A few years ago I had a local contractor (one man operation with a dump truck and skid-steer)do all of that for what I had considered "peanuts." The economic situation these days is even worse than back then. So I would expect you can find an experienced operator happy to get the work and offer a price that can't be beat, even better than you renting a tractor.

If the dump trucks are tri-axle's, then each of them could be carrying 20 cubic yards of soil, depending on the soil type. That translates into 300 cubic yards of material that could weigh 450 tons.

Trying to push that much dirt any distance with an 800 pound garden tractor, regardless of brand, is going to be difficult and very time consuming. As larsol mentioned, a skid-steer loader will lift and carry all fifteen loads to where you want it in a single day. I suggest that you rent one or if you don't know how to run one, then hire an experienced operator with his own machine.

Every machine made comes with its own set of limitations. It's not that a Case 400 series isn't a capable machine. It's just the wrong machine for the task. Even the skid-steer is a bit of compromise but it will do the job. A 450 Case, 450 Deere or D-4 Cat bulldozer would be more appropriate and likely faster at levelling and grading if you position the truck loads properly.

A dozer is perfectly safe to use on your tile field. It will also pop stumps out of the ground and push those pesky boulders into the back acreage. And if you want the boulders buried, a good operator can do that for you too.

Too bad you don't need 100 loads or so because when it's difficult to find places to dump, most contractors are happy to put a blade onto a dump site in exchange for having a place to dump close to where they are excavating.

For 15 loads, it doesn't pay but talk to the guy, he may know of someone with a machine to take care of this.

Where you need the Case is AFTER the dirt has been spread out. If you intend to seed or lay sod, the Case with a three-point hitch and York Rake can save you a huge amount of time and will aid you in the fine grading/levelling.

Your friend wasn't telling you that the Case is no good. He was just telling you that it isn't big enough for the task at hand.

Hi all,

Im glad I took the time to ask ... Sorry for that long winded story back there - but I've got several opinions now which all tell the same story and thats good...

It possibly saves me some of money - as I suspect the Scotts 2046 can pull a York rake and that the Case 44x doesn't "need" to be purchased (at least not now).

Im going to ask my buddy to stop by the house and have a look at how much fill he thinks I need... Perhaps I need a lot more than I estimate. ( heck I under-estimated how much tractor I needed! ).

I sure do like those orange case 44x tractors though... :)

Hey guys - as always thx for your time.

Dave O.

If your buddy has access to a decent laser level and knows how to use it, then calculating the amount of fill needed is fairly simple.

As for whether you buy a Case or not it up to you. All I can say is that difference between one of them and the Scotts you now have is akin to the difference between a pickup truck and a dump truck. It's not something that is readily apparent to most people until they actually get to use a Case and find out what it's capable of. Once that happens, they never go back to "toy tractors".

Dave....

The Case "class" tractors will surprised you. OF course you cannot do it as fast a larger peice of equipment, but it can be done. My father had his bulkhead backfillled years ago with dredged material. Sinced it was wet is could not be placed directly behind the new bulkhead given the materials and construction methods used at the time....way too heavy. So it was placed back on solid ground and allowed to dry. My father then used a Gravely 816S with a blade to push all that material into place. If filled an area perhaps 6 feet deep by 200 feet long by forty feet wide. That is almost 1800 cubic yards of material.....all moved by that little gravely.

So, the moral ofthe sotry is, if you have the time and patience, it CAN be done. Good luck!

Chris

Hi Chris,

I was kinda thinking along the lines as your father. I kinda felt that the Case 44x might handle it if I took it slow and steady.

The problem with my idea is : Recent conversations with some contractors who had a lot of fill, wanted to get rid of it in hurry (naturally). My slow and steady method (with the 44x Case) does not sync up with a contractors commitments to their customers.

While outside this morning on the property I realized that I could use quite a few truckloads of fill if I slope the *whole* back property nicely (not just the area directly behind the house. I now re-guess-timate at least 40-50 truckloads.

Again I see myself using a york rake to slope out what would be a 150+ foot run across this gradual slope.

Once I get this place leveled out a bit my next step I think is to break out a York rake and get this property cleaned up and grassy...

Regarding my "toy" Scotts 2046 - while I am generally pleased with the (10+ year old) unit. I wonder if dragging a york rake around might be too much for that old hydro? (Tuff Torq K51 according to the manual)

I have a small Sears tractor with a 5 spd gear transaxle - and its a tough little thing (I work it hard). I wonder if it might be enough for a York rake. (baby steps I suppose ?)

If I dont "NEED" the Case 44x machine right away (and it looks like I dont)... Then I'll wait for a good deal on a Case and beat the little 10HP Sears into the ground. The transaxle on the Sears has an slight problem with reverse - It behaves as if its missing a tooth... but I scavenged an identical transaxle unit for it about a year ago. So if I blow it up - i have a "plan B" for it...

As always guys - thanks for reading/responding.

Dave O.