Ways To Make Yardwork Less Physical

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clutch
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Aug 03, 2026 1:30 am
Affiliation: None

Ways To Make Yardwork Less Physical

Post by clutch »

So. After 30 minutes of a brush blade on a 10x10 overgrown dog kennel along with other things showing me i have lost some muscle and energy over the last 3 years due to my shoulder. I'm trying to make things easier. Also with my mom having multiple heart stents and other health issues anything i can do to make it easier and safer for me or her takes stress off of her, she worries when i get crazy ideas. :laugh My normal stuff such as mowing and trimming isn't bad between the equipment for that i can do it just a bit slower. It's when i get into the heavier lifting and moving that i quickly get zapped of energy.

A couple examples of what i have at hand right now is chain link fence that needs repaired and possibly some of it replaced, hooked it with a rented tractor bucket and while it's held together it's been long enough and needs addressed but the fence ties and zip ties have held 4 years now. The next thing is i have a pile of 6 inch diameter wood posts that resembles a game of pickup sticks at the moment, i got them to place at the base of the fence to keep the dogs from pushing under it right after my shoulder got messed up and they have been sitting. The next issue is a corner of the yard with a whole mess of pine tree and other limbs and brush that have come down and just been piled while my shoulder wouldn't let me do more than that. So not the heaviest but also not the lightest stuff but in the past i would have just tossed it around no problem or pulled it. I have plenty of equipment and tools, just not sure what would work best and the one piece i think may has sat the longest and needs the most work. So i guess i'll list what i have as my options and see what folks think?

Option 1
Bolens 1668 Hydro
Snow plow/dozer blade on the front
Electric Pto(might be usable to run a secondary hydraulic pump of some sort for a loader if i remove the plow)
It has sat 3 years so needs plugs, oil, oil filter, hydraulic fluid, hydraulic filter, possible carb rebuild at minimum, power and ground wires for the battery. If it needs a carb that is a $300 or so for a carb if i can track one down. I want to say the mower is from 89 and i know the engine has over 1000 hours on it. I have a log skidding arch to hitch to this i think would work well along with possibly 1500 or 2000 pound atv winch.

Option 2
Troybilt Bronco that runs and drives and has no issues other than i would have to beef up a hitch of some sort for the log skidding arch. My only fear i don't know what those transmissions in the newer ones can truly handle. On a good note the yard is all flat so no pulling on inclines or anything.

Beyond deciding which piece of equipment to use i'm not in bad shape in the sense of having the tools to cut the stuff up and the yard trailer to move any brush i need to get rid of to the front drive so i can put it in my truck. That all said i could very well be over thinking all of this and if anyone has any other thoughts let me know. Unfortunately the back yard is fenced in so no way to get my truck back there. Otherwise all that power of a Ram with a 5.7 would make quick work of this. I just know i can't keep thinking and not making a decision and need to do something before winter.
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temporal1
Posts: 5274
Joined: Sat Sep 14, 2024 7:57 pm
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Re: Ways To Make Yardwork Less Physical

Post by temporal1 »

Add a gate to your fence?
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i’m perfectly comfortable with an older, wiser, more docile Trump.

”Try hard not to offend. Try harder not to be offended.” Robert Martz
barnhart
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Joined: Tue Jul 23, 2019 9:59 pm
Location: Brooklyn
Affiliation: Mennonite

Re: Ways To Make Yardwork Less Physical

Post by barnhart »

Is there a possibility of hiring out the heavy work so the rest can be handled with less expensive equipment.
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Valerie
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Re: Ways To Make Yardwork Less Physical

Post by Valerie »

Seldom does a new topic “title” make me laugh but this did!
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temporal1
Posts: 5274
Joined: Sat Sep 14, 2024 7:57 pm
Affiliation: Christian

Re: Ways To Make Yardwork Less Physical

Post by temporal1 »

Valerie wrote: ↑Sun Aug 30, 2026 5:03 pm Seldom does a new topic “title” make me laugh but this did!
i wish george were active - i’m pretty sure he’d have lots to suggest!
clutch - maybe you could visit george’s FB page?

however, there are lots of others “around” if they happen to see the topic -
so many are busy in summers, the forum gets quiet.

i’m interested in what comes up. This forum can be a good place to ask.
temporal1 wrote: ↑Fri Aug 28, 2026 2:14 pm
sojourner wrote: ↑Thu Aug 27, 2026 9:51 pm
HansMacDonald wrote: ↑Thu Aug 27, 2026 9:33 pm Wow, his last thread was created nearly 10 years ago. I hope he is ok, but he was an older man. ☹️
Well, I've never met the man but we have a lot of mutual friends from when He lived in Pa. He seems quite active on FB and has quite the following on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/@TheShadeTreeFixitMan

1 mo ago / “Husqvarna out of alignment fix, Make your steering easier” / -13min
@TheShadeTreeFixitMan
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i’m perfectly comfortable with an older, wiser, more docile Trump.

”Try hard not to offend. Try harder not to be offended.” Robert Martz
ohio jones
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Joined: Sat Sep 14, 2024 6:03 pm
Affiliation: Rosedale Network

Re: Ways To Make Yardwork Less Physical

Post by ohio jones »

clutch wrote: ↑Sat Aug 29, 2026 11:12 pm So. After 30 minutes of a brush blade on a 10x10 overgrown dog kennel ...
Dad has a brush blade on a weedeater which is really useful (although using it for long periods can be tiring), but putting one on anything as large as a kennel seems like it would be difficult to maneuver. ;)

I'm not real familiar with either, but the Troybilt has a reputation for being fine for lawn mowing and that's about it. The Bolens should be pretty tough and up to most of your tasks if you can get it back in shape.
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Soloist
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Joined: Sat Dec 21, 2024 11:24 am
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Re: Ways To Make Yardwork Less Physical

Post by Soloist »

Wife: i’m sure you already know this, but a hydraulic fence Post pounder would be good. Maybe see if anyone at your church wants to do a work party, assuming you are part of a church group?
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clutch
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Aug 03, 2026 1:30 am
Affiliation: None

Re: Ways To Make Yardwork Less Physical

Post by clutch »

Seeing as i need to brush up on my forum skills and how to multi quote i'll just go this way for now.

T1- You see i have a gate. 10 foot wide double gate actually. Problem is i currently have a 98 grand cherokee blocking that path to get anything beyond a mower or similar size thing back there. I also have a very grumpy neighbor on that side who we have already had our disagreements so it's best to avoid that route to get much back there or out of there.

Barnhart- I would love to hire it out but money is tight. I figure if i'm going to spend money might as well spend it on trying to get stuff usable that i already have. Though if i found someone reliable and who would do the work for a fair price i would highly consider it.

Valerie- Glad i could make you laugh. Let's me know i'm doing something right. :)

Ohio Jones- The brush cutting blade isn't bad but it's on a battery powered echo commercial trimmer setup that you can swap attachments out on. It gets the job done but it is tiring especially when my shoulder is still not fully up to par 3.5 months or so after surgery. I try to let my mom do it and i feel bad but anything beyond basic trimming it's just better i do it myself or someone else does. I love her but there are just some things she can't get her head around and using that brush cutting blade is one of them. As for the troybilt i don't trust it for much but we got it so mom could mow if she had to. She was afraid she would hurt my zero turn and honestly i would rather go parts hunting for the Troybilt and not my Simplicity. I'm truly leaning towards the Bolens at this point because it's a flat out workhorse. Last time i used it to move rail road ties it pulled 5 of those at 200 pound each like it was nothing.

Soloist- I have thought about the post pounders, that's actually on my list if i ever fully redo the fence how i want with privacy fence and sink steel posts straight in the ground. I much prefer gas or hydraulic post drivers, had a nice argument with a manual one in 09 and my head was on the losing end of the argument. As for a church group i don't go to church so that option is out and i have a very small friend circle if you can call it that and most of them work crazy hours. I also have this bad issue of never asking for help because i feel like a burden.

My only other option i came up with and to get this to make sense is pictures but i would have to take the fence loose on the other side of the property. Then cut that fence post in the middle of that run or pull it. Then use the winch mounted in the hitch of my ram with a couple hundred feet of line to redirect pull the power pulls out of the way. Then i could get the truck in the back yard and have at what needs done. Biggest issue i would then have to repair that section of fence or put a new gate in and i would rather just wait to put a gate there. So i'm not really sure. I'm leaning towards just getting the Bolens going. At this point i only need probably $300 in parts provided there isn't a carb issue. Only other thing i fear is all the hydraulics are hard line on it so i'm worried one of those will blow but i figure sort that out when it happens.
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