Kubota L3901: Moving a Building with a Compact Tractor (#1)

[@DIYMyWay]

So this is how I moved a building with a compact tractor. How would you do it? What would you do differently?

[@keithrayeski3147]

Slow and steady wins the race….some thoughtful maneuvering helps a lot!! Nice work!!

[@DIYMyWay]

Thanks, Keith! I see you’ve found my very first video. That was a tricky job!

[@keithrayeski3147]

@@DIYMyWay 🤣 call it divine intervention! It popped up in my feed!!😁👍🏻

[@FromSteelToWood]

Well done! I like the way you take your time to avoid any possible damages. The braces where indeed usefull to have your open again! That was nice you had an hydro transmission for this task! Thanks for sharing!

[@DIYMyWay]

Thank you, sir! Yes, I love the HST. It’s been perfect for the kind of work I do.

[@FromSteelToWood]

@@DIYMyWay you might want to have a look at Daveknowshow channel and it's latest video!

[@DIYMyWay]

Thanks, Joe. I did an hour or so ago. You’ll see I left a long comment on their thanking Dave profusely. His is a really great guy! Now I’m up to 74 subscribers. I started out this morning with 29!

[@FromSteelToWood]

Great!

[@abelmaldonado6643]

I been watching your older videos I noticed you always talk about using pond liner and just got a glimpse of the pond 👍I use pond liner alot too from my ponds

[@DIYMyWay]

Yep, we used pond liner in that water feature at the pool as well as one on the back patio at the house. Great stuff! Thanks for watching!

[@chuckcurtin]

Nice job moving it with the tractor. This summer I moved a 10’ X16’ shed across my back yard so that a pole barn could be built in its location. Used a skid steer loader with forks and plastic pipes doing it Egyptian style. Forty years ago, I used a Ford 8N to haul a shed down the street to my property using wooden rollers using the same Egyptian method. Whatever works.

[@DIYMyWay]

Thanks, Chuck! Yep, “whatever works” is a good philosophy. I chose skids over polls because and wanted to make sure that when I stopped, the building stopped and there was no chance of it wandering off in a direction I didn’t intend. Thanks for watching!

[@Dan-oz4qb]

Very nice work. Challenges like that are fun.

[@DIYMyWay]

Thanks, D B! You are right. That was a fun one.

[@TheGardenerNorth]

Great video! I need to move three larger sheds and your skid idea is the way I'm going. Being that they are larger and over built they are going to be a definite challenge. They are in pretty good condition, being old, but lumber must've been cheap because they are double clad with ship lap, with 2x6 studs on 12" centers.

[@DIYMyWay]

Thanks! Those are some stout and no doubt very heavy sheds. Good luck!

[@LouisianaTractorworks]

Nice! You did one heck of a job moving that building DIY! It looks like it will make a great tool shed!

[@DIYMyWay]

Thank you, sir!

[@CliffsideStables]

Creativity at its best; good job! Tim

[@DIYMyWay]

Thank you, sir!

[@tractorman4461]

I think with the tools and machinery you had on hand you did a remarkable job. I have a few additional tools in my junk pile so without actually walking your property but seeing in the background kinda what's there I would've used nylon chokers and strategically placed snatch-blocks attached to trees here and there to facilitate making the turn around the fence and up the lane. I've a couple 50' and 100' cables for such work. I then would've removed the bush-hog and attached to the drawbar and pulled forward with the tractor transferring power through the snatch block to change direction back to the building if and when necessary. I could then shift direction around the corner and up the lane via the snatch blocks choked to different trees until you have a straight pull. Then repeat as you need to turn again to position it in its final resting place. Or just push it with the loader like you did to align it. But...you did a perfect job the way you did it and like I said...I wasn't there to see the situation firsthand. But you asked for a suggestion.....So I gave it !! LOLOL So take my suggestion and $.75 to McDonalds and use it to buy a cup of coffee on me !! Give KUDOS to the camera lady for me...she did great too !!

[@DIYMyWay]

Thanks for the great suggestions, Tractorman44! I do need to get some cables and snatch blocks I've had several occasions where I could have used them, this being one of them.

[@dannyharless2230]

Nice job!

[@DIYMyWay]

Thank you, sir!

[@HomesteadJay]

Well done! I might try and do something like this to my shed. The previous owner put the shed by the perimeter drain... SO naturally it floods in the spring when the snow melts. One idea I had was jack my shed up and use round fence posts undernear and tow with my BX. I dont know how its framed underneath so this is all pending but I might try that and pull it till about a few fence posts come out the back then put them in the front and so on! Sort of like how the Egyptians uses to move big stone! Just roll it on something round! Ill have a video of it for sure when I get to it! This method seemed to work good but my ground is soft and I am not sure if the rails would actually slide, thats why Im thinking more round fence posts.

[@DIYMyWay]

Thank you, kind sir! The round fence posts is certainly a classic approach and I considered it but was afraid of a catastrophe with the uneven ground right around where I first started the pulling. At least with the sleds I knew that when I stopped, the building would stop!

[@HomesteadJay]

DIY My Way yes that’s a good point for sure. The area i need to move my shed is around a 90 degree corner so I think the posts might be the ticket for me idk!! It will sure be a show that’s for sure! Glad yours worked out!

[@DIYMyWay]

Well I’m looking forward to see that video! I just subbed to your channel and looking forward to checking out your videos!

[@guy5322]

Nice work

[@DIYMyWay]

Thanks!

[@houndsmanone4563]

DIY, I will be moving a shed or two sometime this coming summer but I need to remove a few stumps, first. I would not do a thing different. The drag distance for me is a tad more and it's being dragged on gravel road which really doesn't make me too pleased but....whatever it takes (smile). I think you did a tremendous job. Nicely done!. Enjoyed the entire video. 👍

[@DIYMyWay]

Thanks, Houndsman! I wish you luck on your building moves. Be sure to make a video of it!

[@joeynickdotnet]

Nicely done! Other ways it could be done is by using black pipe or thick walled PVC pipe as rollers. With your light load, the PVC pipe would probably be sufficient, with heavier loads the black pipe would be better. You could also use lengths of 2x4 / 2x6 underneath your skids, like railroad tracks, to help lower the friction, particularly during rotation. But overall, no criticisms about how you did it. The building was not damaged, nothing around the structure was damaged and you were able to place the building where you wanted it. Success! Subscribed.

[@DIYMyWay]

Thanks for the input, Joey! I considered using pipes or poles it but was afraid of a catastrophe with the uneven ground right around where I first started the pulling. At least with the sleds I knew that when I stopped, the building would stop. The us of 2x6s underneath is a good idea and would have helped. Thanks for subscribing to my channel!

[@AkDadStuff]

Well done. I am curious as to why you chose to pull it with the front of the tractor instead of the rear? It worked well as you did it but just wondering.

[@DIYMyWay]

Thanks! Couple of reasons: First, I wanted to keep my eyes on it because the initial pull was the most critical. It wasn’t obvious in the video but there was a danger of the building tipping over during the first 10 feet of the pull. Also, I needed to use the bucket to lift it over a huge rock that was sticking above the ground. Once I had it turned around going straight on the road beside the pool, I could have pulled it from the rear but this was working so well I didn’t see the need to change up how I was pulling.

[@SuperJamster1]

Thank you for this video. I have the nearly identical project, a slightly smaller Kubota, and a slightly larger shed. Would you suggest any different way of moving it? Since it moves easily by pushing with the loader, do you think you could have just made a frame on the skids, and pushed it on that frame?

[@DIYMyWay]

Hi SuperJamster1! Yes, I think you can push it. I would probably attach a 4x4 or 4x6 across the ends of the sled with 1/2” lag screws so that you are pushing the sled and not pushing on the building itself. Thanks for watching!

[@michaelmactavish1728]

kubotas are pretty strong little beast

[@NYTROeast]

Not even the backhoe would prevent that because of the downward angle of the strap over the right corner of the bucket