Just Picked Up a New Tractor

[A. Stanton]

Just picked up a new tractor that matches the color of my 440.

 

[Nailsbeats]

Sweet ride and saw. I see you have a ball on top the bucket, nice. One thing you will want to get is a grapple on that bucket, shouldn't cost much to build or buy. Put a 2" cylinder on it. This will turn it into a log and brush moving animal. One more tip on the grapple, get something or modify one that will allow you to put positive clamping force on an object. I built this one, it is super strong and I have seen no drawbacks to this design during use. The cross piece is a piece of hardened cutting edge.

Is that a backhoe on the back? What did it cost if you don't mind?

 

[wdchuck]

NIce tractor......as I recall, there was a Kubota tractor setup specifically with a backhoe as standard equipment. The package ran $15K around here, last year.


Hey Nails, that solid bucket have any drawbacks yet, I'd think debris accumulation that would dump into/onto the trailer or into a truck. Grapples usually have an open cage. Just curious.

 

[Blakesmaster]

I've used a similar bucket to the one Nails built. Perfect? No. But an excellent multi purpose tool. When moving brush tip 'er forward and shake a coupla times, the majority of small debris falls out.

 

[Nailsbeats]

NIce tractor......as I recall, there was a Kubota tractor setup specifically with a backhoe as standard equipment. The package ran $15K around here, last year.


Hey Nails, that solid bucket have any drawbacks yet, I'd think debris accumulation that would dump into/onto the trailer or into a truck. Grapples usually have an open cage. Just curious.

The open cage design you speak of is called a Root Grapple. Great for ripping up roots, land clearing, and moving piled firewood.

What I have is a grapple bucket. The only drawback is debris when you don't want it. It depends on the job. If you are moving scrap steel on concrete you want to get it all and clean out in front of the tires. Lawn rakings on a tree job require the grapple bucket. You can move gravel, dirt, and backdrag with this setup. This is the most versatile grapple setup and stays on my machine 75% of the time.

This is my dedicated brush and log grapple. The bucket goes on for firewood. A root grapple will be in the future. Kinda like a saw plan, you need them all. If I could have one though it's the grapple bucket hands down.

Here's a shot of my backhoe too.

 

[A. Stanton]

Nailsbeats,
The tractor was used with 100 hours; it was 4k less than the new Kubota with metal fenders. Yes it is a backhoe on the back. You guys got some heavy duty rigs.

 

[fiasco]

My father has a BX22, which I believe is the equivalent machine from a few years back. He has used it to build hundreds of feet of rock wall, do all sorts of gardening projects, push over trees that genius chainsaw users got their bars pinched in, as well as haul gravel, stone, firewood, attempt to dig out 4 ton boulders with the backhoe, etc. He has tested the ROPS, so be sure you don't keep it folded down. He's put over 1000 hours on it (bought new, or maybe it was a demo, but I think new), and has had a few minor hydraulic issues, but in general it's been a very nice machine. I like to borrow it when I can.

Of course, now he has TAD (close relative of CAD), and is looking for a second bigger Kubota for those time when he's got so much weight in the bucket of backhoe he's anticipating another ROPS test...

 

[nikocker]

Great Tractor!

Nice set up there AStanton.
I had mine in the woods yesterday as I cut and bucked a nice red oak. My L2650 is 18 years old. . . bought it new in 1991. As I recall, I paid $17K for it with the loader and a 6' back blade.
I use it in the woods for making firewood, road building, snow removal in the winter. . . I have a 700' driveway at my cabin, mowing my 17 acre field and putting in my food plots (plowing, disking, and planting)! They are truely awsome machines and I know you'll get a lot of great use out of yours as well.
PS - it matches my saws as well!

Al