This is BLASPHEMY, but here goes...

[ovrszd]

The same crowd that recommends not owing a backhoe and renting one instead.

Oh no,,,, I want to "own" a backhoe.... Just can't quite justify it.

 

[ovrszd]

If you can't find a use for a FEL, then I agree, get rid of the tractor. Me, I cannot imagine life without a FEL. Seriously.

Me neither.

 

[scdeerslayer]

Buy some tillage implements and grow a garden.

 

[mcfarmall]

Tools, tractors, and guns are on a one way street to my house. They can check out anytime they want but they will never leave. I make it a point to research, ponder, think, dream, etc. for years in advance of a purchase to make sure I spend my money once for the right piece of equipment. I don't have the luxury of unlimited walkaround money to buy something and then regret my decision for whatever reason.

 

[N2DFire]

I own a 2004 Mahindra 2015 with loader. I use a ratchet rake on it along with a box blade (aka grader box) to rake my driveway once a year. I really don't use it for anything else. The blasphemy part, I'm thinking about selling it. I have a Suzuki Kingquad 750 and a snow plow.

Anyone ever put your ratchet rake on an ATV snow plow and use it to rake your gravel driveway? Will it work? Any other cost effective ways to use my resources and rake my driveway?

I hate owning a very expensive piece of equipment that only gets minimal use. I have asked for a quote from a local grader guy to rake the drive. I figure to pay a fee once a year for someone else to do it makes more sense than owning the equipment to do it myself.

Since I bought the Kingquad and it came with the snow plow, the tractor lost that job. I bought a Woods 5215 60" mower (fine tool for quick efficient mowing) more because I like it than need it - another job lost for the tractor. Now I'm down to raking only.

In a nutshell:
Blasphemy or not - ditch the tractor. It's not worth the upkeep for the work you're getting out of it & the more it sets the less likely you will be able to get rid of it.

Ratchet Rake on the Quad snowplow - not sure you're going to have the weight / down force to really do any serious work with it. Likewise as you pointed out the trip springs will probably let the blade roll over as soon as it did take a decent bite. (this from a guy with a 600 Grizzly w/ a Moose Snowplow)

That being said - using a pull behind implement w/ the Quad might be a very viable alternative for you & I would suggest you investigate the ATV attachment market more.

Best of luck with your decision. I think you're on the right track for you, I just don't think the snowplow & ratchet rake are the right tools for the job.

 

[TractorGuy]

Kinda along these lines I have decided to hire a guy to do grapple work instead of figuring out how to own a grapple. I would love to own one in the worst way but after I clear 4 more acres I would have limited to no use for it. My little JD has no loader and my BH has a monster bucket with no aux hydraulics.

50 bucks an hour makes way more sense than any of my options for owning a grapple.

 

[knukey]

I'm thinking about this now. A way to connect my box blade to the receiver on the quad and using a hand winch vs. electric winch. I'd prefer to bolt the hitch extension to the top of the quick hitch vs. weld it (maybe another bolt hole?). I do own a quick hitch as well and a receiver extension. Now, will I be able to move the box blade or will the quad do a WHEELIE!? I have a side by side too that I haven't mentioned.

Poor Mans Snow Plow Setup - YouTube

 

[lilranch2001]

I'm thinking about this now. A way to connect my box blade to the receiver on the quad and using a hand winch vs. electric winch. I'd prefer to bolt the hitch extension to the top of the quick hitch vs. weld it (maybe another bolt hole?). I do own a quick hitch as well and a receiver extension. Now, will I be able to move the box blade or will the quad do a WHEELIE!? I have a side by side too that I haven't mentioned.

Poor Mans Snow Plow Setup - YouTube

My personal opinion trying to use a box blade on a four wheeler is you're going to find out that you bend the heII out of the frame.
Especially if you hook it on a rock or a root.
I could be wrong but that's my two cents worth

 

[Cougsfan]

A drag harrow might work ok for raking the driveway behind an ATV. Here is an example: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200641649_200641649
I would think the box blade would be too much for the ATV

 

[airbiscuit]

I think the day may come when you miss the sound of a diesel, but it sounds like you have puzzled out the benefits and loss of getting rid of your CUT.

I hate to be an enabler, but if you do decide to go with just an ATV, you will probably to keep your driveway in decent shape. There are a few ATV landscape rakes, pull behind graders and 3 point kits available. They tend to be expensive and kind of lightweight. You could come up with a better/heavier/cheaper implement if you built it yourself (kind of a land plane/grader-scraper/groomer). Here's a look at one ...

 

[Sysop]

As someone who started out doing things on both an ATV and UTV then moved to a tractor, I can tell you one of the major problems with an ATV or UTV is ground speed. Lack of weight is another, but that has been well hashed by others in previous posts. Fact is, to get the ground speed to work with, you need to have the ATV idling along. That presents a power issue on hills or when tools "load up". When you lack power and give it the throttle, they gain speed rather rapidly and go too fast to do the work that needs done. Maintaining a steady speed that performs the work, but also providing consistent and smooth power and torque isn't what most ATVs or UTVs excel at and it gets tiring quickly.

If all you want to do is maintain a road, you may get away with it. But I think three things will make it less pleasant. First, the lack of weight will mean more passes to do the same work. Depending on your machine and terrain, a steady working speed may be difficult to maintain. And the third would be the amount of dust you and your machine may be swallowing. Setting lower to the ground, that is always a concern. Keep an eye on your temps too, some ATV/UTV cooling systems aren't very efficient when going slow under load (older Rhinos for one).

 

[TSO]

Skip the front blade idea... you'll only break things...here's a tool designed specifically for your situation.

ATV Driveway Graders - Gravel Rascal® - ABI Attachments

 

[zzvyb6]

Sell the tractor and use some of the money to pay for a concrete driveway. Use the rest of the money for something else (gates, pillars, lighting, bronze address number plate).

 

[knukey]

2 years ago I bought a zero-turn to cut my 6 ac yard after cutting it with my tractor for 8 years. The zt cuts it a little quicker, a lot less damage to the yard, cut my weedeating time a lot but I still need the FEL on the tractor to stand the 60" heavy deck up to clean/service it !!!

- Why not use a floor jack?

 

[knukey]

I think the day may come when you miss the sound of a diesel

- Hah, my Woods 5215 is DIESEL. That'll satisfy the need for the sound!

 

[knukey]

A drag harrow might work ok for raking the driveway behind an ATV. Here is an example: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200641649_200641649
I would think the box blade would be too much for the ATV

- I've thought of this option too. The videos online show them working, but the gravel is LOOSE. I suppose if you ride over the gravel enough it would loosen. My FIL may have one I can try.

 

[Cougsfan]

- I've thought of this option too. The videos online show them working, but the gravel is LOOSE. I suppose if you ride over the gravel enough it would loosen. My FIL may have one I can try.

Most drag harrows can be pulled in two directions. The one you use most is the fingers pointing back. That is not very aggressive but is what you will likely use most of the time. The second way is to turn it around and have the fingers point forward. That is quite aggressive and will dig up compacted gravel. And if that is't enough, get some weight, like a cut off section of railroad tie, or better yet a chunk of railroad track, and improvise a way to secure to the drag harrow. Then it not only will be aggressive, it will do a better job of leveling. It actually does a better job than a box blade for standard gravel driveway upkeep in my opinion.

 

[bspeedy]

Blasphemy, indeed...

I'm firmly in the tractor camp. Actually, I'm in the two or three tractor camp. I have implements that I have use less than yearly that I will keep forever in case I need them. In the case of a tool with an engine, I'd say - if you don't need it, get rid of it. If it's not making your life better, it's making it worse!

 

[airbiscuit]

These guys groom their road by dragging logs! (It gets best near the end). All you need is a willing neighbor!

 

[BTDT2]

I'm still working on your use of "BLASPHEMY" i.e blas·phe·my,ˈnoun "the act or offense of speaking sacrilegiously about God", unless perhaps you consider your tractor 'sacred'?