What to do with the swampland?

[MinnesotaEric]

sheesh man, you got a big fancy kioti, a huge payloader, and cash to blow on steel for random art pieces, but no shop? Humble pole building is an achievable goal!

I have an eight-year-old Kioti, a 1979 Payloader that required a pile of work to make work, and my brother paid for the steel.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Bummer Man lol, figures, stick the tractor doing something for fun. While watching you not be able to move with a front tire down, I wondered why you don't have rear chains. I've popped a front bead and was able to lift the front wheels off the ground and back all the way to my shed.

Are your fenders too close to the tires for rear chains?

Kevin

Rear chains? Two reasons: Because they are prohibitively expensive, as well as also a PITA to put on—I should explain this: I have another property that I build slash piles on over the spring, summer, and fall. Due to the size of the slash, and the nearness of the slash piles to trees I don't want to damage, I have been waiting for snow before lighting the slash piles off and leaving my tractor over there to manage the fires. After the slash is burned I then drive the tractor back home and then put on chains in the snow and cold, which is a PITA.

The second reason, front chains keep the plow from deflecting and forestry chains (the kind with spikes all the way around) provide plenty of traction without the need for rear tire chains.

What I am going to start doing now, since none of the tires have bead locks, is start airing up the front tires to 45psi, instead of 26 which is what I had been setting them to with the chains on.

 

[NoTrespassing]

Rear chains? Two reasons: Because they are prohibitively expensive, as well as also a PITA to put on—I should explain this: I have another property that I build slash piles on over the spring, summer, and fall. Due to the size of the slash, and the nearness of the slash piles to trees I don't want to damage, I have been waiting for snow before lighting the slash piles off and leaving my tractor over there to manage the fires. After the slash is burned I then drive the tractor back home and then put on chains in the snow and cold, which is a PITA.

The second reason, front chains keep the plow from deflecting and forestry chains (the kind with spikes all the way around) provide plenty of traction without the need for rear tire chains.

What I am going to start doing now, since none of the tires have bead locks, is start airing up the front tires to 45psi, instead of 26 which is what I had been setting them to with the chains on.

I get it, I will be putting my rear chains on this weekend and I'm not looking forward to it. Once per year is plenty.

 

[oosik]

Take heart Eric - you are not alone in seeking adventures. Thirty five years ago I had a Ford 1700 4WD. It was late winter and for some unknown( read as stupid ) reason I decided to cross an area on my property called "The Moat". It a shallow valley where my little lake drains into a big lake.

I was being very careful. I walked out onto the ice covered moat. The ice was plenty thick. So... off I go. Crossing the moat. The front end fell thru the ice. The rear was still on solid land. The water was only two feet deep. I was easily able to keep the engine above water with the FEL and bucket. But try as I might - I could not back the tractor out using the bucket and curl action.

So I got my hand crank cable come along. Tractor in reverse - me cranking on the come along. From a big Ponderosa pine to the draw bar on the tractor. It really didn't take long and the tractor was going in reverse - all by itself.

Thank God it was 35 years ago. I was still pretty spry and able to jump on the tractor and close down this operation.

But - another valuable lesson learned. STAY OFF THE MOAT IN THE WINTER

The Moat is the green strip - running from the end of Martin Lk into the bigger lake. The black lined rectangle is my 80 acres.