What's the right implement for the L2501 for driveway resurfacing/grading?

[nerwin]

I'm new to the tractor community and just picked up a 2022 L2501 HST. I have a long driveway, although it's all flat, no hills. For years now I been maintaining it with side by side by pulling a homemade grader that I add several cinder blocks on top for weight. I even welded metal rods to help break up the driveway. Its quite a chore to say the least, takes me literally all day and nearly 10 gallons of gas lol. I end up using my snowplow for it to be able to smooth it out after. But no matter what, few weeks later the potholes come back. I just can't get down enough to get under the potholes.

The tractor should help big time with this. Now I have a rather hard pack driveway. I use what they call driveway mix or "stay-mat" which I believe is like a mixture of slate rocks and crush rocks to have powder, its blue-ish stone. After a while of driving on it, the stuff packs to a smooth finish, I mean you can nearly squeal your tires on it.

There a lot of attachments out there, most common ones I find are the box blades, grading scrapers and grading blades. From what I researched so far, the easiest one is the grading scrapers and the most versatile is the box blades.

I also want to be able to use the implement for grading topsoil as well. I see pros and cons of each one and I don't know what would be best.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say a box blade will be best solution as I believe its easier to be able to crown the driveway by adjusting the side links over the grading scraper. The grader blade seems to be more affordable option but also has no way of breaking up the driveway either since there's no down pressure on the 3 point.

I was looking at the Land Pride BB1260 but I heard folks bending it with the L2501 so would the BB1560 be better for me?

I'm not set on getting a Land Pride either, I seen ones from County Line, Titan, Howes, etc. Like what would be the best bang for the buck?

Would 66" be better for the L2501?

Any help would be appreciated!! Thank you!

 

[Old Machinist]

For loose gravel and soil a landscape rake works good. A box blade with rippers is also a good choice.

What ever you pick you want it to cover the tracks of the tractor. If you intend to angle the attachment you want the angled width to be outside the width of your tires. Angling either suggestion is helpful for eliminating washboard ruts.

 

[Moose7060]

Believe it or not, a simple drag will make a gravel drive smooth as glass. When I still had the ranch, my driveway was slightly over half a mile. I found an old set of heavy skidder chains (key word is "heavy") and attached them to an 8 foot wide chunk of scrap metal. Dragged that up and down the driveway a few times and smoothed it right out. Seemed to pick up loose stuff and fill in the potholes.

Of course a box blade works as well, just didn't know about them back then! Good luck.

 

[imnukensc]

Sounds like a land plane is what you may need. That's what I would choose if I were in your shoes.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

For decades farmer across the road pulled a c-channel and tire chains up and down his 800' driveway, every Sunday between church and brunch. It was a thing of beauty ! I made a mini version ,towed behind my 9HP garden tractor and ,yes, my driveway and parking lot(1/4 ac) was a thing of beauty.
So farmer dies, house gets sold, new guy dos NOTHING... driveway became a nightmare in a few short months.
It's not so much what tool you have, it's how often you USE it !

 

[jimh406]

I think a land plane/grader scraper is the best choice. For a long driveway, it's very easy to use. The stone/gravel automatically and will move it from right to left. It's what I use to maintain our community road and my long driveway.

 

[mcmxi]

There a lot of attachments out there, most common ones I find are the box blades, grading scrapers and grading blades. From what I researched so far, the easiest one is the grading scrapers and the most versatile is the box blades.

I used to have two rear blades and might get another this week if things work out, but I take care of my gravel driveway with an EA land leveler which some call a land plane (?) or grading scraper (Land Pride). I've found it to be the best implement for gravel and a lot better than my box blade which I use exclusively for dirt. The scarifiers can be very useful if you're trying to break up the surface.

There's a 7ft EA land leveler (oops ... 6ft) for sale near me for $2k.

 

[MOOTS]

This isn’t the same type of rock you have, but a land plane makes quick work of our parking lots. And if I’m not there to run it, it’s pretty much dummy proof. Drop it and go.

 

[NCL4701]

I have a boxblade and back blade, but I agree with the land plane crowd if you’re just leveling things that are already in the right general shape such as an existing road, finish grading topsoil that you’ve spread reasonably evenly with the loader, etc.

If you’re planning to create/clean out ditches, plow snow, or things other than leveling gravel/dirt, a box blade and/or heavy back blade may be worth considering.

One thing you mention which leads me to recommend against a landscape rake, drag of some sort, or light weight back blade is your road has potholes which keep reappearing after you drag it with your pre-tractor rig. You need something with rippers to disrupt the edges of the potholes. As you pointed out, the 3 point has no down pressure so getting a backblade to cut into an old hard packed gravel road is far from guaranteed, particularly the lighter weight ones.

A drag will fill them in, but until you cut into them, they’ll come back quickly. Once the potholes are cut out and road re-graded into good condition, regular use of a drag without rippers can keep it in good shape, but a drag alone won’t fix a potholed road in need of more aggressive rehab. A land plane or boxblade fits that need. Drop the rippers to fix the potholes and get the road in good shape. Raise them to drag it a few times a year to keep it in good shape.

Edit: Since others are posting pics of their roads and stuff they use on them, I’ll join the party…

Not sure I’d have the back blade if it hadn’t been in the shed longer than I’ve been alive. It has its uses, but the boxblade does 95% of what I need. The backblade just bounces over old hard packed gravel.

 

[KKBL]

A land plane with scarifiers works great for long runs. It should have adjustable skids on sides that allows for a little crowning effect. A box blade with scarifiers is good for digging up deep pot holes and can be used for the longer runs if you don't have a land plane, but will not be as easy to get an even smooth finish. We have both to use on our 1/2 mile drive and start with the box blade for pot hole areas then switch to land plane to smooth everything out nicely.
Last year we started using reclaimed asphalt millings on some of the re-occurring bad areas and they have packed down to be almost like paving - have not needed repaired so far, almost no dust, and should hold up for years from what I see now. Will probably purchase more next year to upgrade more of the drive. Around here the millings are less expensive than washed gravel.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Land plane!

 

[jyoutz]

I agree with the land plane being the most suitable implement for the job. But I only use a heavy offsetable rear blade. It’s far more versatile than a box blade or land plane. But if all you’re doing is grading your road, then the land plane is the winner for that function. It is a one trick pony however and doesn’t really have another purpose.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

It is a one trick pony however and doesn’t real have another purpose.

I use mine to spread peanut butter on my samiches!

 

[nerwin]

I use mine to spread peanut butter on my samiches!

Post pictures!

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Post pictures!

Outa bread at the moment and the wife told me to cut back on the samiches.

 

[nerwin]

I agree with the land plane being the most suitable implement for the job. But I only use a heavy offsetable rear blade. It’s far more versatile than a box blade or land plane. But if all you’re doing is grading your road, then the land plane is the winner for that function. It is a one trick pony however and doesn’t really have another purpose.

While I like the idea of the land plane, they are really expensive. My drive way is long to me but perhaps it's short compared to others here haha. I think someone mentioned theirs was half mile. I have around approx 600-700 feet drive way to maintain. Maybe the box blade would be better overall for me.

I probably could tear it up with the bucket and smooth it out using float but I don't think it will look as good as a box blade or the land plane.

 

[nerwin]

Outa bread at the moment and the wife told me to cut back on the samiches.

Awe man. I like bread and sandwiches. I feel your pain

 

[jyoutz]

While I like the idea of the land plane, they are really expensive. My drive way is long to me but perhaps it's short compared to others here haha. I think someone mentioned theirs was half mile. I have around approx 600-700 feet drive way to maintain. Maybe the box blade would be better overall for me.

I probably could tear it up with the bucket and smooth it out using float but I don't think it will look as good as a box blade or the land plane.

I will argue that a rear blade is far better and more versatile than a box blade. But it needs to be heavy and offsettable. Others will argue for a box blade. I’ve had both. I sold the box blade due to lack of use. I maintain 2300’ of road. And for grading gravel after you fill in the holes, just turn the blade around 180 degrees and float the blade on the gravel. It will do a nice final smoothing without digging into the gravel.

 

[biketopia]

I have both a box blade and a lande plane, the key it sounds like for you is you need scarifiers to break up the bad spots in the driveway and then a way to maintain it. A box blade can have more of a learning curve and be a little less forgiving than a blade or land plane but they can have more uses. I bought my box blade from Rural King for $600 and my Catawba land plane from a local equipment dealer for $1300. Like mcmxi I use my box for dirt work and the land plane for my driveway now that I have both.

Get on marketplace, craigslist, go to a farm auction and see about a used implement. With a blade, plane, or box, not a lot of things to wear out like a cutter or tiller, so they tend to last, or at least be easily repairable. Also, look into renting or borrowing something just to try it out and get the road looking good, then you can maintain it. Local sunbelt will rent a box blade for $60 a day. You can "float" a box blade similar to a rear blade by adjusting your top link to keep the front blade from cutting.

 

[nerwin]

I have both a box blade and a lande plane, the key it sounds like for you is you need scarifiers to break up the bad spots in the driveway and then a way to maintain it. A box blade can have more of a learning curve and be a little less forgiving than a blade or land plane but they can have more uses. I bought my box blade from Rural King for $600 and my Catawba land plane from a local equipment dealer for $1300. Like mcmxi I use my box for dirt work and the land plane for my driveway now that I have both.

Get on marketplace, craigslist, go to a farm auction and see about a used implement. With a blade, plane, or box, not a lot of things to wear out like a cutter or tiller, so they tend to last, or at least be easily repairable. Also, look into renting or borrowing something just to try it out and get the road looking good, then you can maintain it. Local sunbelt will rent a box blade for $60 a day. You can "float" a box blade similar to a rear blade by adjusting your top link to keep the front blade from cutting.

That's the thing. I need to get under the pot holes. So having the scarifiers is a must to break it up. I don't think a rear grading blade will do that unless there is down pressure or adding significant weight to the blade.

My brother has a box blade. Not sure the size of his though. It may be too small width wise for the L2501. I'm looking at 66" width. It's a tough decision because I want to be able to use it for multiple things...you know make it worth the money. It's already mid November and getting frost lately so repairing the drive way this late in the year isn't with it. But when spring comes and the frost melts, I definitely will be in the market then.

Worse case scenario I can dig it up with the bucket, I'm sure the L2501 won't have too much of a fuss with it. But the biggest thing is the sides, water can't go anywhere so it's there. My goal was to scrap the sides down and give the drive way a crown. Either way it will be a good learning experience haha. I need seat time. I learn quick with this stuff so I'm pretty confident I can do a good job if I take my time.