Dirt Moving 3 bottom plow advice?

[TripleR]

Have you checked on paying someone to do it or rent one? Ours sits in our shed for two or three years between use. Someone might jump at the chance to make a few extra bucks.

When we were farming, we used a heavy cutaway "bush and bog" disk on new ground as a plow would get hung up in the roots.

 

[wcampbell47]

I agree that that's part of the problem. Big time farmers use no-till mainly now or huge implements. But I still think there are still a ton of people like me that want/ need to farm medium/large size gardens (>1 acre). After all, tons of people have 50-75 hp tractors.

I don't see this premise as holding true - at least not in South Texas. On my 80 mile journey into Houston I only see very large tracts of land or small 20 x 20 garden plots. Same holds true on my 240 mile trip through Central Texas to visit kids at Ft Hood. Once in a while I see a large garden. My garden is 35 x 70 and is large by the ones I have seen. Therefore there is not a market for 3 bottom plows. What I do see is large heavy discs sitting in the field.

A good heavy duty disc can cover 5 acres in under 2 hours. I don't see the beard effect there. Consider running the disc over the ground twice. Then go back with the tiller set deep to make a really good seed bed.

If you have to have a 3 bottom plow Google China Tractors. They spell plow "plough".

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Dirt Moving 3 bottom plow advice
I think the experienced members on this forum got confused with their answers. I think they were trying to give you their best advise on their own personal experience. You should have headed your question as : Why can't I find a 3 bottom plow that is new? I believe they would have maybe understood better and then put in your request for info that your not looking for advise for doing the job but your only wanting answers concerning manufacturing and marketing a product that hardly no one uses anymore. Some may have speculated on the whys but probably no one could have given you a real absolute answer.
I did notice you asked a few time how to best do this ground prep and some got confused and continued to give you their answers of how they thought best to do the job but alas you didn't want to do it their recommended way and returned to your manufacturing/marketing question. But then again you'd ask about how to do the job and they got confused again and answered by their experience/opinion.
Now I understand your frustration, I really, really do. I have a bumpy/lumpy yard that I want leveled out and I don't want to do 2 to 3 acres with a boxblade and tiller and then finish up with my RatchetRake or drag a fence over it.
I'm thinking DISC and have been for a few years. I'm thinking a disc would give me this perfectly level pulverized seedbed ready for grass seed!:licking: I keep going to Steve Barlow to buy me a disc. He keeps pricing them to me but then...........he keeps asking me what I plan to do with it and I tell him. He again will tell me that he doesn't think it'll do what I want done but he'll sell me one if I want to buy one and be disappointed with my results. Soooo I've left without purchasing a disc from him a couple of times.
I've even posted on here with my question and even recently found this fantastic piece of equipment for about $800 that looks like it would do the job.:thumbsup: But, that was a mistake posting my question here as I fear is your same mistake. I should have just went ahead and bought it and found out after buying it that it wouldn't do what I want done the way I want to do it. But instead I posted my question and got the answer from experienced users that they didn't think I'd get the results they way I wanted them. I'll know better the next time than to ask for their opinions and tell them up front if they won't say what I want them to say to just not respond. Most of them responded with the same answers I've been getting for a few years that it's going to be a time consuming job using the equipment I already have.:thumbsup:
BUT I'm still holding out hope that I'll find that piece of equipment out there one day for under $1000 that will do all I want done with one quick pass in high gear and I'll be able to look back as I come to a final stop and be able to see the grass even starting to come up on the pool table top level yard.:laughing:
I traded for a single bottom plow a couple of years ago and it's the coolest looking piece of equipment that I own. It looks like it can fly, skate, cut, slice and dig. It can do some of those things but it does get clogged with the grass I have but when it's "fresh" from the garage and I lower that sucker into the ground and start going, it's a beautiful site to see as that dirt starts rolling off the side of it and I look back and see I have greatly disturbed the earth. WOW!!!
I've even taken the wheel off of it and it makes the coolest perfect 6" wide by 6" deep trench with the dirt/grass piled perfectly on one side. It done such a good job so easily that I have several hundreds of feet of these ditches all over my rental property for water run off control. It also has some many people confused that they wonder what all these ditches are about.:laughing::laughing:
Any way I know nothing about 3 bottom plows but those that do seem to know what they are talking about and I'm sorry they aren't giving you the answer you want to hear. Maybe now they will repost and tell you what you want to hear.
Keep on tractoring!!!!:thumbsup:

 

[StanR]

It is simple

There is little demand for 3 bottom plows or someone would make them.

I do see some listed on craigs list at times.


Good Luck finding what you want or think you need.

 

[nspec]

Here's a link to a prior thread on new 3 bottom plows:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/203012-new-3-bottom-plow-who.html


The gist of the story is that John Deere ($7500), Kverneland (over $10,000), and Kuhn ($9500) all make new 3 bottom plows. Also a company called Overum.

Now do you see why everyone buys used?

1. Farmers who still plow are high acreage, high horsepower farmers and buy much bigger plows if they buy them at all.

2. Farmers who still use 3 bottoms can't afford and don't need the new ones because their acreage is so much smaller and there are so many used ones on the market.

You can buy all the replaceable wear parts you need for most used plows out there and only spend a couple hundred more. Even if you were to sandblast and paint a used one, you'd be into it for like $1500 and have a plow as good as any new one out there.

I will say, if you are questioning the high cost compared to a King Kutter or Everything Attachments 2 bottom model, just look at the pics to compare the construction. The big dollar plows all have massive box beam construction, not flat plate bolted together. They are made to do hundreds of acres a year and last for many years. The others simply will not hold up to that kind of duty. They are low cost point solutions for the backyard hobby farmer and not meant for a large or commercial operation. The demand just isn't there.

 

[crazyal]

A & B EAGLE LINE EQUIPMENT The Shield of Quality

Is this what you're looking for?

 

[nspec]

Well there you go!

But, it also proved my point - look at the weight of the plow. It is half the weight of a quality built plow. Will that get the job done for you? Sure. Will it be around after 30 years? Not likely.

 

[firefighter9208]

I am in the market for a new 3 bottom moldboard plow to bread up new ground that has been bushhogged. I am looking at plowing between 5-10 acres for planting corn, sunflowers, and watermelon, and want a good seedbed. I am in Alabama and I can't find a single dealership or equipment dealer with any 3 bottom plows, all anybody has is 2-bottoms. What is the reason for this? Everyone keeps telling me to "just disc it" but I bet I'd have to do that 6-8 times to get the soil ready for a row planter like I want it. Any insight?

Here is a 3 bottom listed in Brundidge, AL. bottom plow .



Here is a link to a Ford 101 manual. FORD SERIES 101 PLOW

The Ford is the same as a Dearborn. One of the best in my opinion, with a Spring trip reset. When a bottom trips, you just back up to reset.

Here is a link to an Oliver 3 bottom in Alabama 3 bottom plow on SearchTempest .


How wide do you have your M7040 set up???
The reason I ask about how wide you have your tractor set up, is that with come into play with the number of bottoms you can run, as in the right rear wheel has to run in the furrow created by the plow.

Go to SearchTempest - The EASY way to search Craigslist and you can search craigslist for a plow. Try bottom plow and then turning plow as your key word. You can search within whatever radius you choose.

I bought a good 2 bottom Ford 101 trip plow last year for $300.00 within 15 minutes of my house by using Searchtempest.

Chris

 

[HCJtractor]

Here's a link to a prior thread on new 3 bottom plows:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/203012-new-3-bottom-plow-who.html


The gist of the story is that John Deere ($7500), Kverneland (over $10,000), and Kuhn ($9500) all make new 3 bottom plows. Also a company called Overum.

Now do you see why everyone buys used?

1. Farmers who still plow are high acreage, high horsepower farmers and buy much bigger plows if they buy them at all.

2. Farmers who still use 3 bottoms can't afford and don't need the new ones because their acreage is so much smaller and there are so many used ones on the market.

You can buy all the replaceable wear parts you need for most used plows out there and only spend a couple hundred more. Even if you were to sandblast and paint a used one, you'd be into it for like $1500 and have a plow as good as any new one out there.

I will say, if you are questioning the high cost compared to a King Kutter or Everything Attachments 2 bottom model, just look at the pics to compare the construction. The big dollar plows all have massive box beam construction, not flat plate bolted together. They are made to do hundreds of acres a year and last for many years. The others simply will not hold up to that kind of duty. They are low cost point solutions for the backyard hobby farmer and not meant for a large or commercial operation. The demand just isn't there.

Amen. Your answer is perfect. Having fully restored an old 3 bottom Ford 101, I now have a great plow for well under $1000. The new plows I see at Tractor Supply are junk. The new quality ones you mentioned are probably excellent, but look at the cost!

 

[HCJtractor]

A & B EAGLE LINE EQUIPMENT The Shield of Quality

Is this what you're looking for?

Interesting. I have never seen that brand. It looks pretty similar to a Ford 101 and probably weighs about the same. It actually looks fairly decent from what I can see. I would ask first what it costs. I'll bet it is over $2000. Secondly, I would want to know if the wear parts (shares, shins, landsides) are available. For under $1200, I would seriously consider it, but for more, I would still go used. What is the price? Also notice the horsepower limits. I pull my 101 with a M 6800 (68 horse) and it is probably too much power for most plows, but with the trip protection, I feel pretty safe, but still am careful and go slowly and have my hand on the lift lever at all times and my foot near the clutch. I learned how easy it is to damage a plow when I trashed my first one (a Ford without trip protection) after having only used it for an hour. Bent the whole frame and broke 4 grade 8 bolts in one loud pop when I snagged a rock.