attachment for cleaning/creating drainage ditches along gravel road

[rider89]

We have a small subdivision with gravel roads and want to do our own maintenance on the drainage ditches. The local outfit that does the main grading of the road does fairly well with crown, but very poor on the drainage (intentional?), causing extra work after big rains. I'd like to be able to reach past the shoulder about 2 feet and a 25° down angle, and be able to move the matl up on the road, or swivel the blade to move the matl away from the road. We wouldn't be cutting undisturbed dirt, just cleaning existing ditches that have washed out into poor shapes that clog easily. Not sure if our tractor (New Holland 1920) is heavy enough to pull the blade off the 3pt hitch. A tow behind rig may be better? We don't need to do planing or crowning with it. Any ideas? LandPride RBT60 series gets close as far as the 3pt mounting type, but only tilts 15°

 

[oosik]

I clean and grade my ditches. I have a mile long gravel driveway. My Kubota M6040 with grapple and rear blade weighs a tad over 10,000 pounds.

My first tractor - Ford 1700 4WD - did an adequate job of clearing and regrading the driveway ditches. I had a 450 pound Land Pride rear blade then.

Your 1920 NH is the same as a Ford 1920 and weighs around 3000 pounds. With that front weight and being 4WD it should do the job for you. Now to find a rear blade that will tilt 25 degrees.

If you plan on clearing snow with the rear blade - offset, angle and tilt are a real benefit. Honestly - if a rear blade has tilt - more than likely it will also have offset and angle.

 

[2manyrocks]

Pictures always helpful.

Is there a reason you aren't grading the road yourself so the drains don't get messed up?

 

[bcp]

Do it the old way.

 

[old and tired]

So, I use a Tufline 6 footer grader blade ($250) which can offset to the side and angle/tilt down. With my hydraulic top and (especially) the side tilt, I can get a pretty aggressive cut for my ditches. I also can only cut by following my rear tire. I can not cut a ditch from the top surface of the road... that would have too much leverage and it would just drag your front tires over (into the ditch).

I don't see any hydraulics on your tractor so you might be limited in what you can do.

You don't have have your location listed in your profile... If this is close to you, I would jump on it. https://jxn.craigslist.org/grd/d/pittsford-tufline-7ft-grader-blade/7799800568.html

Tufline 7Ft Grader Blade - $1,000 (Osseo MI) Might not last long but here's a couple photos:

 

[LouNY]

I can tilt angle and offset my back blade, it will dig a good ditch in doing so. However any rocks or roots will pull the tractor around quite a bit.

 

[California]

Do it the old way.

That's doing it the right way! Not just for a roadside ditch, but one of the photos seems to be cleaning or creating an irrigation canal. We all need something like that!

Here's ballast added to the end of a light blade to improve the lane crown. I have three more of these 77 lb weights I could add for a deeper cut. As shown here, tilting the 3-point fittings did essentially nothing with such a light blade before I added the ballast.

 

[rider89]

I clean and grade my ditches. I have a mile long gravel driveway. My Kubota M6040 with grapple and rear blade weighs a tad over 10,000 pounds.

My first tractor - Ford 1700 4WD - did an adequate job of clearing and regrading the driveway ditches. I had a 450 pound Land Pride rear blade then.

Your 1920 NH is the same as a Ford 1920 and weighs around 3000 pounds. With that front weight and being 4WD it should do the job for you. Now to find a rear blade that will tilt 25 degrees.

If you plan on clearing snow with the rear blade - offset, angle and tilt are a real benefit. Honestly - if a rear blade has tilt - more than likely it will also have offset and angle.

I have a

Do it the old way.

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I like the idea of a towable since our tractor probably isn't heavy enough to pull several feet of offset on a 3pt rear blade. Have you ever seen a modern version of this Martin unit being sold?

 

[leonz]

The Landoll DP4 Power Ditcher is an option but you may have to rent a larger tractor for one day.

www.landoll.com/farm-equipment/landoll-additional/power-ditcher/

The AMCO, Hurricane and Remlinger power ditchers are too large and require much greater horsepower

 

[rider89]

Pictures always helpful.

Is there a reason you aren't grading the road yourself so the drains don't get messed up?

organizational factors, hoa board, etc. Some new members of the board finally willing to get equipped for it.