when I first got it.

I was thinking about some comments I have read from experienced, hard core tractorites referring to SCUTs as upgraded lawnmowers. Having lived with a lawn mower for many years, that is not really fair. I fully agree these little machines are not a machine for Ag. But when you step up from a lawn tractor, they are a totally different beast.

When I was shopping, a NH dealer tried to get me into a used Boomer 2030 (he refused to even talk about getting a new 1025 that I was interested in). Truth be told, I drove the 2030 and I was more then a little intimidated by the size. Not to mention it would have been a total joke on my little lot. Even seen the movie Moving with Richard Pryor and Randy Quaid? Quaid plays the new neighbor. He opens the garage door to mow his tiny plot out comes a enormous machine that takes up the entire volume of the garage bay. That would be me if I followed the NH dealer advice. In any case, no modern residential lawn tractor can approach what a SCUT can do. I have a cooked hydro in my Simplicity to prove it. (I should have bought that BX when I was looking at machines 10 years ago... But then a BX1800 is not nearly the machine I have ended up with.) From the advice and information from this forum, I believe I have the ideal machine for my situation and needs.

Thanks for the warm welcome to this forum! I have learned much in a short time.

 

[ChuckinNH]

That my friend is a rock. It is impressive what these small machines will do with a little care, and forethought. I removed a lot of rocks with my BX22 , and the backhoe that sure would still be there if I hadn't bought it. I did dig a deeper hole for a couple that I couldn't move once I got them out of the ground, and I'm waiting for the frost to bring them back up so I can play with them again. (By tipping the rock side to side, and filling under it as you go, you can sure bring some big ones up without straining your equipment too much. Of course the problem is what do you do with the thing once you have it up there?)

 

[Luremaker]

That is a certainly a nice rock. Unfortunately, when you live on rocky land, rocks loose their appeal real quick. I can't seem to move a single bucket of dirt without finding a few rocks. Frankly, I am sick and tired of moving rocks. I have rock piles beside every dirt moving project I've ever done.

I do how ever do manage to get rid of a few each year but never close the the number of new ones I find each summer.

I am also for ever screening top soil.

Now, I have to start building stone walls to use up my rock piles.

 

[Ridgewalker]

If anyone ever wants a large pink granite rock let me know as I have tons of them, literally! I am in Elephant Rock country which made up of very old exposed granite and we have some beautiful specimens here.

http://www.mostateparks.com/elephantrock/geninfo.htm

The largest one on my place is about the size of a compact car, I am sure it weighs way more.

 

[dapper]

tsteahr,
Gotta tell ya that is one nice *** Stone. May you get big $$ for it! Like others I would love to be able to get a penny a pound for the ones I have. Would make me rich.
However I have come up with some interisting uses for the things.....

 

[frank_f15]

IAVE A FEW OF SUCH ROCKS SCATERRED AROUND MY YARD, PEOPLE ACTUALLY STOP TO TRY SND UY THEM

 

[mcd176]

I could be a be rich selling rocks, I have them all over the place

Anyhow welcome to the forum, I have seen the little MF at my local dealer, they are very nice looking machines.