dirt pan

[JD40MO77]

I may have overlooked it if there is another post related.

Has anyone had any experience with a small dirt scoop/pan........the kind like on construction and for lazer grading agricultural land?

I was thinking like a 1 yard for say a 30-50 hp. tractor to move some dirt for a driveway and general leveling smoothing of land after being cleared.

[beenthere]

Do you know of one? Have a pic? Or not?

[MJPetersen]

There are several different designs of what you are describing in my understanding. I will include a couple of pics of the different concepts.

Mike

[JD40MO77]

Yeah Mike those 2 on the left are what I am talking about.
I keep seeing posts from members considering trying to move pretty large amounts of dirt for ponds and other projects but no one mentions these.....

Maybe they cost too much or don't work with the smaller tractors that well....

Just thought I'd put up a post an see if I was missing anything.

Thanks for your posts so far!

[gabby]

30-50 hp won't pull a dirt pan.

[KWentling]

Years back someone posted a homemade one on here. They had done and an amazing job on it. I haven't tried searching for it but it should come up. I'm thinking it would have been a yard at the most, probably less.

Kim

[Farmerford]

Years ago I pulled a small dirt pan (1 1/2 cu yd I think, about 5' wide) with a 50 hp MF diesel. It would not efficiently "dig" compacted soil, such as a pasture, with that small tractor. But it would easily scoop soil that had been broken up with rippers. We used it to keep drainage ditches clean. It is better than a backhoe or dozer for that purpose because it removes the soil a reasonable distance in a single action.

[KennyV]

A smaller tractor WILL work on a dirt pan... I use to do a 6 foot pan with a MF65 gas tractor... You just have to learn to finesse the loading...
another member here DDT has been doing it with a DB-6 from Hoelscher Commercial Products - DB Scraper (Hoelscher Commercial Products - DB Scraper) and his L5030 Kubota and there ahve been several posts years ago...
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/a...ent-found.html
KennyV

[MJPetersen]

30-50 hp won't pull a dirt pan.

You just need an appropriately sized pan--even a garden tractor can pull a pan. My FIL had a 3 yd scraper/pan that he pulled very nicely with a JD 3020. There also is a 1-1.5 yd scraper that the old-timers used to make ponds and such called a "tumble weed" by virtue of its all mechanical operation, with only a trip rope.

Mike

[JD40MO77]

Thanks a bunch for the info this is exactly what I was thinking of.
I live in southeast missouri and my place is in the edge of the Ozarks but just down the road a few miles there are thousands of acres of rice fields where they put the big dirt pans to work leveling and releveling the fields.

I figured we might need to have the disc hooked up and run it ahead of the tractor with the pan in order to pick up dirt efficiently.

Now if I can just get a coupla quotes from contractors to compare purchasing one of these to just paying someone to start this driveway project in the future.

Thanks again!