Land leveling

[cisco]

I've finally brush cut 7.5 acres, trimmed the trees of low limbs, and filled in the major tree stump holes and the like with dirt. Now I'd like to smooth out the land a bit. It is fairly flat, and the soil is firm but not rocky. The land surface is "lumpy/bumpy" with depressions up to 5-6 inches, and humps the same height. I'd like to smooth out (but not manicure) about 3 acres so I can plant some grass. I know I can rent a bulldozer, set the blade a few inches deep, and scrap off the land. What are the best implement(s) to acquire if I stick with my tractor (34hp, R-4 tires, 4WD, FEL), as I may tackle the remainder of my property at some future date.

 

[mikim]

That's exactly what I use my box blade for - I just drop it & start driving - the box fills up and I keep going - and after repeated passes over holes and bumps it smooths right out.
I'll be doing that tomorrow actually - filling in large holes dug by wild pigs - I haven't been on the tractor in 6 weeks - hope I remember how to start it. /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif
mike

 

[gerard]

Guess it depends what you mean by leveling. A box blade or scraper blade for that matter will smooth out the land and fill in small imperfections but if the starting land has any gradual undulations the box blade will follow these contours. If you want it truly level a dozer is your best bet because the blade hits the imperfections first and the tracks ride on level ground that the blade just passed over. (You can kind of acheive the same thing by using a back blade facing backwards and driving backwards.

 

[gerard]

Guess I should have read your post a little closer. Sounds like a box blade or scraper blade with skid shoes would do just fine. (The skid shoes are nice because you can just put the blade on float and limit it from digging down too much, kind of limiting it to skimming off the high spots without digging into the existing grade). For a real nice finish drag 10 feet of chain link fence behind the implement as you level. Helps break up clumps and leaves you a nice planting bed for seeding.

 

[shade2u2]

I use my boxblade for most of the leveling process. I basically fill the low spots with the high spots, but am only learning. I have are rear valve & hydraulic toplink to install on my TC33d that will hopefully improve the boxblade efficiency. When a smooth finish is desired, I use a landscape rake as a final touch. It works very well & a basic model does not cost much (if your not going to use it alot for a long time).

 

[CVHoss]

Mike,
I haven't been on the tractor in 6 weeks

How do you survive? I haven't been on mine in two days and I'm already gettin' the DTs from withdrawal.

Hoss

 

[gordon]

Boxblade, rearblade, rake are all good to have and will work well. Each will preform a different function.

A nice thing to have, let me rephrase that I wouldn't own a rearblade or a landscape rake without gauge wheels. Once you get a set you'll never give them up. Really speeds up grading time. That way the implement is riding on the graded surface and a mirror finish is no problem. Hay I own a cheep dozer./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Gordon

 

[rf33]

The easiest attachment you can use to level bumpy ground is to go and rent that dozer. A box blade will do in a pinch, but to really make your life easy, just rent the dozer. You will be amazed at how much easier it is. Box blades have the problem (at least in forward mode) of making things bumpier unless you are constantly raising and lowering the box blade. The problem is due to the fact that as the tires go over the current bumps, the blade will go up and down and create more bumps behind you. If you need a good motocross track, a box blade is a great tool for this/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif.

rf33

/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[Bird]

<font color=blue>making things bumpier unless you are constantly raising and lowering the box blade</font color=blue>

True in many cases, but instead of constantly raising and lowering the blade, you can just drop it in the float position if the top link is adjusted right. But of course you frequently need to change that adjustment, so the box blade works great if you have the hydraulic top link.

 

[rf33]

I will have to take your word for that one Bird, I do not have a hydraulic top link yet, but I can see where it would really come in handy. I have a 7' box blade, and I really like it, but I think that for any serious amount of land levelling (like turning a rowed field into a flat field) the best tool is a dozer - bar none. Another option is a scraper which can either be a self contained model or a towed behind the tractor model, but these are generally for very large tractors, and can be quite expensive and hard to find. I guess that my point is that an implement which is hard attached to the back of a tractor might not be the most logical choice for a large amount of levelling work. Hopefully, with lots of practice, I can get the hang of my box blade.

rf33

/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[theboman]

I ain't got one yet but hope to before spring, but a rotary tiller will do the trick too.

Bluegrass, Pick It Up!

 

[StanInCalif]

Good point, Bird-
I guess if I didn't have Top 'n' Tilt, I wouldn't be so adamant in my support for the second most useful attachment.

<font color=green>stan</font color=green>

 

[StanInCalif]

Cisco, I think this is another one of those money vs. time things. If you have the bucks, and want it done now, a dozer w/operator would be the way to go. If you have some time, and want to collect some implements and play in the dirt, as most of us do, I would say a box scraper with scarifiers is in order.
Either way, I would look at an S-Tine Cultivator for planting prep. (much faster and cheaper than a tiller), and some sort of harrow to break the clods up. The chain link types are quite reasonable.
Another implement that might serve you well would be a homemade "drag" made from railroad ties or old tires- there was a picture of one of these posted here a few days ago- they can be very handy.

<font color=green>stan</font color=green>

 

[ddl]

You stated that the land is largely flat and that you want to turn 3 acres into lawn or grass. What I would do is till the 3 acres of have it plowed, then till the area and then using a drag finish leveling the 3 acres. then seed the grass. The process of perparing the field for seeding will do the most in leveling the acres. But everyone has their own ideas. I think alot of it has to do with the tools that we have.

Dan L

 

[Anonymous Poster]

A box blade will work just fine. The trick is to adjust the angle of attack with the top link. The teeth should be about a 1/2" below the back blade on level ground. (this works if you don't have big rocks)
Next you need to hit the high points and pull the materal into the low points. The trick is not to get to aggressive with the blade lifting or lowering the blade no more than 1" at a time.
After you have moved the material from the high spots to the low spots just go back and set the blade on the top of the ground. ( the blade will dig in a little, 1/4 ")
Now go back over what you had prepared and smooth it out.
When you get to the end look back for high spots and repeat the process.
It is hard to see the high spots when you are sitting on top of the tractor, what I do is drive away from what I have just done turn around and look for high spots, get a reference point of the high spot and and go back and fix them.
Sounds easy but it takes a lot of seat time to learn this, I always get the portable CD player out and take my time other wise I loose control and start getting to aggressive and build that motor cross track every one talks about.
Hope this helps, and ALWAYS remember how stupid you look with head phones on and singing on a tractor.

Hugh

 

[Jag]

Cisco, Stan and ddl, are giving the best advice.. For "Right Now" dozer.. but you will still need to do some follow up... Since it is fairly flat, plow and disc, and drag then seed will give what you are looking for.

If the only tool you have is a hammer, then almost any problem will start to look like a nail...

 

[cisco]

Hmm, I've only put 35 hours on the new tractor (Kubota L3410), mostly brush cutting (Woods BB600)and filling in large holes with the FEL. It took awhile to learn FEL use in (1) picking up full loads (rather than 1/2 loads) of dirt, and then (2) smoothing out the pile when I dumped such in a ground depression - and I still had deep tire tracks in the soft fill dirt (back tires wider apart than FEL). So, for better smoothing and some leveling, I've just acquired a 6' heavy duty box blade with rippers (I've also got a bunch of heavy brush roots, etc.). I've only used the box blade a few times, and smoothing extensive areas was challenging (yup, likely more so because I'm clueless, and have no tractor "mentor"). Seems I spent most of the time adjusting my hydraulic 3pt hitch so as to not dig into the ground when I went my front wheels went over a bump, or miss the ground entirely when my front wheels fell into a depression. The 6' width solved the tire track issue, as planned. I suppose I could drive backwards, but some of the "hills/ruts" could be a bit more than my R-4's can handle in a reverse direction (best traction for R-1 & R-4 tractor tires is going forward, right?). I'll try it.
I've too many very large and nice oaks to want to set a plow any deeper than a few inches (when I used a self propelled trencher to run a water line, I sure learned this the hard way), or I'd just plow the property and then landscape rake it.
A friend (nearly as clueless as I) suggested a cultivator, as did one of the respondants. What is a cultivator?
P.S. - I don't mind time "in the saddle" (with an MP-3 player that holds 4 CD equivalents) - only way I'm going to get any good with tractor skills, and I can't think of any better way to spend a Sunday afternoon (except maybe on a deer stand).

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Plow it
Disk hell out of it
Hook about 10 feet of large I beam behind the tractor with a chain, and drag it around on the side of the I to bust up clumps and grade the land. If you can't get 10 to 16" beam at a wrecking yard, some large timbers or logs will work well too.

 

[DB Pilot]

Have to agree with the plowing then disc method. I Have some acreage that I have been trying to level for years with backblade and boxblade. No real success at all and a waste of fuel. :thumbdown:
I took the Backblade at its sharpest angle. Then tipped it with the 3 pt linkage so that just the first edge of the blade dug into the ground. It will act just like a one bottom plow and roll the sod over itself. Then start next row. It works okay for say 1/4 acre but sometimes not evenly. which is what the success of the plow does, lays the sod over in even furrows so that you can disc/rototill on consistent ground. :2cents: With the cost for a plow it might be worth it to find a farmer all set up to plow and then work with that. :tractor:

 

[mikim]

howcum nobody is recommending a landplane? it's what I would use. I like the idea of discing first to break it up then landplane to fill holes and smooth - then drag harrow of any kind (harrow, fence, old bed springs...) to finish