Land plane for grading lumpy land (not a driveway)

[gstrom99]

A harley rake was designed for just what the Braccet wants to do. It will level / remove clumps and prep the soil for seeding. Renting one would be my first choice. If not then I would use a tiller and turn it into a powder then water and roll it back smooth.

Oh yeah, I forgot about the Harley Rake. Just what you need for this (better than my idea of a rototiller). Rent instead of buying, unless you think you'll need it often.

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Buy a land plane, or use your box scraper for the drive.

 

[gstrom99]

Where are you guys renting attachments?

I generally see this as a skid steer attachment. Lots of guys renting out skid steers in my area, i guess i can ask if they could rent an attachment as well

Any good/big rental place should have one. Where are you?

 

[MH8675309]

Interesting, never seen that attachment before.

I'd still be more interested in a land plane if it would work, since I have a gravel drive as well to maintain. Think it would work?

I have a 7 ft Woods land plane that I used to level mounds of dirt pulled off the edge of the pond (to put a shoulder on the edge instead of a drop off) and some of those mounds were 3 feet high. My tractor is 50 hp and weighs about 4500. It did an excellent job leveling the mounds. And they are great for driveways - mine looks like I paid to have gravel brought in when its done

 

[braccet]

Any good/big rental place should have one. Where are you?

I'm up in the country north of DFW. We have Sunbelt rentals around here but they only have a harley rake for skid steers. I'll have to look around.

 

[ruffdog]

Depending on how big the area is, a CTL with a harley rake may be the way to go. Even hiring the job out may be better. They could be in and out before you could really even get started.

 

[ironman1952]

What???

 

[oosik]

Bottom line. I've found that my LPGS does not work well where there are field grasses, weeds or brambles. Works great on plain old dirt( slightly damp is the very best) or gravel and sand.

 

[90cummins]

I've used my box blade to the best of my ability, but our land is still pretty bumpy and puddles badly in rain. We have clay soil here that is unworkable when wet, so have to wait for it to dry out, at which point it becomes as hard as concrete. Would a land plane with scarifiers work to help me get an even surface on this land? My tractor is only 25HP (but weighs 4000lb), so I'm thinking I'd put the scarifiers down only about an inch.

I generally only see these used on driveways, so just wondering if anyone's had luck evening out a lumpy pasture.

The only problem with pasture is breaking up the sod fine enough to grade. If you had a large PTO rototiller to prep for grading you’d be set.
I’ve had a box scrapper for years & also had problems smoothing hi/lo spots. Several years ago adapted the gauge wheels from my PTO rototiller and mounted them 24” behind the blade.
Huge improvement in leveling capability!!
I could set the cut with the top link drop the box and it would cut the high spots. I would slowly adjust the top link as the grade improved.
You have enough tractor to do some serious work.

90cummins

 

[oosik]

Absolutely right - 90cummins. Breaking up the sod is the problem. My LPGS simply does not level out sod wads. It seriously creates them.

If I were seriously going to redo many of my meadows - I'd purchase the heaviest rototiller I could pull with my M6040.

Even then I would need some sort of 3-point rake. There would still be uprooted, dirtless grass clumps everywhere.

It's just a whole lot easier, cheaper to consider that the meadows are level/smooth enough - as is.

 

[Sportsman762]

I have had good luck with completely redoing fields to smooth them out. I started with a moldboard plow, then disked it twice, ran a grain drill over it, then rolled it all in. Makes for a nice smooth field. Had one field that the ground hogs had just destroyed, it was painful spreading manure on it hitting the holes all the time. Plowing and disking made it smooth as could be. Might not be lawn smooth, but it was very good.

 

[Sid Post]

I have had good luck with completely redoing fields to smooth them out. I started with a moldboard plow, then disked it twice, ran a grain drill over it, then rolled it all in. Makes for a nice smooth field. Had one field that the ground hogs had just destroyed, it was painful spreading manure on it hitting the holes all the time. Plowing and disking made it smooth as could be. Might not be lawn smooth, but it was very good.

Feral Hogs destroyed my front pasture to the point that if idled my Dodge 4x4 pickup in it without wearing my seatbelt, I would hit my head on the roof!

The neighbor from Dallas on his mini-ranchette of 2 acres couldn't figure out what I was doing with my tractor and that Angung rototiller!

 

[nyone]

I also live on clay with almost no top soil. You need to rip it up, let it dry, rip it up again, let it dry then use a landscape rake to smooth it out. My landscape rake has every other tooth removed and works really well with clay.

Lastly a old bed spring with some weight on it drug around levels and smooths things really well.

 

[Texasmark]

I've used my box blade to the best of my ability, but our land is still pretty bumpy and puddles badly in rain. We have clay soil here that is unworkable when wet, so have to wait for it to dry out, at which point it becomes as hard as concrete. Would a land plane with scarifiers work to help me get an even surface on this land? My tractor is only 25HP (but weighs 4000lb), so I'm thinking I'd put the scarifiers down only about an inch.

I generally only see these used on driveways, so just wondering if anyone's had luck evening out a lumpy pasture.

I have Houston Black Clay and have been fighting it since I was a kid......in town before I grew up and bought a farm.

The sink holes will remain and increase in size and depth the longer the soil isn't managed.

First thing is that you need to be able to catch it when it is vulnerable.....not too wet, not too dry. Being retired I can do that but for many years and working a city job it was a real problem.

I don't think a land plane will do what you want since it is designed to work loose material on a hard surface.

I use a tandem disc to cut the soil into clods....again, when it's ready to be worked, and may go over the field several times in different directions depending on the size and depth of the "sink holes". Then I come back with a spike toothed harrow several times in several directions which scatters the clods and level the field.

Once you get it worked up where you want it, plant a clump grass....one I use and like is Tall Fescue. Once you do that and the grass gets established you won't have the problem any longer and you can graze or hay the fescue and recover some cost.

 

[braccet]

I have Houston Black Clay and have been fighting it since I was a kid......in town before I grew up and bought a farm.

The sink holes will remain and increase in size and depth the longer the soil isn't managed.

First thing is that you need to be able to catch it when it is vulnerable.....not too wet, not too dry. Being retired I can do that but for many years and working a city job it was a real problem.

I don't think a land plane will do what you want since it is designed to work loose material on a hard surface.

I use a tandem disc to cut the soil into clods....again, when it's ready to be worked, and may go over the field several times in different directions depending on the size and depth of the "sink holes". Then I come back with a spike toothed harrow several times in several directions which scatters the clods and level the field.

Once you get it worked up where you want it, plant a clump grass....one I use and like is Tall Fescue. Once you do that and the grass gets established you won't have the problem any longer and you can graze or hay the fescue and recover some cost.

I was just thinking about what to seed with the other day. Does your tall fescue do ok without any maintenance? I've read it really needs to be watered in summer, but we don't want to irrigate.

 

[90cummins]

I have Houston Black Clay and have been fighting it since I was a kid......in town before I grew up and bought a farm.

The sink holes will remain and increase in size and depth the longer the soil isn't managed.

First thing is that you need to be able to catch it when it is vulnerable.....not too wet, not too dry. Being retired I can do that but for many years and working a city job it was a real problem.

I don't think a land plane will do what you want since it is designed to work loose material on a hard surface.

I use a tandem disc to cut the soil into clods....again, when it's ready to be worked, and may go over the field several times in different directions depending on the size and depth of the "sink holes". Then I come back with a spike toothed harrow several times in several directions which scatters the clods and level the field.

Once you get it worked up where you want it, plant a clump grass....one I use and like is Tall Fescue. Once you do that and the grass gets established you won't have the problem any longer and you can graze or hay the fescue and recover some cost.

I need to ask how/why the sink holes will increase in size if the soil isn’t managed??
90cummins

 

[scootr]

I reclaimed a 5 acre clay field last yr. Disced it twice going N>S and then E>W. Then tried smoothing it with the gannon but the gannon filled with the weed material making it inoperable. Finally removed the tractor bucket, turned it over, and drug the field. Better but not smooth enough. Then built a drag using what was on hand. THe results were smooth enough to mow next season. Then hand picked 3 full buckets of rock off the surface... Finally ready for mower maintenance as the owner just wants it mowed for fire prevention compliance. Ground squirrels and gophers continue to dig holes but better there than in my my yard

 

[oosik]

scootr makes a most important point. Land that is virgin, covered with grasses and weeds and is lumpy - must be cut up so it can me moved around. The weeds/grasses will foul a LPGS.

My Land Pride 48 inch disk - simply too light to cut my virgin fields. So I cut the field with my moldboard plow. Still too much grass/weeds for my LPGS to be effective. I made a home made drag out of 4x4 lumber and LARGE spikes. Around and around - pulling this home made drag with my ATV.

FINALLY - all the grasses/weeds were pulled into rows and removed. The cultivated rows and dirt clods were broken down. NOW - the LPGS with shanks full down became effective.

It was a rather long process but it was also a learning process.

I think in the future I will do this. Mow the grasses/weeds with a bush hog. Gather the clippings with some form of 3-point rake. Then decide whether to burn the field first or just go ahead with a heavy duty rototiller and till the field. It's a rather labor/implement intensive process. So, for me, there must be a good reason to do all this.

 

[eolesen]

Thanks for this thread. We just bought a LPGS for using with our 47Hp Kubota to maintain our gravel driveways and a community road, but also have about 2 acres of clay & dirt that were recently cleared for building a house and a shop. Both building sites are currently bare dirt and filled with root remnants (all stumps were removed), and there are tracks from the dozer everywhere thanks to the monsoonish rains we've been getting in East TN.

I'm going to try running the land plane to try and smooth things out once things dry up a bit, but I'm curious what the scarifiers will do with the roots.

 

[deezler]

Thanks for this thread. We just bought a LPGS for using with our 47Hp Kubota to maintain our gravel driveways and a community road, but also have about 2 acres of clay & dirt that were recently cleared for building a house and a shop. Both building sites are currently bare dirt and filled with root remnants (all stumps were removed), and there are tracks from the dozer everywhere thanks to the monsoonish rains we've been getting in East TN.

I'm going to try running the land plane to try and smooth things out once things dry up a bit, but I'm curious what the scarifiers will do with the roots.

If its anything like my box blade did, the scarifiers will collect all the roots and act like a rake. It might clog up pretty quickly and require you to untangle by hand, or maybe just pull it all over to a dump spot and lift the attachment up, shake/jiggle a bit to unload the roots.

 

[eolesen]

Using it without the diggers did smooth things up. Roots left on the surface did collect and have to be dumped every couple of passes.

I was waiting for a ruling from my septic guy before taking it out on the proposed drain field. He didn't want anyone driving on it and compressing the soil, but said the tractor would be OK.