If I Only Buy One Piece of Equiptment...

[wpchrist]

I recently bought a business that has approximately 4 acres of gravel lot,a bout half of which is taken up by stored boats. The lot sees infrequent automobile use (5-15 cars/day), and less frequent use by a seventy-ton capacity Marine Travelift carrying up to 80,000 lbs of boat (up to 4 times a day). The gravel lot was in rough shape when i purchased the business and i would like to repair and maintain it. I know nothing about grading but can drive a tractor. If I Only Buy One Piece of Equiptment to fix/maintain this lot, what would you recommend? I've thought of perhaps a tractor/box blade, or a skid steer ("Bobcat"), or a backhoe, but am not experienced enough in grading to choose intelligently. If you have a recommendation, could you please include model and/or minimum horsepower. Oh, i should maybe mention the lot seems to have undergone some haphazard repairs along the way. There are spots with #57 slag, fine slag, fist-sized concrete chunks, #8 stone, sand, etc. Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Have tractor did travel]

WP Congratulations on your purchase. It's an exciting time to mold a company to the standards and ethics of the new owner.
That JD5075M ought to be able to pull a land plane just fine. Here's a link to one showing how it's used

As you decide to purchase, you want weight. An owner's manual from Deere ought to give you some guidelines on what weight you can pull. I'd say, about the same weight as their recommended box blade

 

[jeff9366]

Tractors are designed to smooth land, using Three Point Hitch mounted implements.

Moving boat trailers utilizing a ball hitch on e the front and/or rear of a tractor is a common 4-WD tractor application.

You can calculate how long it will take you to smooth eighty acres using a Land Plane/Grading Scraper by entering 4 mph + LPGS width into following Mowing Calculator.

Mowing Calcuator | How many acres can I mow in an hour

www.landscapecalculator.com

For eighty (80) acres you should consider a commercial LPGS:

Road Boss Commercial Graders - Road Boss Grader

he Road Boss Grader Commerical Grader has 24-inch side pans and is 6 feet deep. Road Boss Commercial Graders come in 4 models.

www.roadboss.org

Four models requiring a spread of 60 horsepower to 150 horsepower.

LPGS has almost zero learning curve for the tractor operator.

If it is dry and dusty where you are, consider a cab tractor.

After you decide what weight and width LPGS you may desire, we can give you a tractor recommendation.


The lot seems to have undergone some haphazard repairs along the way. There are spots with #57 slag, fine slag, fist-sized concrete chunks, #8 stone, sand, etc.

Second recommendation for an implement is a rear/angle/scrape blade:

VIDEOS: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=compact+tractor+scrape,+rear,+angle,+blade



When considering a tractor purchase, bare tractor weight first, tractor horsepower second, rear axle width third, rear wheel/tire ballast fourth.

BUY ENOUGH TRACTOR.​

 

[MossRoad]

Did I read that correct? 40 acres of gravel parking lot?

 

[/pine]

...Oh, i should maybe mention the lot seems to have undergone some haphazard repairs along the way. There are spots with #57 slag, fine slag, fist-sized concrete chunks, #8 stone, sand, etc...

Be aware...regardless of what implement you choose the physical characteristics of mixed gravel etc. and the differences of specific gravity cause different sizes to separate from the fines and collect together the more the area is worked...working when the lot/gravel is wet greatly reduces this effect...

If the 40 acres was of more uniform sized gravel...a land plane would be the ideal implement IMO...but I would consider renting or borrowing a landscape rake etc. and collect and remove (or bury) the "fist sized chunks"...

Adding fines to areas of loose gravel will help it pack down...

 

[Citydude]

40 acres of graveled parking lot. Seems odd.

 

[ArlyA]

For parking boats in storage?

 

[Fuddy1952]

40 acres of graveled parking lot. Seems odd.

40 acres of parking lot would be larger than a huge shopping mall lot, wouldn't it?
A 4 (four) acre parking lot would be tremendous.
40 acres would be over 1.7 million square feet, enough room to park well over 80,000 cars!?!!!

I'm thinking out loud here.

 

[MoKelly]

40 acres of parking lot would be larger than a huge shopping mall lot, wouldn't it?
A 4 (four) acre parking lot would be tremendous.
40 acres would be over 1.7 million square feet, enough room to park well over 80,000 cars!?!!!

I'm thinking out loud here.

The biggest parking lot I can find is in Edmonton Canada and holds 20000 cars.

MoKelly

 

[ruffdog]

A large compact track loader with a commercial land plane as a bare minimum.

 

[ning]

40 acres of parking lot would be larger than a huge shopping mall lot, wouldn't it?
A 4 (four) acre parking lot would be tremendous.
40 acres would be over 1.7 million square feet, enough room to park well over 80,000 cars!?!!!

I'm thinking out loud here.

I got about 8k cars with (40*43560)/(8*25) granted I was generous with the parking area per car but my pickup truck is big

 

[4570Man]

A 40 acre parking lot is enormous. Is that a typo? If not you probably need a road grader.

 

[Egon]

A road grader is the way to go for an initial levelling/smoothing. After that switch to a tractor and a simple drag that’s as wide as you can pull.

Three point attachments will not work well for initial grading or maintenance Grading.

 

[deezler]

So, you have 40 acres of gravel lot for 20 vehicles per day? I would humbly suggest, simply not having 40 acres of gravel, instead. 40 acres can hold a lot of critter habitat, or grow a lot of plants. Having a gigantic expanse of gravel that you have to maintain, for no real purpose, is frankly rather insane. You could collect the gravel and sell it instead (hire this out).

 

[sea2summit]

Takes me six hours to mow a 20 acre field with a 9' disc mower. Grading you'd be moving slower, compact tractor so 6' max land plane? Bring a snickers.

 

[dodge man]

Having been around construction a motor grader would be the tool of choice for the pros but maybe not the best choice for someone to start out with. I’d say the largest tractor you could afford with a land plane.

I agree on the 40 acres comments, that’s 1/4 mile by 1/4 mile area. Do you need that much? If not make it smaller over a period of time.

 

[SPYDERLK]

I recently bought a business that has approximately 40 acres of gravel lot. The lot sees infrequent automobile use (5-15 cars/day), and less frequent use by a seventy-ton capacity Marine Travelift carrying up to 80,000 lbs of boat (up to 4 times a day). The gravel lot was in rough shape when i purchased the business and i would like to repair and maintain it. I know nothing about grading but can drive a tractor. If I Only Buy One Piece of Equiptment to fix/maintain this lot, what would you recommend? I've thought of perhaps a tractor/box blade, or a skid steer ("Bobcat"), or a backhoe, but am not experienced enough in grading to choose intelligently. If you have a recommendation, could you please include model and/or minimum horsepower. Oh, i should maybe mention the lot seems to have undergone some haphazard repairs along the way. There are spots with #57 slag, fine slag, fist-sized concrete chunks, #8 stone, sand, etc. Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Im pretty much with Egon. Its even likely that a 3PT Power Brush and a Field Drag would keep it well maintained long term after an initial grading.

 

[Jchonline]

I recently bought a business that has approximately 40 acres of gravel lot. The lot sees infrequent automobile use (5-15 cars/day), and less frequent use by a seventy-ton capacity Marine Travelift carrying up to 80,000 lbs of boat (up to 4 times a day). The gravel lot was in rough shape when i purchased the business and i would like to repair and maintain it. I know nothing about grading but can drive a tractor. If I Only Buy One Piece of Equiptment to fix/maintain this lot, what would you recommend? I've thought of perhaps a tractor/box blade, or a skid steer ("Bobcat"), or a backhoe, but am not experienced enough in grading to choose intelligently. If you have a recommendation, could you please include model and/or minimum horsepower. Oh, i should maybe mention the lot seems to have undergone some haphazard repairs along the way. There are spots with #57 slag, fine slag, fist-sized concrete chunks, #8 stone, sand, etc. Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

You already have a bunch of tractors correct? Why not grab an implement for one of them and try that first.

Where are you? Do you need to clear snow? I assume if a boat storage facility the answer would be no, unless someone happens to be moving to a new area and needs to transport it.

In general, when you pull a grading tool behind the wheels of a tractor you need to do more passes to level the ground enough for the tires not to impact the grade . When your blade is in front of the wheels/tracks the smoothing happens first, minimizing the blade movement when the tires run over uneven ground. Tracks are usually better than tires for grading…simply 2 larger contact points instead of 4 small ones. Sure you could go with an actual grader, but that seems like overkill for a lot…and it is tough to maneuver if you have tighter spots.

Best? I would do a tracked loader (ie skid steer with tracks) and a 4 in 1 bucket on the front. Very easy to maneuver in tighter spaces, 4 in 1 will have a blade on the front for grading and you have a bucket for moving dirt. You can also get a LPGS for a Skid steer.

Is it really 40 acres? That’s like a housing subdivision.

 

[shooterdon]

Dual Edge Land Leveler Land Plane Utility Grader V2.0

Top rated industry best land leveler for sale with free shipping only at Everything Attachments!

www.everythingattachments.com

Using the 8 ft model, it will take you about 12 hours to make one pass on 40 acres. I normally make 2-3 passes on my driveway. That is a lot of seat time but the unit is less than $2500.

I use a 72" unit and have a 40 hp machine. With the 8 ft model I suggest a 50-60 hp tractor.

The advantage of the leveler is almost no skill or training is needed. Hook it up, and drag it around.

 

[Fuddy1952]

Right now our local quarry #57 gravel is $37/ton delivered. They're 14 miles one way from here. At that rate to put down 2" of #57s on 40 acres would be right at $1/2 Mil.
When we had our 500 ft driveway which is very close to level it was quite a bit of work which is why 20 years ago had it paved.
I'm with others is figure out how much you need and maintain just that.
40 acres is a 12 ft wide driveway 27.5 miles long!