Land leveling

   / Land leveling #1  

cisco

Platinum Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2001
Messages
509
Tractor
L3410
I've finally brush cut 7.5 acres, trimmed the trees of low limbs, and filled in the major tree stump holes and the like with dirt. Now I'd like to smooth out the land a bit. It is fairly flat, and the soil is firm but not rocky. The land surface is "lumpy/bumpy" with depressions up to 5-6 inches, and humps the same height. I'd like to smooth out (but not manicure) about 3 acres so I can plant some grass. I know I can rent a bulldozer, set the blade a few inches deep, and scrap off the land. What are the best implement(s) to acquire if I stick with my tractor (34hp, R-4 tires, 4WD, FEL), as I may tackle the remainder of my property at some future date.
 
   / Land leveling #2  
That's exactly what I use my box blade for - I just drop it & start driving - the box fills up and I keep going - and after repeated passes over holes and bumps it smooths right out.
I'll be doing that tomorrow actually - filling in large holes dug by wild pigs - I haven't been on the tractor in 6 weeks - hope I remember how to start it. /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif
mike
 
   / Land leveling #3  
Guess it depends what you mean by leveling. A box blade or scraper blade for that matter will smooth out the land and fill in small imperfections but if the starting land has any gradual undulations the box blade will follow these contours. If you want it truly level a dozer is your best bet because the blade hits the imperfections first and the tracks ride on level ground that the blade just passed over. (You can kind of acheive the same thing by using a back blade facing backwards and driving backwards.
 
   / Land leveling #4  
Guess I should have read your post a little closer. Sounds like a box blade or scraper blade with skid shoes would do just fine. (The skid shoes are nice because you can just put the blade on float and limit it from digging down too much, kind of limiting it to skimming off the high spots without digging into the existing grade). For a real nice finish drag 10 feet of chain link fence behind the implement as you level. Helps break up clumps and leaves you a nice planting bed for seeding.
 
   / Land leveling #5  
I use my boxblade for most of the leveling process. I basically fill the low spots with the high spots, but am only learning. I have are rear valve & hydraulic toplink to install on my TC33d that will hopefully improve the boxblade efficiency. When a smooth finish is desired, I use a landscape rake as a final touch. It works very well & a basic model does not cost much (if your not going to use it alot for a long time).
 
   / Land leveling #6  
Mike,
I haven't been on the tractor in 6 weeks

How do you survive? I haven't been on mine in two days and I'm already gettin' the DTs from withdrawal.
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Hoss

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   / Land leveling #7  
Boxblade, rearblade, rake are all good to have and will work well. Each will preform a different function.

A nice thing to have, let me rephrase that I wouldn't own a rearblade or a landscape rake without gauge wheels. Once you get a set you'll never give them up. Really speeds up grading time. That way the implement is riding on the graded surface and a mirror finish is no problem. Hay I own a cheep dozer./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Gordon

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   / Land leveling #8  
The easiest attachment you can use to level bumpy ground is to go and rent that dozer. A box blade will do in a pinch, but to really make your life easy, just rent the dozer. You will be amazed at how much easier it is. Box blades have the problem (at least in forward mode) of making things bumpier unless you are constantly raising and lowering the box blade. The problem is due to the fact that as the tires go over the current bumps, the blade will go up and down and create more bumps behind you. If you need a good motocross track, a box blade is a great tool for this/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif.

rf33
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   / Land leveling #9  
<font color=blue>making things bumpier unless you are constantly raising and lowering the box blade</font color=blue>

True in many cases, but instead of constantly raising and lowering the blade, you can just drop it in the float position if the top link is adjusted right. But of course you frequently need to change that adjustment, so the box blade works great if you have the hydraulic top link.

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   / Land leveling #10  
I will have to take your word for that one Bird, I do not have a hydraulic top link yet, but I can see where it would really come in handy. I have a 7' box blade, and I really like it, but I think that for any serious amount of land levelling (like turning a rowed field into a flat field) the best tool is a dozer - bar none. Another option is a scraper which can either be a self contained model or a towed behind the tractor model, but these are generally for very large tractors, and can be quite expensive and hard to find. I guess that my point is that an implement which is hard attached to the back of a tractor might not be the most logical choice for a large amount of levelling work. Hopefully, with lots of practice, I can get the hang of my box blade.

rf33
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