Gauge Wheels

[gerard]

Andy, great pic and nice job!! I already printed it out and will be taking it to a friend to see about duplicating it. (I'd really like to do it myself but after having $$thousands in wood tools I just don't want to start down the metal working path and try ad accumulate all the metal cutting/shaping tools. Maybe when I have a bigger workshop.........)

 

[W5FL]

Tom, I don't know anything about snow blowers.

I can't visualize any reason that I would have for gauge wheels on a box blade. The tilt of the upper link is the real control for a box blade and a hydraulic top link really lets you get maximum use out of it. A gauge wheel on a rear blade would be very useful, although I doubt that I would add one, I can certainly see a lot of uses for it. Most of the gauge wheels that I have seen for 700# and up equipment are a solid tire set on a pretty heavy frame as the stresses are pretty high and the guage wheel is normally a single wheel. Look at a brochure for Rhino or Bush Hog or Woods for some good examples. Gauge wheels can be a lot lighter on a landscape rake. I would not mind having a set for mine, although I manage to get along nicely without one since the rake usually gauges pretty well in gravel and roadbase and other materials that I use if for. Landscape cleanup would require the gauge wheels to be really effective, but I do it once in a while and not daily as a landscaper would need to do.

 

[Bird]

Wen, it depends on what kind of box blade you're using. I think nearly all of us have 3-point box blades, but I know a fellow who has an 11' box blade; pull behind on the drawbar, and it has two hydraulically adjustable gauge wheels, and of course the wheels can be raised high enough that they don't even touch the ground or they can be lowered to lift the blade pretty high off the ground for towing to the work site. I helped in the tight spots with my little Kubota when we built a parking lot for the new fire station, and that box blade of his is really great.

Bird

 

[TomG]

Thanks for the info. My thinking about the uses for gauge wheels on a box scraper is for spreading gravel. What I'd like to do is pick up a box of gravel, float the 3ph, drive forward dragging the gravel, and then tilt the box up to start spreading the gravel. I have a hydraulic top link.

I was building up a pad for a construction trailer and a load of gravel was more or less spread on the pad by a dump truck. I did most of the leveling with the scraper and had to ride the 3ph a lot. However, I ended up doing most of the final spreading with the back of the loader bucket, and then went back to the scraper to finish and compact the gravel.

If there are other approaches, I'd be happy to hear of them. I just figured that gauge wheels might make a scraper more useful for final spreading. My scraper has a fixed rear blade. I have heard that ones with hinged rear blades are better for spreading. However, all things considered, I got the job done, and it was pretty enjoyable work. I just keep searching for easier ways to do things.

The idea with the snow blower is similar. There is a time before freeze up and after thaw when my gravel drive is sodden. The skids on my blower just dig into the gravel, and then the blower picks up a lot of gravel. During these times, I have to use my loader for snow removal, but loaders aren't great for dealing with very heavy snows. Attaching wide plates to the skids probably would be an easier solution, but I figured that if I got some wheels for the box scraper, they might work for the blower as well.