mini-artic-loader

<h1>Rationale</h1>

<p>The main purpose behind bulding this loader is to acquire a capable, adaptible machine that can utilize different implements to get work done around the farm.&nbsp; The initial thought was to just locate a used commercial model and buy one.&nbsp; However these machines are expensive and they hold their value.&nbsp; Used ones in our size range are rarely under $15,000.&nbsp; I can probably build one for less than that with some judicious scroungine.</p>

<p>Having used a skid steer for a couple of months, it proves highly capable, but very destructive to the ground.&nbsp; Also, the one to which we have access is a bit too large for some things.&nbsp; And if we have need of the size and power, we can usually arrange to borrow it.</p>

<p>The purposes for which we want this machine are many:</p>

<ol>

	<li>General farm cleanup - we use our Ford 2000 + FEL to move manure, flip compost, maintain the burn pile and other light-duty loader functions and it is less than ideal.&nbsp; We get things done, but that machine is quite long and not very maneuverable with no power steering.&nbsp; Plus, the system is old and touchy and dangerous in the hands of inexperienced operators.&nbsp;</li>

	<li>Hay operations - we currently hay about 15 acres of mixed grasses with alfalfa. Getting help to stack the hay once baled is a challenge and our kids will be too old and busy to help in a couple of years.&nbsp; A hay grapple/accumulator on a machine like this would be the ideal solution to this problem.&nbsp; This is one of the main reasons we started looking at articulated machines, since we wouldn&#39;t want a wheeled skid steer turning spirals in our hay fields. Working half-days, we could cut, rake, bale, and stack half of a cutting (we usually do half at a time) with just one person needing very little help, if we didn&#39;t load it into the haymow.&nbsp; Since we only need 180 or so bales a year, the rest could be stacked by machine in the big barn until sold.</li>

	<li>Firewood handling - each year we trek into the 100 acres and drag up big logs to process into firewood (5-6 cord).&nbsp; We usually use one of the tractors to drag.&nbsp; A rear-mounted logging cable or grapple might make this chore better.&nbsp; Another idea is to create a firewood processor for the front of it and process directly into a trailer in the woods, pull the trailer back to the house and stack.&nbsp; That would eliminate dragging (which tears up the farm yard) and manually splitting most of the wood.&nbsp;</li>

	<li>Driveway maintenance - we have a 3pt back blade and york rake that we use on the Ford 3000.&nbsp; It gets the job done, but not well, and not easily.&nbsp; A 4-in-1 bucket on the new machine might help because it can act more like a box blade.</li>

	<li>Snow removal - we plow with a Polaris 750 Sportsman or the back blade on the 3000.&nbsp; This sometimes leads to issues during years of heavy snowfall because we have to widen the plowed area enough to account for snow we get at the end of the year and none of that equipment is capable of moving a 3 foot ridge.&nbsp; A snow thrower on the front of the articulating loader would be ideal for this purpose since we also maintain roads to and from both barns and behind the house to the boiler.</li>

	<li>Trail maintenance - we maintain a couple of miles of trails through the woods on the property.&nbsp; I can envision a 4-in-1 bucket on a maneuverable machine would make that task much easier than the FEL on the tractor.&nbsp; The skid steer really excels at it, so we think the articulating loader would as well.</li>

	<li>Lumber - we have plans to incorporate a small sawmill on the farm.&nbsp; A log grapple and a set of forks on this machine would greatly aid in getting logs to the mill and getting lumber from the mill to the barn.</li>

</ol>