New owner intro: TN85FA

[DaneJasper]

Just wanted to post a note and introduce myself. I'm a new owner of a TN85FA that I'm quite happy with. We've got a small vineyard which requires spraying, mowing, and harvest, so this narrow profile tractor is a good fit for us.

After mowing a couple roadsides, I'm REALLY happy I got a cab. It's amazing how much weed and dust is kicked around when mowing. (Probably didn't help that I had the front of the flail set a bit high, I've adjusted that downward and it should be better)

I have a couple tractor newbie questions to ask.

What's the easiest way to clear a driveway of shale, and to spread the new material? I'd like to replace it with decomposed granite. I'm guessing a box scraper will be required, but don't have one, and don't know much about them. I do have a FEL.

Second, I've got some very hilly land, and a lot of overgrowth of various sizes. Some of the land is drivable, some is not. For the area that is, any suggestions on clearing the underbrush? You cannot even walk there today because it's so overgrown. Is my tractor the right tool for this job, or is it likely to require other equipment or manual labor?

Thanks for any tips!

-Dane

 

[Haoleguy]

Dane - I did not see your post until today when I ran a search on vineyard. I'm in the process of clearing land to plant a vineyard so I'm familiar with some of the equipment you might look into. I have used my JD5325(standard issue not narrow) with loader, BH, grapple, and rotary cutter to take down trees, brush, & vines(wrong kind), and dig rocks & stumps out. More recently I have hired a guy to mulch my piles and cut me a path trough the woods for town review of a possible driveway location. He uses a Fecon Bull Hog on a Gehl skid steer to mulch brush and small trees(up to 6 in). This is probably what your looking for. These are expensive units but my local Bobcat dealer in CT rents one at ~ $1K/week. This is worth it if you have a lot to do. I would suspect that you're concerned about using narrow tractor on hills. If not a rotary cutter may do what you want.

 

[jinman]

Dane, congratulations on your purchase. You bought a tractor that will make many of us envious. I hope you can post some pictures. We love pictures. Since the narrow width tractor is not common, your pictures might be the only ones we'll ever see.

I think you need a boxblade for your driveway job. They are the ideal tool for moving and spreading material onto a roadway surface. The design lets you move material or scrape going forward and also scrape or spread materials going backwards. When you need to break up hard material, you can put the scarifiers down and dig. The boxblade is a multi-tool with lots of uses.

After mowing a couple roadsides, I'm REALLY happy I got a cab.

About the brush.... I don't think a cab tractor is a good choice for clearing brush unless there are no trees. I'm afraid you would snag a limb and your beautiful new cab would get damaged. I know that is true in my area. I even lower my ROPS because I will hit low limbs with it constantly. In my opinion, you need a tractor much smaller than the TN size. One the size of the Boomers, a skidsteer, or a small dozer is ideal. I'd just hate to see you make one mistake and mess up your cab.

 

[PineRidge]

Second, I've got some very hilly land, and a lot of overgrowth of various sizes. Some of the land is drivable, some is not. For the area that is, any suggestions on clearing the underbrush? You cannot even walk there today because it's so overgrown. Is my tractor the right tool for this job, or is it likely to require other equipment or manual labor?

Thanks for any tips!

-Dane

Welcome to the TBN site Dane.

I think you've been given good advice for spreading material on your drive. A box-blade would be the route I would recommend as well. We also use a landscape rake to keep the stone out of the grass and when it's reversed it does a pretty fair job of smoothing the gravel.

I think if you put a rotary cutter on the back of your rig and watch what you do it should be fine for clearing your underbrush. You'll need to be a bit more careful since the narrow width of your tractor may amplify the tractor being tipsy on side slopes. And needless to say you will also have to be vigilant so you don't damage the cab. We use a rotary mower in the woods from time to time, and have yet to damage our fiberglass canopy.

Enjoy your new machine, and I agree it would be nice to see some pictures.

 

[Doc_Bob]

I'm a new owner of a TN85FA that I'm quite happy with. We've got a small vineyard which requires spraying, mowing, and harvest, so this narrow profile tractor is a good fit for us.

Second, I've got some very hilly land, and a lot of overgrowth of various sizes. Some of the land is drivable, some is not.


-Dane

Wow, a TN85!!! I am so jealous. Nice machine. I wish I had more power (I have a TN70A). What does FA mean?

Please post pictures.

If I had a lot of rough ground, I would hire someone with bulldozer and have them do the first pass, just knocking stuff down and doing all the heavy work. What would take a bulldozer a few hours might take you days. The dozer can find all the rocks and stumps and stuff that might damage your tractor. The dozer can handle the wear and tear. After the dozer takes the heavy lifting (so to speak), you can get a nice Bush Hog and keep it looking good.

Bob

PS Post some pics of your land, that would help.