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How Much Dirt Have You Pushed/Leveled


stevenj

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I was wondering how much topsoil any of you have moved with a Sovereign class tractor and a 42" or 46" front blade? I'm thinking of having topsoil delivered this spring (40-60 yards) and was considering leveling it with the front blade, but was wondering if it's really feasible to start with a big pile and move it around to level it out. I don't have a Johnny Bucket and for the price I could just as easily rent a skid loader or tractor with a FEL for a day or two. Or should I just plan on renting a skid loader/tractor to move and level the topsoil? And, even if it is possible to push around and level that much dirt with the Sovereign, is it really practical or efficient? Any comments would be appreciated.
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Last spring my Dad had topsoil trucked in. I know it was at least 5 to 7 dumptrucks full maybe more. I had hoped to move all of it with my B110. I was eyeing an attachment at Sears which was similar to a JohnnyBucket. The attachment was about $400 on sale. We also considered renting a skid loader but figured it would cost a fortune and it would take a day just to figure out how to use it and get a knack for it. We ended up hiring a guy with a skid loader to move it around for us. It was much cheaper and much more practical than doing it ourselves. I did do the finish grading on it with my B110 w/46" HD blade and the tandem disc harrow. Worked great.
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Some finish work with these tractors would be fine, but you'll be overwhelmed to try to think you'll be able to move that much at one time. If your looking for tractor time go for it. Otherwise, better get some help. BTW, if the guy running the skid-steer knows what he's doing, there won't be any finish work left to do besides seeding.
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Just to give you an idea what one of these Simplicity's can do you should read this story by TheDaddyCat. [url]http://www.simpletractors.com/club2/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=17494&SearchTerms=rocks[/url] [url]http://www.simpletractors.com/club2/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=17974&SearchTerms=rocks[/url]
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MY TWO CENTS: I bought a six yard load of QP for my drive late last summer. Spent about two hours attacking the pile with my 46 inch dozer blade on the 2010, and managed to push enough to make a parking space off the drive. I then got off the tractor, drove to town and paid a buddy with a loader 75.00 to spread the rest(about 80 feet of driveway). It took him about 1/2 hour with his Ford 555. Best 75 beans I ever spent.
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I agree with Dave. If you want tractor time and are patient. Do it your self. Best Bet is to have it done. I think bottom line is about the same. They just get paid different.
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I both agree and disagree with what everyone else is saying. If you want to push dirt you need the following. 1. You have to know how to push dirt!!! Experence with a dozer or large piece of equipment is a must. 2. You need to set up your tractor correctly. 3. You need to have them spread the pile with the dump truck, big piles + small tractor = lots of work. 4. Don't let the dirt set and pack for weeks. I have spread 40 yards of sand with my 3410 dumped in big piles and it took 3-1/2 hours to level it 12" thick. I have also spread 20 yards of gravel with it 6" thick in 2 hours but it was dumped on the go by the truck about 3 foot thick. I have also spread 10 yards of reclaimed asphalt with big chunks and that took over 2 hours and was a pain. Now my 3410 has 23x12x12 ag tires and tips the scales at 1400#, I have a modified 42" dozer blade with bottom stop [important] I also have a back blade that I use after I knock the piles down with the dozer, then I finish with the center grader with a Dutch toothed blade. If this all sounds like alot of work- it is, I do it for fun. If I'm serious or in a hurry I just hop on the Oliver with the loader and 7' back blade and finish with the center grader. For moving large piles you can't beat 12000#, 75 HP, 18 foward speeds, anbd power steering. But it can be done with a little tractor if you have the time. Good luck John
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I spread bluestone on a parking area beside my driveway with my AC716H. The truck dumped it, but it was lumpy and way too thick. I moved the pile till it covered about twice the area covered by the original dumping. Took about an hour. These tractors can do some very good detail work. They are slow at moving large volumes of materials. It is fun, but with a manual lift you will give the ole left arm a good workout.
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15 yards of topsoil twice with my johnny bucket. Took alot of time. The advantage I see with a garden tractor is that they won't tear up the lawn like a skidsteer will. Mike
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I moved a dump truck load of soil with a Big 10 that had a 3 speed shifter. I spread it out to about 6 inches thick. It sure was rough on the left arm with the manual lift, but it got the job done. If the soil got packed I took my yazoo rear tine tiller and loosened up the soil then started shoving again. The Big 10 with the 3 speed was easier to use with the blade than the AC912 with Hydo that I had.
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time to hire someone.... I moved 10 yards of dirt by cart shovel by shovel.... that took several very long days... Pushing that much dirt is best left to much larger equipment..
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  • 3 weeks later...
I'v moved tons and tons of sand gravel slag and dirt with a 48" wide front blade on a garden tractor over the last 40 years.
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Steven as you've already figured out, it's all in how much work you want to do. Or how bad you want to play! When I had my shop built, the area was way off plumb. I needed to raise the back end of the pad over three feet on one corner. I ordered three tri-axle loads of fill dirt(one at a time)each load was around 26tons. I had them dump-spread along the center of the pad and I used the 17GTH w/42" blade and a buddy brought his antique Wheel Horse to push it all out. Don't know how many yards 26ton figures to be but that was a lot of dirt. Piles were 5' high and 25'long. On top of that I had 25tons of #57 rock brought in to top it off. we spread that 6" thick or so. It took about 2 hours per load of dirt to spread and pack it. Maybe 3 hours for the rock. We had a blast and the tractors never missed a beat. All the neighbors came by to watch the show and they loved it. If I ever have another project like that you can bet the farm I'll be right on it myself with one of the "cute little tractors" as a neighbor described them.
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Steve, I have a Kubota B2400 with a loader and back blade. I can move alot of soil but I STILL use the old HB212 with the center grader to do all the finish work, nothing can match it.
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quote:
Originally posted by MikeES
Steve, I have a Kubota B2400 with a loader and back blade. I can move alot of soil but I STILL use the old HB212 with the center grader to do all the finish work, nothing can match it.
============== Same here but I 'm afraid to give any details.
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Thanks for all the great comments and suggestions. After considering all your points of view, I think it might be best if I rent a skid loader or tractor/FEL and do the initial moving and spreading or see if I could hire someone for about the same amount and let them take care of it. Then if I need to do some fine tuning finish work I can use the center mounted grader blade to get it level. It will probably be faster to rent the equipment and I won't have to worry about doing as much wear and tear on the tractor.
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While I like the little tractors. To quote a sign when leaving the Brooklyn NY to get on the Verrazano Bridge.... "Forgetaboutit"... :) Anyway, you'll be challenged with a few yards with these machines. Even with the little loaders these machines have. Now I will not debate you can do it, but as far as I am concerned... it's not worth your time. I've rented little loader/backhoes for the day and that's your best bet. Oh to immediately answer your question... I've redone a friends lawn taking off about 4-6" probably 0.2 acres. I've yearly tilled my girls gardens for two years. I was going to try to move around three tri-axles of material, but I'm glad I have a friend with a 10,000 lbs backhoe. I will be moving around two tri-axles of dirt a friend delivered to me, but I'm going to have to chip away at those or borrow a BX23. I move trailers around my yard, plow the drive, cut the lawn and clear out brush with the little machines. They are a fun relief. Good luck.
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quote:
Originally posted by michaelg221
While I like the little tractors. To quote a sign when leaving the Brooklyn NY to get on the Verrazano Bridge.... "Forgetaboutit"... :) Anyway, you'll be challenged with a few yards with these machines. Even with the little loaders these machines have. Now I will not debate you can do it, but as far as I am concerned... it's not worth your time. I've rented little loader/backhoes for the day and that's your best bet. Oh to immediately answer your question... I've redone a friends lawn taking off about 4-6" probably 0.2 acres. I've yearly tilled my girls gardens for two years. I was going to try to move around three tri-axles of material, but I'm glad I have a friend with a 10,000 lbs backhoe. I will be moving around two tri-axles of dirt a friend delivered to me, but I'm going to have to chip away at those or borrow a BX23. I move trailers around my yard, plow the drive, cut the lawn and clear out brush with the little machines. They are a fun relief. Good luck.
================== You can move a lot more dirt quicker with the BX23 FEL than you can with a LG tractor front blade, but even then it can be time consuming. Last summer it took 5 days hauling dirt in the FEL to back fill a 110 foot long ditch that varied from 3 to 6 foot wide and 2 to 4 feet deep.
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lb59, If I understand correctly from your last post you already have the BX23. If that is so why would you have asked (in a deleted post) about which would be better to buy, the BX or the Legacy?
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I know the original Q was in reference to a Soverign but I have to brag on my little Broadmoor. 5 years ago I began what was to be one of the most intensive undertakings. Made my self a 4500 gallon pond. Used my simplicity walker to chew up and loosen the soil and pushed it all away with the broadmoor and a 42 inch blade. Then landscaped with over 20 tons of fill. All done by the Broadmoor over a 3 season period untill i was finally satisfied with the results. Not to mention all the snow removal, garden leveling, line burrying, driveway stone dragging, log pulling, brush burning (by way of pushing the limbs into the fire) and mowing. Another thing it's useful for is moving my other tractors around by way of a piece of C channel mounted on the blade bracket. With out a rear lift one has to improvise. I like the large framed tractors, but this little guy is simply amazing in its ability. Like it was mentioned........if you have the time. These tractors will do the job. Sean
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