Skipper 1,788 #1 Posted September 10, 2021 (edited) So, a question I asked when I started my obsession, and also a question I hear and see from other newbies at times is: Well it's just a lawn tractor, and can it really do a bit of real work, or is it just a toy............ Well let me show you what I did with mine over the last couple days. We have a pond out back, well over here its a small lake, but in the US, it's just a goldfish pond of sorts. We dug it out a few years ago, and made some rookie mistakes. 1. the shape seemed as a creative idea at the time, but in reality it sucked. 2. We made it with a small island in the middle. Cute we thought, until the Water Voles took over. Also it being a little pond, the island took most of the view of the water, when looking at it from the house. That had to go. 3. we had very small kids at that time, so we dug it "kidsafe" in all areas facing the house and lawn. Result was the weeds and cattails took over half the pond. Useless, as it was the shallow side facing the house, so no look to water. So, wiser with age (we think so far) , we made a rerun at it last weekend. Now a total of roughly 7000 m3 or about 250.000 cubic feet, or close to 12.000 tons of soil and sand has left that hole in the ground. Averaging 8.5 feet deep, and with 45 degree banks, it's a big hole in the ground. But what does that have to do with a Wheel Horse? Well, nothing so far, as that kind of earth moving takes heavy machinery. But the surrounding area, that's another matter. If you walk around it, there's about a 1000 feet. And the area is between 10 and 30 feet wide. There's roughly 15-18.000 sq/ft. All that area needed to be prepped, as the top soil needed to come off, sand removed, and topsoil reapplied with a laser guided digger, to get a uniform height of the edge meet the to surface when level comes back up to full. First it was sprayed down. WH did that! Then it was plowed and then tilled to fine powder. WH did that too. Took a full day, but it did it just fine! Then, after the big digger had done its thing, I welded a makeshift grader to my tine rake, and forced earth to lay in correct level to the existing lawn, and to level out bigger bumps. So then to make it flat and ready to sow, i made a drag behind "grader" / leveler, out of left over wood. That thing drags up to a full wheel barrow dirt, takes off high points, and fills inn low points. As you go around, the tires set the soil one layer at a time, until you have a perfectly smooth surface. Then the rake on again without the grader mod, and remove debris. Also the rake loosens the top inch soil again. Then some grass seeds (and some flower seeds for the back area), in the WH broad seeder, and off we go. Then the rake again to let the soil snag up the seeds, and hey presto! 2 days work, and that whole area was done. So YES, a Wheel Horse CAN do real work, and do it well. It takes longer that with a bigger machine, but it will get it done. I hate to think what this job would have been like, with a shovel, hand rake, and so on. Think about it. lets just say it was "only" 15.000 sg/ft, all done nicely in 2 days. Not so bad at all I would say! I love my horse, and it saves me from tons of back breaking work. Hope that puts a nail in that coffin. Edited September 10, 2021 by Skipper 6 13 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pollack Pete 2,273 #2 Posted September 10, 2021 Great story.Great looking pond.I really thought you were going to tell us that you dug it with a plow blade on something like a Lawn Ranger.Haha...... 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CCW 1,201 #3 Posted September 10, 2021 Agree with you all the way. The WH can do REAL work. Not used mine for anything as extensive as your job, but it has certainly made my life easier. Well Done. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
8ntruck 6,376 #4 Posted September 10, 2021 Great landscaping job. Looks like a C-195 with a 3 point hitch. I'm doing some research into the C-195 3 point for a possible future project. Any chance you could post some pictures of that hitch with a tape measure in the picture? 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 63,137 #5 Posted September 10, 2021 Absolutely awesome work there Skipper!!! 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pullstart 59,722 #6 Posted September 10, 2021 If I’ve never mentioned, I love that machine! 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maxwell-8 4,270 #7 Posted September 10, 2021 My grandfather keeps saying my Wheelhorses are toys. But I think they are hard workers, for sure considering the size and running cost. I will have to show him you great work 1 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skipper 1,788 #8 Posted September 10, 2021 1 hour ago, 8ntruck said: Great landscaping job. Looks like a C-195 with a 3 point hitch. I'm doing some research into the C-195 3 point for a possible future project. Any chance you could post some pictures of that hitch with a tape measure in the picture? No problem, you just let me know what you need. Got an extra set of 3 point and rear pto i can measure on for you 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snoopy11 5,713 #9 Posted September 10, 2021 4 hours ago, Pollack Pete said: dug it with a plow blade on something like a Lawn Ranger.Haha...... No... but now that you mention it... maybe.. my next project... Not really, I already have a pond... that I cleared around with my horse. Everything you have done, @Skipper... (besides tilling, I have to do that with my big tillers) I have also done with my HellHorse... Don 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WheelHorse520H 706 #10 Posted September 10, 2021 5 hours ago, Pollack Pete said: Great story.Great looking pond.I really thought you were going to tell us that you dug it with a plow blade on something like a Lawn Ranger.Haha...... Me too, that’s why I started reading. That title really grabs an audience! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slim67 2,730 #11 Posted September 11, 2021 I used one of my workers to grade the area for my new pool. I have a Brinly grader box and a grader blade that I had behind it. The grade for a pool needs to be perfect and my tractor did that and grade all the fill dirt that was dug out and used elsewhere. I should have took pictures but I was too busy at the time. Yes ,you can definitely do real work with a wheel horse. 3 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
8ntruck 6,376 #12 Posted September 11, 2021 5 hours ago, Skipper said: No problem, you just let me know what you need. Got an extra set of 3 point and rear pto i can measure on for you Wonderful! I would appreciate it. No hurry here. Take the pictures at your convince. Mainly, I am looking for dimensions for the lower links - length, amount of offset, where the offset blends are, and where the lift links attach. The lift links and upper link location can be calculated from the ISO standards for category 0 hitches. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JPWH 5,308 #13 Posted September 11, 2021 My home-made 42" box blade behind an 8hp 6 speed. 1 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skipper 1,788 #14 Posted September 11, 2021 8 hours ago, 8ntruck said: Wonderful! I would appreciate it. No hurry here. Take the pictures at your convince. Mainly, I am looking for dimensions for the lower links - length, amount of offset, where the offset blends are, and where the lift links attach. The lift links and upper link location can be calculated from the ISO standards for category 0 hitches. Here we go. Anything else, just ask 4 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ifixoldjunk 778 #15 Posted September 11, 2021 (edited) I've moved thousands of pounds of firewood with my measly 310-8. These machines really punch above their weight. I haven't found anything that was too much for it to tow, And that's coming from a 10 horse model. It's also probably cleared miles worth of snow without much of an issue, and that 10 horse Kohler moves the 42 deck without any struggle. These machines are the real deal. Edited September 11, 2021 by Ifixoldjunk 5 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OutdoorEnvy 1,426 #16 Posted September 11, 2021 Well done Skipper! Very cool post! Thank you for the share 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vogli 86 #17 Posted September 11, 2021 38 minutes ago, Ifixoldjunk said: I've moved thousands of pounds of firewood with my measly 310-8. These machines really punch above their weight. I haven't found anything that was too much for it to tow, And that's coming from a 10 horse model. Yeah. No kidding. I cut 4 cord per year, on average, and almost every stick of it is moved out of the woods with my wheel horse. A cord of wood isn't nothing: https://mullinsfarms.com/misc/what-does-a-cord-of-wood-weigh/ So, I move it green to my temp storage/splitting area, and sometimes again after splitting to stack it for longer term seasoning. So lets assume I'm cutting all light weight wood at 3000lbs/cord, and I have to move half of it again to stacks that aren't right next to my processing area: 4 * 3000 (wet) + 2 * 2000 (dry) = 16000lbs It's only going to go up from there, adjusted moving again while still wet, for dealing with oak, ash, locust, elm, etc. (eg. the real world) Seems like real work to me... 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snoopy11 5,713 #18 Posted September 11, 2021 I gave these pictures out a while ago to you guys, maybe some of you haven't seen them... so here ya go!!! I hauled in over 150 loads of dirt just to fill in the gully here (and let me tell you, that gully was 12 inches or more deep before I started!!!): Made this path that didn't exist prior, hauling in all the dirt, rock, brick, and everything else I needed. And finally, I dug a canal with a ripper on the back of my horse (this was for conduit which is used to house my aerator air hose 300+ feet to my pond) I have many, many more pictures of work that I have done. I have also filled in ANOTHER 200 ft. ditch in my front yard, hauling in roughly the same amount of loads of dirt with my HellHorse. I have cut down so many dead trees and gotten rid of them with my horse. I have moved buttloads of gravel, grading. Yes, my horse is my best friend when it comes to work! I had no help from bigger tractors, I did this all with my Hell-Horse. Don 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snoopy11 5,713 #19 Posted September 11, 2021 Did I forget, that I fenced all around the pond, and the areas that you see in the pictures (doesn't even do it justice). Thousands of feet of fence that I put in myself, hauled all posts in with my horse, all fence rolls, and tools. I had to dig the holes by hand with a post hole digger (ugh)... Don 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snoopy11 5,713 #20 Posted September 11, 2021 The guys who dug the pond did not clear the woods around the pond, I did that myself with my chainsaw, my horse, and a little muscle in pulling the stumps with my manual winch. Don 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snoopy11 5,713 #21 Posted October 23, 2021 (edited) Will a Wheel Horse do real work? Huh... good question! Made a path where there was no path... Obviously, I had my blade on for the majority of the job... which took 1 solid week of work. Most of you guys know that I don't have another tractor... so everything you see here is stamped with . A lot of work with the chainsaws, blade, and chains, pulling all the trees and brush to the piles you see. Don Edited October 23, 2021 by Snoopy11 2 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snoopy11 5,713 #22 Posted October 23, 2021 (edited) Some of you guys have been wondering what I have been working on... I mentioned in my barbed wire thread that I was putting the Horse to work... Well, now you know! Don Edited October 23, 2021 by Snoopy11 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
