Dirt Moving Tooth Bar Advice

[siman00]

Hello all. I am the new owner of a used Kubota B2410. It has a 352 FEL and I'm trying to figure out what type of tooth bar, if any to use. I need to maintain about 1200 feet of mostly dirt driveway. The soil is a very sandy loam that has been packed tight and hard by years of traffic. There are shallow "ruts" where the wheels travel with grass in the area between the ruts.

I'm considering a Piranha tooth bar vs a more typical tooth bar. From what I can see, it appears that the Piranha tooth bar is best suited to remove heavy vegetation (which I do not have), while the more traditional tooth bar is better suited to aid in digging. I'm thinking I may be able to use the FEL to cut down the median and backpull that material to fill the ruts.

OR--- Should I forget a tooth bar entirely and get a box blade to use on the driveway?

I'm new to tractoring and will appreciate any help, advice or experience you can provide.

 

[Mikefromcny]

I think you would be best off with a back blade.

 

[/pine]

Sounds to me from your description that a land plane may be the best option...
Also a thought on tooth bars...they are great for digging into whatever (something the regular bucket edge is not good at)...but in the same respect a tooth bar is not good if you want to use the FEL to back drag over a worked area (smoothing effect)...something that is easy and quick to learn...where learning to do a similar function with a box blade can take more time to acquire the skill

 

[atsah]

My vote goes to a box blade for your application. A tooth bar isn't going to do much for you.

 

[longjohn79]

Box blade with rippers, very versatile. I did exactly what you are talking about in semi rocky shale and sandstone for an old strip mine road recently and was amazed at how well it smoothed it out.

 

[altoonapillarrock]

Hello all. I am the new owner of a used Kubota B2410. It has a 352 FEL and I'm trying to figure out what type of tooth bar, if any to use. I need to maintain about 1200 feet of mostly dirt driveway. The soil is a very sandy loam that has been packed tight and hard by years of traffic. There are shallow "ruts" where the wheels travel with grass in the area between the ruts.

I'm considering a Piranha tooth bar vs a more typical tooth bar. From what I can see, it appears that the Piranha tooth bar is best suited to remove heavy vegetation (which I do not have), while the more traditional tooth bar is better suited to aid in digging. I'm thinking I may be able to use the FEL to cut down the median and backpull that material to fill the ruts.

OR--- Should I forget a tooth bar entirely and get a box blade to use on the driveway?

I'm new to tractoring and will appreciate any help, advice or experience you can provide.

I would recommend a Land Pride grading scraper. My BX24 pulls it up and down my 2200' gravel driveway and gives it a good crown. 20% grade in some places.

 

[Snobdds]

The poor guy, he's going to need 5 different attachments with all the suggestions.

Let me be clear, there is not one magic attachment for your needs. You need a box blade to fix and crown the road, then a Land plane to maintain the road. Then your set.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

My vote goes to a box blade for your application. A tooth bar isn't going to do much for you.

Box blade with rippers, very versatile. I did exactly what you are talking about in semi rocky shale and sandstone for an old strip mine road recently and was amazed at how well it smoothed it out.

Almost any use of a FEL needs a counter weight on the back of the tractor. I've found the Boxblade to be the perfect counter weight to leave on all the time other than when specifically using one of the other 3ph implements (Tiller, rotary mower. RFM). The boxblade will do what you need done on your road. I have about a mile of gravel road going up to the top of the mountain where a tower used to be and now glad "they, tower company" built it. Since I now own it and have to maintain it I started paying more attention to gravel road maintenance. Water off the mountain had started rutting across the road since water rolls downhill. I started just dropping my boxblade with ripper teeth up or off at a level plane when I'd go up and then the same when I came down. After about 4 to 6 trips doing that the road now has no ruts and is fairly smooth. Since I was making the trips up to the cabin anyway and coming back down it cost no extra time, effort and very little extra fuel to maintain the gravel road.
I personally hate rear grader blades since they tend to follow the going up or down of the tractor and never got the hang of using one to my satisfaction. I have a Ratchetrake but I wouldn't use it to do a mile of gravel road. It clears brush great and lower teeth level out ground great for seeding or just leveling.
The Pirniha is a digging/brush clearing implement.

 

[jeff9366]

6/09/2016​

This post concerns Ratchet Rakes Vs. light Box Blades, such as the 60" Land Pride BB1260/346 pounds/69 pounds per foot.

I searched for the weight of kubota L3301 bucket but could not find a number. I presume L3301 bucket weighs approximately 240 pounds, extrapolating from other kubota specs. 68" Ratchet Rake weighs 88 pounds. Adding 240 + 88 = 328 pounds, pretty close to 346 pounds of BB1260 Box Blade.

In addition, the (operator controlled) weight of the FEL frame bears on the Ratchet Rake. Likewise, weight of the Three Point Hitch bears on the Box Blade. FEL frames weigh much more than ( 3X? 4X?) Three Point Hitch components. So, including some FEL weight, I guesstimate that ground contact pressure on Ratchet Rake and BB1260 would be at least equal, perhaps greater pressure on the Ratchet Rake.

Further in Ratchet Rake's favor you have articulation of bucket/RR combination in two planes from the operator's station and 1-1/2" serrated teeth on the Ratchet Rake.

Box Blade can be raised and lowered hydraulically from the operator's station. Box Blade angle of attack is adjustable via the Three Point Hitch Top Link, but not from the operator's station. Standard Box Blade does not have rippers, standard is a smooth cutting edge.

Ratchet Rake is capable of tearing up sod with its serrated teeth, the initial operation in much grading. The Ratchet Rake will not pull as large a load as a Box Blade but it may pull 35% of capacity of BB1260 per pass, with faster cycles. Ratchet Rake is more intuitive in operation than a Box Blade, which requires considerable experience to operate efficiently.

This is why I feel the Ratchet Rake is superior to light Box Blades for LIGHT grading.

I own both a Ratchet Rake and a Rollover Box Blade.

When I have heavy grading to do, I mount my 60"/625 pound (125 pounds per foot) Bush Hog (brand) Rollover Box Blade on the tractor's Three Point Hitch AND the Ratchet Rake on my FEL bucket.


MORE: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/375397-ratchet-rake-today.html

 

[Snobdds]

6/09/2016​

This post concerns Ratchet Rakes Vs. light Box Blades, such as the 60" Land Pride BB1260/346 pounds/69 pounds per foot.

I searched for the weight of kubota L3301 bucket but could not find a number. I presume L3301 bucket weighs approximately 240 pounds, extrapolating from other kubota specs. 68" Ratchet Rake weighs 88 pounds. Adding 240 + 88 = 328 pounds, pretty close to 346 pounds of BB1260 Box Blade.

In addition, the (operator controlled) weight of the FEL frame bears on the Ratchet Rake. Likewise, weight of the Three Point Hitch bears on the Box Blade. FEL frames weigh much more than ( 3X? 4X?) Three Point Hitch components. So, including some FEL weight, I guesstimate that ground contact pressure on Ratchet Rake and BB1260 would be at least equal, perhaps greater pressure on the Ratchet Rake.

Further in Ratchet Rake's favor you have articulation of bucket/RR combination in two planes from the operator's station and 1-1/2" serrated teeth on the Ratchet Rake.

Box Blade can be raised and lowered hydraulically from the operator's station. Box Blade angle of attack is adjustable via the Three Point Hitch Top Link, but not from the operator's station. Standard Box Blade does not have rippers, standard is a smooth cutting edge.

Ratchet Rake is capable of tearing up sod with its serrated teeth, the initial operation in much grading. The Ratchet Rake will not pull as large a load as a Box Blade but it may pull 35% of capacity of BB1260 per pass, with faster cycles. Ratchet Rake is more intuitive in operation than a Box Blade, which requires considerable experience to operate efficiently.

This is why I feel the Ratchet Rake is superior to light Box Blades for LIGHT grading.

I own both a Ratchet Rake and a Rollover Box Blade.

When I have heavy grading to do, I mount my 60"/625 pound (125 pounds per foot) Bush Hog (brand) Rollover Box Blade on the tractor's Three Point Hitch AND the Ratchet Rake on my FEL bucket.


MORE: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/375397-ratchet-rake-today.html

I have to ask, do you get paid to promote the ratchet rake? It seems every post about a road or clearing brush, you always make a long winded promotion of the ratchet rake. Now I understand you may just be a big fan, but with the volume of promotion it has to be venturing into paid endorsement territory. It reminds me of the old saying, when your favorite tool is a hammer, every problem requires a nail.

However, this is not a slight against you, you have some good advice, just want to have some perspective from where you're coming from.