Oh yeah, I am still reading. I didn't mean to come across as a smartarse either. The written word seldom conveys the intent or demeanor of the writer. I know more about you and your situation now than I did from your original post, and was just pointing out that the regulations for selling equipment now are a lot different from what they were when your 60 year old tractor was built. If the tractor couldn't carry it, there's no way Kubota could legally sell that tractor with a front end loader. Somebody in grey market, possibly, even probably. Buyer beware if it isn't new.
I drove an old 8N and an older Cub Farmall as a kid, neither of which had 4WD either. I get your meaning about the new machines being beasts in comparison. My little LX has more horsepower than both the old tractors put together, albeit, that heavy old 8N would probably still drag it backward.
Yep, like I said, hindsight is 20/20, and finding the right contractor at the right time is always tricky if not like catching the goose that lays golden eggs. The contractor I used showed up at 0700 on Friday morning. The first 9 yards of concrete from a (previously) reputable company finally showed up around 1100, despite a 0900 delivery promise. We all noticed pea gravel in it, meaning it was left overs from a pour that was exposed aggregate. That meant it probably had retardant in it. The next 6 yards showed up and took an enormous amount of water to wet enough for screeding because it had way too much sand in it (and retardant). 2300 that night, it finally set enough to get it flat and I told the contractor to go home and get some rest and come back to deal with the surface after it was cured a little more. The missus fed them twice that day on a job that shouldn't have taken more than a couple hours. I wasn't angry at all at the contractor, but at the supplier, I was furious. The contractor brought his finisher back on Sunday morning to finish polishing the slab. We probably should have broadcast some portland on the end where the second load went to glaze it better.
What was funny was when he showed up to bid the job. He tried to hire me to build his forms and do site prep for him, LOL. That can be some of the hardest part of the job if you don't have a flat place to pour, or if there's irregular shapes involved. I put myself through college building swimming pools and pouring concrete. I swore I'd never do it again after I got my degree. That work rates right up there (or down as the case may be) with coal mining.
67 might be the best stone for allowing silt/sand to wash through, and less likely to catch in the tires. The coarser the better, except for the part of walking on it. Too course may make you or the missus twist an ankle. BUT, you still don't want gravel right up to the edge of the pad. I kick/sweep more 57 back out of my shop now than I care to mention. Even my little riding mower drags it in. Dunno if you plan on bringing your tractor in across that or not, but depending on the tread (Turf, R1, R4 or R14), you may pick up bigger rocks and bring them in. I pick pretty good size rocks outta my R-14's frequently. All food for thought before investing in a floor coating that has the threat of nearby gravel. Your floor, though. I wanted to coat mine too, but once I saw how much gravel was coming in and how much mud from using the tractor, I talked myself out of it. Just keep it in the back of your head though, eventually, you're going to have to scrape and recondition that gravel. Dirt and silt will eventually fill in around the gravel and come to the top as well as the gravel pushing down into the dirt.
Your doors are on the gable end, so you've already eliminated any possibility of roof runoff splatter being an issue with the doors. I put roll-up doors on for zero clearance on the opening, and fewer moving parts to give me trouble down the road. There isn't much price difference, and I can't say I'd do it again because of sealing issues with the rollups on the sides. I get some water in the building when we have a blowing rain, which is often in winter. Just a little heads up for your consideration before you spend your bucks on doors (if you haven't already). I like the roll-ups for their intended purpose, but they don't seal as well as garage doors. Maybe not meant to, because they're just thin sheet metal. If you plan to heat the garage, you're going to waste a lot of energy on doors that don't seal. I would strongly recommend at least 8 feet of concrete apron across the door openings where you can stop the tractor and wash some of the mud off if you still go forward with the floor coating. If you've never washed a tractor, though, just be ready to wash off the side of your garage too. Tractor washing is an experiment in mud splattering. But an apron will give more time for the gravel to fall out of the tires or at least to let you see it and will help with erosion splatter around the doors. Mine is a lot better now that most of the surface dirt has washed through the 59 that I used, but for a while it was making a mess on the doors and vinyl.
Here's what I did. No drive going to it, so I just put gravel in to keep the tractor from making a muddy mess. I ran a 4" perf pipe across the front edge of the gravel to drain the water from left to right and get rid of any that wants to stand in the gravel.
