Land plane for dirt/sandy driveway?

[Rich_Z]

Considering getting a land plane for my tractor. Been watching videos, but nearly all of them show this sort of tool being used on gravel driveways. Is there a reason for that? Perhaps few people have dirt/sandy driveways like what are common here in north Florida? Over time I wind up getting a pronounced hump, usually with grass, down the middle of the driveway that I would like to level out when needed.

Just checking to see if this will work OK for my application and I wouldn't be throwing money away.

 

[bcp]

Grass tends to clog most blades, but after getting it cleared the first time, the following times shouldn't be a problem, if frequent enough.

Bruce

 

[Gordon Gould]

It will work fine. The heavier it is the better it will handle grass. I use mine on weedy/grassy road edges (makes a nice straight cut) and grassy parking areas all the time. Like Bruce says, the grass tends to accumulate in the box at times. If it stops cutting/leveling like it should rake the sod off the road or lift the box a little to let the sod dribble out, back up and go over it again. Make take a few passes before the sod get ground up. This isn't really gravel. It is natural sandy loam with some crushed rock mixed in

gg

 

[arrow]

Considering getting a land plane for my tractor. Been watching videos, but nearly all of them show this sort of tool being used on gravel driveways. Is there a reason for that? Perhaps few people have dirt/sandy driveways like what are common here in north Florida? Over time I wind up getting a pronounced hump, usually with grass, down the middle of the driveway that I would like to level out when needed.

Just checking to see if this will work OK for my application and I wouldn't be throwing money away.

Some think the land plane is a one trick pony with the box blade being more versatile.
The best people to answer that question are those who have both and can ascertain which is better to spend your money on.
I've used a land plane for a processed gravel 1/4 mile long drive. It took multiple passes to break up the hard pack but once it did, it smoothed out the road nicely.
Probably would have gone faster with some type of scarifier on the plane.
There are some here who use the box blade for their drives with great success.
At any rate, Gordan's advice about the heavier the better is dead on.

 

[scootr]

I have both. The box scraper is better at moving material like pulling the high spots to the lows. But the double blades and longer skids on the land plane cuts washboard better if weighted. I always wait until there is moisture in the road before any grade repair. Moisture is key! Smoothing it often makes the job quicker and keeps the surface nicer.
The water barrel can double the weight of this 500# LP. Without some weight the LP wanted to skip on the washboard, now it cuts.
Sandy soil can be tricky to grade with a box scraper. It's easy to dig too deep. A hydraulic top tilt is necessary for good operation of both, but more so with the scraper.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I will say this, the Land Plane grading scraper cut my road maintenance time by more than half over my box blades. Of these 4 implements, they range from 800-1400lbs and from 60"-84" in width.
My road is over 1 1/4 mile in length and a half mile of that is shared with 4 neighbors.

The investment in the LPGSrs has been one of my better implement purchases.

 

[oosik]

I have both. Land plane grading scraper and roll over box blade. Regarding use - LPGS gets used 99.9% of the time. ROBB - 0.01% of the time. I've been able to move any/all dirt and gravel with my heavy Rhino rear blade.

The LPGS does an excellent job on my mile long gravel/sand/volcanic ash, mix, driveway. I don't sell the ROBB because the minute I do - I will need it. At least that's my excuse.

My driveway is a mile long. Straight as an arrow. Right down the quarter section line. I have one section - 150 feet - that gets muddy every spring. This is my LPGS getting cleaned up after grading out that section. Timing on this section is everything. Still moisture in the material and before it dries out and turns to concrete.

 

[Williy]

I like m;y land plane the ridge on the side of my drive way builds up and it will level is right out and the grass that grows up in the middle gets cut down and I have caliche about 600 ft
and the price was right on the LS 6 foot

willy