Attachment for gravel driveway maintenance

[afret]

I'm considering getting one of these to maintain my gravel driveway:

http://www.everythingattachments.co...-Scarifier-Rippers-p/eta-land-leveler-ws-.htm

My driveway is about 15' wide and I have a L3901. Which size leveler would the L3901 be able to handle well? I was thinking that the 5' model would be a good choice?

 

[winesalot]

That falls under the title of box grader and they are amazing. I used one at my last job on 11 miles of gravel walking trails and several highly used gravel parking lots with spectacular results.

 

[eipo]

My drive is right about 10' wide and I went with a 6' land plane behind my 2650. I wouldn't purchase one with the intent to not overlap passes. Overlap is a necessary evil in efficient grading.

If you have no intention of using it to make money, buy the biggest one you think your tractor will pull. With a 15' wide drive, the smallest I would buy is 7' given your tractor size.

 

[torch]

That falls under the title of box grader and they are amazing.

So is a "box grader" is different than a "box blade"? They are calling it a "land plane" and it does look somewhat different than what I have seen called a "box blade".

What are the trade offs between a box blade and a box grader?

 

[aeblank]

I have an L3940 and run a 6' land plane (happens to be land pride's version). I think it is sized correctly.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[bearskinner]

I maintain my gravel driveway and access road ( over 1/4 mile) with my home made land plane. It works AWESOME at removing pot holes, and re-distributing the gravel evenly.

 

[nickelplated5s]

I would suggest the land plane too. Here's another option though; http://www.jakesimplements.com/cu60.html

 

[afret]

Thanks everyone for the great info. I'm still not sure on what size leveler to get. I don't mind overlapping and doing multiple passes. I'm retired so I have a lot of time. LOL Eipo has no problem with a 6 footer with a B2650 but aeblank thinks the same size is right for a L3940 which is a bigger tractor than I have.
Also I read that heavier is better and the longer units are better at smoothing the gravel. That's why I was looking at the one in my first link. EA also makes one that looks like a copy of the Land Pride leveler which I think is shorter and seems to have less angle in the blades. There are too many choices.

http://www.everythingattachments.com/Land-Shark-Compact-Tractor-Land-Leveler-p/ls-51-ll.htm

 

[bearskinner]

Ouch, with those prices, do you have a welder? I made mine in about 8 hours, and don't have $300. Into it, that's with QD pins, metal and paint. Half of that was the AR500 steel for the blades

 

[afret]

Ouch, with those prices, do you have a welder? I made mine in about 8 hours, and don't have $300. Into it, that's with QD pins, metal and paint. Half of that was the AR500 steel for the blades

Yeah, got a welder. In fact, just finished putting a roll bar in the car sitting in my driveway:

I don't know if I want to mess with making one of these attachments though.

 

[winesalot]

So is a "box grader" is different than a "box blade"? They are calling it a "land plane" and it does look somewhat different than what I have seen called a "box blade".

What are the trade offs between a box blade and a box grader?

Box scrapers or box blades suck a$$ compared to the grader or land plane. Nothing better for long term repair of pot holes or wheel ruts. Don't expect to do a great job in one pass. You need to go over it 2-3 times or as many as it takes to break up the surface 4-5 inches deep for a true repair.

 

[torch]

Box scrapers or box blades suck a$$ compared to the grader or land plane.

Is the land plane harder to pull than a box blade of equal width? Would my B7100 be suitable for pulling a 4' wide land plane to maintain an existing drive of crusher run on glacial till?

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Is the land plane harder to pull than a box blade of equal width? Would my B7100 be suitable for pulling a 4' wide land plane to maintain an existing drive of crusher run on glacial till?

2 cutting edges vs 1. Other conditions apply to have a correct answer. Based on my circumstances and typical conditions, yes the land plane grading scraper (LPGS)is harder to pull.

Does anyone even build a 4' wide unit?

 

[winesalot]

Is the land plane harder to pull than a box blade of equal width? Would my B7100 be suitable for pulling a 4' wide land plane to maintain an existing drive of crusher run on glacial till?

Easier because the material is escaping out the back rather than being held inside. I used a very tired John Deere 955 33 hp to pull ours and I used all day lang without bogging down once.

 

[eipo]

Thanks everyone for the great info. I'm still not sure on what size leveler to get. I don't mind overlapping and doing multiple passes. I'm retired so I have a lot of time. LOL Eipo has no problem with a 6 footer with a B2650 but aeblank thinks the same size is right for a L3940 which is a bigger tractor than I have.
Also I read that heavier is better and the longer units are better at smoothing the gravel. That's why I was looking at the one in my first link. EA also makes one that looks like a copy of the Land Pride leveler which I think is shorter and seems to have less angle in the blades. There are too many choices.

http://www.everythingattachments.com/Land-Shark-Compact-Tractor-Land-Leveler-p/ls-51-ll.htm

With finish grading, bigger is better. A smaller implement will follow existing contours more closely than a larger one.

And keep in mind, a land plane or grader scraper doesn't carry material like a box scraper does. So you don't need as much HP to pull one.

 

[afret]

With finish grading, bigger is better. A smaller implement will follow existing contours more closely than a larger one.

And keep in mind, a land plane or grader scraper doesn't carry material like a box scraper does. So you don't need as much HP to pull one.

That makes sense. What brand/model scraper do you have?

 

[eipo]

Heres what a 72" looks like on the back of a 2650

And the thread I started after I got it...

http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23873

 

[eipo]

Something I did discover as I was using it, and this is definitely a bonus if you have a limestone or granite gravel drive....

The landplane will sift the larger material from the smaller and leave the larger material on top. This is exactly the opposite of what I wanted with the material I used and I ended up having to use the box scraper to clear off all the larger stones that didn't settle in and bind up. I made this worse because I wasn't aware this was a natural byproduct of the implement and I kept going over the drive.

But, my drive now looks like it was laid with a paver and rolled. I still have some fines on the surface but they are going away on their own. I may have it sealed next year.

 

[torch]

Other conditions apply to have a correct answer.

By "crusher run" I refer to crushed granite up to 3/4" down to dust. By "glacial till" I refer to mostly sand, up to baseball sized rounded stones, as deposited by the glacier on it's retreat.

Does anyone even build a 4' wide unit?

This guy did. Although, for some reason he didn't angle the blades. The tractor he's pulling it with is 60lbs lighter, but with a 24hp motor according to TractorData.com. V.S. my 16hp B7100HST. Both are 4WD.

I was planning to build a box blade for driveway maintenance, and am told the B7100 can handle a 4' one. But perhaps the land plane is the better option. If the drag is less than a box blade, perhaps 5' is an option.

 

[08quadram]

Go with the land plane. I maintain a half-mile Gravel Lane to our office with a 25hp John Deere and either a 6-foot angled blade or a 5 foot box blade. The box blade is a pain in the ass for trying to grade it smooth and redistribute the gravel and the angle blade works but it needs a lot of weight to make dig decent. If I Got a Hole or washboards I have to dig out I use the box blade. Then to regrade the rest of the lion and smooth everything out I use an angle blade. One of these days, I'm going to drive my BX out there and use that because that'll geared geared John Deere is a pain in the butt. HSTs kind of ruin the muscles in the clutch leg when trying to dig out holes

Mike
2014 Chrysler 300
1970 VW beetle
2006 Ford Freestyle
2008 Ram 1500 5.7 Hemi
2013 Passport 2920bh GT
BX2350
and a bunch of other crap