Best implement to make small adjustments in grade (say 1 to 2 feet) and drainage?

[777funk]

My sons and I dug about 10yds with shovels to correct the grade that sloped toward our house in the country. This inspired me to buy a tractor.

I have been using a 34hp 336d and scraper blade to spread gravel and it has worked great.

I still have about 3 to 5 yards of dirt to move (more grading) and some yard drainage swales to make.

I can tell my 350lb 6 foot grader blade is not the best tool for this job. It will move earth, but very slowly. It will not bust sod hardly at all.

Is there a better tool for the job?

 

[Citydude]

My sons and I dug about 10yds with shovels to correct the grade that sloped toward our house in the country. This inspired me to buy a tractor.

I have been using a 34hp 336d and scraper blade to spread gravel and it has worked great.

I still have about 3 to 5 yards of dirt to move (more grading) and some yard drainage swales to make.

I can tell my 350lb 6 foot grader blade is not the best tool for this job. It will move earth, but very slowly. It will not bust sod hardly at all.

Is there a better tool for the job?

Box blade with rippers would do the job

 

[jeff9366]

How moist is your soil?

Is your tractor 2-WD or 4-WD? Rear tires inflated with air or filled with liquid?


Moist soil will provide just half the resistance to your blade of dry soil.

Optional blade-end "shoes" will allow your blade to move earth faster.
Three to five cubic yards of soil is not much volume.

Cheapest sod solution is to spray it with Roundup/Glcophosphate, then wait two weeks for treated sod to die and wait longer for a soaking rain before employing your blade.

The fast solution is a $7,000 Harley Rake.

 

[3gunr]

bOX BLADE WILL BE MUCH BETTER THAN A GRADING BLADE.

 

[777funk]

4wd with locking diff. Traction hasn't been a problem so far. Wet or dry soil hasn't made much difference. Still just scrapes the surface inch or so.

Would a loader with toothed bucket be a good idea? Maybe sell this and find a bigger tractor or even a backhoe?

 

[jcummins]

4wd with locking diff. Traction hasn't been a problem so far. Wet or dry soil hasn't made much difference. Still just scrapes the surface inch or so.

Would a loader with toothed bucket be a good idea? Maybe sell this and find a bigger tractor or even a backhoe?

Box blade...but also hydraulic top link so you can dial the cutting edge on the box blade in to cut better. Makes a difference.

 

[HoyeTractor]

Box blade all the way. You can move a LOT of dirt with even a small box blade. I have leveled many lawns & pads with them. We even leveled some 100-200 acre fields with some much larger ones. Just let the rippers down and get into a slow steady circular pattern of raising & lowering the box blade to cut and dump dirt where you need it. You can also use it finish the grade and make it nice and smooth by raising up the rippers and dragging around a 1/2 full blade of dirt in different patterns. Dealing with the grass will be the biggest problem. If it is dead and dry it might break up enough if you drag it around. If it is green it will try to clump up and make feathering out the dirt harder. Just mow it as short as you can first.

 

[bmaverick]

4wd with locking diff. Traction hasn't been a problem so far. Wet or dry soil hasn't made much difference. Still just scrapes the surface inch or so.

Would a loader with toothed bucket be a good idea? Maybe sell this and find a bigger tractor or even a backhoe?

Box blade with RIPPERS. The rippers will do ALL the work. AND if one breaks, the co-op or tractor store carries generic ones that typically fit all makes and models.

My YM2610 is the same Hp. I use a Box Blade with rippers made by LMC. It was a mere $275 back in 2014.
You can drop the rippers as low as they can go, lock the pins in place, add about 100# to 300# of weight and drag the box blade.


See how the rippers work on YT. Start at 1:30min. How to Plow With A Box Blade - YouTube

 

[bmaverick]

Additionally, this video shows a box blade with rippers, but the person isn't using weights to help push down the box. Thus, his box blade bounces!

 

[CoyPatton]

My sons and I dug about 10yds with shovels to correct the grade that sloped toward our house in the country. This inspired me to buy a tractor.

I have been using a 34hp 336d and scraper blade to spread gravel and it has worked great.

I still have about 3 to 5 yards of dirt to move (more grading) and some yard drainage swales to make.

I can tell my 350lb 6 foot grader blade is not the best tool for this job. It will move earth, but very slowly. It will not bust sod hardly at all.

Is there a better tool for the job?

For what you describe, you need the box blade with ripper teeth/shanks. I suggest the shanks set at an aggressive depth and the box set to collect the grass on the first passes. Once the grass is out of your way, you can be more aggressive with the box to move dirt and shape.
The grader or scraper blade is great for gravel driveways were you want a crown in the driveway. It also does well at pulling gravel from the edge of the ditch back into the driveway. If you need to move gravel from a heavily graveled area to another less graveled area in the driveway, you need the box blade.
Bottom line is different tools do different jobs. Both are useful to have. The heavier built the implement, the longer term service it will provide.