Box Scraper vs. Land Plane/Grader Scraper

[EquineNetworkCO]

Howdy folks,
I have a large dirt parking lot and 3/4 mile of dirt road to maintain. Not to mention horse paddocks, etc to keep clean. In terms of total time, I probably have a little more road/parking lot related chores, but it's really close to an even split. In the coming year, I'll probably have to renovate one or more large horse riding arenas (moving the existing footing, putting in a base, spreading/leveling it and then putting the footing back). I'm trying to decide between getting a box scraper (I like the looks of the Woods BSM72) or a land plane (something similar to a Landpride GS1572). In a perfect world, I'd get both, but I can only afford one for now. Any opinions or feedback would be appreciated. BTW, I have a 2008 JD 4520 w/CX 400 loader.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

If you can only afford one of them, then get the box blade. The box blade is more versatile than the grader blade. But for that much road, I would be getting a grader blade asap.

 

[Chris2]

I've used both, my friend has a land plane and I have the box blade I use his plane a lot. He does not own a tractor but will not sell the plane. For leveling and road maintenance the plane wins hand down, if you are trying to move piles like terracing or other jobs the box blade is better

 

[EquineNetworkCO]

Thanks for the feedback guys - I'm leaning more towards the plane - I'm not so much interested in landscaping/collecting/moving large piles of dirt so I think the box blade can wait till next year. I didn't mention it before, but I do have a small 5' box that is very light. It has never really worked too well for me. After reading some of the other threads, the Road Boss looks to be the ticket. Now its on to get info about dealers (or shipping cost to Colorado)!

 

[anojones]

I have both, and hardly use the boxblade anymore. The grader is used for leveling and to maintain the gravel drive. I never got the hang of grading with the boxblade and have a FEL to move materials. The only disadvantage to the grader for my uses, is it's much bigger, so I have to be careful moving around when using it as ballast for FEL work.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Thanks for the feedback guys - I'm leaning more towards the plane - I'm not so much interested in landscaping/collecting/moving large piles of dirt so I think the box blade can wait till next year. I didn't mention it before, but I do have a small 5' box that is very light. It has never really worked too well for me. After reading some of the other threads, the Road Boss looks to be the ticket. Now its on to get info about dealers (or shipping cost to Colorado)!

While the grader blade is very good for your drive and parking area, it will not be that good for your horse related chores. Your profile shows that you have a 6" BB, did you mean that you have a 5 footer?

A box blade is a more versatile implement than a grader blade and is capable of doing all that you need to do. Maybe your poor luck with your BB comes from it being a light duty one. Weight is your friend when it comes to grading and for an implement 6-7 foot wide, you should have a minimum of 800lbs IMO.

If you figure that you are better off with a grader blade, keep in mind that there are many manufacturers of the road grader type of blades. The Road Boss is the best fixed blade road grader type blade IMO, but you pay quite a bit for their blade. You may want to check into some others first. Here are a few links. Land Pride should have free shipping to a dealer.

Hope that some of this helps.

Road Boss Grader - Road and Landscape Grading, Surfacing and Leveling, and Material Spreading and Reclamation

GradeMaster Grader Blades

Land Pride Grading Scrapers

 

[Wombat125]

Now its on to get info about dealers (or shipping cost to Colorado)!

I think I can help a bit here.

I got the 7' Cat 1 Road Boss grader in March of 2009. I got it shipped from Texas to Elizabeth, Colorado for $2975 with no freight charge. I made my purchase decision based on the weight of the implement. The RB 7 footer is about 1100 lbs, where all of the other graders I researched at the time seemed to be about in the 6-700 lb range.

I tried the 8 foot, Cat 2 size, but on a damp road, it was too much for my 64 hp, MFWD, unballasted tractor to pull.

The RB graders are expensive, but they are an awesome company to work with. The owner threw in what was supposed to be a hydraulic top link cylinder. It didn't work on my Deere, but hey, free cylinder. Even better, when I told the owner that their cat 1 grader didn't work on my quick hitch, he sent me a whole new top link piece, drilled to ASAE specs.

The *ONLY* thing that concerns me a little bit is that the cutting blades wear and I think they're pretty expensive to replace. Fortunately, there is a ton of adjustment that will allow you to get a lot of use out of each blade.

If you buy one of these, do yourself a favor and get the hydraulic top link if you don't already have it. I'm apparently not smart enough to set my top link length right the first time...or the second time...or the third.... The hydraulics saved me a ton of time hopping on and off the tractor.

 

[EquineNetworkCO]

Yes, I have a 60" box blade. I inherited it with my other smaller tractor (long since sold). I don't know who made my box blade, but it is indeed very light. The end plates are .25", no clevis hitches, etc. In all truth, I'd love to try both implements first to see what is the better fit.

 

[ktdodson]

Looking to purchase one of these but then realized I actually had to move a fair amount of dirt. Was wondering if any of you guys had purchased a scraper with actual towing capacity for the same type of work: Ashland 25S Scraper with 40 HP John Deere Compact Tractor - YouTube. Of course, this costs a few thousand dollars more but may be more useful.

 

[jeff9366]

Following is a thread from the TBN archive:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/267703-dirt-scraper-dirt-pan-towed.html?highlight=

 

[JD40MO77]

Here is a link to a post I started..........as you can see in my last post I purchased a Durabilt DP60 and pull it behind a Ford 4000 1973 3 cylinder diesel. Have put at least 220 hours pulling this thing. Here lately I have had a longer haul and have been stockpiling loose dirt dug with dozer or full size backhoe and then using the front loader to fill the scoop to overflowing heaped up to get the most out of the mileage for each lap on the haul route............ http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/193531-dirt-pan-3.html

 

[oosik]

I have a Bush Hog RO72 roll-over box blade and a Land Pride GS2584 grading scraper. I've never needed to use the roll-over box blade(ROBB) on my mile long gravel driveway. I use the grading scraper on the driveway and I create new trails throughout the property with it also. I use the ROBB when I need to move dirt/gravel on a newly created trail. I also have a hydraulic top link which is FANTASTIC. It allows infinite adjustment of an implement while on the go.

IMHO you need to get a grading scraper to maintain the driveway and then obtain or make an added weight to use on your existing box blade. I made a form and poured a concrete weight - 400 lbs - that I can place on top of my "dirt work" implements. It fits on my ROBB, LPGS, disk harrow and rear blade. This weight is mainly used(99% of the time) on my disk harrow.

 

[Rocky Hoffler]

Both have there purposes depending on use but I agree that weight is your friend.

 

[Texasmark]

I have used a box blade for years and they have their disadvantages. If you have a FEL I prefer that to a box because the tractor tires are behind the blade on a smoother surface. Still, with either, it's hard to control the depth of the material that you are trying to spread.

I have seen a professional build a driveway with a "land plane" like the $1000 King Kutter 84" Dual Edge Land Grader that shows up on the right when you google search for "land plane". They work fast and really do a super job in leveling new material (like the piles of crushed rock that you bring in) or cleaning up potholes. Would buy one in a heartbeat to maintain a gravel drive. On a dirt road, if the dirt is of the type that it can be pulverized as it is scraped up and retained in the hopper then that should be fine also. If not, you may have to make several passes and between passes, let the clods that form get rained on and pulverize then come back again and it should work for you.

Mark

 

[RichardsonJ]

Howdy folks,
I have a large dirt parking lot and 3/4 mile of dirt road to maintain. Not to mention horse paddocks, etc to keep clean. In terms of total time, I probably have a little more road/parking lot related chores, but it's really close to an even split. In the coming year, I'll probably have to renovate one or more large horse riding arenas (moving the existing footing, putting in a base, spreading/leveling it and then putting the footing back). I'm trying to decide between getting a box scraper (I like the looks of the Woods BSM72) or a land plane (something similar to a Landpride GS1572). In a perfect world, I'd get both, but I can only afford one for now. Any opinions or feedback would be appreciated. BTW, I have a 2008 JD 4520 w/CX 400 loader.

Try the ABI Attachments LGR and you can have both. Here is a link Rascal LGR™ - Affordable Driveway & Arena Groomer - ABI Attachments
Does great on my property.

 

[andy1981]

If you have a 4520 I would suggest a 84" implement being either a box blade or grading scraper . I have a 84 " cammond industrial grading scraper with teeth that weighs in at 930 pounds, and a landpride 84" hydraulic box blade that weighs about 1200 pounds . I use the grading scraper about 80% more than the box blade. I use it to maintain about 2 miles of gravel roads in a campgound as well as a couple parking areas. I had a 72 inch 650 pound box blade and I felt it wasn't enough for that size tractor. Cammond is now called superior fab and I feel they made a quality product for a reasonable price

 

[Indian MC]

I live off a 3 mile Gravel Road. Whenever the folks used a straight blade to grade the road, we would have pot holes starting within days after a rain.
As soon as they started using a grader machine that applied a crown to the middle of the road we go a full year between grades, compared to three - four times per year.
Won't the box blade remove the crown in the middle of the road?

 

[bcp]

ANY blade will if you run it flat, down the middle. So don't do that.

Bruce

 

[Fallon]

Crank your side links (or hydraulic tilt) and a box or back blade can put on a crown. I bet a heavy back blade would be slightly better than a box for that, but not by a huge amount.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Crank your side links (or hydraulic tilt) and a box or back blade can put on a crown. I bet a heavy back blade would be slightly better than a box for that, but not by a huge amount.

You don't do this with a box blade.

First picture is ditching and adding to the crown of our shared road.
Second & third pictures are actually moving a road over about 4' that is located higher up on our property.