Pulling Rocks with M7040 (w/ video)

[mdelmarcelle]

Just posted a new video to YouTube of me pulling rocks out of the woods using my metal sled and my Kubota M7040. Maybe about 1500lbs of rocks.

Only folks that truly appreciate tractors will enjoy this video. All other normal folks will quickly realize that this was a complete waste of digital video camera.

Pulling rocks with Kubota M7040 - YouTube

 

[TripleR]

Nothing quite like working in the woods especially with family.:thumbsup:

 

[ccdck20hst]

Nice video. Moving rocks can be fun and gratifying. A few questions come to mind. How did you make that rock sled and what gauge metal or type of metal is it made of? What is your tow point on the sled? I have a small yard but it is filled with rocks many of which I need to move with my Kioti CK20 TLB (already built a 140 foot stone wall) Several must weigh more than 2,000 lbs and dragging them on a heavy duty steel sled seems to be the best option. I am thinking quarter inch steel diamond plate. Happy tractoring!

 

[blueriver]

Why are you hauling rocks out of the woods? Clearing an area? Selling the rocks?

 

[Kyle241]

Very cool! Can you come get my rocks??? I have so many I have been trying to think what to do with them. Building a stone wall is one option but a lot of work even with a tractor! If only I could sell them, that would make it worth it.

 

[nspec]

One question...Why not just put those in the loader bucker? I've carried way bigger rocks than that in the bucket of my 2630.

 

[mdelmarcelle]

Nice video. Moving rocks can be fun and gratifying. A few questions come to mind. How did you make that rock sled and what gauge metal or type of metal is it made of? What is your tow point on the sled? I have a small yard but it is filled with rocks many of which I need to move with my Kioti CK20 TLB (already built a 140 foot stone wall) Several must weigh more than 2,000 lbs and dragging them on a heavy duty steel sled seems to be the best option. I am thinking quarter inch steel diamond plate. Happy tractoring!

Thanks! Yeah, a tractor can make short work of this stuff.

I actually found the sled. My father in law had it in his woods. He passed away about 5 years ago, so I can't ask him where he got it. But it was simply a metal container, about 6 feet long, about 2 1/2 feet wide and about 6 or 8 inches deep. The sides of it were 90 degree walls and the front and back are sloped about 45 degrees. It's made out of smooth sheet metal, about an 1/8th of an inch thick. It's heavy, but not so heavy that I can't reposition it by pulling on one end of it. I'm guessing it weighs about 150lbs. I simply bolted a heavy chain to the front of it, making a loop from one front corner to the other front corner. I don't think I'd need or want it to be any thicker. As it is, it flexes with a full load to adapt to the contour of the land as I pull it. Any thicker and I think the sled would have a tendency to bend but not flex.

Over the years I've pulled some really heavy rocks with this (>3000lbs). Those rocks bent up the sled a bit, but it still works fine and makes pulling much easier. I just bought the kubota recently, but before that I had an old Massey Harris MH50, bout 35hp. I could pull much heavier rocks with the sled than I could just dragging the rocks on the ground. And it would do less damage to the ground.

 

[mdelmarcelle]

Why are you hauling rocks out of the woods? Clearing an area? Selling the rocks?

I use the rocks for landscaping around the house. The latest project was an arbor and pond with a waterfall. I posted a video on that yesterday where you can see the tractor parked with the rock sled after pulling the rocks shown in this video.

Kubota built giant arbor and small pond (inc. Video) - TractorByNet.com

 

[mdelmarcelle]

One question...Why not just put those in the loader bucker? I've carried way bigger rocks than that in the bucket of my 2630.

I could do it that way and I have done that with smaller rocks, filling the bucket up. It would have no problem lifting these. I just don't want to scratch and dent up the bucket if this works just as well. When I was loading it with smaller rocks, I lined the bucket with cardboard to minimize damage.

For the larger rocks, I hook a strap to the bucket and sinch the strap to the rock to lift and position it. I'll take some pictures/videos of that today maybe and post it.

 

[blueriver]

I use the rocks for landscaping around the house. The latest project was an arbor and pond with a waterfall. I posted a video on that yesterday where you can see the tractor parked with the rock sled after pulling the rocks shown in this video.

Kubota built giant arbor and small pond (inc. Video) - TractorByNet.com

Nice project, I just watched the video. Does that creek (crick) run 24/7?

 

[mdelmarcelle]

Nice project, I just watched the video. Does that creek (crick) run 24/7?

Yep, when we dug the hole for the foundation of our house, a couple small springs were uncovered. So, before pouring the footings. I had the builder lay down about a foot of gravel over under the entire basement. At the base of that gravel, I put a drain pipe that drains the water about 150 feet away from the home (I think this is what they call a French Drain). The water flows pretty much at the same speed all year long. Even in the coldest winter temps, it never freezes.

I was concerned that the water constantly flowing would bring with it soil from under the house. So, I placed a couple layers of nylon stocking material over the end of the pipe and put a holed cap on it again and let it run for a couple weeks. At the end of that, no sand was captured in the stocking, so I'm fine with just leaving it run.

So, I dug the pond to capture the water and make a waterfall.

 

[blueriver]

So how many gallons per hour do you think the spring is flowing?

 

[DAY]

" I just don't want to scratch and dent up the bucket if this works just as well. When I was loading it with smaller rocks, I lined the bucket with cardboard to minimize damage. "

I bought my "Yella Fella" used, so it already had the scratches and dents in the bucket. And the rust.

 

[Jerry/MT]

Just posted a new video to YouTube of me pulling rocks out of the woods using my metal sled and my Kubota M7040. Maybe about 1500lbs of rocks.

Only folks that truly appreciate tractors will enjoy this video. All other normal folks will quickly realize that this was a complete waste of digital video camera.

Pulling rocks with Kubota M7040 - YouTube

Here's how we have to remove rocks on our place. This was one of about 6 rocks that the trackhoe couldn't pick up so he had to dig holes and bury them. the small ones we pick up with the FEL.

 

[D33r3 6r33N]

I could do it that way and I have done that with smaller rocks, filling the bucket up. It would have no problem lifting these. I just don't want to scratch and dent up the bucket if this works just as well. When I was loading it with smaller rocks, I lined the bucket with cardboard to minimize damage.

The first weekend I had my 2305 I used the FEL knock the weed filled crown out of the lane.

I just wondered when little man was going to get his tractor license?

 

[mdelmarcelle]

So how many gallons per hour do you think the spring is flowing?

That's an interesting question, I never measured it. I'm guessing about 4-5 gallons per minute. My wife was just using the spring to fill up an ice cream pale to water some plants and she said it took about 15 seconds to fill it. This weekend I'll try to take a more exact measurement, curious now.

 

[mdelmarcelle]

Here's how we have to remove rocks on our place. This was one of about 6 rocks that the trackhoe couldn't pick up so he had to dig holes and bury them. the small ones we pick up with the FEL.

Holy cats! Now that's a rock! My tractor wouldn't budge that puppy. And without all that equipment, I'd have to find a way to leave peacefully alongside that rock. Great picture!

 

[mdelmarcelle]

The first weekend I had my 2305 I used the FEL knock the weed filled crown out of the lane.

I just wondered when little man was going to get his tractor license?

Yeah, it's amazing how jobs that we impossible before having a loader can become so simple that you almost wish the job was bigger. The reason I didn't do that here is because the road is just going through some woods and it can get pretty wet. We've had a couple years with very rainy stretches that like to wash things out, so I don't mind if a little plant life grows along the road.

The little man would love a tractor license. He's gotta a little pedal powered JD that he's constantly cruizing around on and making imaginary repairs to (gasing 'er up, fixing the tire, cranking a wrench on some random spot . The imaginary parts for his machine are always free and repairs never take more than 5 or 10 seconds.

 

[Jerry/MT]

Holy cats! Now that's a rock! My tractor wouldn't budge that puppy. And without all that equipment, I'd have to find a way to leave peacefully alongside that rock. Great picture!

We have lived very peacefully along side many of these big rocks for 8 years. However they won't allow us to run wheel lines on that pasture for irrigation so they have to go.

Our place is at the bottom of what is called Glacial Lake Missoula. The glaciers calved big rockfilled ice chunks into the lake and when the ice melted it dropped these huge rocks randomly over the valley. We have some that are the size of Volkswaggens and pickup trucks! When the Purcell arm of the Continental glacier broke, it let all of Lake Missoula (which covered the Mission, Swan, Missoula, and Bitteroot Valleys) drain in a matter of several days and the instantaneous flow rate of water down the Flathead River channel and into the Columbia River was greater than the total flow of all the rivers in the world. This occured about 42 times according to the geologists. These flood created the channeled scablands of Eastern Washing and deposited Montana rocks in the Willamette River near Portland, OR and into the Pacific ocean.

That's probably more than you want to know about the history of the rocks on our place.

 

[Iowachild]

Yep, when we dug the hole for the foundation of our house, a couple small springs were uncovered. So, before pouring the footings. I had the builder lay down about a foot of gravel over under the entire basement. At the base of that gravel, I put a drain pipe that drains the water about 150 feet away from the home (I think this is what they call a French Drain). The water flows pretty much at the same speed all year long. Even in the coldest winter temps, it never freezes.

I was concerned that the water constantly flowing would bring with it soil from under the house. So, I placed a couple layers of nylon stocking material over the end of the pipe and put a holed cap on it again and let it run for a couple weeks. At the end of that, no sand was captured in the stocking, so I'm fine with just leaving it run.

So, I dug the pond to capture the water and make a waterfall.

Actually it is because they were thought up by an American, Henry Flagg French. :thumbsup:
Why is a french drain called a french drain?