Struck Magnatrac 4000 with loader and backhoe. This machine came as a kit - 9 large cartons totaling over 3,000 pounds! I kept track of my assembly time, and it came out to about 40 hours of nights and weekends. While the crawler is small by almost any standards, it is very useful to me for working around buildings and on the soft, wet soils in our area. I use it for ditching, foundation digging, road maintenance, and general work where a loader is needed. I have also used it to rescue tractors that have become stuck in the wet areas where they don't belong. Last Fall, a friend helped me weld new cleats on to the track pads, giving it considerably more traction.

Recently, I was approached with an offer to sell the Magnatrac, and, since I now have two other tractors with loaders and little use for the backhoe, I ended up accepting the offer. I will miss the little crawler, since I had built it, but it is hard to get emotional about machines.