Mini Ex uses

[Deerherd]

I also went with a Mini-Ex and a big reason was to get A/C/heat and protection from biting/stinging insects. After having a cabbed tractor for going on three years I don't think I could go back to an open station anything. Trying to find a cabbed TLB with heat/A/C is tough.

It's been 90+ degrees plus ridiculous humidity and the biting deer flies are ravenous this time of year. I literally sit in the cab with a huge grin on my face with the A/C and stereo on and the flies swarming around unable to get to me.

If you are digging a lot of stumps, I would highly recommend a ripper. It is so much faster than a bucket plus being able to put all that force onto a single point makes short work of the roots. Having a tractor with a bucket and box blade is a great compliment to a Mini-Ex.

 

[Code54]

Funny you mention calling before you dig -I called and had 8 acres marked - figured that covered everything I was planning on doing for a while. Lucky for me only a phone line was marked, and that is also what the neighbors all told me so I feel good about that.

I have a 12" & 24" toothed buckets and 36" ditching bucket so far and a ripper is on the list. I dug one large oak stump out and used the 12" bucket and it worked really well. I was VERY surprised at how easily I was able to break the roots. I ended up having to skid the stump out of the hole due to the size (over 20 some inches about 4' up) then just shoved it with he big tractor out of the way. It took about an hour total from start to finish so I was happy with that, heck with my little BX I would still be digging!

Thanks for all the tips and ideas, keep them coming!

 

[compact]

I have a 5 ton. Its like a pocket on a shirt. Ditching or trenching it will outwork any backhoe, and in tight woods or muddy spots it can work where a backhoe cannot. You can work really slow with one in tricky spots and they are really good for making trails in woods. Thumb is a must, they are great cranes, build rock walls, an earlier post pretty much covered it. Terrible on ice, dangerous, actually.