Using a land plane grader scraper on sod

mcfarmall · Mar 7, 2018

This winter I used my back blade on the tractor to clean the snow off of the path to my shop and a large area for my dog to poop in. Now that the snow has melted I can see where the blade has nicely trimmed off the high spots in my yard but left the sod roots intact and they are already resprouting with the warm weather. My yard is pretty bumpy. Used to be a pasture before it was platted and now the yard is mowable with a riding lawn tractor but certainly not glass smooth and flat like most subdivision yards.

So here's the question, why couldn't a fella use a LPGS in the early spring when the snow is gone but the sod is semi-frozen to slice off the high spots and make the area a little easier on the back and kidneys when mowing in the summer? The debris from the back blade was mostly blades of grass with a very small amount of soil attached. The blade did not leave any holes anywhere that would need patching with topsoil...not like the giant divots that I left in a few places where the FEL bucket sliced a slab of sod up.

Scale this operation up a bit and use it on the several acres of bumpy pasture that I mow at my mom's property and I might be able to mow the area at a little higher ground speed.

The LPGS should shave off the high spots and drag them around until they break up a bit and get redistributed somewhere else, in my thoughts.

What do you think? Has anyone used a LPGS on anything but a gravel drive or tractor pulling strip/riding arena?

oosik · Mar 7, 2018

I have a fairly heavy LPGS - Land Pride - GS2584 at 796 pounds. Never tried what you are considering. Recognize, the two "blades" on my LPGS are not razor sharp.

I would question, that even at 796# - is the LPGS heavy enough to shave off the high spots. The design of the LPGS would make adding weight very easy. I cast a square "blob" of concrete - 450# - years ago. The LPGS at 1250# might do it.

If I were to try this - it would be a disaster. Immediately after the snow is gone - simply walking across my lawn leaves footprints about 3/4" deep. If I were to drive my Kubota M6040 @ 10,100# with R-1 tires across my lawn - it would leave ruts at least 6" to 8" deep. I did this stupid thing - ONCE.

Quite honestly - even in the late fall or early winter - my tractor will still leave "chevron tracks" on my lawn.

See if you can find somebody with a LPGS so you can try this without spending a fortune.

Gordon Gould · Mar 7, 2018

I have never tried my LPGS on a lawn per se but I do use it to remove sod in the drive and parking spots. It does like you say - shave off the tops. So some roots are left but it takes a few years to grow back. Here is a sequence of pics doing my door yard parking. Before to After:

Edit: LPGS is 5' wide and about 650 lbs. Straight blades down 3/4"

gg

crazyal · Mar 7, 2018

I've used mine to level the ground in spots. The problem with sod is that it really doesn't break up the balls of grass/ roots that well. They seam to compress and go under the blades or find the low spots and fill them in (but they are like a sponge and don't work well to fill in low spots). To help things out I'll put one or two logs on top of my land plane. I currently have two 7' Beech logs that are about 20" in diameter on it to break up ice on my driveway. I would say give it a try in one place and see what happens.

mcfarmall · Mar 10, 2018

Thanks for the replies. All I need to do is find someone in the area with a LPGS, become friends and ask to borrow it for a day!!

oosik · Mar 10, 2018

Yes - the nice thing about a LPGS - it would be almost impossible to do damage to one. Nobody should fret about loaning one to you.

Good example - look what crazyal is using his for - breaking ice in his driveway. They are basically indestructible.

Old Red · Mar 11, 2018

When I disc my fields for alfalfa and pull my cultipacker behind it....it really does a nice job preparing the soil......except I have these AWEFUL trenches that I despise from my disc. It is missing these outside wheels that fill the trench back in and I cannot find them. I wonder how well a land pride grader scraper would work on a nicely disced up powdery type dirt that is prepared for seeding?

oosik · Mar 11, 2018

A nice heavy LPGS should work great. However - since the ground is already disced up - why not make your own "drag". I have made one and it works fantastic on a rope "harness" and pulled by my ATV.

Mine is made out of 4" x 4" timbers built into a four foot by four foot square. There are 1" x 8" cross bracing - going cross corner to cross corner.

It breaks up the clods, smoothes out the wrinkles and ripples, leaves the area almost smooth as a pool table and raises a whole lot of dust.

Actually - my "drag" has two sides. One side is smooth 4 x 4's all the way around and flop it over and the leading 4x4 has spikes on 9" intervals all the way across.