3pt hitch towable 1,5yds dirt pan

[texasjohn]

Well, I know you are in the heart of Dixie and much of the world is North...but there are a few of us in Texas that kinda think we're a little South of you. :laughing:
So, if you're ever down my way, come by and see me.

Meanwhile, the Soil Conservation District owns the scraper and rents it out to local members on a daily basis. It stays rather busy! But, I fear that it would not suit a lot of TBNers...50hp 4wd is absolute minimum to get anything useful done....something like 100 hp is what is recommended for it. There are a number of members right at 50 hp and it gets thinner as you approach 100 hp...a few are there, just not many. It's another example where more hp is better:thumbsup:

That is a good deal- somebody up your way should buy it and after completing their work pass it on down towards Dixie where I can use it and pass it on!!

 

[Verticaltrx]

Well, I know you are in the heart of Dixie and much of the world is North...but there are a few of us in Texas that kinda think we're a little South of you. :laughing:
So, if you're ever down my way, come by and see me.

Meanwhile, the Soil Conservation District owns the scraper and rents it out to local members on a daily basis. It stays rather busy! But, I fear that it would not suit a lot of TBNers...50hp 4wd is absolute minimum to get anything useful done....something like 100 hp is what is recommended for it. There are a number of members right at 50 hp and it gets thinner as you approach 100 hp...a few are there, just not many. It's another example where more hp is better:thumbsup:

Based on his comments, I think he quoted the wrong post.

Regardless, a 5 yd scraper is a pretty good pull for even a 100hp tractor. For a big project I'd want about 150hp on it. I've used one behind an Allis Chalmers 8050 (150hp 4wd) and it was a pretty good match. That tractor also had full power-shift which is a really nice thing for running a scraper. It pulled it with enough authority to fill it to the brim then take it along at a good pace to where we were spreading the spoils. Another thing you have to look at, a 5yd scraper full of dirt is going to weigh 12,000-15,000lbs or more. That takes a good size tractor to control it when you're on the move.

As for the small scrapers the OP was talking about, I too would love to get one some day. I think for my 5203 Deere even a 5 foot, 1yd model would be all I'd want. It comes to a point where the bigger scraper, with more capacity, actually moves less dirt if you don't have the right tractor in front of it. These units look pretty nice, I think they start at about $5K though: Hoelscher DB scraper

 

[texasjohn]

Well, you're likely correct re quoted post vs response.

And, you're making me feel a little better regarding how my Grand L 5030 performed with the scraper.
I carried the FEL with about a struck load of dirt...to give maximum traction to front tires.
Front tires were new.
I added 280 lbs to 3ph for more rear traction...rear tires are loaded.
I always engaged the rear wheel lock.
I used 4wd and low range...with HST
Scraper was pin hitch tongue pull with 2 front steering/support tires and 2 rear tires
I feathered the blade up and down hydraulically, seeking to maintain forward motion just at the point of losing traction.
When traction was lost, I would raise the blade ever so slightly to reduce the drag and return to forward motion.
I ran 2600 RPMS and all 4 wheels were pulling/slipping as I sought to apply all 50 hp to the ground.
I would stop the pull when I judged that I had captured all the dirt that I could for that pull and carefully raised the bucket so the front closure would come down and capture as much dirt as possible.

Best pull was about a 95% struck bucket full.
Typical pull was about 2/3 of a bucket full.
I never got a pull where the dirt bubbled up and fell off the edges, as I saw done on U TUBE.
Often, perhaps because of terrain, one side of the edge would catch and fill one side of the bucket while the opposite side of the bucket would have only a little in it.

I certainly would agree that a 150 hp tractor would be balanced match for the scraper, allowing a full 5 yards every time.

 

[kneedeep]

texasjohn,
sounds to me like you are a skilled tractor operator to pull a 5 YD scraper with a 50HP tractor :dumptruck:

Seems to me that if the equipment is operated with skill and finese and not ran like a bull in a china shop anything is possible! I am sure not everyone could do what you did succesfully-
I, Sir, am impressed :applause:

 

[mjw357]

What makes these scrapers better than a loader other than ease of use? Are they faster?

If you are familiar with woodworking, think of it as a plane for dirt.

 

[texasjohn]

A scraper, such as I used, has a bucket/tub to hold the dirt that is scraped up. Under ideal conditions, the tractor has sufficient hp to pull the scraper along until the entire bucket is full, has bubbled up and is overflowing on all sides(absolute max load). At this point, the hydraulics are operated and the plane lifts off the ground and the movable front side comes down covering the plane. At this point, the device has turned into a dirt trailer completely full. It is towed at some speed to the spoil site and it tips up to dump the dirt...with experience, the dirt can be spread rather evenly in a strip the width of the device and just a few inches thick (no BIG mounds).

I assume that by loader you mean a front end loader bucket...if so, then the scraper advantage is that it carries far more dirt in one load than can be carried in the front bucket.

 

[texasjohn]

You're too kind...it was my little Kubota 5030 that did all the work! Here are a couple of photos.

One of the more successful pulls I had

The whole rig

weights on 3ph

dig area, rig in distance in front of existing dirt tank (been in a drought)

spoil area above spillway water line

texasjohn,
sounds to me like you are a skilled tractor operator to pull a 5 YD scraper with a 50HP tractor :dumptruck:

Seems to me that if the equipment is operated with skill and finese and not ran like a bull in a china shop anything is possible! I am sure not everyone could do what you did succesfully-
I, Sir, am impressed :applause:

 

[kneedeep]

Kind is stretching it a bit- I certainly am impressed with that tractor/pan operation! That black Texas soil looks like my MS Delta soil. Good to work in when dry and sticks like a bad nickname from High school when wet!

 

[texasjohn]

Proper name for the soil is Houston Black Clay...people call it "gumbo" for short...and, yes, when wet you get stuck and it can't be worked at all. Soil conditions were right...in some of the photos you can see where the blade bit in a bit, then released, then bit in again. We've had only one runoff rain this year...early spring...area I dug out was under about a foot of water then. It'll be 6 feet or so next time we get runoff to fill the tank.