Duragrader vs Landpride vs Grade Master

[NonTypicalCPA]

I'm looking at purchasing this spring a road grader to maintain my 1/2 mile drive. I've searched the forums and found a couple old threads. Just curious if anyone has any experience with these three units. Likes vs dislike?

The duragrader is a little more money than the grade master, not sure about the price on the Landpride.

 

[jackferguson]

I too have been looking for a grader. After much research I decided upon the Dura-Grader. Unfortunately, the purchase didn't go well and I'm back in the market. Further research on this forum reveals the company has had problems in the past, but unfortunately I didn't see it before I ordered.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Duragrader is supposed to be a good implement, BUT the company has problems,:thumbdown: I would stay away from them unless I could personally go to their place of business.

Weight is your friend when grading, you should try to get all grading type blades as heavy as you can. Now you still need to only get what your tractor will pull, and that is typically the width of your tractor up to maybe 18" wider than your tractor for just a rear blade by itself. I have found that box blades and these road grader type blades work best to be either the same width as the tractor or up to 6" total width wider than the tire tracking width. If you tractor tires measure 72" wide, then I would look for a blade between 72" & 78" in width. Now 78" wide implements are not all that common, so you would either get a 72" blade or depending on your circumstances consider an 84" blade.

These road grading blades are not all built the same. There are light duty, (12"sides) medium duty, (18" sides) and heavy duty (24" sides) to be had. Also the total length of the sides can make a big difference on how good the grader blade works, the longer the better.

I usually recommend the Road Boss, which is very good, but very costly, Road Boss Grader - Road and Landscape Grading, Surfacing and Leveling, and Material Spreading and Reclamation or the GradeMaster which looks to be pretty good also GradeMaster Grader Blades. There are many more, you just need to check them out before you buy one. These types of grader blades are very very good at maintaining a dirt road.

Good luck you guys

 

[jackferguson]

MtnViewRanch:
Thank you for your comments. I found the 2008 thread "Box Blade VS. rear angle blade VS. FEL for dirt driveway," in which you participated very helpful. Unfortunately I hadn't seen the thread of the problems with dura-grader before I placed my order.
One thing I've wondered is how wide a blade to buy. This likely relates to my ignorance of how the blades work.I see you relate it to the tractor's width. What I wonder about is the optimum width for a given road. The only roads I maintain are those on my farm, which vary from 12 to 16 feet. I need a crown. Would a seven foot blade be optimum for a 14 foot road? That is, for a narrow road, would the optimum width be half the width of the road?

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Jack, while having a grader that is 50% of your road width would be nice, your tractor needs to be able to pull that blade in most circumstances.

I have 2 of these blades myself. I use a 60" medium duty blade behind my Mahindra 3215HST (32hp), and an 84" heavy duty blade behind my Mahindra 7520 (75hp). There are several things to consider when purchasing any ground working implement.
A:weight of tractor
B:horse power of tractor
C:type of ground that you will be working

Unless you have a biiiiiiiiig tractor,:laughing: I would stay with my recommendations for width to be used.

 

[jackferguson]

MtnViewRanch:
I've got a Kubota 7040 (69HP) that weighs 4,600 pounds. It has a 72" wheelbase. My most important roads are topped with a combination of gravel ranging from 1/4 to 1 inch plus in size. It's got a good deal of fines so it packs down well, leaving the just enough large rocks on the top to make for a bumpy ride. The large rocks were there when I bought the place, so as I add gravel I'm downsizing in hopes of a smoother ride.

 

[sweettractors]

Here is one that has done good for us. I like the design. Ken Sweet


http://www.sweettractors.com/New Equipment/Misc_Kory/Misc pics/801soilleveler.jpg

 

[NonTypicalCPA]

Thanks for the replys. I like the duragrader, but I'm concerned with what I've heard about the company. The easiest for me to buy is the Landpride, but it dosen't look as heavy built, although it comes in at around 550 lbs, which is close to both the duragrader and the grademaster.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

MtnViewRanch:
I've got a Kubota 7040 (69HP) that weighs 4,600 pounds. It has a 72" wheelbase. My most important roads are topped with a combination of gravel ranging from 1/4 to 1 inch plus in size. It's got a good deal of fines so it packs down well, leaving the just enough large rocks on the top to make for a bumpy ride. The large rocks were there when I bought the place, so as I add gravel I'm downsizing in hopes of a smoother ride.

Jackferguson, if I had your Kubota, I would be looking at either a 72" or 84" heavy duty road grader blade. My 7520 weighs right around 12k as ballasted, if the dirt has the right moisture content and I let the blade get to much bite, it will stop the tractor.

I know that it would be a lot of work, but what about picking out those over sized rocks?

 

[bubba_39211]

I too have been looking for a grader. After much research I decided upon the Dura-Grader. Unfortunately, the purchase didn't go well and I'm back in the market. Further research on this forum reveals the company has had problems in the past, but unfortunately I didn't see it before I ordered.

The company is in south Mississippi and I'm in central MS. I've been trying to buy a grader from them since January, 2010. They do apparently have a lot of problems, so I am going to look elsewhere. Probably will go with a Handozer or maybe a DR unit.