New kubota tractor advice

[SylvainG]

Actually, my loader manual says:

Digging Depth Below Grade ........................................135mm............................................. 5.5"

So, it can dig, but not much.

 

[5030]

You are expecting WAY too much from a little unit, especially one with those tires. I see you already bent your brush guard. Go rent a track machine,

 

[Doc G]

FELs are designed to do exactly zero digging. The are designed to scoop material.

^^^ Yep. Seems some members live on soil that is fairly loose and "nice" to work with, but many of us (including me) work with heavy clay or rock-infested soils where CUT FELs can do basically no digging*. Rabbit trail: I'm generally dismayed at how many implements do not work well or at all in heavy clay soils.

On occasion, I will use the disc plow, or box blade rippers (and the blade itself) to loosen and push around soil so the FEL can scoop it up. That's about the extent of its "digging" abilities.

(*Disclaimer: have not tried a tooth bar yet.)

 

[SylvainG]

I think that's what the tooth bar is exactly for, loosen the soil so it can be scooped up.

 

[the old grind]

I've used the box blade several times as a 5-shank sub-soiler, usually where the chisel plow's teeth deflect upward vs digging in.

Rocks and roots in most places just take another pass or two before I hop a seat to clear brush & BS with the landscape rake.

 

[Rock Crawler]

^^^ Yep. Seems some members live on soil that is fairly loose and "nice" to work with, but many of us (including me) work with heavy clay or rock-infested soils where CUT FELs can do basically no digging*. Rabbit trail: I'm generally dismayed at how many implements do not work well or at all in heavy clay soils.

On occasion, I will use the disc plow, or box blade rippers (and the blade itself) to loosen and push around soil so the FEL can scoop it up. That's about the extent of its "digging" abilities.

(*Disclaimer: have not tried a tooth bar yet.)

Speaking of a box blade... I have a 300 lb box with 500 lb of plate on it and I'll have my father pull it with the mighty Kubota while I stand on the box (I'm 210 lbs) with the teeth down one notch and it pretty much skips over the clay and shale mix when dry out.

It works fine after wet weather before the ground dries up, but once it's dry..... useless. The front loader here with the tooth bar..... useless as a digging tool. The backhoe works great, break into the ground and get to the naturally damp and softer material.

 

[big bubba]

boy, you've got a lot going on & multiple decisions to make. 84 mo is a long time to be encumbered
wise move to post here, most members probably have better advice than me
hire out all that you can on the big projects before you buy a tractor/equip. then decide equipment that best suits your needs after that, keeping in mind big projects that may not be in the picture now.....

more importantly, shy away from the "buy it now, gotta have it" compulsion, it will save you in long run.
definitely been there myself. continue to post your progress & best of luck

 

[Bullwinkle123]

If only there were 10 ton excavators that could pull rotary cutters, tractor sales would plummet

 

[Doc G]

Speaking of a box blade... I have a 300 lb box with 500 lb of plate on it and I'll have my father pull it with the mighty Kubota while I stand on the box (I'm 210 lbs) with the teeth down one notch and it pretty much skips over the clay and shale mix when dry out.

It works fine after wet weather before the ground dries up, but once it's dry..... useless. The front loader here with the tooth bar..... useless as a digging tool. The backhoe works great, break into the ground and get to the naturally damp and softer material.

Boy, you got that right. There's a limited window between "sticky tar" and "hard as a brick" in which you can do anything with clay. That window is exactly when you have to put in 80 hours at work.

 

[dodge man]

I told someone I could dig a basement with my FEL. It would maybe take me two weeks or a month to do something that would take a tracked excavator a day or two. Where I live most of the area has black topsoil but there are pockets that don’t. I live where I don’t have the nice topsoil but have timber soil. You can usually dig it though. The trick is you have to get your front wheels headed downhill into the ground so you can keep digging deeper.

So how do you get rocks out with a grapple? Do the bottom teeth slice into the soil so you can get under the rock? I can say I’m glad I live somewhere there aren’t a lot of rocks to fight.