attachment for road work

   / attachment for road work #1  

jackh

Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2010
Messages
42
Location
Central Texas
Tractor
John Deere 5105M
we just got our jd 5105m and i need something to work on the roads with. i thought all along i would just get a big box blade but then i read about stuff like the road boss grader, landscape rakes and rear blades. i basically need something that will smooth out the roads, not necessarily move a lot of material. the only thing is this place is in central tx and the roads are all hard packed caliche, i feel like a rake would be useless on that. any help? thanks
 
   / attachment for road work #2  
I bought a LandPride grader scraper last summer, very pleased with it. I thought it would be a big job to get my lane in shape but it was no trouble at all. So I did my neighbours lane too then did the parking area at the local store. The parking area was a real mess, hummocks and holes and packed really hard, even that was pretty easy with the grader scraper. You can set it for how much you want it to cut, I have mine set shallow so it probably takes a bit longer for some jobs. More seat time, it's all good.
I have no idea what caliche is though.:confused:

I googled caliche, I think the gs will work well on it.
 
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Keep in mind with the size of your tractor you need heavy duty implements. Anything less and you will be bending them up pretty easy. How long is your road, driveway? Is it mostly flat, or do you have curves and slopes that you have to deal with? Any of the implements for your tractor are going to be pricey. I have the four most common implements used for roads. They each excel in their own right, and what you have in mind for other uses may make a difference in which one that you start out with. Do you have Top & Tilt hydraulics for your 3PT hitch? "TnT" really help out when it comes to grading.

I normally recommend a Road Boss type grader blade, they are relatively easy to use, just about indestructible, work very well for road maintenance, but you may have other needs to where one of the other type implements may suit you better. ;)
 
   / attachment for road work
  • Thread Starter
#4  
the road goes up and down hills and has curves but not really any banks. it might be nice to be able to adjust the bar ditches. the highway crew messed it all up, it used to fill our tanks and now it doesn't. idk if i have TnT or not, the tractor was delivered yesterday and i wont be up at the ranch til this wknd
 
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the road goes up and down hills and has curves but not really any banks. it might be nice to be able to adjust the bar ditches. the highway crew messed it all up, it used to fill our tanks and now it doesn't. idk if i have TnT or not, the tractor was delivered yesterday and i wont be up at the ranch til this wknd
You don't have TNT ... tnt is spoken here - do a search and learn all about it. Where in Central Tx? --- I've been thinking about getting a road boss type scraper. They make 'em over on I45 in Ennis. Not sure if that's the road boss brand - but the same thing. I use a box blade for now -- but it moves too much material... I need either a road boss or straight blade .... still considering which --If you need to cut caliche though I have doubts if a straight blade has the weight it would need to do so. BTW - welcome to TBN
 
   / attachment for road work #6  
You don't have TNT ... tnt is spoken here - do a search and learn all about it. Where in Central Tx? --- I've been thinking about getting a road boss type scraper. They make 'em over on I45 in Ennis. Not sure if that's the road boss brand - but the same thing. I use a box blade for now -- but it moves too much material... I need either a road boss or straight blade .... still considering which --If you need to cut caliche though I have doubts if a straight blade has the weight it would need to do so. BTW - welcome to TBN

A rear blade that will hold up to his JD is going to weigh in excess of 1000lbs. I know that mine is over 1100lbs.

Mikim, when you are looking at road grader blades, they are not all the same. Same principle, but different animals. Weight is your friend when grading, but not only weight, you get a better job when the side pans are longer. I have seen grader blades that only have 12" sides. :eek: My 5' grader has 18" tall sides and my 7' grader has 22" sides, 7' long. Seems like there are quite a few grader blades out now, and a lot, if not most of them have side pans that are not all that long, 4-5' maybe. I think a good weight to look for would be 200lbs a foot or more.

Here are my two grader blades.
 

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   / attachment for road work #7  
the road goes up and down hills and has curves but not really any banks. it might be nice to be able to adjust the bar ditches. the highway crew messed it all up, it used to fill our tanks and now it doesn't. idk if i have TnT or not, the tractor was delivered yesterday and i wont be up at the ranch til this wknd

A grader blade is great for maintaining a road, not so good for cleaning out or making roadside ditches. A good rear blade is very good for that and is good for working on roads also, just need to be a little (ok, a lot) more skilled and that should come with use.

Top and Tilt hydraulics are most likely not on your tractor unless you specifically ordered them, and my understanding is that they are very costly to have an actual JD setup. "TnT" is the only way to go if you have much or ongoing grading to do.

If you need to move much dirt, then a box blade is very useful, and again, for your tractor a good heavy duty (1000lbs +) with hydraulic operated rippers would be the way to go. At the minimum would be a roll over box blade such as I have.
 

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   / attachment for road work #8  
A rear blade that will hold up to his JD is going to weigh in excess of 1000lbs. I know that mine is over 1100lbs.

Mikim, when you are looking at road grader blades, they are not all the same. Same principle, but different animals. Weight is your friend when grading, but not only weight, you get a better job when the side pans are longer. I have seen grader blades that only have 12" sides. :eek: My 5' grader has 18" tall sides and my 7' grader has 22" sides, 7' long. Seems like there are quite a few grader blades out now, and a lot, if not most of them have side pans that are not all that long, 4-5' maybe. I think a good weight to look for would be 200lbs a foot or more.

Here are my two grader blades.
Yeah I get the part that you want weight -- what I breezed over was the fact that he has twice the tractor I have.......all the blades that I've looked at thus far could be loaded in the back of a pickup by a couple of guys grabbing it and throwing it in. I haven't looked at those road boss types yet ...but will keep in mind what you've said about the length of the sides.
 
   / attachment for road work #9  
Yeah I get the part that you want weight -- what I breezed over was the fact that he has twice the tractor I have.......all the blades that I've looked at thus far could be loaded in the back of a pickup by a couple of guys grabbing it and throwing it in. I haven't looked at those road boss types yet ...but will keep in mind what you've said about the length of the sides.

Trust me, no two guys will be throwing any of my blades in the back of anything, I guess maaaaybe 4 guys might be able to pick up my small one. But then I move it all the time by myself, I just use the mechanical advantage. :D
 
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If you are primarily going to be working caliche you will want something with heavy (and replaceable) moldboards and high sides. You might want to hang some weights from the sides to get it heavy enough to move the material. Probably any of the heavier built road graders would do it for you as long as you are willing to spend some seat time. Rotsa Ruck.....

RJ
 
 
 
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