DriftlessinWIHey Everyone, I solved the issue of controlling my multi-function skid steer attachments from the cab of my excavator. It involved an Arduino, 4 way relay, an HC-5 Bluetooth module and a simple android app. Give me your thoughts in the comments below. This has opened up a lot of possibilities for my CAT 306 and now I can use a lot of my attachments that I had for my Gehl RT210.
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driftlessinwi
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I wanted to consolidate some of my equipment because I felt a little overwhelmed with all the machine maintenance I have. So I decided to look for an all in one machine that could do what my skid steer and wheeled excavator could do.
I looked at a lot of options, including the Mecalac but decided to go with the CAT 306 with XTC for many reasons:
-It was half the price of the Mecalac
-It can handle all of my skid steer attachments that I already own
-It is an excavator so I wouldn’t need my Komatsu PW30 anymore
-I have a good CAT dealership close by
-It is basically a Skidsteer and Excavator combined
In this video I walk through everything in detail and try to focus on the CAT 306 XTC’s ability to replace my skidsteer, especially how it can handle all of the attachments I have. This review was made after about 60 hours of using the machine and shows some footage removing invasive species in my woods. Also there is some bonus footage of the “Castle Camp” overlook. Consider subscribing to see more videos on the machine and how it functions with various attachments. It has quickly become my favorite machine and is affectionately referred to as “The Swiss Army Knife”!
Thanks for watching!
driftlessinwi
It is time to say goodbye to my much loved Gehl RT210 after having it for nearly 10 years. I decided to consolidate a lot of my equipment since we will be moving and I will no longer need to split time between properties. In this video I go through a lot of the good and bad of the Gehl. Mainly, it isn’t great for doing lots of roadwork, namely ditching and shoulder work. I replaced the RT210, my Komatsu PW-30 wheeled mini-excavator, and will eventually sell the RT105…for a the new CAT 306 excavator with XTC (extra tool carrier, think of it as universal quick tach for the front of an excavator). Many more videos on the CAT 306 will be coming soon.
Thanks for watching!
driftlessinwi
I slipped a track for the first time in nearly 10 years of ownership of my Gehl RT210. It happened when working on the shoulder of my driveway. I have discovered that the Gehl undercarriage doesn’t like breaker rocks used for the sub grade on roads.
I plan to make another video on that soon, but in this one I show how I was able to get the track back on even while the machine was perched precariously on a slope. While I tried to do it all with hand tools, I had to resort to using my wheel excavator because the machine kept sliding off the jacks and I couldn’t get it high enough off the ground to slide the track under easily. On a flat solid surface, the Gehl system is easy to use to change, remove, or reinstall a track.
Enjoy! Thanks for watching!
driftlessinwi
I finally received my erosion permit and finished my driveway to the new homesite. After making over 4000ft of driveway, I learned how to drive a dozer, a CAT D6, and got a lot of use out of my CAT 323. I have come to appreciate how hard being a dozer operator actually is (especially if you don’t have Slope and Grade assist tools) and can’t believe how much effort goes into to putting up silt fence 🙂 I need to keep the driveway under 13% to be in compliance with our town ordinances and had to make a switchback in an area that was over 20%.
This took me over a month, 100 truckloads of breaker rock, 4000 ft of geomat, 1500 ft of silt fence, about 30 silt socks, 6 culverts, 200lbs of grass seed, 60 hay bails, and 20 rolls of erosion mat. I hope it was worth it, so far so good with holding up to rain storms, but this winter may bring a few headaches with snow and ice. You can find the generator and jackhammer here:
Generator: https://amzn.to/3BiEZY0
Jackhammer: https://amzn.to/3BiEZY0
Enjoy!
driftlessinwi
I rented a CAT D6 bull dozer for one month to complete two driveways at the farm. I had zero bull dozer experience and was very intimidated about renting one and doing the driveways myself.
In this video I show how it is possible to get professional level results without any experience, by taking advantage of the Grade Control and Slope Assist functions on the newer CAT dozers. Without them I don’t think I could have achieved anywhere close to the results I did, especially in the amount of time I had. One thing is for sure, operating a dozer manually is much harder than it seems, especially if you are trying to grade and slope a driveway.
This video will give you some good tips if you have never operated a dozer before, or if you are an experienced dozer operator and are curious how the slope and grade control functions work. This is filmed from the lens of a person with no experience.
Enjoy!
driftlessinwi
I needed to clear a lot of trees for a new home we are building. I was primarily pushing the trees over with my CAT 323. I found pushing to be difficult in a thick forest and it also resulted in broken trees. My experienced excavator operator friend showed me a new way of taking trees out by pulling them with the excavator instead of pushing them. It works brilliantly and is much safer.
By lining up the tree so that the arm is between the operator and the tree, it makes it highly unlikely that the tree will fall on the cab. Another benefit is the tree drops right next to the excavator so it is easy to process without having to move the machine any.
Enjoy!
driftlessinwi
I managed to harvest my hay for the first time, hooray! I learned a lot and thought I would share it with you since most videos on baling are by long time farmers who know what they are doing. I did not know what I was doing and had to learn everything by reading, trial and error, and through some YouTube watching 🙂
All of my equipment performed well and I managed to get 100 small square bales in the barn, and 28 large round bales. I still have a 5 acre field to cut, but we should have just enough hay to support our cows, horses, and goats through the winter now…and I should have two more cuttings.
If you are new to farming, or are jumping into baling your own hay, you can learn something from this video. If you are an expert, you can laugh and share your wisdom in the comments!
I plan to get more action shots in during my second cut. driftlessinwi
I finally was able to put my new hay equipment to use. In this video I review the German made Krone ActiveMow R280 disc cutter. It was a bit of a splurge when I bought my hay equipment, but man is this thing nice. Super well made, quiet, and very fast/efficient.
I learned a lot this season cutting hay for the first time, with no help, and with no one showing me what to do. I will have a follow-up video shortly of all the lessons learned when I baled hay for the first time. All in all it was a great experience, even though it was intimidating at times.
The disc cutter from Krone performed flawlessly. If you are in the market for a disc cutter, I don’t think you can go wrong with Krone. Enjoy!
driftlessinwi
If you like the ear protection in the video you can get it here: https://amzn.to/3uPpbYn
You are probably watching this because either you are curious about one of the most expensive lawn mowers you can buy, or you are seriously considering it because you want a mower with 0 turn capabilities, but with a cab and AWD. Very few mowers meet the latter, and that is how I ended up with the JD 1585.
I have owned the John Deere 1585 for 5 years now. I have posted many videos of it brooming and snow blowing, but haven’t shown it mowing or gone into great detail on the machine itself.
I received some requests to give a thorough review of the machine and post a video, so here it is.
Let me start by saying I really like this machine and I will always have a front mount mower going forward. They are just so versatile and meet all of my needs. They are great mowers, and they are easier to use and more effective at plowing residential driveways and sidewalks than my skid steer.
The 1500 series is at the top end of the mowers John Deere. The 1585 I have has almost all the options you can get and cost over $30k new, just for the machine itself. The mower deck was $3,700, the snow thrower was $3,156, and the broom was about $3,700. Needless to say, this is one expensive lawn mower so if you get one, you will probably have pretty high expectations.
In this video I go through the machine in detail and point out all the things I like and don’t like about it.
The main cons are:
-Dust infiltrates the cabin easily
-The front of the mower and engine area trap grass clippings and are hard to clean
-The cabin is very noisy, you need to wear hearing protection
-Attachments, in particular the mower deck, are really hard to switch
-Price
The main pros are:
-Reliability
-Power
-AWD
-Mowing with a cab is amazing, if you like to stay cool and don’t like bugs
-The front mount design allows for zero turning, brush mowing, mowing over edges, and accommodates many different attachments
-This is an awesome winter machine for snow removal (see my other videos)
Main Conclusion: I would buy one again, but I would definitely check out other manufacturers to see if they do the cons better. Also, I would get a side discharge mower deck to go with it. Enjoy the video and please comment if you have any advice or questions! driftlessinwi