Compact Tractors are Designed All Wrong

[MultiMow]

Speaking of buckets...

We have some pretty hard ground in my parts. Even with teeth on the edge, cutting in with less than a 75-80hp skid steer is pretty much scratching (CUTs need not apply, without a plow or ripper).

I've tossed around the idea of bucket with a hydraulic buster spool on the front (think power rake/"Harley rake")... pretty much making a scaled down pan grader for lighter skid steers, CUTs, and Sub-compacts.

What do you guys think?

Yeah, I know... it's going to put a dent in the capacity.... but for the guy who already has a lighter duty solution, it would eliminate the need to make two passes, and leave a smoother finish.

Worth a shot, or still-born idea?

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Speaking of buckets...

We have some pretty hard ground in my parts. Even with teeth on the edge, cutting in with less than a 75-80hp skid steer is pretty much scratching (CUTs need not apply, without a plow or ripper).

I've tossed around the idea of bucket with a hydraulic buster spool on the front (think power rake/"Harley rake")... pretty much making a scaled down pan grader for lighter skid steers, CUTs, and Sub-compacts.

What do you guys think?

Yeah, I know... it's going to put a dent in the capacity.... but for the guy who already has a lighter duty solution, it would eliminate the need to make two passes, and leave a smoother finish.

Worth a shot, or still-born idea?

I'm in your neck of the woods, and my Piranha tooth bar cuts through like a knife, even through my hard pan. I was pretty surprised. Maybe your soil is even harder than mine, but it's hard to imagine. Example: a hunk of dirt once dried, I can hit it hard repeatedly with a shovel, but it won't break up. Hunk of dirt or rock? Only way to tell is to pick it up. Rocks are heavier for their size.

The HD box blade with scarifiers all the way down also breaks it up with no problem.

My clay soil works a lot easier when slightly moist.

 

[MossRoad]

That hard soils is where a larger machine comes in handy, or a smaller contact point to concentrate the weight. For example, when I was attempting to rebuild a long neglected T-Ball diamond my 1500# machine could not scratch the old, existing moon dust base (granulated limestone) with my wide, flat bladed bucket. It had been packed down for years. My smaller bucket with teeth did much better, but still, the 1500# (really about half that) spread across the teeth would still raise the front wheel off the ground. A single tooth plow share welded to a post on a quick attach plate (poor man's ripper) put all the available weight on one small point.

 

[Xfaxman]

That hard soils is where a larger machine comes in handy, ------------------------------------------

Yep, the Toolcat is 5' wide and the 1 cubic yard bucket is 6' wide, and has bolt on teeth:

 

[MossRoad]

And how much weight can you bring to bear on those teeth if the front wheels are off the ground? Tons! :thumbsup:

 

[Xfaxman]

Right.

 

[4570Man]

And how much weight can you bring to bear on those teeth if the front wheels are off the ground? Tons! :thumbsup:

Not very much. Most loaders aren’t very heavy on the front end. I doubt my Kubota CTL has 500 pounds on the front end plus the bucket. My buddies gehl SS was even lighter. Without a bucket on you have to make easy moves or it wheelies.

 

[gladehound]

It's not always the size of the machine but instead the sharpness of the bucket. We borrowed a 20,000 pound track loader from a neighbor to cut in a driveway. The track loader couldn't make a dent. We tried my cousin's JD4300 (~5500 pounds w BH & loader) with a fresh, sharp cutting edge and it cut right through. The 20,000 pound machine was well used and the thick cutting edge was worn such that it was like trying to push a 1+" thick round bar into the ground. The JD4300 cutting edge came to a point and cut right in. The weight of the machine is less important than the pressure applied to the ground.

 

[4570Man]

It's not always the size of the machine but instead the sharpness of the bucket. We borrowed a 20,000 pound track loader from a neighbor to cut in a driveway. The track loader couldn't make a dent. We tried my cousin's JD4300 (~5500 pounds w BH & loader) with a fresh, sharp cutting edge and it cut right through. The 20,000 pound machine was well used and the thick cutting edge was worn such that it was like trying to push a 1+" thick round bar into the ground. The JD4300 cutting edge came to a point and cut right in. The weight of the machine is less important than the pressure applied to the ground.

Which is why a tooth bucket is way better than a straight one for digging.

 

[MultiMow]

I don't know what you'd call what we have here. It looks like potter's clay... a light tan color, with a slight red hue. It's not clay (I'm sure it has a little in it... but it doesn't behave like clay). It never gets that sticky stage when wet. I goes straight from hard as a brick, to a soupy mess. I don't know how my wife grew enough grass for a lawn, it's so hard.

When they did the grade work for her house (long before I was around), they didn't bother to separate and recover the top soil.

Anywho... you're right, Moss... my L-series won't touch it. Just grading the driveway with the 4-way belly blade took hours. I'll give a box blade a go. I'd love to find a good used Harley rake. Problem is, they cost about $6k new... and I've never seen a serviceable used unit for less than $4,500.