Box Scraper Box scraper for hard pack dirt/gravel road

[Catman8]

So looking for box scraper recommendations for maintaining about 1 mile of hardpack dirt/gravel road. There is a lot of traffic on the road with not a lot of maintenance. Will be using a Kubota L4701 to pull it with. Was looking at the 6' land pride bb35. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Stick with the known brands that have been around for many years and save yourself a ton of grief and aggravation, I personally bought a box blade from a small company and trust me it's not worth it, there is a reason the bigger name brand companies have been around for years because they know what they are doing and they know how to build implements straight and correct, and they don't cut corners or try to hide things. The extra money you spend will be well worth it. Who wants a crooked box blade or crooked land plane.

 

[fried1765]

May not have operated but used more than one at the same time.

Now you can use a grader but that doesn't mean you can operate one. There is a difference.

You are SO RIGHT!
A good grader operator is an artist!

 

[JRobyn]

Regarding a LPGS' tendency to drop the fines first and only leave larger stuff on top, the last time I ran mine, it did exactly the opposite. Maybe just because I did it when the surface had too much moisture in it.

 

[jenkinsph]

Regarding a LPGS' tendency to drop the fines first and only leave larger stuff on top, the last time I ran mine, it did exactly the opposite. Maybe just because I did it when the surface had too much moisture in it.

Best I can tell from my experience is that whole argument is a box of crap. The fines do need to come all the way to the top surface with the surface gravel about one rock high. Having too much loose rock on a road surface causes the tires to plow through it. It is important to have the correct mix of fines and gravel in order to pack the gravel and lock it in place. Rolling it with a heavy roller at the outset helps a lot.

 

[Egon]

Best I can tell from my experience is that whole argument is a box of crap. The fines do need to come all the way to the top surface with the surface gravel about one rock high. Having too much loose rock on a road surface causes the tires to plow through it. It is important to have the correct mix of fines and gravel in order to pack the gravel and lock it in place. Rolling it with a heavy roller at the outset helps a lot.

That is what moving a windrow back and forth does. Mixes real well. Well graded mix of materials at hand.

 

[ovrszd]

Now you can use a grader but that doesn't mean you can operate one. There is a difference.

Very, very true.

 

[jenkinsph]

Motor graders take a lot more experience to run than most other equipment. A long time operator that is very good will still be learning new techniques on his last day of work.

I have said before that I can show anyone how to drive a dozer in 10 minutes or less. You can then spend the rest of your life learning how to control the blade. Same with a motor grader.

 

[olPete]

So pleased the guy who told me off for hijacking the OP's thread back around post #10 deleted his post! Or I wouldn't have learnt half as much
For my uses (driveway, farm track, rocked farmyard maintenance) your discussion has been really informative.
I have had a play with my angle blade now. Pro's it's very versatile and got my crown back, and I will be able to dig out water tables etc to reform my farm track. Con's it would be very easy to make a huge sow's ear of things. Could put a wheel out the back, but then it will increase the overall length but increase my ability to smooth out whoop sections.. so I think I will leave the tailwheel on the to-do list and build up a big long leveller/landplane style sled. Longer than it is wide, and possibly 4 or more crosspieces to maximise mixing.
The ag. guys use them around here a lot, their ones usually have the crossmembers made of heavy angle iron, first one an inch above the skids, next one 3/4, next 1/2, next 1/4, which means there is a flow of material over each one. I might try to copy that and then I can use it in the field as well.
I think you all have very valid points, my thanks for sharing them with us

 

[jenkinsph]

So pleased the guy who told me off for hijacking the OP's thread back around post #10 deleted his post! Or I wouldn't have learnt half as much
For my uses (driveway, farm track, rocked farmyard maintenance) your discussion has been really informative.
I have had a play with my angle blade now. Pro's it's very versatile and got my crown back, and I will be able to dig out water tables etc to reform my farm track. Con's it would be very easy to make a huge sow's ear of things. Could put a wheel out the back, but then it will increase the overall length but increase my ability to smooth out whoop sections.. so I think I will leave the tailwheel on the to-do list and build up a big long leveller/landplane style sled. Longer than it is wide, and possibly 4 or more crosspieces to maximise mixing.
The ag. guys use them around here a lot, their ones usually have the crossmembers made of heavy angle iron, first one an inch above the skids, next one 3/4, next 1/2, next 1/4, which means there is a flow of material over each one. I might try to copy that and then I can use it in the field as well.
I think you all have very valid points, my thanks for sharing them with us

Depending on how much work you have to do and how high your expectations are you may get by with one implement. You may find that having a wide variety of implements to cover the bases is the way to go. Over time you may find having a box blade, lpgs, rear blade, roller and landscape rake are all useful. I have small and larger of each of these implements and find that the larger box blade and lpgs get the majority of use.