Rear Blade Buying a Land Pride grader scraper tomorrow - shall I get the GS1572 or GS2572?

[hammick]

I have a 2002 Branson 4020 which is a 40hp turbo with 68.8" rear wheelbase. I need a grader scraper bad and plan to buy one tomorrow. Kubota dealer is recommending the GS2572 but I'm also thinking about the GS1572. Weight difference is 180lbs. GS2572 is rated for 40hp to 90 hp and the GS1572 is rated for 20hp to 50hp.

I'm worried the GS2572 might be too much for my tractor. I'm at 5,100' elevation and my driveway is on an uphill grade. The GS2572 is $600 more than the GS1572.

My area is very hard Montana dirt with lots of big rocks. I plan to remove the big rocks with a shovel and my loader, not the grader scraper.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[i7win7]

4R – Branson Tractors

3pt can lift 3300 lbs and has position control - usually heavier is better with ground engaging equipment - 3pt can carry some of the weight for lighter grading.

 

[oosik]

My mile long gravel driveway is a combination of volcanic ash, silt, sand, gravel with a heavy rock base. It dries out and becomes concrete in the summer. I pull a Land Pride GS2584 with my Kubota M6040. The driveway is so hard - I lower the scarifiers about one and a half inches below the rear blades. This looseness the surface and the blades level & flatten. Without the scarifiers the GS will do NOTHING. It just drags along and makes sparks.

The M6040 with the GS will weigh around 9700 pounds. I do have and use 4WD. With the scarifiers down it is a good, full pull for the Kubota. The GS2584 weighs 796#. When the unit is working the hardest - it's not more horse power that I need - it's the added tractor weight and traction.

I would recommend the scarifiers and the heavier unit. I also have hydraulic top link. It's great for making adjustments on the fly.

If you get the lighter unit - make yourself some type of box across the top so you can add weight. Believe me - weight is your friend with ground engagement implements.

 

[Wyobuckaroo]

At an extra $600 US that would make up my mind to not go with the 25 series.. It sounds like you have an extablished drive, even though not the best , so mainly you will be maintaining and improving it. At $600 US will buy a lot of fuel and grader blades if all it takes is extra seat time for the 15 series implement to do the job... Did I mention I'm on the cheap side about some things ??

My 5 cents of opinion..

 

[wcampbell47]

I have a 2002 Branson 4020 which is a 40hp turbo with 68.8" rear wheelbase. I need a grader scraper bad and plan to buy one tomorrow. Kubota dealer is recommending the GS2572 but I'm also thinking about the GS1572. Weight difference is 180lbs. GS2572 is rated for 40hp to 90 hp and the GS1572 is rated for 20hp to 50hp.

I'm worried the GS2572 might be too much for my tractor. I'm at 5,100' elevation and my driveway is on an uphill grade. The GS2572 is $600 more than the GS1572.

My area is very hard Montana dirt with lots of big rocks. I plan to remove the big rocks with a shovel and my loader, not the grader scraper.

Thanks for any advice.

I have learned that for me cheaper is not always better, so would tend to buy the heavier unit with scarifiers. I had a light weight unit without scarifiers which bounced along hard surfaces. Check availability and pricing of skid shoes as you will put wear on them. Would it be safe to grade down hill? You can always decrease the bite of the cutting blade by extending the top link. A hydraulic top link works very well. I am sure you will find more uses for a quality attachment than a cheap one that does not perform.

I graduated to a skid steer to build driveways and pads. I use the skid max pro which has worked well for me. The company builds units for tractors as well. GRADE-MAX Road Graders • Spreader Graders

 

[oosik]

Brother - do I ever hear you there Wcampbell47. Bought that GS seven years ago. Paid $1850 for it. Tried it every year on the concrete hard driveway - same miserable results. Finally - this year I said - What the H*LL. I lowered the scarifiers. Night/day difference. Once those scarifiers loosen up the top inch or so - the rear blades really do a nice job. It's now my "go to" implement for potholes and all other obscenities that tend to form on my driveway. However - I'm careful to leave just a very few shallow potholes. Lest those who visit turn the driveway into a mile long race track.Some times being a hard headed Norwegian is NOT an advantage. I'll even bet my Bush Hog ROBB 720 would work better if I used its scarifiers first!!

 

[crazyal]

Unless money is an issue I would get the heaviest one I could. I bought a Befco brand as it was heavier and cheaper than the Land Pride 15 series. It also came with the rippers (I wouldn't get one that didn't have them). I now have two large logs on top of it for added weight, my guess is it's over 2000 lbs now. Even then in the summer my ROW will get so hard the only way of breaking it up is with my 580k backhoe when we haven't had rain in a week or so. I'll also shorten up my top link to allow the rippers to really did in on the sections of the road that form potholes. It really comes down to what your driveway is made of and how solid will it be when you want to work it.

 

[oosik]

I might just custom make a single log to fit across my LPGS. Lord knows - I have 80 acres of gigantic ancient pines just standing there twiddling their roots.

 

[hammick]

So I bit the bullet and dropped $2,300 on the 25 series. If it's the miracle tool the dealer told me it is it will be a small price to pay vs paying someone to bring in a grader. Thanks everyone for all the great advice!

 

[Bayou]

I guess I'm a little late but I bought a woods 7 footer, the original salesman was pushing a 8 footer but I went with the 7. My tractor has 38 hp and 74" wide I believe and I'm glad I went the 7 foot instead of 6. I got the scarifiers and thankful I did to break up then hard packed drive. I will likely add a couple hundred pounds but it brought all my gravel back up, remarkable difference. I will add a top coat since what is there now is basically a base, previous owners doings. But it went from a terrible drive to nice again, it is one tool that lives up to it's expectations.