Proper Sizing of 3ph Attachments

Scrambler82 · Jan 31, 2015

It has been asked before and yes I searched and read through the first two pages before giving in and just posting.

I am thinking about buying a Land Leveler/Grader Attachment.

My tractor HST 4x4 and is 54" wide, do I get the closest to the width, 60", or can the tractor and its 28 hp pull a larger (72") Land Grader ?

My Box Blade is 60", but I thought since there is reduced load (my assumption) on a Land Grader a larger unit would work.

thks/ltr

jenkinsph · Jan 31, 2015

I would think that the lpgs will load your tractor similar to the box blade. With my 60 hp tractor and an 8' heavy lpgs is a load in 4x4. Recognize that both have full length cutting edges and the lpgs has two of them.

I would buy the best and heaviest 54" to 60" model I could find or in my case build it myself.

edit to add,
Looking at tractordata the tractor is smaller than I suspected, a heavy duty 48" or 54" is all you can handle.

Scrambler82 · Feb 1, 2015

EA has a 60" LPGS weighing approximately 590lbs and I seem to see more 60" than 54" units.

As to loading the tractor... Is it the weight of the unit or the actual blade contact ? I thought since the load is always sliding off the open back and never piles up the load would be less. :confused2:
I do not know either way for sure just assumed, the box blade seems to load down the tractor as the box fills.

Is there anyway to determine the load of the LPGS

s219 · Feb 1, 2015

I think a 60" box blade is too big for a Max 28, but I suppose it pulls OK as long as it never loads up with material. I know my previous smaller Kubota and my neighbor's Max 28 would stop in their tracks when just a 48" box blade fills up. I run a 60" box on my bigger Kubota L3200 now, and it's an ideal size for that tractor, which is much larger than the Max. Could not imagine that size box on a Max.

Generally, go wide enough to cover your tire tracks by an inch or two on each side, and thats it. And by tire tracks, I mean the tread pattern on the ground. I think you'd find that your tread pattern is quite a bit narrower than 54" width on the Max (it sure is on my neighbor's). We both had 48" box blades that measured about 49-50" overall, and that was more than enough to cover the tracks on the ground.

Wider is better for productivity, but only if the tractor can pull it with authority and maneuver OK. If it can't, time for a bigger tractor!

For land plane, I certainly wouldn't go wider than 60" on a Max. Something in the 50-54" range would make sense to me. Remember, it is a subcompact tractor.

MtnViewRanch · Feb 1, 2015

Lots of variables, weight of the unit itself, type of material being graded, how you actually use and control the implement.

I have an 800lb 60" unit that I use behind my 5000lb 3215 HST Mahindra. While I could probably pull a lighter weight 72" unit, my 60" unit is at times all my tractor wants. As far as no material build up in the box, again that falls into the variable column. I don't have any pictures of my 5' LPGS full of material, but I do of my 7' one. If the moisture content is right, I can have the entire area between sides full if I want. Again it depends on many variables.

I would get a 60" unit for your tractor if it were me. Probably going to be pretty tough to get anything much heavier than something in the 500lb range unless you build it yourself.

Ron50 · Feb 1, 2015

Brian, how much depth of cut are on your LPGS?

I live in Arizona now on a dirt road. I just want to maintain with minimum cut so that dust is minimized and the mud that forms when it rains is also kept to a minimum. This is a county road with probably over 20 homes and the county dosen't do maintenance on dirt roads they told me. The road looks alot like your posted pictures, just not in as good of condition.

I have a 40hp 5000# Branson that pulls a 72" boxblade well, so I figured a 72" LPGS should get the job done. I just wasn't sure if I would need to be able to change the depth of cut.

Thanks for your input. Also my 'top and tilt' really help for using the box blade on ths same road.

MtnViewRanch · Feb 1, 2015

Ron50 said:
Brian, how much depth of cut are on your LPGS?

I live in Arizona now on a dirt road. I just want to maintain with minimum cut so that dust is minimized and the mud that forms when it rains is also kept to a minimum. This is a county road with probably over 20 homes and the county dosen't do maintenance on dirt roads they told me. The road looks alot like your posted pictures, just not in as good of condition.

I have a 40hp 5000# Branson that pulls a 72" boxblade well, so I figured a 72" LPGS should get the job done. I just wasn't sure if I would need to be able to change the depth of cut.

Thanks for your input. Also my 'top and tilt' really help for using the box blade on ths same road.

1" below sides. Depending on your grading technique if that is a problem or not. If I just put the 3pt lever all the way forward so that the implement can make that full 1" cut no mater what, it usually will end up stopping the tractor. But if I only lower the implement to the ground and use the position control to hold at that level, that seems to work well for me and then I fine tune the cut using the hydraulic top link.

As far as size, I would go with a 6 footer, as heavy as you can afford. I typically like the Grademaster units just not a fan of all the hydraulic add ons. Welded units work just fine.

Road Boss units are probably the best, but very costly.

davrow · Feb 2, 2015

Hey, Scramber82 - borrow my 6' Land Pride LPGS and see if your tractor can handle it. That's the only way to know for sure.

About 28 miles from you, give or take. You'd need a trailer, I don't have one. I'm in Aguanga.

Scrambler82 · Feb 5, 2015

davrow said:
Hey, Scramber82 - borrow my 6' Land Pride LPGS and see if your tractor can handle it. That's the only way to know for sure.

About 28 miles from you, give or take. You'd need a trailer, I don't have one. I'm in Aguanga.

Missed this one, sorry.

thks for the offer.

i will keep the offer in mind when I get to that point.

ltr

Scrambler82 · Feb 9, 2015

The Max 28 is 54" wide, so the closes and slightly wider than the tractor Box Blade would be the 60" unit, maybe a lighter weight unit than the 800 lb unit.

Same for the land leveler... 48" is too narrow for the tractor, so a med or light duty 60" unit is called for.

Maybe more depth control is needed too, I will have to watch out for this situation.

The tractor came with a 500 lb 60" Box Blade, so it is going to work one way or another but the new Land Leveler I need to check out.