I have a 1/3 yard pto mixer that I use occasionally for sidewalk squares or other little projects. I used to buy cement and gravel/sand separately, but now prefer the 80# bags of high strength premixed stuff. Throw a few into the mixer, add water until it looks creamy and take it directly to the site. This mixer has a 1 way cylinder on it and a garage door spring for the return cycle. I use one of my loader circuits for the connection.
Concrete ready to use is VERY heavy. With the front weight bar loaded with JD suitcase weights, my JD 1070's front wheels can come off the ground with a small bump. I've often used the mixer with the loader attached and with stones in the bucket. This means not being able to use the curl circuit because I need it for the mixer dump.
Make-Your-Own concrete is a lot of fun. (and I'm not Italian). I use 2x4s for forms and little of no rebar or metal. Its a good place to get rid of all those crappy tools you hate to use but also hate to throw in a dumpster.
The strength of the concrete I make is far superior to anything I've had to buy ready mixed. Once I was making a driveway extension and started out with my mixer. Well It was gonna take a month to get it done and lifting those 80# bags into the bowl was not fun. I bought the rest. Well, my own recipe stuff has help up crack free. The commercial stuff is cracked from a roofing delivery truck. Oops.
BTW: My dogs really like to walk across fresh cement. They'll never use a sidewalk when its hard, just when its soft. Old Zeke's paw prints will outlast me....
