Box Scraper Land Planes / Grading Scrapers

[milkman636]

Have you considered a pull scraper? They can remove/load, haul, and level as you dump. Search for them on the used equipment sites like Trackerhouse and Machinerypete. There’s two types, one loads and hauls and the other simply drags.

I have actually. Typically the ones I’ve seen require a bit more hp than I have available though. I’ve even browsed for some almost clapped out heavier equipment just to use for the summer and resell. But the risk vs. reward seems upside down on that right now because of declining price trends and high price of replacement parts.

 

[milkman636]

Kubota B7800 “land shaped” drainage features and created raised areas for a barn and round pen, and pond and track using FEL, and box scrape. Final smoothing with a 3pt. rake. Using a disc then the rake works wells also if dirt has become hard.
View attachment 807533

That's probably close in size to what I'm working on. What size is the area? Do you have any estimate on the amount of time spent shaping the land the way you wanted?

 

[cbosworth]

I started a project of raising a low area on an acre that has two distinct high areas and a low area. There’s about 6’ of elevation difference between the highest spots and the low one. It’s open land with few trees, but it’s one of only spots on our place that gets ponding in the spring. My goal is to raise the low area above the adjoining treed areas so it will be drier, flatter, and more useable.

I’ve spent a dozen hours or so over the last couple weeks running buckets of dirt down the hill and feathering them out. Ive also dragged hundreds of box blades full of dirt down the hills to deposit in the bottom. Both of these methods are decently effective for grabbing and moving dirt down the hill, but the smoothing and leveling at the bottom is slower than I’d like.

It’s a piecemeal job that will keep me plugging away off and on over the next few weeks, and I like to leave it smooth every time I drive the tractor away in case I don’t get right back to it.

So that has me thinking that a land plane type implement might be the ticket for this job. My thinking is that the land plane would make quicker work out of smoothing out and leveling part of the job and I could get a little more done each night if I had one.

So how about it? Will these things work as slick as advertised? Anyone out there have any advice for me on brands that worked or didn’t work for you? What do I need to look out for?

I use a 5ft box blade and 6 ft land plane. The BB moves material further before leveling. It leaves the grade a little lumpy - this is a bit of user error. I don’t raise and lower it slightly as the grade changes to keep it smooth.
Because….i then use the land plane. It leaves my grade smooth. Material doesn’t move very far before it spills over the too of the blade, then the next blade and the next. So it fills in low spots very well and evenly. I don’t need more than 1-2 passes to have a smooth pro looking grade.
This has been my experience for 15 yrs. I hope this helps

 

[cbosworth]

I use a 5ft box blade and 6 ft land plane. The BB moves material further before leveling. It leaves the grade a little lumpy - this is a bit of user error. I don’t raise and lower it slightly as the grade changes to keep it smooth.
Because….i then use the land plane. It leaves my grade smooth. Material doesn’t move very far before it spills over the too of the blade, then the next blade and the next. So it fills in low spots very well and evenly. I don’t need more than 1-2 passes to have a smooth pro looking grade.
This has been my experience for 15 yrs. I hope this helps

FYI - i use a MF461 65hp utility tractor

 

[Mudder]

That's probably close in size to what I'm working on. What size is the area? Do you have any estimate on the amount of time spent shaping the land the way you wanted?

Excavated dirt from pond and rear slope drainage area provided ample dirt. Solved the fall to winter mushy front pasture that borders a creek flood zone (should have raised barn another foot, but no damage). Over 4 acre pasture. Estimate 250+ enjoyable hrs from tractor run meter over a year’s part time work, including discing/raking all. Tractor Supply Rake helped with grass seeding.
Best of luck and enjoy the tractor seat time.

 

[milkman636]

I use a 5ft box blade and 6 ft land plane. The BB moves material further before leveling. It leaves the grade a little lumpy - this is a bit of user error. I don’t raise and lower it slightly as the grade changes to keep it smooth.
Because….i then use the land plane. It leaves my grade smooth. Material doesn’t move very far before it spills over the too of the blade, then the next blade and the next. So it fills in low spots very well and evenly. I don’t need more than 1-2 passes to have a smooth pro looking grade.
This has been my experience for 15 yrs. I hope this helps

Yes, your experience kinda matches where I want to be. I find that no matter how careful I was in spreading the last load it still looks from a distance like it could use more blending in. And if I ignore it and just keep laying more loads down i end up riding the 3pt lever even more to smooth multiple humps. So I end up going over different areas more than once with the box blade anyways. I know it doesn’t have to look nice before I quit each time I work on it, but I prefer it. It gives me a little sense of accomplishment for the time I just put in. I’m hoping for that easy, level finished look you mentioned. I know my box blade can move a little more dirt each trip than my loader, but I think things will more than even out in the leveling time.

 

[milkman636]

One question I have is how does the land plane deal with rocks? This is overall really good looking soil with no sand or gravel that I’m pulling off, but I’m turning up probably about 20 rocks an hour on this piece that are between loaf of bread and watermelon sized. My box tends to carry them along and cut grooves in the spot I’m leveling as I start to lift the blade for a controlled drop. That’s how I first notice them. My initial guess is that the land plane might spill them out the back with the overflow. What’s the real-world owner experience with rocks like?

 

[Sid Post]

The Everything Attachments land planes have really good weight and long "throats" so, while not the cheapest out there, work really well. Last I looked, they made three "grades" of land planes with different levels of performance and targeted tractor sizes.

 

[rvds]

I started a project of raising a low area on an acre that has two distinct high areas and a low area. There’s about 6’ of elevation difference between the highest spots and the low one. It’s open land with few trees, but it’s one of only spots on our place that gets ponding in the spring. My goal is to raise the low area above the adjoining treed areas so it will be drier, flatter, and more useable.

An acre with 6' elevation change sounds like a gully that will already have accumulated topsoil. Do you really want to remove the topsoil from the high spots?

 

[oosik]

"How does my LPGS handle rocks?". It depends upon a couple things. How big is the rock - where, exactly does the LPGS blade/scarifer hit the rock - am I using the scarifiers - is the driveway dry and hard as concrete or damp and soft.

My biggest rocks are the size of softballs. I will be using scarifiers 99% of the time on the driveway. The rock will be collected and pulled along with the LPGS. If they were big as watermellons - most likely jump over that rock.

As you would expect - hit the rock below the center line - it will be pulled out and drug along with the LPGS.

After spring rains my driveway dries out and becomes concrete. Even the heavy( 820# ) LPGS with scarifiers down has trouble on the dry driveway. I do all driveway repairs in the spring.

 

[GrumpyL5030]

I started a project of raising a low area on an acre that has two distinct high areas and a low area. There’s about 6’ of elevation difference between the highest spots and the low one. It’s open land with few trees, but it’s one of only spots on our place that gets ponding in the spring. My goal is to raise the low area above the adjoining treed areas so it will be drier, flatter, and more useable.

I’ve spent a dozen hours or so over the last couple weeks running buckets of dirt down the hill and feathering them out. Ive also dragged hundreds of box blades full of dirt down the hills to deposit in the bottom. Both of these methods are decently effective for grabbing and moving dirt down the hill, but the smoothing and leveling at the bottom is slower than I’d like.

It’s a piecemeal job that will keep me plugging away off and on over the next few weeks, and I like to leave it smooth every time I drive the tractor away in case I don’t get right back to it.

So that has me thinking that a land plane type implement might be the ticket for this job. My thinking is that the land plane would make quicker work out of smoothing out and leveling part of the job and I could get a little more done each night if I had one.

So how about it? Will these things work as slick as advertised? Anyone out there have any advice for me on brands that worked or didn’t work for you? What do I need to look out for?

I think you're on the right track with the land plane. I've been looking at them myself. I haven't found a used one near me, and new ones aren't in my budget this summer. I'll probably fab one this winter. There's a few videos on utube that demonstrate how good they work at finishing a road. Looking closely at the variety of them on the market shows that some have better features than most, and others lack critical features such as heavy duty tines to give an option to dig deeper if desired, and adjustable depth for the plane blades themselves. I have a long drive that I try to keep the crown down on to prevent throwing limestone off into the woods in the winter with the snowblower. I used an old back blade I have last week for the task, but wish I had a land plane for the job. They gotta do a quicker, more efficient job.
Good luck with that road.

 

[Eagle Ridge]

I started a project of raising a low area on an acre that has two distinct high areas and a low area. There’s about 6’ of elevation difference between the highest spots and the low one. It’s open land with few trees, but it’s one of only spots on our place that gets ponding in the spring. My goal is to raise the low area above the adjoining treed areas so it will be drier, flatter, and more useable.

I’ve spent a dozen hours or so over the last couple weeks running buckets of dirt down the hill and feathering them out. Ive also dragged hundreds of box blades full of dirt down the hills to deposit in the bottom. Both of these methods are decently effective for grabbing and moving dirt down the hill, but the smoothing and leveling at the bottom is slower than I’d like.

It’s a piecemeal job that will keep me plugging away off and on over the next few weeks, and I like to leave it smooth every time I drive the tractor away in case I don’t get right back to it.

So that has me thinking that a land plane type implement might be the ticket for this job. My thinking is that the land plane would make quicker work out of smoothing out and leveling part of the job and I could get a little more done each night if I had one.

So how about it? Will these things work as slick as advertised? Anyone out there have any advice for me on brands that worked or didn’t work for you? What do I need to look out for?

Eagle Ridge Attachments ronjmaestas@gmail.com has a ground plane that is unique to the market. It has 3 grading bits, the first one is a rough cutter, the second one is a straight bit and the third bit is formed so it compacts the material as it passes under it. I have used it so much. I did about 12 acres of finish grade work at our local golf course, at home I put in a 2-acre food plot and way too much yard. It separates oversized rocks, sticks, and debris. It was designed for any kind of grading. It can be used in both directions, forward and backward. It can even be ordered with a 3-point mount as well.

 

[Maineuropa]

The cost on these grading scrapers does seem high for what they are. And there seems to be a bit of variety in construction like the spacing between the blades, the angles used, scarifiers or no scarifiers. So I a looking for specific feedback from owners. What brand/model do you have? What do you like or dislike about it?

From what you have described for needs( lift and lower while using the FEL and no time to build it) I would suggest that you look at buying a York rake. I must say however that I seldom use mine as I find back dragging with the FEL easiest and with quick results. OTOH, I have turf tires so I get spreading and compaction with a few passes. I would think that AG tires wouldn’t leave the desired smoothness. A $300 arena drag might be a good alternative but you would need to attach/detach as needed(no lifting it out of the way while using the FEL.)

 

[MasseyFerg231]

I started a project of raising a low area on an acre that has two distinct high areas and a low area. There’s about 6’ of elevation difference between the highest spots and the low one. It’s open land with few trees, but it’s one of only spots on our place that gets ponding in the spring. My goal is to raise the low area above the adjoining treed areas so it will be drier, flatter, and more useable.

I’ve spent a dozen hours or so over the last couple weeks running buckets of dirt down the hill and feathering them out. Ive also dragged hundreds of box blades full of dirt down the hills to deposit in the bottom. Both of these methods are decently effective for grabbing and moving dirt down the hill, but the smoothing and leveling at the bottom is slower than I’d like.

It’s a piecemeal job that will keep me plugging away off and on over the next few weeks, and I like to leave it smooth every time I drive the tractor away in case I don’t get right back to it.

So that has me thinking that a land plane type implement might be the ticket for this job. My thinking is that the land plane would make quicker work out of smoothing out and leveling part of the job and I could get a little more done each night if I had one.

So how about it? Will these things work as slick as advertised? Anyone out there have any advice for me on brands that worked or didn’t work for you? What do I need to look out for?

At Green Tractor Talk, some members with fabrication skills basically took two pieces of 4”x6” angle (various lengths depending on tractor conditions) and made skis. Each bolts to the outside of the box blade. You can set your own heights depending where you set the bolt holes.

The theory is the skis sit say 3/4” lower than the bottom of the box blade. This allows dirt to be picked up from high spots and deposited in the low spots.

 

[beenthere]

I started a project of raising a low area on an acre that has two distinct high areas and a low area. There’s about 6’ of elevation difference between the highest spots and the low one. It’s open land with few trees, but it’s one of only spots on our place that gets ponding in the spring. My goal is to raise the low area above the adjoining treed areas so it will be drier, flatter, and more useable.

I’ve spent a dozen hours or so over the last couple weeks running buckets of dirt down the hill and feathering them out. Ive also dragged hundreds of box blades full of dirt down the hills to deposit in the bottom. Both of these methods are decently effective for grabbing and moving dirt down the hill, but the smoothing and leveling at the bottom is slower than I’d like.

It’s a piecemeal job that will keep me plugging away off and on over the next few weeks, and I like to leave it smooth every time I drive the tractor away in case I don’t get right back to it.

So that has me thinking that a land plane type implement might be the ticket for this job. My thinking is that the land plane would make quicker work out of smoothing out and leveling part of the job and I could get a little more done each night if I had one.

So how about it? Will these things work as slick as advertised? Anyone out there have any advice for me on brands that worked or didn’t work for you? What do I need to look out for?

Wondering which tractor you are using to do this dirt moving?

 

[beenthere]

No, my box blade and my bucket both individually hold about all the weight my tractor wants for one trip down the hill. With the loader full I prefer the box up in the air to keep weight on the back tires. Neither me nor my tractor will benefit from concentrating the all weight on the front axle while driving down.

Plus I'm a guy, I can't do a controlled dump with the loader and a controlled lift of the three point at the same time while I'm depositing dirt where I want it. That sounds as dangerous as texting and driving and less possible than convincing your wife that she is wrong.

Which tractor are you talking about, not performing up to this task?

 

[MacDaemon]

I started a project of raising a low area on an acre that has two distinct high areas and a low area. There’s about 6’ of elevation difference between the highest spots and the low one. It’s open land with few trees, but it’s one of only spots on our place that gets ponding in the spring. My goal is to raise the low area above the adjoining treed areas so it will be drier, flatter, and more useable.

I’ve spent a dozen hours or so over the last couple weeks running buckets of dirt down the hill and feathering them out. Ive also dragged hundreds of box blades full of dirt down the hills to deposit in the bottom. Both of these methods are decently effective for grabbing and moving dirt down the hill, but the smoothing and leveling at the bottom is slower than I’d like.

It’s a piecemeal job that will keep me plugging away off and on over the next few weeks, and I like to leave it smooth every time I drive the tractor away in case I don’t get right back to it.

So that has me thinking that a land plane type implement might be the ticket for this job. My thinking is that the land plane would make quicker work out of smoothing out and leveling part of the job and I could get a little more done each night if I had one.

So how about it? Will these things work as slick as advertised? Anyone out there have any advice for me on brands that worked or didn’t work for you? What do I need to look out for?

I bought a 7’ land plane with scarifier shanks from everything attachments. I have top and tilt on my 3 pt which makes adjusting bite and l/r tilt very easy. I originally purchased it for gravel driveways, etc but I’ve used it a lot for landscaping. I’m glad I bought it.

 

[civilian]

The 1023 is basically the same as a BX. I had a BX 2370 previously and I’d call the two tractors basically identical in size and capability. I also have a larger framed tractor with 38hp. I’ve seen a couple of the smaller land planes out there priced significantly less than the 72” varieties that I’m considering for the larger tractor. So if you had to pic a new model today to match the BX2230, would you still pick the GS0560? Or do you think a GS0548 might be a better match?

That’s also an interesting and surprising point about the blade depth not being adjustable on your land pride. There is a land pride dealer under 5 miles from my house, but he didn’t have a single grading scraper in stock to look at when I stopped in this week.

Sorry for the long time to resond. The reason for the 60 inches, is to get a path covered wider than the tire width. Also 3 passes per driveway width is about correct. Down the midlle flat, then once down each side angled down to help with a crown sahpe. Maybe not correct for some, but helps my drive. Now I could take the backhoe off my B26TLB and use a heavier land plane, but to much work to remove backhoe. BX2230 works for me. Jon

 

[milkman636]

At Green Tractor Talk, some members with fabrication skills basically took two pieces of 4”x6” angle (various lengths depending on tractor conditions) and made skis. Each bolts to the outside of the box blade. You can set your own heights depending where you set the bolt holes.

The theory is the skis sit say 3/4” lower than the bottom of the box blade. This allows dirt to be picked up from high spots and deposited in the low spots.

Hmm…I hadn’t thought about that. I wonder about having a method for quick-release to switch back to moving dirt quickly?

 

[milkman636]

Which tractor are you talking about, not performing up to this task?

I’m using my Bobcat CT335 for this job. It’s a stout 35 hp class tractor that is moving a lot of dirt this summer. It probably moves at least twice as much as my little 1023e could in each pass.

But, it is a big job for the 335 too. I’ve spent a couples hours out there 3 more times over the last week and I’ve gotten to where the highest spot is now the second highest spot. The low area is still low. It has swallowed a lot of dirt to come up around a foot. So I’m about 3 weeks into poking at this job and I might be a 1/3 of the way to where I want to be. So I’m looking for and thinking of ways to speed this up without breaking the bank.

All kidding aside I have seriously looked for reasonable priced ways to get bigger equipment onto my place for this job. But until I have something better I’m just making due and plugging away with what I have. It’s working.