Dirt Moving Land Plane or Box Scraper

[Stormtruck2]

I have two gravel driveways that I need to maintain. One is level and the other is rather steep and rutted with a high center ridge. Which would be better for maintaining the driveways. I also want to be able to scrape some of the gravel loose on the inclined driveway during the winter. I will be pulling them with a 4600. I look forward to your advice.

 

[n2deep20]

I suggest a box blade with a lift cylinder as they are the best for moving dirt and releveling. A small land plane will also work but it does not give you the control needed to fill/level a surface, they are mostly for moving dirt from one location to another..

Best of luck

 

[teg]

I've never used a land plane.... but my guess is that it would depend on your driveway. If you have a lot of gravel and no big rocks near the surface, land plane would work easier. Most of the "ads" for the land plane are demonstrated on perfectly smooth driveways.

It would not work on my driveway with 3-4" rocks near the surface, yea I need more gravel for a top coat but with almost a mile of drive, it's not going to happen. I use the boxblade, when a pothole happens, I rip down, grade so the water runs off, and add some extra material. Anytime I just add or fluff the top layer... the pothole will reappear.

Beside, the box blade can be used for other things (ripping up new soil, moving snow)

 

[Bswope]

Box Blade HANDS DOWN, I have 2 gravel driveways that I maintain and my box blade dose a GREAT job on both, very easy to use and they come with ripper teeth for the hard spots.

 

[jenkinsph]

I use a combination of landplane, boxblade and rear blade.

Most of the time I can make a pass up one side and back down the other side cleaning the side ditch and pulling the materials from the edge back towards the center. I can then run the landplane up each side of the driveway with the inside skid running down the center of the drive, repeat in the other direction.

If I am going up a steep grade where the materials are migrating to the lower section I will make all the passes going uphill so that I am putting them back.

I use a boxblade rarely for maintaining drives, only when there are deep potholes. In this case I cut down deep enough to break up the material. Then grade the problem area to provide the proper runoff with the rear blade. Then pack this down with a roller. In most cases potholes are caused by improper grading where water isn't allowed to run off easily.

Once you have a good packed base with the proper crown you will have alot less trouble with potholes. The rearblade pulls the materials back onto the road bed and provides the proper crown. The landplane will smooth the finish providing a good driving surface.

 

[radman1]

If you need to pull material back from the edge and over the road, then the ability to angle the rear blade is the best. If you want to maintain a good crown in the road, rear blade is easier. If your road is in rough shape and needs to have more significant repair, then the box blade cause it can rip and dig down better. Box blade tends to create dips and valleys as I try to maintain a road. The ability to angle the rear blades helps get rid of these. On my driveway, is use the rear blade 98% of the time. I have a very hard base with good cover over the road and it is mostly maintenance and for cosmetic (weed control) reasons. For a final pass, reverse the rear blade and it will make a nice smooth finished surface.