what size land plane for ford 860

[cbrake]

do those landplanes have lift wheels?

No lift wheels: BEFCO - Products - Ground Engage Equipment - Grading Scrapers

 

[cbrake]

I'd go with the 6', and add a couple hundred pounds of weight to the front if needed. Once on the driveway you'll be mainly floating it so it will not be an issue except going up that steep part.

Edit: I should have asked... are your tires filled? I'm used to my 850 with filled tires and it is a beast. I think without filled tires you might lose traction at times with a full load.

I don't think my tires are filled. I just checked with the valve step at 5 o'clock, and no water comes out. We have a lot of swampy/sandy ground in this area, so I like the tractor to stay as light as possible, but filled tires would be nice for grading. I just got some chains for snow plowing, but have not had a chance to try them yet. Would probably be a pretty bumpy ride for grading though.

 

[cbrake]

I have 5' land plane that I use on my B7610. I thought about getting the 6' but am glad that I didn't. The 5' covers my tires, but the tractor definitely works when it loads up with gravel. I usually end up filling my bucket with all the larger stones for extra ballast & pulling power in 4WD.

good info. The 860 is 40hp/3400lbs and the B7610 is 24hp/1367lbs. So definitely have enough power -- question is just the traction.

 

[cbrake]

thanks for all the replies -- just discovered my email notifications were going to spam bucket, but that should be fixed now.

 

[Scrambler82]

Almost 6' wide, to me I would use the 6' Land Plane, (LP).
My tractor is only 54" wide, so I using the 5' version.
If the LP dragging the tractor down, lift it up a little, don't take as large a cut.
It might take a few extra passes but it should work.

 

[Soundguy]

With my current wheel configuration, the outside of the back wheels is 5' - 9"

6' covers your tracks then

 

[94BULLITT]

Not only does 6' cover his tracks but with a 10' wide drive it will work nice.

 

[paulfun9]

Based on tractor width and HP you posted I would go with the 6' plane. I got a good deal on a Befco 6' plane this year and my DK40 pulls it with no problems. Like others I would be a little concerned about the front becoming light during use but a little counter balance should take care of that. The problem of traction is easy to work around if you have any problems as stated by Scrambler 82, Just take a little less bite per pass.

 

[Scrambler82]

Was just thinking... I know we smell wood burning...

I don't remember if you said you had one or if you were getting one.
If the blade is a bolt in and can be adjusted up, adjust the blade for less cut while the rest of the LP is against the ground.
If it is a bolt in blade and no more hole, drill some just above the original ones allowing for the less blade contact.
If it is a welded in blade, which I don't ever remember seeing one, your screwed unless you have a welder and want to mod the LP.

Just some thought I wanted to throw out after reading some of the other posts.

Luck to Ya and post what you do !

 

[paulfun9]

The blades are adjustable on the 6' grader