What's the best attachment for leveling?

[jenkinsph]

Old and Worn,
If I understand you correctly you paid about $2300 each for the Gannon boxblade and the Land Pride rearblade, I think you did very well. I think if you add a top quality landplane/grader to the stable you will be in the cat bird seat.

I have a good boxblade with top and tilt like yours, works fabulously. Built my own 8' landplane and right now have a light duty rearblade bought years ago.
I intend to get a rear blade similar to yours when I have the funds.

I highly recommend all three implements for road maintenance, each of the three has their attributes.

Here's some pics of my stuff.
#1 Deere 45 7' rearblade
#2 Shows top and tilt for BB1284 boxblade
#3 My custom 8' landplane with straight set blades
#4 My lawn which was boxbladed and landplaned smooth
#5 Customer patio I built with grading to golf course
#6 Long shot of same
#7 Recent job pictures after blading out large rocks and stumps
#8 Same as above
#9 Completed job after seeding and rolling
#10 Close up near house with my helpers.

 

[955Lincoln]

Probably was me, only remember seeing one other one here on TBN and that guy bought an RBT4084 barely used off of Ebay for some really good price if I remember correctly. Same as yours though, had everything. My skid shoes were $200 but boy do they make a difference when your finish grading. Can't help out as far as the end plates, although I would think that if you were trying to move dirt any distance at all that they would really help. I don't think that I would want them on when I was actually grading though. I like to have the dirt rolling off of the blade, that way you can basically go forever. On your 6000 feet of road you can go from one end to the other without stopping. I doubt that you can do that with the end plates on the rear blade or with a box blade.

I only have the angle hydraulic on right now because I only have 3 rear remotes at this time and the other 2 are used for the "TnT" hydraulics. Have an additional 2 valves to add on, have the valves, just have never gotten around to it. But to answer your question about being spongy, no, the blade is rock solid.

As far as having a top of the line rear blade with hydraulics, they just can not be beat IMO vs a blade that was never intended to have hydraulics. I have a middle of the road none hydraulic rear blade also, that was what my dealer sold me on. A little over $1000 6 years ago, I have NEVER been satisfied with it and it was no where near heavy duty enough for the tractor that it was sold to be used with. Just a lesson to not go along with the dealer without research of your own to back up what your being told. :ashamed:

Anyway, here's some pics of my first rear blade putting in a water line, no where near what the Land Prides are. That ditch is 18" deep, doesn't look like it, but it was.

Thanks for the info on the blade. I have plenty of work for it when the ground thaws out this spring. I was planning on buying a RBT4084 but when I placed my order I inquired about the adjustable guide wheel and found out that there is no mounting holes on the 4000 series so I went with the RBT 3584 instead. At $600 I couldn't justify the option but maybe in the future I was thinking I could build one for much less. I'm a newbie at all of this and the road project was the first time I have ever moved dirt around with anything except a shovel. The wheelbase on my tractor is very short and the teetering was driving me crazy with the BB working on the road. There were many high and low spots at first and I had to constantly adjust the 3-point up and down to compensate. An extended guide wheel out the back makes sense to me, kind of like a motor grader concept, but I wasn't willing to place a $600 bet on it.

You did a great job backfilling that trench!!! I can't even see where it was

 

[955Lincoln]

Old and Worn,
If I understand you correctly you paid about $2300 each for the Gannon boxblade and the Land Pride rearblade, I think you did very well. I think if you add a top quality landplane/grader to the stable you will be in the cat bird seat.

I have a good boxblade with top and tilt like yours, works fabulously. Built my own 8' landplane and right now have a light duty rearblade bought years ago.
I intend to get a rear blade similar to yours when I have the funds.

I highly recommend all three implements for road maintenance, each of the three has their attributes.

Here's some pics of my stuff.
#1 Deere 45 7' rearblade
#2 Shows top and tilt for BB1284 boxblade
#3 My custom 8' landplane with straight set blades
#4 My lawn which was boxbladed and landplaned smooth
#5 Customer patio I built with grading to golf course
#6 Long shot of same
#7 Recent job pictures after blading out large rocks and stumps
#8 Same as above
#9 Completed job after seeding and rolling
#10 Close up near house with my helpers.

Wow! nice work on the grading. I'm learning that it takes a lot of seat time to get proficient at it. Super job on the homemade landplane too :thumbsup: Yes, the same price for both without the shoes or end plates on the rear blade.

Question about your TNT. I'm in the process of adding it to my tractor and what I'm understanding from posts on this forum the cylinder check valves are important to prevent creeping. Unless I'm mistaken, I don't see check valves on your setup and I was wondering if it holds the adjustments OK? I'm adding valves for my TNT and I thought what a wonderful idea if I could incorporate a float position for the top link so I could push it in and out by hand while hooking up my implements without going back and forth into the cab to get the length right. It could also be useful on implements that need a floating top link. I don't really want to remove the top link and using it on a floating implement would just serve as a convenient holder for it.

Anyway, as I was designing in my head I hit a roadblock with the check valves on the top link and realized that I couldn't easily use a float because of them. It would be nice to forgo the check valve at least on the top link but I don't know if I would have creeping problems? Any input would be appreciated.

I just have to comment on your dog picture. Everytime I see that dog I want to reach out and give it a hug. What an awesome picture :thumbsup:

 

[jenkinsph]

OldandWorn,
Thanks for the compliments first of all, I found my dog on the internet. He was in a no kill shelter in LA and I drove the 1000 miles to go get him. No one must have wanted him because he was in the shelter for 3.5 years. I think I made a good decision for both of us Great dog.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

About your road, I would say you have a better grip on using the boxblade than most here. It looks good and indicates you have taken the time to learn to control it. A landplane/grader is the tool to use for the smoothing, a heavy one with long skids will make you look like a pro. I should add that most of these will carry more dirt than you may think so they can cut and fill agressively. Next time I build one it will have a hyd ripper and slightly longer skids.


I really don't know who started all this crap about check valves. I think
boom check valves for safety are a good idea but I don't see the point of them on my top and tilt hitch. I use the joystick on both my 110tlb and 4520 to operate the top and tilt circuits. This allows me to push the joystick forward and in turn tilts the boxblade or other implement forward, so it is intuitive to me. Push the joystick to the float position and you can float the top link. Same for the tilt function, push the joystick to the left and tilt the box to the left and so on.

More on the check valves, while the use of check valves will help hold the cylinder in a fixed position for a longer duration of time I don't see the need. As you probably already learned you need to adjust the hitch positiions frequently to grade properly. If you have a good working control valve and a good cylinder then creep should be minimal, no different than any other cylinder function on your equipment. Much easier to feather a cylinder without the check valves too, and imo the fine adjustments to the hitch are the difference between a good and bad finished product/results.

I recommend the IMatch and top and tilt for a good combination of user freindly performance. This is argued frequently on TBN and all I can say is 90% of the time I can change implements without leaving the seat in a minute or so. Same is true whether it is a cat 1 or cat 2 size. Make everything fit this standard and you will eliminate alot of grief. I still have to get out to hookup a pto shaft or raise and lower a parking stand on some implements but thats about it.

My BB1284 boxblade was an early purchase and the top link is not IMatch compatible right now but I will modify it before Spring arrives. Just about everything else has been made to fit and was well worth the time taken to do so. The new version of the boxblade is IMatch compatible and is the only difference I can see. As I buy new implements I make sure they are IMatch compatible or easily converted to IMatch. If I build a custom tool I do this too.

Here's a few more pics,

#1 picture taken after rolling in seed from above job. compare to the #7 picture above.
#2 front view of landplane
#3 and 4 boxblade and top and tilt hookup
#5 and 6 hose routing

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Steve, have you found that on your land plane the sides are adequate or would you prefer them to be taller? I was wondering because mine are 22" tall and there are times that I have them overflowing with dirt if the moisture content is just right. If I had a tail gate, I could move 3+ yards of material at a time.

 

[jenkinsph]

Steve, have you found that on your land plane the sides are adequate or would you prefer them to be taller? I was wondering because mine are 22" tall and there are times that I have them overflowing with dirt if the moisture content is just right. If I had a tail gate, I could move 3+ yards of material at a time.

Brian,
Using this 8' plane behind a compact 4520 is a pretty good load. Those side skids are 8" beam I bought as scraps. A bigger issue than the height is the flat flanges will hold material, so I have to sweep them off before transporting less I drop gravel all over the place. My blades are set flush with the lower wear strips, this allows me to plane without over cutting where it isn't needed. If I need to be very agressive with the cutting I use the Boxblade.

I will decide the height of the next plane dependent on what is needed to make the hydraulic scarifiers work correctly. It will likely be as tall as yours since I know my boxblade is similar in height. Trial and error I guess but so far the plane has carried enough dirt for my needs, I seldom have to switch to the boxblade for this reason. I will upgrade my rearblade before building a new landplane with rippers.

I should add that I am going to build a 48" mini landplane 3PH for the X749 to use around the trees and will limit it to 100lbs/ft. This would have made the last job shown easier to accomplish.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Steve, whenever you do get that Land Pride RBT3596 or whichever brand you get, the difference is almost unbelievable. Just like all the implements, there really is no comparison with the top of the line units vs the other more economical pieces. We are back to we get what we pay for.

 

[jenkinsph]

Brian,
I will get a new rearblade this year hopefully and the LandPride is certainly something I will look at.

About the tailgate on the plane, I have set aside a piece of 5/8"x8"x100" flatbar and some 4" and 6" pipe to add to the rear. Haven't decided whether to add a rear roller or the flip over tailgate. I am leaning more towards the floating tailgate with a stop so far. I suspect a segimented cultipacker would work much better than a wide roller and think it would be better as a separate implement.

Every time I finish a job and look back I have a better idea of what I need to lower the hand labor. The new X749 with the pine straw rake and landscape rake was a real help for this last job. Also used it to run the chipper in the trees=no limb hauling and stacking.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Steve, do you ever use your land-plane in reverse? I will push mine backwards and it leaves a very flat smooth surface. Probably the best finish that I can do although the rear blade works exceptionally well in that fashion also. It does not come out the same as when you spin a rear blade around backwards and drive forward. I don't know, maybe it's just me? :confused2:

 

[jenkinsph]

Absolutely use it in both directions:thumbsup:

I adjust the top link everytime I switch between forward and reverse too. I suspect with the flush blades on mine I get an even better finish.


My brother suggested I put a hitch on both ends, if I weren't looking into the tailgate it would be a viable option.

 

[955Lincoln]

OldandWorn,
Thanks for the compliments first of all, I found my dog on the internet. He was in a no kill shelter in LA and I drove the 1000 miles to go get him. No one must have wanted him because he was in the shelter for 3.5 years. I think I made a good decision for both of us Great dog.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

About your road, I would say you have a better grip on using the boxblade than most here. It looks good and indicates you have taken the time to learn to control it. A landplane/grader is the tool to use for the smoothing, a heavy one with long skids will make you look like a pro. I should add that most of these will carry more dirt than you may think so they can cut and fill agressively. Next time I build one it will have a hyd ripper and slightly longer skids.


I really don't know who started all this crap about check valves. I think
boom check valves for safety are a good idea but I don't see the point of them on my top and tilt hitch. I use the joystick on both my 110tlb and 4520 to operate the top and tilt circuits. This allows me to push the joystick forward and in turn tilts the boxblade or other implement forward, so it is intuitive to me. Push the joystick to the float position and you can float the top link. Same for the tilt function, push the joystick to the left and tilt the box to the left and so on.

More on the check valves, while the use of check valves will help hold the cylinder in a fixed position for a longer duration of time I don't see the need. As you probably already learned you need to adjust the hitch positiions frequently to grade properly. If you have a good working control valve and a good cylinder then creep should be minimal, no different than any other cylinder function on your equipment. Much easier to feather a cylinder without the check valves too, and imo the fine adjustments to the hitch are the difference between a good and bad finished product/results.

I recommend the IMatch and top and tilt for a good combination of user freindly performance. This is argued frequently on TBN and all I can say is 90% of the time I can change implements without leaving the seat in a minute or so. Same is true whether it is a cat 1 or cat 2 size. Make everything fit this standard and you will eliminate alot of grief. I still have to get out to hookup a pto shaft or raise and lower a parking stand on some implements but thats about it.

My BB1284 boxblade was an early purchase and the top link is not IMatch compatible right now but I will modify it before Spring arrives. Just about everything else has been made to fit and was well worth the time taken to do so. The new version of the boxblade is IMatch compatible and is the only difference I can see. As I buy new implements I make sure they are IMatch compatible or easily converted to IMatch. If I build a custom tool I do this too.

Here's a few more pics,

#1 picture taken after rolling in seed from above job. compare to the #7 picture above.
#2 front view of landplane
#3 and 4 boxblade and top and tilt hookup
#5 and 6 hose routing

Thanks for the road compliment and that is a nice story about your dog Steve. I like hearing what you said about the check valves, simpler, float, and less money, what's not to like

I notice that your BB is exactly like mine. It must be made by Gannon and labeled Frontier.

Before I bought my tractor I was planning on some sort of quick hitch but it came with something almost as good from the factory and doesn't place the implements farther away. That tab you see is spring loaded so you simply raise the arms and the balls lock into place. To release, you lift up on the top thing and it retracts the tabs. The top thing has little shackles so you can run small chains or rope and do it from the cab if you are constantly changing implements for a living. Like yours, my BB is not quick hitch compatable and it became a non-issue with this system. Luckly, all of my implements have the same spacing and I need to pay attention to that when buying more. The width of the arms can of course be adjusted but I would rather not if possible. Something else I like about this setup is that when you tilt your implements you retain full contact because they ride in a ball socket. I permanently leave the balls on each attachment so there is an added expense. One could move the balls around but then it wouldn't be very quick hitchish anymore. I just made that word up

Henry

 

[jenkinsph]

Loods good very similar to the IMatch without the fixed top link hook. As long as you aren't having to struggle with the heavy implements all is good.:thumbsup:

On my tractors the telescopic link helps with the occasional non I Match tool. And since the links have swivel balls as is the norm these still swivel when tilting the implement and IMatch just as yours do.

 

[955Lincoln]

Loods good very similar to the IMatch without the fixed top link hook. As long as you aren't having to struggle with the heavy implements all is good.:thumbsup:

On my tractors the telescopic link helps with the occasional non I Match tool. And since the links have swivel balls as is the norm these still swivel when tilting the implement and IMatch just as yours do.

Yes, I knew that the IMatch swiveled. I was actually thinking of the Pat's quick hitch system which mine sort of remind me of.

 

[jenkinsph]

For anyone else looking for a good boxblade here's one I found for $1500 used. I don't know what you could do to hurt one of these.

Even with shipping thats a great price.

Gannon HD2448 HXD Industrial Box Scraper Box Scrapers from Montana Kubota Bozeman MT

 

[jenkinsph]

Thanks guys. I gotta go get one now.

The boxblade in my post above would be a good deal for you.

 

[AGGIE00]

I have that same frontier box blade and first turned the cutting edge into a banana from a stump and then folded the main tubing where the lift arms attach while pushing sand backwards and catching another stump.

To the original post, you are looking at a lot of work for a 2wd tractor, not that it can't be done. If it were me I would use my 3cy scraper pan and and then finish with the box blade. I would also aquire a rotating laser and linker rod to check some grade.

 

[jeffxjet]

The boxblade in my post above would be a good deal for you.

Wow, that is a great price. I didn't see how much shipping was, did you? I think I will call them tomorrow.

 

[jenkinsph]

I have that same frontier box blade and first turned the cutting edge into a banana from a stump and then folded the main tubing where the lift arms attach while pushing sand backwards and catching another stump.

.

Wow that was some bad luck

Bending 5" heavy wall box tubing up is impressive. How fast were you going when this happened?

 

[jeffxjet]

I just wanted to come back and say thanks for the advice you guys gave. I heeded your advice and waited til a decent blade showed up on craigslist. I finally found one, a cammond 4c2 76 inch box blade wig hydraulic rippers. I posted about it in the attachments forum.
I just wanted come back and say I am so glad I waited. The heft of the blade is tremendous and the hydraulic rippers make the job so easy. I dont even want to think of my what my frustration level might have been with the manual rippers. Thanks again guys!

 

[DeeDubya]

I'm presently working a driveway (1200') on a hill country lot. Nothing but bedrock topped with honeycomb rock. A back-blade is out of the question as some of the rocks are breaking the surface by 6" or more. I'm spreading road base with the loader and then dragging this 4' harrow to smooth it. It is working better than I ever expected. The harrow loosens, mixes, and levels the base material while just gliding over the rocks filling in between. The boom allows the convenience of backing up or picking up the harrow to turn around. I got the boom at TS on sale for $99 and the harrow at a local dealer for $350. Some chain and it was done. Turns out to be one most used attachments other than the bucket. I have since added (not in these pics) a 4"x4"x60" angle iron drag behind the harrow to grade more material to the sides.