Time to pick another tractor... maybe...

[flashpuppy]

So my M7040 is great and has been serving me just fine. I am finding myself to be out of loader often. It is funny, front end of the tractor feels drastically undersized and the rear end feels oversized for my needs. I am mostly doing road maintenance on 3/4 mile of gravel driveway, some light bush hogging and general farm chores. I have been doing lots of property maintenance and cleaning of woods and taking up slack from years of neglect before we bought the place.

Feels like I am always needing to pick up logs/branches later than what the tractor can lift. I have needed to dig more than I imagined I would. Lots of more dirt work and grading ahead.

Really thinking about a smaller tractor and a tracked skid steer now. Although, I hate the idea of losing a cab and going to something like an L4701. That should handle the driveway and light mowing.

I do not know. What are your thoughts?

 

[jeff9366]

My M7040 has been serving me fine.

I am finding myself to be out of loader often. I have been doing lots of property maintenance and cleaning of woods and taking up slack from years of neglect before we bought the place.

1) I always need to pick up logs/branches heavier than the tractor can lift.

2) I need to dig more than I imagined. Lots of more dirt work and grading ahead.

Really thinking about a smaller tractor and a tracked skid steer now. Although, I hate the idea of losing a cab and going to something like an L4701. That should handle the driveway and light mowing.

1) Have you had the FEL pressure checked by a dealer, so you know Loader is within spec, not low?

Your Loader should lift 2,536 pounds when pin is in the "power" hole.
How much FEL counterbalance do you carry on the Three Point Hitch when finding FEL lift capacity limited?
You need about 1,000 pounds Three Point Hitch counterbalance, assuming your rear tires are filled with liquid.
With air inflated rear tires you need about 1,300 pounds Three Point Hitch counterbalance for 2,536 pound FEL lifts.

Kubota M7040 - attachments

2007 - 2013
Model years
Utility tractor

Loader:
Loader type: Kubota LA1153 Power Position
Height (to pin): 117.2 inches [297 cm]
Clearance, dumped bucket: 85.5 inches [217 cm]
Dump reach: 31.9 inches [81 cm]
Dump angle: 60
Reach at ground: 76.7 inches [194 cm]
Rollback angle: 43
Lift to full height (at 500mm): 2,536 lbs [1150 kg]
Bucket width: 72 inches [182 cm]
Attachment style: Two-Lever Quick Coupler
Raise time to height: 4.7 s
Bucket dump time: 2.8 s
Lowering time: 3.6 s
Rollback time: 3.0 s



2) You have not been very informative about "digging".

Consider a clamp-on Bucket Spade or a SSQA attached Root Ripper. These attachments are best on Skid Steers but also functional on Utility class tractors.

If find a Bucket Spade more useful.

VENDER LINKS:

Tractor and Skidsteer bucket spade shovel

Rylee Root Ripper | Haala Industries

 

[flashpuppy]

Tractor is picking up what it should. A pallet of feed is 2000# and it does it happily. The problem is that I drastically underestimated the size of our logs and the weight of wet oak logs!

Beyond that, trying to lift a stump out of the ground or that kind of thing... nah. It is not gonna happen.

 

[jeff9366]

What bucket attachment are you using to lift Oak logs? Pallet Forks?

Is there a reason you cannot use a chainsaw to cut green Oak logs into 2,000 pound sections?

What about dragging uncut green Oak logs from the rear/center drawbar with chains?
You should be able to pull 4,000 pound log loads easily at low speed.


I have a Tree Service with 25 years experience work my property regularly.
Tree Service has an 8,000 pound Bobcat Skid Steer as their general purpose machine.
For removing Oak stumps from my sandy Florida ground efficiently they rent a large excavator by the day. Not a mini-excavator, a full size excavator.

 

[flashpuppy]

Our property has never been cut before. When trees do come down, we are talking about monster sized hardwoods. Taking them down to small enough pieces means they aren’t able to be sold for lumber. I can and have skidded logs I can not carry, but I would rather not do that. Grinds dirt into the log as well as leaves some nice drag marks behind which seem to always be across my hay field.

The oaks and saplings I am trying to pull up are not large ones. Smaller stuff that should have been mowed down but are a few years past that. Dogwoods and other scrub trees.

I have been making out okay but the progress is too slow. I just need something that will handle this faster. The weekend is too short to take this much time. lol

 

[finn1]

Tractors are a poor substitute for CTLs for doing dirt work. They are best suited for pto and towing ground engaging implements.

I sold my skid steer and bought a cut, much smaller than your utility tractor, but now added a mini excavator and mid frame CTL to my toy box.

The construction type machines are much more rugged underneath, with no exposed harnesses, hoses, or filters.

For your use, a large frame CTL sounds like the proper tool. The 74 hp machines are cheaper, have simpler emissions systems and lower maintenance, but the 90-100 hp machines are real brawlers. The 74 hp machines will do the job, though.

 

[kthompson]

In trying to understand what you are wanting to do, have some thoughts. While some people, maybe many use skid steers in hay fields I would not welcome one in my hay fields. I do not want any equipment that steers by locking wheels on my hay to tear it up. Have NO experience digging with a skid steer but do with fel loader on a JD 5525 which is around 20 or little more HP than your Kubota. No way would I have my fel pushing into roots or any size, sooner or later you will twist the fel or damage some other way. I do own a M6800 so know your size well. No loader on my Kubota. I also have a 5 ton mini excavator which I have dug many trees both hardwoods and pines with. Not sure you are wanting to dig your tree stumps with the fel loader but I would never try that with my JD if of any size. I can dig say 24 to 30 inch pin and hardwood if done before they are cut "okay". If were going to do a lot would want a bigger excavator. My guess an 8 to 10 ton excavator would be better fit. At same time if you are cutting and hauling logs with any kind of fel whether a tractor or skid steer you sure have to avoid narrow areas and other trees and such. I would recommend excavator that is large enough to dig your trees and stumps and then with thumb load the logs onto a trailer. IF I were not going that direction then would look at larger front end loader over a skid steer.

 

[jeff9366]

Our property has never been cut before. When trees do come down, we are talking about monster sized hardwoods. Taking them down to small enough pieces means they are not able to be sold for lumber. I can and have skidded logs I can not carry, but I would rather not do that. Skidding grinds dirt into the log as well as leaves drag marks behind which seem to always cross my hay field.

Consider a tractor Log Arch for large trees.

Tractor Arches T30 and T36​

Tractor Arches are designed to be used with tractors in demanding forestry and urban situations. The Tractor Arches are super strong and come in two sizes.

The T30 is built to handle logs 30" in diameter and weighing up to 4000 pounds. The T30 has an 8' reach and is capable of carrying a 16' log fully suspended.


The T36 will handle a 36" diameter log that weighs up to 6000 pounds. The T36 has a 9' reach and is capable of carrying a 18' log.

The arches are capable of carrying a 30' or longer log when using a Fetching Arch as the tag axle to pick up the tail.


MANUFACTURER: Tractor Arches T30 and T36 - LogRite Tools LLC