Land plane for grading lumpy land (not a driveway)

[braccet]

I've used my box blade to the best of my ability, but our land is still pretty bumpy and puddles badly in rain. We have clay soil here that is unworkable when wet, so have to wait for it to dry out, at which point it becomes as hard as concrete. Would a land plane with scarifiers work to help me get an even surface on this land? My tractor is only 25HP (but weighs 4000lb), so I'm thinking I'd put the scarifiers down only about an inch.

I generally only see these used on driveways, so just wondering if anyone's had luck evening out a lumpy pasture.

 

[ruffdog]

A dirt rake leveler type attachment will loosen and level just the surface. There are several brands for loaders and skid steers.

HHLL: Heavy Hitch Land Leveler - Heavy Hitch - Compact Tractor Attachments

Landscape Rake - Rake-N-Ator 78" - Skid-steer Loader Attachment - B-Built MFG

New HD Arena Rake-- 7 ft. for your 3 Point -(FREE 1000 MILE DELIVERY FROM KY) | eBay

 

[deezler]

I think you have a good plan. Does your box blade not have scarifiers/rippers?

I think a 40 HP tractor with a 6-foot PTO rototiller might be better.

Is it thick with grass now? The root clods are going to mess you up, not matter which way you try.

In a perfect world I would rototill it when damp, then top with top soil and make another couple passes.

 

[braccet]

A dirt rake leveler type attachment will loosen and level just the surface. There are several brands for loaders and skid steers.

HHLL: Heavy Hitch Land Leveler - Heavy Hitch - Compact Tractor Attachments

Landscape Rake - Rake-N-Ator 94" - Skid-steer Loader Attachment - B-Built MFG

Interesting, never seen that attachment before.

I'd still be more interested in a land plane if it would work, since I have a gravel drive as well to maintain. Think it would work?

 

[braccet]

I think you have a good plan. Does your box blade not have scarifiers/rippers?

I think a 40 HP tractor with a 6-foot PTO rototiller might be better.

Is it thick with grass now? The root clods are going to mess you up, not matter which way you try.

In a perfect world I would rototill it when damp, then top with top soil and make another couple passes.

Unfortunately I don't have a 40hp tractor, lol. I've thought about tilling (would make it easier to seed) but it seems like as soon as you drove over it with the tractor it would rut it badly. I was hoping with a land plane there would still be a relatively undisturbed base.

 

[gstrom99]

A land plane won't "dig in" enough, I think. ruff's post has a couple good products. I personally, would go with a rototiller - set just low enough at first to see if you can take off the top of the rough parts.

 

[deezler]

Scarifiers/rippers can be adjusted for depth and are designed to pull themselves downward under forward motion. In any looser materials, they will gladly dig themselves down enough to stall your machine right away, if you engage too far. But on dry clay that is "like concrete" they may more likely just bounce around on top.

As gstrom notes, rototiller depth can be controlled. Yes, driving on the disturbed soil afterwards will show tracks (not ruts) but you'll want to re-compact the entire area anyway.

My neighbor likes to turn his 1/2 acre garden to pure dust every fall and spring, using his 40HP new holland and a 6-ft tiller set nice and deep. He does 5+ passes; your shoes sink 3+ inches when you try to walk through it afterwards (he's way overdoing it).

 

[gstrom99]

He does 5+ passes; your shoes sink 3+ inches when you try to walk through it afterwards (he's way overdoing it).

Ahhh, any tractor time is good for the soul. The longer it takes, the better?

 

[swreeder]

I live in an area that has a lot of caliche soil. It dries rock hard in the summer. I have successfully used my land plane with scarcifers to level areas of my property.

It has its place, it is not a fix all, I end up using landplane, box blade and rock rake based on what I am trying to do.

The biggest thing with a land plane the material you are trying to level has to be able to flow up and over the blades. Where I have seen it struggle in areas where I am pulling up large rocks (bigger than a softball) will clog up the flow.

In general it’s been a great tool on my property. Picture below shows the right side of my driveway that I just cleared and smoothed over with the land plane and rock rake.

 

[dlctcg]

Landplane for your stone driveway IMO is the way to go... For your yard, all I can say is I have used ours on a few places we cleared & it worked but by no means was it a lawn worthy finish...

I would look at renting a Harley Rake or Power Rake for the yard... (still would get a land plane for the driveway )