Grader/Scrape Blade Vs Box Blade.

[DMW]

There isn't a lot of room to work with. Farmers can get pretty irate when you start affecting field drainage. Putting a ditch on the right side will become a trap for getting cars stuck in. Think swale with a large crown on the driveway. A rear blade is not going to give you enough weight to get through the tree roots. I would use the box blade, tilted slightly to the side with the 3pt adjustment. Do not be too aggressive , as after each pass the wheels going lower on one side will increase the angle. Don't drive over any exposed tree roots, they have a habit of coming up underneath the SCUTs and damaging things. Keep an ax handy to deal with them.

Do the same for the left side, always better to pull downhill. Remember you only want to engage the lowered part of the blade, not the entire width. Do not remove too much in each pass, 1/4-1/2 inch will maintain an even level. It will easily fill up the BB on a pass. Probably end up doing 10-20 passes. Use the spoil to create a berm along your property. It only has to be slightly higher than the roadway. Your driveway may require a small culvert, an 8" may do depending on water flow. Keep the entrance of the driveway higher than the roadway. I have no idea how much flow you have, so washouts on the roadway are a possibility. Your going to be sending a lot of water down the road, so be mindful of where it will and up.
A bigger tractor would make short work of it, but that's not the point, is it

 

[HoneyBadger1]

I will take better pics. The feild is shedding water onto me. A ditch will not effect the feild drainage. It will take the water as it enters my property and will direct it around my house and down to the pond like it does now. I'm just want it to down beside my house as apposed to across the front lawn.

 

[HoneyBadger1]

Thanks for the info! So, if I am interpreting things correctly it appears that majority feels RB is the way to go. Caveat being it can not be an entry level, box store style. Those entry level one would have me in a similar boat to the BB I currently use. Correct

 

[fried1765]

Thanks for the info! So, if I am interpreting things correctly it appears that majority feels RB is the way to go. Caveat being it can not be an entry level, box store style. Those entry level one would have me in a similar boat to the BB I currently use. Correct

CORRECT!

 

[oosik]

Let me give you my example. After spring rains my mile long gravel driveway hardens exactly like concrete. That's because the surface is a combo of sand, gravel, silt & volcanic ash( Mt St Helens, 1980 ). I HAD a Land Pride RB3596 rear blade. 96" by 565 pounds. It was fantastic for snow removal. It was just WAY to light when the driveway hardened up in the summer. I sold it - got a Rhino 950. The Rhino - 96" by 1100 pounds. Now, I'm careful to not plow it all into the ditches.

With most all ground contact implements - weight is your friend. Plus, consider what type of "ground" you will be grading. In my case, I need all the weight I can get to penetrate and do summer maintenance. Summer maintenance = cleaning the ditches and bringing the gravel back up to the driving surface, crowning, general grading. I only do these things AS NEEDED. If the surface is OK - leave it alone. For potholes, I use my roll-over-box blade. It's got scarifiers - necessary for really fixing potholes.

If you have one of those "super gravel" driveways. The top 6" or so being screened gravel or the like - you could get the job done with a lighter rear blade.

When I went from the Land Pride to the Rhino -- it was a jump from Class 1 to Class 2 implement. The Class2 is almost 3X the price. My Rhino is 138 pound per foot of width.

 

[beowulf]

Both. Have both and if they were suddenly stolen, I would buy both again. Some overlap, but each has distinct uses and advantages depending on the project. When I only had a box blade I struggled to maintain our 850' driveway - could not really make the crown and toss material up from the sides. With a blade and the ability to set the angle it is very much easier. I don't recall but I don't think the blade was that expensive.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Need to keep in mind that the OP has a 24hp tractor weighing about 2500lbs with the loader. The heavy implements that have been mentioned through this thread simply will not be part of "this equation".

 

[ededic]

Agreed on the tractor weight. Just want to be sure the OP looks at the RB with Angle & Tilt Adjustment needed for ditching. Base RB typically don’t have this option. May of these RB are heavier due to the extra mechanical and strength required.

 

[fried1765]

Agreed on the tractor weight. Just want to be sure the OP looks at the RB with Angle & Tilt Adjustment needed for ditching. Base RB typically don’t have this option. May of these RB are heavier due to the extra mechanical and strength required.

As I have suggested earlier in this thread, the Everything Attachments "Deluxe Scrape Blade" meets ALL of the above mentioned adjustment requirements for the OP's SCUT.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

As I have suggested earlier in this thread, the Everything Attachments "Deluxe Scrape Blade" meets ALL of the above mentioned adjustment requirements for the OP's SCUT.

I agree. While no it is not as quick and easy as with heavier equipment, it can be done with his box blade and the recommended rear blade. :thumbsup:

 

[DMW]

Thanks for the info! So, if I am interpreting things correctly it appears that majority feels RB is the way to go. Caveat being it can not be an entry level, box store style. Those entry level one would have me in a similar boat to the BB I currently use. Correct

HB, try using the box blade you already have, rather than purchasing a new rear blade. It may be able to do the job.

The EA 6 Way Deluxe Scrape Blade may not be suitable for your tractor due to ground clearance, check with the manufacturer.

 

[fried1765]

HB, try using the box blade you already have, rather than purchasing a new rear blade. It may be able to do the job.

The EA 6 Way Deluxe Scrape Blade may not be suitable for your tractor due to ground clearance, check with the manufacturer.

"due to ground clearance" ????

 

[MtnViewRanch]

"due to ground clearance" ????

He thinks that he may not be able to raise the blade more than a few inches off the ground because his tractor is small.

 

[gatornapper]

I may have missed it, but I have been maintaining my 1/2 mile long gravel road for 36 years, and there is no tool on earth made that's better for maintaining a gravel road.....don't think anyone here mentioned it.....beats every tool mentioned - other than maybe a Harley Rake.....I've used everything in this thread and nothing works like it......

GS25 Series Grading Scrapers | Land Pride

GN

 

[oosik]

I have a mile long gravel driveway. Been maintaining it since the day I had it built in '82. I use three implements - Rhino 950, rear blade, 96", 1100 pounds - - Land Pride GS 2584, LPGS, 84", 796 pounds - - Bush Hog, ROBB, 72", 720 pounds.

I will use the rear blade about 99% of the time. It's not an easy implement to learn but is, by far, the most universal. Grades, cleans the ditches and returns gravel to the driving surface, maintains the crown, plows the snow & moves material, to a limited extent. It will not scarify and repair potholes.

I will use the ROBB or LPGS to repair potholes( both have scarifiers). The ROBB( roll over box blade) is the implement to move material from here to there. If I put my 480# square of concrete on the LPGS - then its heavy enough @ 1275 pounds to smooth any ripples I might get.

The ROBB will not clear snow, will not maintain crown with this implement, will not clear/clean ditches. Too light to do any meaningful grading on the driveway.

If you have a "wonder gravel" driveway - the LPGS is the easy implement to use. It can be heavy enough to smooth ripples and with scarifiers can begin the repair of potholes. However - it will not plow snow, WILL NOT maintain a crown on the driveway, will not move any material, will not clean/clear the ditches.

BTW - the surface 4" of my driveway hardens like concrete after the spring rains. It's a combination of gravel, sand, silt and volcanic ash( Mt St Helens, 1980). I had a Land Pride RB3596, rear blade, 96", 565 pounds. Excellent for snow plowing - just a great light show after the driveway dries and hardens. Drag it down the driveway in the early evening - better than a fist full of sparklers on the 4th of July. Sold it - got the Rhino.

 

[shooterdon]

HB,
By now you should be adaquately confused. Bear in mind the weight and HP of your tractor when you decide what you will do. Also the type of ground you are working and just how å*µood you need to grade it.

I am a new owner as well and empathize with you. My machine is also small. I was lucky and got a rake with my machine and bought a light duty rear blade used for $100. I have able to improve my gravel drive but it is not perfect. I have spent 15 hours working on it and I think using those two attachments I will do an adaquate job with more seat time. I may add gage wheels but not sure yet.

Good luck

 

[RoyKing]

Lots of opinions here is mine. same problem, clay and neighbors land drained into mine. So I wanted a long ditch to take all the run off which last for days past the house down to the catch pond. Lots roots from lots of trees. So first tool was an auction sod buster, took grinder and put edge on the front above the foot like expensive ones had. Ran it back and forth till I had the sod and roots cut. Then took box scraper with tines all the way down and forward tilt so it would not dig, and many passes it collected all roots and broke up the sod. Now you probably don't have draft control which really makes BB more useful, that keeps the BB down as tractors moves up and down. So use BB with as much tilt as you can only put the tines in on the lower half, set the toplink for mild dig angle. If don't set the angle to high it will dig and roll the dirt out on the high side. Without draft you will be sitting sideways watching the BB, close you drop rate valve so the BB doesn't immediately dig when you lower it. Your hand will be constantly working BB depth, you only going to move 3-4 inches at a time. It will take awhile. All your ditch material will be stacked BB it out flat enough to mower over when grass comes back.