dirt scoop question

[Farmerwright97]

my grandfather passed and we received a few of his ford tractors and some implements, one of the implements is a three point dirt scoop. dumb question but what were they used for? can you dig with them or do they just make the tractor into a drivable wheelbarrow?

 

[Tim in New York]

Yes, both. But you need a pretty heavy tractor to dig as traction in reverse is not great. I bent one of my heavy lift arms doing that. And be careful using it as a wheelbarrow. I used mine years ago to unload some balled evergreens and the roller was not fully engaged. The bucket dumped very quickly and one of the guys was lucky he did not get his arm broken.

 

[showcrop]

They are often called a "pond scoop" many are reversible so that you can dig in forward.

 

[504]

Everybody seems to have one but nobody knows why they keep it

 

[Ultradog MN]

my grandfather passed and we received a few of his ford tractors and some implements, one of the implements is a three point dirt scoop. dumb question but what were they used for? can you dig with them or do they just make the tractor into a drivable wheelbarrow?

I had a Dearborn dirt scoop and used it with a 2N to dig and haul about 75? yards from a side hill to where a new driveway trapped the run-off and was creating a pond.
The Dearborns could only be used going forward. The process was slow. Round and round, dig, dump, dig, dump but it was a rather leisurely, not unpleasant task and the results were worth it.
I still have and use a Ford dirt scoop. It is reversible. I use it to pick rocks in my deer plots. Install it backwards, fill it with about 300 lbs of rocks then back up to the rock pile and dump it. If I had a loader on the tractor I would use that for rock picking but I don't - or didn't untill just a few days ago.

 

[Texasmark]

Everybody seems to have one but nobody knows why they keep it

I have one I bought before I could afford a tractor with a FEL. That was 40 years ago and it still sits here. Not worth the effort to entertain potential buyers.

 

[Tgrasher]

Use mine every so often to move dirt around and when I need rock or some ag lime, I reverse it and back into the pile. Beats a wheelbarrow.

 

[DoubleO7]

Used mine as a poor man's dirt scraper to make a swale. Used the material to raise the floor of the animal shelter so they do not have to stand in water due to heavy rains.

 

[Blackhole49]

my grandfather passed and we received a few of his ford tractors and some implements, one of the implements is a three point dirt scoop. dumb question but what were they used for? can you dig with them or do they just make the tractor into a drivable wheelbarrow?

Yes, they will dig. Depending on where you use it, better than a shovel and a wheelbarrow.

 

[Caryc]

Everybody seems to have one but nobody knows why they keep it

Who knows, there may come a time in the next 40 or so years, you'll need to use it. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. In the mean time you could always put a scoop full of dirt in it and plant some flowers in it for yard art.

 

[RobCons]

You can dig and move material with it but be prepared. Its a slow process.

 

[TomIn]

my grandfather passed and we received a few of his ford tractors and some implements, one of the implements is a three point dirt scoop. dumb question but what were they used for? can you dig with them or do they just make the tractor into a drivable wheelbarrow?

I have a newer King Kutter scoop. It's great to use for medium jobs (like everyone else has stated). The problem is that it's a pain in the rear to switch from the finish mower (that's almost always attached to my Ford 640) to the scoop before the job, then switch back afterwards. For really small jobs I use a shovel and cart behind my riding mower. Your grandfather may have had the best solution---a tractor for each attachment!

 

[Caryc]

I have a newer King Kutter scoop. It's great to use for medium jobs (like everyone else has stated). The problem is that it's a pain in the rear to switch from the finish mower (that's almost always attached to my Ford 640) to the scoop before the job, then switch back afterwards. For really small jobs I use a shovel and cart behind my riding mower. Your grandfather may have had the best solution---a tractor for each attachment!

Try Pat's Quick Hitches.

 

[tractorford]

been "rearin" to put mine to use... once this bigger rig can steer again.... been frothing with delirium to jam this thing into a pile of gravel or dirt n git som ugly work done... recently coughed some paint on the rusty feller

 

[Caryc]

been "rearin" to put mine to use... once this bigger rig can steer again.... been frothing with delirium to jam this thing into a pile of gravel or dirt n git som ugly work done... recently coughed some paint on the rusty feller

View attachment 88824

I guess one could use one to smooth out a lot of gopher mounds . Might even get lucky and decapitate one that comes up to see what all the commotions is.

 

[Leroy]

my grandfather passed and we received a few of his ford tractors and some implements, one of the implements is a three point dirt scoop. dumb question but what were they used for? can you dig with them or do they just make the tractor into a drivable wheelbarrow?

I had one but was older than a ferguson and an off make. Used it a few times but not often as das not needed. It would only dig forward. Sold it a few years ago at consignment saye when I lost the farm. Now we used a horse drawn way more than the tractor mount. You could clean out a ditch with standing water in it, You just needed good boots. We pulled it with the tractor. It is over a hundred years old now and still in good shape, Beloged to great grandpa and I know where it still is but not used any more. You could do the work a small backhoe is now used for.

 

[Leroy]

I had one but was older than a ferguson and an off make. Used it a few times but not often as das not needed. It would only dig forward. Sold it a few years ago at consignment saye when I lost the farm. Now we used a horse drawn way more than the tractor mount. You could clean out a ditch with standing water in it, You just needed good boots. We pulled it with the tractor. It is over a hundred years old now and still in good shape, Beloged to great grandpa and I know where it still is but not used any more. You could do the work a small backhoe is now used for.

Called a SLIP SCOOP

 

[Janicholson]

my grandfather passed and we received a few of his ford tractors and some implements, one of the implements is a three point dirt scoop. dumb question but what were they used for? can you dig with them or do they just make the tractor into a drivable wheelbarrow?

My father/mother's first house was carved out of clay with a hitch drawn scoop and a Farmall M. I was 5yrs old, and remember the sweat involved as my father and uncle drove around and around woof. Jim

 

[RedMF40]

I see them come up for sale from time to time, always wonder how useful it would be. Probably good to have a shovel on hand as well.

 

[caterpillar guy]

We don't have one and don't think we ever will. With loader tractors I don't see the use for one. I suppose as already said better than a shovel.