Land plane questions

[KanakaRick]

good explanation, Woodland..... I think I will stick with the original plan of getting the drag land plane. I now have a better understanding.

 

[aeblank]

I have seen a land plane with both a 3-point and a skidsteer mounts on it.
If you know a welder, some framework/SS plate could be put on the back to facilitate pushing, and then you could pull. It would add some stiffness and some weight.

 

[Fallon]

I have seen a land plane with both a 3-point and a skidsteer mounts on it.
If you know a welder, some framework/SS plate could be put on the back to facilitate pushing, and then you could pull. It would add some stiffness and some weight.

I'd go with a 3pt & then add a SSQA mount to the back down the road if you felt it was worth it. SSQA plate is $150 maybe $200 for a beefier one delivered. A local welder could easily Fab up some mounting struts for it for a couple hundred if you can't weld & fab. Wouldnt affect the 3pt aspect at all.

 

[aeblank]

That's certainly what I was getting at.

Or, do a ssqa to 3 point quick hitch. The skid steer can drive backwards and do it. Maybe $200 for the adapter. Xaf has one.

 

[Fallon]

That's certainly what I was getting at.

Or, do a ssqa to 3 point quick hitch. The skid steer can drive backwards and do it. Maybe $200 for the adapter. Xaf has one.

I made one. Welded a quick hitch to a SSQA plate. Pushing $400 in raw materials if you buy new. They were over &1k for a prefab one. Although I think Titan or somebody started making a cheap one in the past year or so.

 

[KanakaRick]

Talked to the guy selling the Terraplane, and apparently it has fixed blades that are non-adustable. He tells me the plane is set at a 2" cut and you just raise or lower the 3 pt hitch to vary the depth. I would think that if the plane wasn't riding on flat on the surface of the driveway (because I wanted a shallower than 2" cut- due to my ground up asphalt driveway), I would run into the same issues I would be having with my box scraper making washboards, rather than curing them. Told him I was possibly going to take a look at it tomorrow, but it is a 50 mile drive for me, so I would like to know ahead of time if I should bother going to see it. Does it make a difference?

 

[aeblank]

I would not be happy with a fixed depth. Mine is set as shallow as it goes. 2" would make a mess in my sand.

Of course, ymmv.
Good luck.

 

[tkevan]

I would not be happy with a fixed depth. Mine is set as shallow as it goes. 2" would make a mess in my sand.

Of course, ymmv.
Good luck.

Yep, fixed blades would suck. I made mine adjustable. 0 to about 2".

 

[Gordon Gould]

Yep, fixed blades would suck. I made mine adjustable. 0 to about 2".

I have to respectfully disagree. Adjustment capability is good though. In most cases when pulling with a tractors and having roads with minimal surface thickness 2" is way to much.

I wonder how often you adjust your blade height ? Or did you just find a height you liked and left it there ??

gg

 

[jenkinsph]

I have to respectfully disagree. Adjustment capability is good though. In most cases when pulling with a tractors and having roads with minimal surface thickness 2" is way to much.

I wonder how often you adjust your blade height ? Or did you just find a height you liked and left it there ??

gg

I agree that height adjustment is not very important but fixed at 2" is not acceptable. Anywhere from 0 to 3/4" fixed should work okay.

 

[tkevan]

I have to respectfully disagree. Adjustment capability is good though. In most cases when pulling with a tractors and having roads with minimal surface thickness 2" is way to much.

I wonder how often you adjust your blade height ? Or did you just find a height you liked and left it there ??

gg

Depends on how compacted and what material. On one sons driveway, 2" is needed to get all the SB2 loose to level, on the other, 1/2 is enough for his recycled asphalt, On my land, leveling high spots uses more, my construction road uses less.

 

[JRobyn]

IMHO, cut depth is vitally important. Especially for a good crown. My LandPride independently adjusts on each side by loosening the 3 huge blade frame bolts, setting as desired and re-tightening. It's easy to set precisely by setting the whole thing down on a concrete pad with wood strips of the desired cut thickness underneath the skids on each side. Then just let the blades drop all the way down onto the concrete and tighten the blade frame bolts (impact wrench). I played with the setting a fair amount before I settled it in. Now it cuts about 3/4" below the skid on the right side and maybe 1/4" (or less) on the left side.

 

[bdog]

I have a 8' Road boss LPGS I use with my skid steer. It has a pin on bracket that lets you face it either way on the skid steer. I always push it but I do flip it around. I find the initial passes were best done with it running the way it was designed and for the final passes or just dressing I run it backwards. It doesn't want to dig in and just leaves things smooth. I push the thing facing backwards about 75% of the time. It has a 3 point hitch but I have never hooked it to my tractor as it works well with the skid steer. I do have a cab though and it would be a dusty experience if I did not.

 

[tkevan]

IMHO, cut depth is vitally important. Especially for a good crown. My LandPride independently adjusts on each side by loosening the 3 huge blade frame bolts, setting as desired and re-tightening.

About how I made mine. Each blade adjusts by a bolt plate at each end.

 

[bandaidmd]

So in an ideal world, which vehicle is better for smoothing a road? We have a skid steer and a tractor- which implement shall we purchase- one for the skid steer or for the tractor?

ideal world is a grader attachment for the skid steer or a land plane for a tractor

 

[bdog]

I can get a smoother surface with a box blade on my tractor with gauge wheels on the back than I can with my skid steer and LPGS but the box blade loads up with material and you get to the end of the road and have half a yard of material you have to figure out what to do with.

I graded my half acre equipment lot with a laser guided machine controlled system this weekend and it was the cats meow. I got it all within 1/4" and then rolled it with a vibratory roller. Looks like a parking lot. It was a buddies laser setup he let me borrow but I was so impressed I am buying one. They are not cheap about 25k but I figure I can use it on a few jobs for hire to pay for it and then have for myself as well. It is absolutely amazing how well it works and I was surprised how far I thought my perfectly manually graded area was off.

 

[jenkinsph]

I can get a smoother surface with a box blade on my tractor with gauge wheels on the back than I can with my skid steer and LPGS but the box blade loads up with material and you get to the end of the road and have half a yard of material you have to figure out what to do with.

I graded my half acre equipment lot with a laser guided machine controlled system this weekend and it was the cats meow. I got it all within 1/4" and then rolled it with a vibratory roller. Looks like a parking lot. It was a buddies laser setup he let me borrow but I was so impressed I am buying one. They are not cheap about 25k but I figure I can use it on a few jobs for hire to pay for it and then have for myself as well. It is absolutely amazing how well it works and I was surprised how far I thought my perfectly manually graded area was off.

I quickly found out how important laser grading was for flood irrigated fields, the water doesn't lie. I use box blades for grading and leveling. I use land plane grader scraper for smoothing. There is a difference in the terminology imo. Both are very useful tools for most members here but a box blade either drag or 3pt with laser machine control can accomplish both jobs on a graded area. Sure makes my jobs easier to complete with good results.