# Whatcha think am I pushing her to hard?



## zmrp12817 (6 mo ago)

Have a 2020 ck3510 gear tractor. I’m doing about 25 hours a month right now as I have seasonal work and I’m to busy with my other work to spend time on the tractor. I suspect the use to go up to maybe 30 hours a week once I hit my off season.
Currently I used my 4 ft box blade to shape around 8000 sq ft for my new shops I’m putting up. Had to build up the pads about 16 inches on the bottom side to level. Cut ditches, install culvert. Looking at around 80 to 100 tons of city pit going onto the foundations however that will be dumped on the pad and I’ll just have to spread it. I’ve installed 20 tons of rip rap with it at the house. Plus another 40-80 tons of gravel in various places. Dug out 12 inches of dirt in about 1000 sq ft and back filled with gravel to help a buddy out with a landscaping project he was doing.

so far everything above doesnt really concern me. I plan to sell between 2000 and 3000 hours and get another one anyway. Have a 27 acre lot I’m getting ready to develop for short term rentals. This project is the one I’m wondering if I should get a back hoe for. Going to need to cut into hill side several feet in 4 places. First one will be taking a 15 foot hill side and cutting it back to make a 16 ft wide drive through it. Next I have three 8 ft log roads maybe 500 ft long the need widened to 16 ft. Will involve cutting out hill side on one side of the road and building up the other side. Plus another 500 feet of 16 ft drive way on level ground, just will involve cleaning the area and spreading gravel, cut ditches, etc. Everything will need gravel spread and ditches cut and culverts installed. I’ll be using it to prep foundations. Have a stump bucket to dig up roots and a sawzall to cut them so I can push trees over. Grapple to carry tree debris.
The more I type this the more buying a back hoe sounds like a wise choice. Both in hours and diesel saved but also strain on my kioti. The kioti is great for bush clearing with the grapple, finishing out loose soil and gravel on roads pass and ditches. It’s really the cutting into virgin soil with rocks trees and roots that I worry about. Plus the size of the unit. I will say just in my shop project and landscaping around my house it has amazed me. Just shaving back the 5 ft high by 200 ft long dirt embankment 60-70 degrees to around 30 and installing the rip rap impressed me. Plus all the dirt work around the shop. For what it is it’s and the price new it’s an amazing machine.

One side of me says go out to the 27 acre project and see what happens and the other side of me says your nuts. My friend will sell me his case 480c tlb for $12.5k. I think I would be money ahead in time, diesel and wear and tear on the kioti. But I’ve also hear of people making small ponds with these little tractors which makes me think maybe I’m not over working her….

Despite all the work I do at least drive slow with a loaded bucket so I don’t put shocking loads into the casings….

Anyway, that’s what I’m up against over the next 48 months. What you guys think?
Included photos are stuff I’ve done at my house, not the new development.


----------



## zmrp12817 (6 mo ago)




----------



## pogobill (Jan 31, 2012)

Looks like you are pretty handy with that tractor!


----------



## DK35vince (Jan 22, 2006)

If the 480c is in decent shape I think I would go that route for what you intent to do.
You would likely have 8k+ in the tractor mounted backhoe


----------



## zmrp12817 (6 mo ago)

I thought about a back hoe for the ck but my experience with small hoes is anything under 7k pounds is to slow. Fine if you have a hand full of small things and plenty of time and a lot like the ck really, amazingly capable if used with more of a technical approach rather than a brute force approach. Although I doubt my sawzall and stump bucket will be much faster although a lot cheaper. My ck is great for maintenance and small projects. Just worry a little about the heavy dirt work. The case is a 580c btw, not a 480, I misunderstood my buddy.

thanks pogobill. For what it is that ck3510 is a hoss. Amazes me what these little tractors will do and how much of a Swiss Army knife they can be…


----------



## ck3510hb (Sep 12, 2016)

My son had some work to do and wanted to buy a backhoe, Construction co. owner stopped by, came back and did all the work in just over an hour. Time and money saved.


----------



## zmrp12817 (6 mo ago)

I’m estimating $7.5 to $10k per road and I have 3 or 4. Plus 10 plus home sites, personal drive ways, utilities and such. I think I’m looking at $40-$50k easy hired out.


----------

