The cabin is in the middle of 40 acres of woods, and taking care of it requires more than a push mower and a string trimmer.<\/p>\n
So I’ve been looking for a compact tractor to do the heavy lifting (literally).\u00a0 I found a Kubota L3301 with the LA525 loader and an RCR1260\u00a0 5′ rotary cutter, on a 20′ flatbed trailer at a good price.\u00a0 It doesn’t have a lot of hours and has been well maintained.\u00a0 It’s a good tractor and the implements are a good start to keep the place well-maintained.<\/p>\n
The first problem was that the tractor was in Calhoun, Georgia – more than 400 miles from here.\u00a0 The second problem was that my little Dakota pickup isn’t up to the task of hauling 7,000 pounds of tractor and trailer up here.\u00a0 My cousin Mitch offered to loan me one of his work trucks to go pick it up.\u00a0 His one ton dually with a big diesel engine was easily up to the job, and I don’t think the truck even knew there was a trailer behind it.<\/p>\n
It was a long drive down and back, but I did it in one day.\u00a0 The big diesel just hummed along and did it’s job perfectly.\u00a0 Zero problems going there or coming back.\u00a0 You need to be a lot more aware of your position in the lane with a truck and trailer that wide, but I settled in and soon that was second nature.\u00a0 The narrow country roads around here make that a larger problem, but I got back late so there wasn’t much traffic to contend with.<\/p>\n
When I got back, I left the truck and trailer out front and called it a day.\u00a0 The next morning, I undid the straps and backed the tractor off the trailer.\u00a0 Then I had to figure out how to turn the whole rig around in a space that really wasn’t big enough.\u00a0 I finally unhitched the trailer and pushed it back far enough to get the truck out, then pushed the trailer as far forward as I could.\u00a0 Pushing and pulling a 20′ tandem flatbed trailer around by yourself is a lot of work – I guess there’s a reason you move trailers like this with a truck (or a tractor).<\/p>\n
I returned the borrowed truck after filling it with fuel and DEF, and brought my little Dakota back home.\u00a0 After driving the big truck for more than 800 miles, I am definitely going to consider a Chevy\/GMC with the big diesel engine when\u00a0 I buy a new(er) truck.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Stay tuned…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The cabin is in the middle of 40 acres of woods, and taking care of it requires more than a push mower and a string trimmer. So I’ve been looking for a compact tractor to do the heavy lifting (literally).\u00a0 I found a Kubota L3301 with the LA525 loader and an RCR1260\u00a0 5′ rotary cutter, … <\/p>\n