Moving dirt... box blade vs scraper

[Dadnatron]

I'm currently working on building a new horse farm out of an old bean/corn farm.

I have some dirt work to do, not a HUGE amount, but enough over the next couple years, that I think investing in something which will move the dirt around my 84ac might be useful. I know... I know... 'Hire it out, save yourself' is a truth and I understand it. But $$$ and work interval is an issue. ie, I'm not exactly sure what and when I will need different things done. I have a general plan, but to hire all the dirt work out would be very expensive, if done all at once and even more expensive piecemeal. Besides... I bought the place to enjoy the work, not hire it all out.

So, what I have need for 'NOW' is to smooth out some small berms build along a small hill, in order to reseed it back into pasture. The berms were built for the beans and corn. Sod will prevent any washing... in fact, I'm surprised they were put in at all, given the gentle slope. But, they would be a problem for running horses, so out they must go. I have a place that could use this 'berm dirt' about 100yds away, a shallow wash area that has some small wash ditches, again from the cropland washoff. The pasture just across the road has the same terrain and has no wash issues, but it is in pasture rather than crops.

I will also have other dirt moving needs around the place, I'm sure.

My tractor is a 100hp JD 5100e. Cat 2 hitch. loaded tires 900+lbs each. Ag tires - slightly worn, but still in good condition.

I've been thinking about the monstrosity box at EA

.

But I'm uncertain whether this can move the dirt I need reasonably the distance I need it moved. I have never seen a video or in person, in which someone actually is moving real amounts of dirt any appreciable distance. I've seen ponds cleaned and small piles spread, but never anything approaching what I need done. I don't know whether that is because it is a rare need or whether they just don't do the job. EA... if you want to test this out, I would be happy to make videos with your big box blade moving dirt all over my acreage... just send me the blade and I will put it to work.

Its just that a $4K+ investment in a box blade that doesn't do what I need it to do, isn't a reality. And 'trying it out' with a smaller box blade and failing, doesn't really show me whether at reasonably heavy blade would have done the trick.

So... that brings me to pull scrapers. I KNOW they will do the trick... but then again... they are really One Trick Ponies... as far as I know. I can take that $4K and put it into a used 3-4cu yd scraper and move all the dirt I want. But then again, when I'm done, I'll have a nice rusty yard ornament until I need it again, down the road. I'm leaning this way, because I know it will do the job. But the versatility of the box blade is much more palatable if it would do the job I need.There is a local 3cu yd available for purchase. Nothing for rent.

I'd like to know your thoughts and experience. I'll need MUCH MORE than what I've shown on the pic, but this is the current 'need' and will have to be done this fall if not sooner. I'd like to get it moved before I get the whole thing drilled into pasture. I can drill the parts that I won't be messing with to the Southeast, and leave the 'work area' undrilled so I can work on it. But I need to have a plan for getting the dirt moved... and I'm running out of time.

 

[tractorshopper]

I'd use the box blade to break down the berms to level ground and kind of pile up the spoils pushing them into piles. Then I'd use your loader for transporting the piles to where you want redistribute the soil.

Box blades are great tools. Use mine a lot for driveway maintenance and leveling spots or dragging earth from one area to another, but my dragging from one area to another is nowhere near as far as you'll be dragging yours, hence my comment about using your loader for transport.

If you will do a lot of box blade work, a top-n-tilt set up would be really nice to have. I don't have one so I manually adjust my box blade when using it, but mainly I attack my work from different angles a lot to keep from resetting the box blade frequently so the main adjustments I make are only setting the depth of the ripper shanks for either really breaking something up or more scraping off layer by layer.

I wouldn't hesitate to tackle what you're looking at doing with a box blade and loader by yourself instead of hiring it out. It will be fun tractor therapy for you.

 

[bcp]

Sounds to me like you need the attachment in-between those you mentioned.



BB45 Series Drag Scrapers | Land Pride

Bruce

 

[tractorshopper]

I should have added a toothbar on your loader can really assist with this type of project and turn your loader into a digging machine as well. I dug my pond mainly with my loader with tooth bar and box blade, but mostly with the loader. The box blade is great ballast for loader work.

Also, I have old farm berms on my property and they used to be more steep in some sections, so I used my box blade to cut them down to make it easier to mow, etc, but I just cut the top and pulled the spoils in each direction. I didn't completely remove the berms, but just shape them less steep. If I wanted to remove them completely like you do, I'd do as I mentioned above using the box blade and loader. At the end of the project, with shanks up on the BB, you can really do a nice final grade.

 

[Fallon]

I'd use the box blade to break down the berms to level ground and kind of pile up the spoils pushing them into piles. Then I'd use your loader for transporting the piles to where you want redistribute the soil.

Box blades are great tools. Use mine a lot for driveway maintenance and leveling spots or dragging earth from one area to another, but my dragging from one area to another is nowhere near as far as you'll be dragging yours, hence my comment about using your loader for transport.

If you will do a lot of box blade work, a top-n-tilt set up would be really nice to have. I don't have one so I manually adjust my box blade when using it, but mainly I attack my work from different angles a lot to keep from resetting the box blade frequently so the main adjustments I make are only setting the depth of the ripper shanks for either really breaking something up or more scraping off layer by layer.

I wouldn't hesitate to tackle what you're looking at doing with a box blade and loader by yourself instead of hiring it out. It will be fun tractor therapy for you.

Same. If I'm moving dirt any distance, I scrape a pile together, then use the loader to move it.

TnT makes a box blade work a lot better & a lot easier.

 

[ishiboo]

For just about any size acreage, a box blade is almost a necessity.

But it is not for moving dirt long distances. I am on 1/10th your acreage and if I have to move a pile of dirt, it gets loaded into the dump trailer. It would take forever to move via dragging from even one half the property to the other.

 

[jenkinsph]

I do enough of this type work that I think I can offer a few suggestions.

You should survey the fields to see where improvements should be made to optimize using a cut and fill method. Often NRCS can help you with this. Having a long term plan of what needs to be done to the property might steer you to the right tools for the job. If you know how much dirt needs to be moved and how far it needs to be moved it will be easier to pick the right tools.

Before removing borders or terrace rows I would want a cover crop to reduce erosion first. It is easier and cheaper to touch up with a drill than to fix erosion problems. In most cases these terrace rows were formed from the ground immediately surrounding them, depending on the survey it may be best to put it back where it came from. There is also the possibility that these terrace rows should be left in place but could be cut down some.

 

[STx]

If you're going to be moving dirt around a lot, I'd consider a dump trailer or an old dump truck. You'll quickly discover that the box blade isn't a good tool for moving dirt very far and after about trip number 5, moving it with a loader gets to be a real chore. It's a lot faster to load it into the dump, haul several yards at a time to the new location and dump it.

I would imagine that with a horse farm and your acreage, you'll find lots of uses for a dump.

 

[CCWKen]

You're not too clear on just how much dirt you need to move around. :confused3: But if it's going to be 4-digit yardage, I wouldn't bother with "garden tools". You should invest in some heavy equipment unless time is of no concern. Don't rule out rentals and/or farming the job out either. A loader, dozer and dump truck can move more dirt in one day than you could do with small farm equipment in a year. After it's moved then you should consider a Land Leveler or Draw Grader for final grade and maintenance. Many of these have 20' blades and up.

Here's a 20' Notch Leveler: NOTCH 2' Land Leveler - YouTube

 

[4570Man]

Do you have a loader? No tool that pushes or drags dirt is very good at moving it a long distance. I think you still need a box blade. I'd pile up dirt and you could either scoop it up and carry it in the loader bucket or more efficiently load it in a dump trailer/truck.