Compact Utility Tractors

[Crowbob]

This is what I'm talking about:

[rfuerst911sc]

Crowbob what is the tongue weight on that Scamp ?

[Crowbob]

I haven't actually weighed it but then again it varies tremendously depending on the loadmaster's inclinations.

Empty it's around 150# (I could look it up*). But when Loadmaster is in a good mood I can lift it. If the loadmaster orders 2 full propane tanks and a battery on the tongue, loads the trailer up in front of the axle (i.e., portable gererator, solar stuff (which is heavy) and counter-balances the rear with a full dihydrous oxide tank behind the axle, the loadmaster can get it as near neutral as he wants.

Truck has a 500# tongue rating. Loadmaster estimates 300# is perfect for highway travel. No sway, no porpoising.

*I looked it up; brochure says 165# dry.

[wdfifteen]

One thing CUTs aren't good for is plowing, unless you get one with draft control. I think some of the larger ones have it.
I came across an old Dearborn 10-8 plow (two 12" sod bottoms) and thought what the heck. I need to turn the sod for my new garden. Geeze what a pain. Dearborns have a lot of built-in suck and without draft control I was constantly fighting the plow. I could never get up enough speed to roll the sod because the plow kept diving for China and it would stop the tractor in its tracks. I did finally get the plow dialed in with a whole lot of upward tilt to the points and finished one decent furrow before I was finished with the garden.



I could have done a nicer job with explosives.
It's ugly but the sod is turned up and the soil is drying.

[ckelly78z]

Plowing is an art, with much adjustment along the way. Some people use a wide gauge wheel as a depth adjustment, instead of the cutting culter.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by ckelly78z

Plowing is an art, with much adjustment along the way. Some people use a wide gauge wheel as a depth adjustment, instead of the cutting culter.

Yes, a tractor without draft control needs a gauge wheel, I don't see them on small plows, but I haven't really looked. That would be ideal for my Kubota. I've never heard of using the coulter to control depth. I cannot imagine how it would work.

[unclebilly]

Well yesterday I pulled the trigger on the new tractor.

Here is my old one:



And here is my new one:



I loved that M7060, it was a great machine and my first new tractor. After trying out this M5-111, I couldn't go back.

[IROC]

Got it home on Saturday. Barely fit in this 6x12 U-Haul trailer...



In the barn. My 3-year old loves it.



The PO kept good records of all the maintenance, but due to his poor health, it's only had about 80 hours put on it since 2012. The rear PTO has never been used! I am going to go through and change all the fluids, etc., before playing with it much more.

[wdfifteen]

WOW! Looks like new.

[wdfifteen]

I made a major improvement to my CUT this week. I've mowed the 2 acres of green desert in front of my house about 4 times with a 6 foot finish mower behind my Kubota 2320. I had to come in and lay down for an hour after each mowing - the rough ground and the crappy Kubota seat were beating my guts to pulp and I was physically ill from the pounding.

So I order a suspension seat. No one offered a bolt - in option, so I ordered one that seemed promising and hoped I could make it fit. Turned out to be a piece of cake.



This is the factory seat suspension system. The springs compress to about half height and then just seize up.



The space for the seat was pretty limited but I found one for a Gravely ZTR that I thought would fit.



I "fabricated" (knocked together, really) a mount from a 2x10 and some 3/8 strap iron.



The mount fit the tractor on the first try.



The safety switch was WAYY up in the seat. I made some pigtails from some old wire. I have spools and spools of unused wire, but I can't find any of it since the move. I ended up using wire from the old harness from my '56 Speedster. Vintage Porsche content here!





The seat rides high until you sit in it. It nestles down to about the same height as the original once I am in it. The ride is WAY better than the original, but still a bit jarring at times.



I bought one of these a few weeks ago. It helps when moving trailers around the property. but it slops from side to side. I need to drill some holes in the bucket and weld a couple of studs on the hitch to fit in them to eliminate side to side movement.

[unclebilly]

Why not just drill a 3/4” hole in your bucket that you can install a ball into when needed? I’ve seen this done lots.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

Why not just drill a 3/4” hole in your bucket that you can install a ball into when needed? I’ve seen this done lots.

It would need to be a 1" hole to accommodate the ball for my bigger trailer, plus I would have to buy new balls and keep track of them. I like the idea that I can use the same 2" ball mount with the balls already on them that I use on the truck hitch. I just switch them from the truck to the tractor - easy.

[dad911]

I was thinking of getting one of these:

[wdfifteen]

^^
That would make hooking up to the trailer easy. I have a ball on the drawbar of the Kubota, but I use the bucket mount 99% of the time because it is so much more maneuverable.

[rfuerst911sc]

WD in the pic of the ball mount on the bucket , it looks like it can be pushed back another inch or so . There is a vee on your ball mount if you can push the ball mount back so the vee is touching the front edge of the bucket wouldn't that stop side to side movement ?

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by IROC

Got it home on Saturday. Barely fit in this 6x12 U-Haul trailer...

I have the same tractor.... I love it. I use it for mowing the runway with a PTO driven 6' finish mower and a Swisher 5' 14hp finish mower ganged behind that. (I use a Hustler 60" zero turn for the yard) I have never taken my bucket off in the several years I have owned it. I use the bucket all the time for lifting, hauling, pulling etc.

[Tim Hancock]

I simply drilled a hole in the center of the bucket and keep a 1-7/8" ball handy. When I need to hook onto one of my trailers (I have 1-7/8", 2" and 2-5/16" trailers), I just use the 1-7/8" ball and install it and a nut by hand which takes about 5 seconds. Works fine as all my trailers have plenty of tongue weight.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

.... I have never taken my bucket off in the several years I have owned it. I use the bucket all the time for lifting, hauling, pulling etc.

How do you guys get by without using forks on the front? I realize that everyone's needs vary, but they get used far more than a bucket on our property...

[willtel]

Originally Posted by KC911

How do you guys get by without using forks on the front? I realize that everyone's needs vary, but they get used far more than a bucket on our property...

I put some hooks on the bucket and with creative use of straps I can usually get it done. Forks would be better but storing tractor implements is a pain in my scenario.

Compressor by willtel, on Flickr

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by KC911

How do you guys get by without using forks on the front? I realize that everyone's needs vary, but they get used far more than a bucket on our property...

I have a forklift in my shop..... Still use the bucket on the JD much more.