Putting the new toy to work.

I didn't buy the tractor to be a lawn ornament so I put it to work today.  It didn't take long to figure out how to get the bucket fully loaded.  So fully loaded that even with filled tires I can easily lift the back tires off the ground.  I noticed that the bucket doesn't lift as well as it rotated, so I just rammed the pile and then rotated it to break the dirt apart and then lifted it to knock it back into the bucket.


It moved a good chunk of dirt very quickly.


It only took a couple hours too.


Even though the dirt was sticky.  It is a silt and clay mix.  Cheap construction fill.


I then went and played.  I tried digging with the front bucket.  It kinda worked, but the tractor isn't really heavy enough. 


I then went back to the front yard.  And I found that my cheap construction fill had a rather large boulder in it. 


I figured out how to get it in the bucket.  I rolled it back off the pile, then scooped pushing it against the pile.  It was borderline too big for the bucket, and the hydraulics definitely knew it was there.


It got added to the rock wall on the property though.  And I didn't have to move it by hand.


I got it most of the way done with the tractor.  I need to work on packing it though.  I tried a few things, the only method that seemed to work was flattening the bucket, and using the hydraulics to push down until the front of the tractor lifted off the ground.  It wasn't great, but it mostly seemed to work.  If anyone has better ideas, I am all ears.


I did a little bit extra smoothing with my rake.  This section is ready for the weeds to take back over. 


It took most of the pile. 


After that I took off and met with some friends since NH is reopening.  It was good to see people again.  So I parked it for the day.  I will need to get more dirt.  The tractor is dirty now.




On the way back I stopped at Home Depot and got the pieces for the clothesline.  I found another use for the drums too.


A couple of thoughts on the tractor: the hydraulics are definitely kind of wimpy, it won't lift if you ram the pile.  That said, they are matched well with the fact that the tractor is very light.  Even with the tires filled, I will probably want to get a ballast box.  On many occasions I lifted the back of the tractor off the ground.  I also nearly spilled it to the side a couple of times.  You can definitely tell it is a small tractor.  Turf tires didn't help matters, but I have read that they are better than the bar tires in the snow and won't tear up the lawn.  4WD is a must, and the foot pedal diff lock is actually surprisingly functional.  I thought it would drive me nuts having to constantly step on a second pedal when I was digging but it quickly became second nature.  That being said, I think it would easily handle a dump truck of dirt in an afternoon.  Not bad, especially for such a small tractor.  That boulder it moved was pretty hefty, though I definitely have larger ones that I don't think it will move.