Moving a lot of dirt with L2501

[Lonesouth]

I've got a hill behind my house that I want to push back about 50 feet. It is about 6 foot vertical from the base to the top. Can I do that with a 2501 with FEL, bucket and root rake? I know an excavator would be ideal, but I've got the tractor and will be getting a wicked 55 in a couple months.

 

[ctfjr]

Years ago I built a berm about 6' high by 60' long to plant flowers on and delineate the edge of the lawn. I moved fill that I had delivered about 200' with an L3800 and spread topsoil on it.
Time goes on. The deer ate all the plants. My wife hated the berm. Last year, again using the L3800 and just the fel, I took it down and spread the material on a low spot in the woods.
May not be the fastest way to do it but I had no deadline.

 

[Roadworthy]

You could move your hill with a shovel and a bucket so the L2501 will certainly do the job. It may not be the fastest or best way but is capable. It will take more time than larger equipment, though.

 

[Bmyers]

Can you do it? Most likely, yes. It all depends on your time and the amount of wear and tear you want to put on your equipment.

The unknown is what is under that 6ft of "dirt"? Is it actually 6ft of dirt or is it rock/boulders? Not knowing where you are located or your soil type, there could be obstacles that you will have to overcome that may require something different than the L2501.

 

[Vlach7]

If you are going to run it long and hard, I rent the tool, had to trench 1/2 mile for a share of my neighbors well, rented a sit-down trencher, used it for 13hrs straight, best $900 I have spent, if I would have done that with my old commercial JD backhoe I would have spent more then that in maintenance and repairs, "right tool for the job".

 

[Elliott in GA]

I agree with the others that you can do it. How long it will take depends on what the hill is - soft sandy dirt, hard clay, rocks and etc. You also did not denote how wide the hill is. All of that said, you should be able to do it without any problems as long as you take your time.

I leveled two sites (30x30 and 30x16 feet) in hard packed clay with lots of rocks. Each site had a side that was about 1.5 feet higher, but the whole process did not take that long - less than 2 days total for both sites.

I am not sure what you plan to use the grapple for with your project. I have a grapple, but I only used the FEL with the bucket to dig. I did use my box blade with scarifiers to help break the soil, but I do not think it was a big plus. The box blade's primary uses were for final leveling and spreading gravel over the sites.

You might want to buy a tooth bar for your bucket; it helps.

 

[ctfjr]

. . .

You might want to buy a tooth bar for your bucket; it helps.

THIS ^^^^

 

[OrangeKrush]

I thought that's what the FEL was made for!

For sure get some type of tooth bar to make things easier for your machine.

 

[Nicfin36]

As stated, get a tooth bar and I think you will have no problems. I worked down a bank with just a bucket and tooth bar. It was only 2 or 3 feet tall, but wasn't a problem. You're in Tallahassee, so I think soil will be very easy to dig.

 

[DDCD]

I've rented excavators several times and while they are good for trenching and lifting, shallow excavating is tough especially with my lack of skill and a smaller bucket.

I would not attempt without a tooth bar. Any tooth bar. The stock bucket is awful. The longer ramp you have, the deeper you can dig. I run in 4WD in Low at pto RPM.

 

[mikester]

Have you heard the saying "ridden hard and put away wet"? Yes you can do the work with your machine, it will take longer and take a few years off it's useful life.

If it was my machine and I had a lot of dirt to move I'd prefer to rent a skidsteer or CTL instead of flogging my SCUT. It's your money.

 

[skeets]

Sure it can be done, however I would add this. Lots talk about how you are going to wear out the machine and yadayada brake things and so on. This is true, but why did you buy the machine in the first place ? Answer is TO USE. These machines are a lot tougher that most people think and will take years of use. The main point it use it, however, think each move through, and then think it through again. Then go slow till you got the whole thing done. I have done things with the BX people thought couldnt be done, just go slow and easy and think, and dont become complacent .

 

[DDCD]

Have you heard the saying "ridden hard and put away wet"? Yes you can do the work with your machine, it will take longer and take a few years off it's useful life.

If it was my machine and I had a lot of dirt to move I'd prefer to rent a skidsteer or CTL instead of flogging my SCUT. It's your money.

There is no way you can estimate how many years of life any machine has based on usage. My local rental yard has Kubota tractors, skid steers, excavators, all with 4000+ hours. They are all beat to crap daily by renters.

There's line between working a tractor hard, as a diesel tractor is designed for, and abusing it. Same goes for all equipment. I beat up my zero turn pretty bad, and I know it will need new spindles. Moving dirt with a cut is not always abuse.

 

[Lonesouth]

North Florida mix of clay and soil. I mention the Wicked 55 because I have several azalea roots to remove and figure the root rake could also help in breaking up the ground. I'll look into the tooth bar.

I figure I'll tackle this and see how it goes. My typical mantra is to try most any task. If I'm successful, I've saved some money and learned a few things. If unsuccessful, I'm not likely to break anything worse and I'll still learn a few things. If I just pay the man to fix it, I've learned nothing.

 

[mcmxi]

Lots talk about how you are going to wear out the machine and yadayada brake things and so on. This is true, but why did you buy the machine in the first place ? Answer is TO USE. These machines are a lot tougher that most people think and will take years of use. The main point it use it

I agree! Tractors are tools and I've never had a problem using tools and using them hard. I don't buy anything with the thought of sellling it or keeping it in "perfect" condition for the next owner. I look after my vehicles and equipment so that they'll last, so that they'll be reliable and do what I need when I need. I don't look after them for the next guy, that's just a bonus for the new owner in the event that I sell that piece of equipment.

A few years ago in preparation for 9,000 sq.ft. of asphalt I moved a lot of dirt, rocks and boulders using the BX25D and backhoe and it took a while, but it did it. When I upgraded to the MX6000 I moved a similar amount in 1/10th the time and didn't need the backhoe. Both worked but one was a lot faster.

One other point is that we can work smart to reduce unnecessary wear and tear. For example, I'm putting in a new gravel driveway this spring, and in order to be more efficient I'll be loading dirt into a dump trailer and then pulling it to a different area. I could run back and forth hundreds of times with a full bucket but that's not efficient.

 

[Lonesouth]

Any thoughts on the EA toothbar?

 

[Elliott in GA]

I am sure an EA Toothbar would do well, as would many others. I have a BXpanded Piranha toothbar, and I am pleased with it. BXpanded's website show 2-3 week wait. When I ordered mine, it was quoting a 4-6 week wait; mine arrived in 3 weeks.

 

[mcmxi]

Any thoughts on the EA toothbar?

I have an EA toothbar and it's very good when removing dirt and rocks and for removing sod etc., but I have a lot of asphalt and it's way to aggressive to use on that surface. I've been wanting two buckets for a while now, one with the factory smooth cutting edge for moving anything on the asphalt, and one with the toothbar for excavating. When the M6060 gets here I'll have two buckets and I'll be leaving the factory cutting edge on the M6060 bucket.

 

[jyoutz]

A tooth bar on loader bucket, box blade with scarifiers, and lots of time. Unless there are large rock issues. In which case you need another machine.

 

[OrangeKrush]

Is this hill or burm the length of your yard how ever wide that may be? I guess this would really determine whether or not I would tackle it with the L2501. You say hill 6' tall.. sounds like a pile someone placed there from extra dirt. This all plays a big role as the dirt may be packed down solid if it's a natural part of nature. If it's a pile placed there and steep.. it may just crumble down if there was no activity on it .. again this all depends on how long it's been there.