pull type scraper with X495 (2WD and only 24hp)

Neandertaler · Jul 13, 2015

Hi everybody,

after lurking around here for a Long time thinking about upsizing from my Deere X495 to a Deere 2520 or Kubota B2630, I have finaly decided to Keep the X495 as mowing will be 90% of everything I will ever have to do. Many nice and knowledgeble People on TBN told me that it will be very hard to match the mowing peformance of the X495 with a larger CUT. But I still have the issue of taking care of my compacted gravel driveway.

I have ruled out getting a 3 Point for the X as the Lifting capacity and Lifting height are severely limited for effective box blade work. What do you guys think of a pull type scraper? As I only have 2wd and 24hp, will this be an effective tool or is that idea nuts? I thought of 48 inches width for example. Something like this:

I could get a rear hydraulic remote for far less cost than a 3 Point for the X495. And for the saved Money I can buy some front suitcase weights and/or rear wheel weights (By the way....I have rear bar tires)

bcp · Jul 13, 2015

If you are using it for driveway work and not land leveling, etc, a tongue pulled LPGS may be better.

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RedNeckRacin · Jul 13, 2015

Someone can chime in here but those pull scrapers eat horsepower and will bring a larger tractor than you think to its knees. Unless you have a way to break up the soil or you are in soft loamy material or sandy material you may be very disappointed.

Poopdeck Pappy · Jul 13, 2015

RedNeckRacin said:
Someone can chime in here but those pull scrapers eat horsepower and will bring a larger tractor than you think to its knees. Unless you have a way to break up the soil or you are in soft loamy material or sandy material you may be very disappointed.

I was thinking the same thing. A pull type scraper like the one pictured would probably stop the X495 dead in its tracks. Also, while I know the X495 has one of the good TuffTorq transmissions in it, I have no idea if it's designed for that type of heavy pulling.

jenkinsph · Jul 13, 2015

I have played with this size stuff some and use my x749 to work under trees and in tight corners where the larger tractors can't fit. The L&G tractors will work with the 3ph type equipment but they are light for the most part. I will tell you it has saved me a lot of labor money where employees used to do the close quarters work by hand. Having the small machine has reduced the manual labor by 75% at least. I don't recommend it to replace a larger tractor but they work well as a team.

Here are some pics of the x749 with the box blade and custom land plane I built. My favorite tool is the pine needle rake on this tractor, very handy for raking as well as smoothing and seed covering.

Neandertaler · Jul 14, 2015

Hmmm, it seems that I have a very good grass cutter which is only marginally suited for other work. I have the Feeling that it is not worth the money trying to make the little X495 do stuff it was not designed to do. And although the pics from Jenkinsph look very promising, this is a 4WD Maschine after all and the X495 Performance will be not as good. I probably have to accept the fact that I will just keep mowing and perhaps look into a larger tractor in the future....I do not want to spend thousands for 3-point, weights and attachments and be dissapointed. Thanks for your valuable input on that matter.

Deere Dude · Jul 14, 2015

Neandertaler said:
Hmmm, it seems that I have a very good grass cutter which is only marginally suited for other work. I have the Feeling that it is not worth the money trying to make the little X495 do stuff it was not designed to do. And although the pics from Jenkinsph look very promising, this is a 4WD Maschine after all and the X495 Performance will be not as good. I probably have to accept the fact that I will just keep mowing and perhaps look into a larger tractor in the future....I do not want to spend thousands for 3-point, weights and attachments and be dissapointed. Thanks for your valuable input on that matter.

I be one that had 2 sets of wheel weights from a 455 which I used then I filled the tires and put chains on a 2 wheel drive X595 with the 3 point hitch. Then I transfered all that to a new X740 2WD.

I already had that equipment on my tractor which I used for pulling a 2000# heavy trailer, pushing little trees over with the front blade and also snowblowing, mowing etc. That was all I had but weights and a 3pt made the tractor very useful for my needs. It seemed pretty durable for those things.

I then bought a 6' rear blade for my 500' gravel drive maintenance from Fleet Farm. The tractor handled the blade so-so. It handled a 32" dirt scoop also from Fleet Farm fairly for such a small tractor. The limiting factor was the 3pt lifting height. If I angled the blade, one side was very close to the ground and the other side was quite a bit higher because the connecting points were much lower than a CUT. Same with the dirt scoop. I could fill and lift almost a full, bucket but only a few inches off the ground.

All that being said, I could make it work except for the most difficult circumstance, but never as good as a CUT. I just got caught up in the moment and bought a $28,000 tractor. If I had just normal needs and lived on an acre or two, those small tractors can do a lot of heavy work and would be all someone would need, and a whole lot cheaper than a CUT.

jenkinsph · Jul 14, 2015

Neandertaler,
The x495 is a good mower ad the 3 ph is fine for some applications. As I mentioned I would not use it to replace a larger tractor where these are needed. Since buying the my mower and having a need for touch up work on my clients properties it has its uses. It enables me to do some jobs maintaining properties without tracking up finished lawns. For my own uses at home it is overkill for mowing. I have quite a few attachments including those shown above and a small 4" chipper, rear blade, pull type drop seeder, spin spreader and MC519 collection system. Really would not need more than a mower and spin spreader at home, occasionally will use the MC519 none of which require the 3ph.

My point is the x7xx series equipped with the 3ph and rear pto is very handy for lots of small jobs once the main lawn areas and associated dirt work are completed. But if you don't have a lot of these small jobs it won't be much benefit to you. It isn't going to replace a larger tractor either, some jobs require a much larger machine to get the job done but are not a good choice on a finished lawn.

Just my opinion but most homeowners can get by with a good lawn tractor or zero turn set up for mowing without a fel. If you are building a new lawn area or small home site a 40 hp and larger tractor is a better choice. Whether you need to own one and have it full time is debatable.