Befco grader/land plane WOW !!

[jenkinsph]

Hey Steve. The asphalt float has sides that resemble an LP but have one adjustable shaving and cutting blade and a "thick steel "smoocher" at the back to smooth out material. The angle of the smoocher acts like a heavy blade when you drive in reverse. An LP with the blades mounted level or above the skids may work ok, but you sure wouldn't want material floating over the blades. A BB works well for asphalt, WITHOUT a floating tailgate. Coating the attachment and bucket with a liberal amount of diesel goes a long way towards keeping the asphalt from sticking. You have to make sure that you get the AC laid right on the first pass. Backing over it to make repairs makes a mess.

Here's a couple photos I've saved (from who knows where) of the asphalt float and a photo of a Gannon spreading AC. The middle photo is an earlier design. Someone here on TBN had some good photos of the float being used by their driveway contractor in Northern Ca, but I can't find them.

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RDrancher thanks for posting the pics, have to ask how well does the asphalt float work? I assume you need to roll behind it.

 

[RDrancher]

RDrancher thanks for posting the pics, have to ask how well does the asphalt float work? I assume you need to roll behind it.

Yes, you still have to roll behind it. You know, When I lived in socal I remember asphalt guys using the big red float, but I was doing concrete on those jobs and never really payed much attention to how well they worked. For the most part (just like skip loaders) they're a West Coast / Arizona thing. Since they're designed for skip loaders, I'm not really sure if they would work very well without down pressure. Thomas Welding (the company that makes the float) wasn't very informative when I asked them for specs, although they did provide pricing for building a 6'er. There isn't much info online, that's for sure.

 

[RDrancher]

dupe____________

 

[swines]

I have a box blade, rear blade, landplane, and a Harley Rake. While you can make one implement do the work, to some extent, of another - once you learn how to use each for their intended purpose, there is no substitute. In the case of the landplane, I use it on an 1/8 mile drive and a ditch bank walkway.

Over the years, I've used all of the implements listed for surface maintenance of the drive and walkway - and the landplane wins in speed and final surface condition. Because the blades are angled on the landplane, you can use it to level or create a crown depending on the direction you're going for each pass.

 

[lilranch2001]

Where are the pictures?

You guys are as bad as men in chat rooms wanting to see pics...... :laughing:
I was so anxious to play with the land plane I didnt even think about pics yesterday.
He delivered the last load today, I will snap a pic of it before I start grading and I will take some after photos

 

[CTMassey]

does anybody have any experience with these for grading off topsoil/landscaped areas or is it strictly a "driveway"tool?

 

[Gordon Gould]

Not strickly a driveway tool at all. I am sure you will hear from Steve (jenkinsph) on this one. If not look at some of his posts over the last couple years.

 

[jenkinsph]

does anybody have any experience with these for grading off topsoil/landscaped areas or is it strictly a "driveway"tool?

As Gordon eluded to I use landplane grader blades for smoothing on landscape projects frequently. I have found that my need for a boxblade is not as frequent since building the landplanes. You can move enough dirt with a landplane to overcome some large discrepancies on most lawn areas. Here's a few examples of lawn areas where I used the landplanes to smooth. Also handy for smoothing out my new shop pad too.

 

[crazyal]

When i cleaned a lot to build on there were places I didn't spend too much time leveling. Because the land is a little steep, it was the back yard, and I focusing on getting grass to grow in other places it was just too rough to mow and became full of saplings and blackberries bushes. It was the reason I wanted to buy a brush hog. Last summer I used the GS to level it and rip all the brush out of the ground. It's now just part of the lawn and gets mowed and I need to find a new excuse to buy a brush hog.

 

[TBarD]

I'll just second the comment that Befco makes a good product. I have a BGS-84 (about 850lbs), and have been very happy with it. I use it for landscaping and construction (building pads) as well as road building and grading. Does a great job and is easy to use. As others have mentioned you can run it backwards to do a final smoothing. The main issue will be if you have rocks! Any rocks at the surface will likely be dug up and will need to be removed to get a smooth finish. I don't have any pictures of it in action, but here is one of it on the tractor. I have the scarifiers in the up position most of the time.