Why I got a B7610 and not a B7800

[v8dave]

I've made a few comments over the past year that I bought a B7610 instead of a B7800 because it would fit alongside my shop. Well, here are a few photos to show the available space.

When I bought the Kubota the shop wasn't yet started. But the dirt pad was finished. I had the plans made up to build as big a shop as I could get on the pad. This only allowed a 5' pass way alongside the shop. And, to get that I had to put in a retaining wall. The opposite side of the shop is as steep as shown here, but the house blocks the access to front.

I bought the B7610 because it was specified as 46.3" wide. The B7800 is 7.5" wider on the spec sheet. I didn't know two important things at the time. 1) the specified width is with the rear tread set at it's narrowest position--nobody delivers tractors set at the narow axle width, and 2) the retracted backhoe outriggers are wider than the tractor--and the spec sheets don't show this.

I bought the B7610 because it was specified at ~4' wide. It isn't that narrow but it does fit through. But, only because the retaining wall is a block wall that "leans" back and provides an extra 5" clearance at the top over the base. The wide outriggers need this distance. If I'd bought the B7800 thinking I could just squeeze through, I'd have been in big trouble with it's bigger backhoe. And, I wouldn't have know this until the shop was finished five months later. Sometimes you just happen to make the right decisions. . . .

Of course I could drive through the shop. But, to do that I'd have to move some project stuff and at times that isn't too convenient to do.

First photo, going in from front side of shop. I have to raise the loader to clear the wall as I turn in (both ends).

 

[v8dave]

Second photo, still going in to side pass way. Side view.

 

[v8dave]

Tractor is along side shop and the retaining wall. Notice I've had to flip the outrigger pads over and bungee cord them together. After all this I have about three inches clearance on both sides. As you might suspect, I drive through here real slow. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[v8dave]

Front view of tractor passing through.

It makes it through ok, 10 or so trips now. I'd like more room, but it gets to the projects.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Dave,

You have a kid, give him a shovel and tell him to start digging. You can get that retaining wall moved back another foot in no time! OK seriously that is a tight fit. And that is a nice straight retaining wall job you did there, I've built a few of those myself, I strive to have them look that good. I find that I use my smaller tactor more now because I'm working in areas where a large tractor simply won't fit. Nice thing about the little tractors, they still pack plenty of power to get the jobs done. I have a gate that I have to get through, if I take the mower deflector off the MMM, I can get through with 1" to spare on each side, so I'm guessing the gate is about 64"? I moved about 60 or 70 bucket loads of clay through that gate over the past 14 days to create a base for a new patio we are going to be pouring in the next couple of weeks. I'm not sure that I would have thought about using the bungie to pull in the BH support legs, that's a great idea.

 

[edski]

Wow...that is a tight fit.
Good looking shop, and nice job on the retaining wall.

 

[v8dave]

Bob, that young fellow on the wall is my grandson. He came over this weekend to help me do some yard work. We filled the tractor loader 6 or 7 times with loose rocks we picked up and rolled another bunch down to the stream that we couldn't pick up. Hard work and he stuck with it. Much to his mother's thrill, he caught a lizard and took it home with him.

I couldn't move the wall back. That is as high a wall as I could make and not have an engineered set of plans for the wall. I did have a set of plans with a six foot engineered wall to make a ten foot car port there. The work and concrete to do that engineered wall would have cost a fortune.

Bob and Edski, thanks for the comments on the wall. It was set level using a laser level and using a gravel base made it easy to set the height. The face was made straight by using a string line to set the front of the base blocks. The next layers were set in true position by using pins to lock the blocks in place.

 

[BoneheadNW]

Dave-

What a perfect example of "bigger" is not necessarily better. Better yet, if you had gone with your original measurements you would have overestimated the amount of space you had.

When I bought my lawn tractor, I decided that all I needed was a 42 inch deck as this would give me more maneuverablility around the trees. As it turns out, 42 inches is exactly the amount of space between the trees after extending the garden. Isn't it nice when a plan comes together?

By the way, nice wall, shop, and tractor!
Bonehead