Grading with a loader

[4570Man]

An old dozer operator told me: "You grade pushing forward." He was not paid on days that the boss caught him back dragging. Or so he says.

Another: "Its all in your seat." You'll feel the machine move before you see the grade change.

You'll get it. Take some time and work the machine. See and feel what the bucket is like when its dead level front to back. See the top horizontal plate on the bucket above the pins? It's flat with the cutting edge. Start on a flat grade, with a flat bucket and go forward slowly. You will carry that until you have a full bucket, there is gap (get more material) or you're at your end of the run. Very slight adjustments to the bucket curl will cause you to dive down or ride over the top.

When you want to smooth out your wheel ruts or minor drags, set the bucket flat and level again and backdrag smooth. Float works, but I like to use light downward pressure in order to smooth, but not change grade.

Inevitably you will have areas to repair and rework (who hasn't made wash-boards), but you'll get it. Once you start feeling it, its like riding a bike.

Back dragging is fine for smoothing loose material for finish work. It’s close to useless for cutting and shaping ground.

 

[Tomtint]

I can grade extremely well with my Car 246 loader bucket.. actually better going forward with a loaded bucket works better than back dragging. ..The machine acts like a dozer doing it that way. I have much less success using the tractor loader. It's just too light and tends to follow the terrain instead of moving it.

 

[PILOON]

One thing I did do was to add a wear strip on the heel of my CUT bucket as I noticed that it might be wearing thin.
Often I use down pressure and raise the front end and back drag for that fine finish effect.
If U have a CUT and plan to use it a lot U better also be able to weld!
I have to admit being weld capable has saved me mucho dineros over the years.
EG. built my cab, my snow blade, repaired my blower and made my ballast weight setup, and that not counting occasional repaire and other miscellany things.

 

[ddbackhoe]

Back dragging is fine for smoothing loose material for finish work. It痴 close to useless for cutting and shaping ground.

:thumbdown: How many of your buckets have a cutting edge on the back side?

 

[dodge man]

That is a pretty good sized machine. A small tractor does not compact the material as quickly as that larger machine will. In other words instead of just back dragging loose material the wheel pack some of it down first if you back drag.

 

[EddieWalker]

Good advice about not using a loader bucket for shaping the land. Not sure what that has to do with renting a wheel loader to spread materiel with? For this thread and this application, I can't think of a single better machine to rent then a wheel loader.

 

[4570Man]

:thumbdown: How many of your buckets have a cutting edge on the back side?

None. Your point is?

 

[ddbackhoe]

None. Your point is?

Tractors, skidsteers, TLBs, CTLs, loaders, track loaders, etc. are not designed to back drag (some 4n1s are). The rear surface of a bucket does not have a wear bar/plate/blade etc. Grading, smoothing etc, should be done moving forward. What a person chooses to do may be ok for them, but it is not an accepted or necessarily good practice.

 

[4570Man]

Tractors, skidsteers, TLBs, CTLs, loaders, track loaders, etc. are not designed to back drag (some 4n1s are). The rear surface of a bucket does not have a wear bar/plate/blade etc. Grading, smoothing etc, should be done moving forward. What a person chooses to do may be ok for them, but it is not an accepted or necessarily good practice.

Unless you rolled the bucket slightly forward so it’s rubbing the front edge.

 

[Industrial Toys]

It's actually amazing how such a broad range of things dragged can have very favourable results. And well in almost anyones budget. So why mess about backdragging with a clunky FEL, unles it's for short jobs.