B3030 users in the South

[digicamnut]

Seems like most of the users I've seen here use the B3030 to move snow. How does this piece do in the dirt? I ain't seen snow here in years.

 

[smfcpacfp]

I did get it for the snow, but it is good for landscaping jobs also. I also intend to use it for wood chipping duties. I will probably use it for more summer, than winter work. I qualify for south of the Canadian border - just barely.

 

[vic4news]

I'm south of the Canadian border too so I'll chime in.

I moved over 30 yards of dirt and 20 yards of 3/4" stone this summer.
I also dug out over 40 stumps with the bh80x backhoe. I found the B3030
very capable and a whole lot of fun.

Vic

 

[DoctorDawg]

North Carolina's souther'n Canada by a **** sight, so I'll chime in. But I have to admit mine's a B2630, which is close enough to a 3030 as to make no never-mind.

These compact tractors ain't excavators, so if yer lookin to dig foundations, keep lookin. That said, my 2630 is all we need on our li'l 20 acre horse farm. Routine chores it performs include:

* Mowing pastures and beatin' back brush with a Woods 60" brush hog
* Turning horse-poop compost piles and pulling a big ole manure spreader
* Aerating with a wicked-heavy Woods core aerator
* Harrow raking the pastures to break up poop piles
* Keeping our gravel roads nice and smooth with a back blade
* Raking the riding arena
* Hauling downed trees out of the woods into the pasture where they can be cut and split easily...and hauling the splitter to 'em...and hauling the firewood to the shed
* Pulling posts out of the ground
* Putting posts into the ground (with a post-hole digger)
* Hauling stacks of steel tube round-pen fencing panels from here to there
* Spreading many tons of sand and rock dust
* Scooping rocks...boulders, really...out of the pastures to the rock pile, or from the rock pile to the dry stone wall I'm buildin'

Long story short, the B series ain't just fer shovelin' snow. Anything bigger than a 3030 would really be too much tractor for me. It sips fuel. It fits in tight places. Its easy to work on. I'll give up my B series when you pry my cold dead fingers from the steering wheel. I've owned it 8 months and have near-on 200 hours on it already (and I have a day job!). Nuff said.

 

[AMR]

DoctorDawg:

I have a Landpride Core Aerator on the way. I will use to aerate about 3 acres of lawn. Can you give me any tips?

Any thoughts would help,

Alan

 

[bialecki]

My B7800 works great with moving soil, I have the 60" bucket that is standard on the B3030. I bought the ATI tooth bar for the FEL which makes all the difference in the world. CT soil has a lot of rocks the size of basketballs, so if it works great up here then most likely the soil in TX sould be no problem.

 

[DoctorDawg]

DoctorDawg:

I have a Landpride Core Aerator on the way. I will use to aerate about 3 acres of lawn. Can you give me any tips?

Any thoughts would help,

Alan

Well, different soils are different...we have really hard mineral 'soil' here (I use the word 'soil' advisedly) so penetration is a problem, but that's why I need an aerator in the first place. I put a lot of extra weight on top of my aerator: two big steel ingots that weigh about 75 lb. each, plus 8 cinder blocks. There ain't much else to know; you pull it around, it pokes holes inna ground. I don't expect miracles...an inch of penetration is good, two is great. If you have more friable soil, you might do a lot better.

Don't even try to turn while you're draggin that thing...just pick it up for turns.

A core aerator doesn't merely aerate, it actually stimulates grass growth; everywhere a root gets cut, new blades spring up. Aerating two or three times a year isn't too often. There's really no right or wrong time to do it, except when the soil's too dry to penetrate or so muddy that your aerator disappears.