Earth work

[desertdog71]

Since I am leaning towards buying Branson, I will ask you folks.

If I buy a larger tractor, I need to justify the purchase by being able to do some earth moving with it, without tearing up.

I need to level a 56x100 area to build a house, and there is probably about a foot or two at most of variations in the area I want to build. The soil has some packed clay in it and probably some shale and small rocks, nobody knows for sure because it was an area that was strip mined back in the early 1900's. I will also need to cut in a 600 foot driveway. Time is not a factor for me, I have nothing better to do for 14 days every month than play on a tractor. If these are viable tasks for a tractor to do, then I get the green light on going for a 15 or 20 series instead of 2510.

I figure a box blade with scarifiers and a tooth bar on the bucket will be needed. Not sure what other attachments would help me do the job. I have 7 hours total of tractor time and that was bush hogging.

The larger tractor will come in handy as well for the construction process, moving materials around, standing up walls, lifting trusses (with a rig of some sort), moving gravel around for concrete base, etc etc.

What do you all think?

 

[4570Man]

As long as there’s no stumps it’s doable. You’re on the right track with the BB. If you had a hydraulic top link and hydraulic tilt you’d be even better off.

 

[desertdog71]

no stumps that I have found. I hogged about 4-5 acres of it a couple weeks ago and found nothing, much to my surprise. There's maybe 3 smallish cedars that I need to remove. I think a chain and hooks will do the trick on those.

My only worry with any of this is damaging the loader.

 

[4570Man]

Loaders are built for scooping not dozing. Let the rippers on the box blade break up the dirt. And you can break up dirt with the loader it’s ramming and prying things like stumps that will cause damage. Take a few minutes to learn the proper way to back drag. Dragging with the bucket rolled all the way down like it’s tempting to do is a sure fire way to bend the cylinders.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

no stumps that I have found. I hogged about 4-5 acres of it a couple weeks ago and found nothing, much to my surprise. There's maybe 3 smallish cedars that I need to remove. I think a chain and hooks will do the trick on those.

My only worry with any of this is damaging the loader.

Use the 3pt to pull up with, not the loader.:thumbsup:

Keep in mind that the heavier the box blade, the better that it will work. If you are going to get a tractor that is roughly 6' wide (uses 6' implements) see if you can find a 1000lb used unit, probably a Gannon. These will work far better than an lighter weight unit. If used is a no go in your area, then probably need to go with something a little lighter, get as heavy as you can afford.

Probably need to do some contouring of the driveway? Get a 7'-8' rear blade with offset and tilt. Everything Attachments has a few different units that are worth considering IMO.
Might also consider a LPGS These make general road maintenance a breeze and in about half the time of a box blade.

Good luck with any and all of your choices.

 

[4570Man]

Use the 3pt to pull up with, not the loader.:thumbsup:

Keep in mind that the heavier the box blade, the better that it will work. If you are going to get a tractor that is roughly 6' wide (uses 6' implements) see if you can find a 1000lb used unit, probably a Gannon. These will work far better than an lighter weight unit. If used is a no go in your area, then probably need to go with something a little lighter, get as heavy as you can afford.

Probably need to do some contouring of the driveway? Get a 7'-8' rear blade with offset and tilt. Everything Attachments has a few different units that are worth considering IMO.
Might also consider a LPGS These make general road maintenance a breeze and in about half the time of a box blade.

Good luck with any and all of your choices.

A 1000 pound BB will go wasted behind a tractor of that class. Those belong behind much bigger tractors. I’ve got a 5 or 6’ blade of medium duty construction. It’s better than the tractor supply junk but no Gannon either. It would easily take enough bite to spin out my 6,000 pound L3240. Pulling it behind the lighter L3800 with the rippers down is a lost cause. You can put 2 of them on the second notch and even then you have to be light on the controls.

 

[desertdog71]

I was thinking just a chain and an old car rim, would pop most of the small trees out of the ground, use the draw bar or 3pt to pull with?

 

[Cougsfan]

You never stated which Branson you are looking at. What your doing is quite feasible. The more horsepower you get and the heavier the tractor, the more pleasurable the job will be. Clay can be weather dependent to work. Gets too wet it is slippery and messy. Too dry and can harden to rock like condition. A box blade with scarifiers will about as good as anything. Just use the FEL on loose stuff. A tooth bar on the bucket would be nice but not absolutely necessary. Patience will be your biggest ally. A transiet to chek levelness would be handy if you don't already have one.

 

[desertdog71]

3015, 3515, 3520? Not sure 3520 is more than I want to spend honestly.

Branson website says the 15 series is only 2 speed HST? Is that correct? Seems pretty lame for that size tractor.

 

[ptsg]

15 Series and up, all have 3 Range HST.

I Believe only the 00 Series comes with a 2 range.

 

[K5lwq]

3015, 3515, 3520? Not sure 3520 is more than I want to spend honestly.

Branson website says the 15 series is only 2 speed HST? Is that correct? Seems pretty lame for that size tractor.

Somehow I missed you were wanting a HST. Now I am going to recommend you go for higher HP. A 3520 will do more pulling and lifting than the 3515. But if you are considering spending more to get the 20 series, I think it would be wise to stay in the 15 series and go up in HP. You probably can get the 4815 for a little less than a 3520.

You are at a point a dealer visit is in order. Test drive as many as you can.

 

[CobyRupert]

I was thinking just a chain and an old car rim, would pop most of the small trees out of the ground, use the draw bar or 3pt to pull with?

Yes.

You can't go wrong using the drawbar.
You can also use the 3 point hitch. Just make sure your 3pth is lowered below than the tractors axle so you don't pop wheelies & flip the tractor backwards; and that your cross-drawbar is pulling against its thick side and not rotated so that it can easily bend.

 

[desertdog71]

15 Series and up, all have 3 Range HST.

I Believe only the 00 Series comes with a 2 range.

Yeah, I have to be honest, their online presence is a joke. They have contradictory information in the same brochure. It's tough to overlook these things and not wonder if the tractors are slapped together as haphazard as the website.

 

[ptsg]

Yeah, I have to be honest, their online presence is a joke. They have contradictory information in the same brochure. It's tough to overlook these things and not wonder if the tractors are slapped together as haphazard as the website.

I agree. They should definitely improve their website. The Global one is not too bad, but there is still lots of room for improvements.

But in the end, the website doesn't reflect at all the quality of the tractors. They do a very good job on the tractors.

And K5lwq has the best advice here. Best thing to do, is to go to a dealer and check out some of the machines. Sit in the tractor, get a feel for the controls, and details like that.

 

[desertdog71]

I'm out of the country for work until Jan 22nd. I plan to visit a couple dealers when I get home. Branson has a pretty decent sized dealer down by Tulsa. There's a CAT dealer that sells LS tractors that I was going to check out too. There's a Workmaster 37 rental unit in the mix too with 120 hours on it for a pretty reasonable price. Then I still might not pull the trigger.

 

[Asteral]

for what your planning a slightly larger tractor may be better suited to your needs, the only other thing i could recommend for you would be a piranha tooth bar, they are by far better that just a tooth kit for your bucket, as its a tooth bar but also a bucket edge reinforcement, if your going to be moving lots of dirt i would say to check them out on youtube to get an idea if it is something you may want.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

A 1000 pound BB will go wasted behind a tractor of that class. Those belong behind much bigger tractors. I致e got a 5 or 6 blade of medium duty construction. It痴 better than the tractor supply junk but no Gannon either. It would easily take enough bite to spin out my 6,000 pound L3240. Pulling it behind the lighter L3800 with the rippers down is a lost cause. You can put 2 of them on the second notch and even then you have to be light on the controls.

Wasted on what tractor? The op was given the green light to go much bigger than the 2510 he was first considering as long as he could do some heavier work.

 

[4570Man]

Wasted on what tractor? The op was given the green light to go much bigger than the 2510 he was first considering as long as he could do some heavier work.

He said a 15 or 20 series Branson. You’d probably need a 10,000 pound or more machine to pull 1000 pounds box blade with the rippers down. I’m not saying that machine couldn’t use a Gannon box blade but there’s no use to spend more money vs the medium duty blade that he needs.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

He said a 15 or 20 series Branson. You壇 probably need a 10,000 pound or more machine to pull 1000 pounds box blade with the rippers down. I知 not saying that machine couldn稚 use a Gannon box blade but there痴 no use to spend more money vs the medium duty blade that he needs.

Maybe you should re-read my post. I was recommending a used box blade, hopefully a Gannon. If not used, I linked to ETA.

As I'm sure that you know, there are huge advantages to using a heavy box blade other than just using it with the rippers down. I have a 75hp 12,500 +lb machine and with the rippers all the way in the ground 10" it can and does stop the forward motion, if the ground is right.

I have a 65" 800lb Gannon ROBB for my 32 HP tractor, weighing in at 5000lbs. I have no problem pulling a full box load. This box is heavy enough that it does not just bounce over the typical hard stuff, or raise up and over an irregularity in the ground. It cuts it off.

You realize that there are commercial use Gannons that are only 5' wide, right?

I do agree that buying a new Gannon with hydraulic actuated rippers would be out of the question. :no: I would not do it today with what they cost new.

 

[desertdog71]

or I can rent a dozer for a grand and my buddy can do it all in a day. That doesn't give me the satisfaction of doing everything myself though. I'm going to turn this raw land into a home and do it all myself. That's my goal anyways. We all probably had grandparents that build their own homes and made their way. We don't do that these days, It's a challenge I want to take on while I still can. Father time is undefeated they say.