Loader New member looking for advice on first tractor - digging with FEL

[karltinsly]

I am in the market for my first tractor. It will be used on a 13 acre llama farm that we are setting up. The property is just scrub brush, weeds, and a few trees at the moment. The tractor will be used to clear land, drill holes for fence posts, drive t-posts, and whatever else needs to happen to get the place working smoothly. Also, we unfortunately have to bury the occasional animal, which can take a pretty good-sized hole.

I'm pretty much sold on a Mahindra already. I like the no-DPF engine and beefy construction. Price is nice, too. Local dealers offer packages including tractor, box blade, mower, auger, and transport trailer. I've seen some that have a backhoe as well.

Any opinions are welcome, but I do have a specific question. I'm leaning towards either a 1538 or 2538. Can I use the FEL on those to dig a hole? A friend told me that he thought you'd need at least a 50hp machine to dig with the FEL. As I mentioned, the hole I'm talking about might need to be 3x6 feet by 6 feet deep. It doesn't have to have vertical sides all around like a grave. I know that this is the kind of job a backhoe would excel at, but could the FEL do it?

Thanks for any tips.

 

[mike69440]

No tractor digs well. They are FEL not FED's. Burying a dog is about it for an FEL.

 

[RNeumann]

The FEL isn’t the best to dig with- I have the 1538. The post hole digger will need some research as some models don’t go in reverse and can be a real PITA.

 

[jeff9366]

With a Toothbar attached to the FEL bucket you can dig some.

VIDEOS (2): tractor fel digging - YouTube

tractor toothbar digging - YouTube

 

[s219]

I'm pretty much sold on a Mahindra already. I like the no-DPF engine and beefy construction. Price is nice, too. Local dealers offer packages including tractor, box blade, mower, auger, and transport trailer. I've seen some that have a backhoe as well.

No DPF, but instead a DOC. Make sure you educate yourself on that -- no free lunch. I think DOC is simpler than DPF/regens, but they are both systems with sensors and computer control, and complexity. I think Mahindra marketing has done a good job making customers think they met Tier 4 Final magically, but it's just a different type of emissions system.

Unless your soil is very soft, digging is not something a FEL will be good at.

 

[BigBlue1]

Depending on your soil conditions you may find the FEL adequate to dig a decent sized hole if you use a tiller on the ground first to break up the sod and hard top layer. I did that to plant four trees with rather large rootballs last spring. Root balls ranged from 2.5' to 3.5' diameter. I used my 60" tiller to till about a 4' swath out of the lawn and then used the FEL on my JD 2520 (60" width) to scoop out a V-shaped 'hole' that was deep enough to hold the root ball. Well, actually deeper because I wanted loosened soil below it. I have beautiful black dirt here though, so it wasn't a huge challenge. If you had clay or rocky soil the FEL may be much less useful.

Rob

 

[Wagtail]

G'day Mate and welcome to TBN from Downunder.

It sounds like you're more in the market for a skidsteer or a TLB (tractor/Loader/Backhoe).

Honestly, a FEL is designed to lift & carry... scooping/dumping loose soil/material counts as a 'lift' function.

 

[redman135]

hello karltinsly, you will probably find it is more cost effective to hire a contractor to bury a dead llama, and set the tractor up for the more common farm type jobs that you want to do.

 

[Thomas]

Lots depend on the soil you have.

 

[karltinsly]

Thanks for all the input! The farm is just south of Seguin, Texas. The ground ranges from fairly soft to fairly hard, depending on how much rain we've gotten. I think I'll look into getting a backhoe attachment when I get my tractor.