Land Plane weight does it matter

martialplumber · May 11, 2017

I am going to purchase a land plane either the Land Pride GS1560 511 lbs at 1230.00 I can pick it up locally or the Everything Attachments Land Leveler v2.0 672lbs at 1570.00 I am outside of there 1000 mile free shipping.My question is does the weight really matter for grading my gravel road and is one or the other a far Superior product.I chose the 60 inch because my road is about 10 feet wide

JRobyn · May 11, 2017

Extra weight is very beneficial, particularly if your road surface is hard-packed. That said, the extra cost for the optional LandPride rippers is quite low. I find that the weight of my GS1572 is plenty and no ripping is required for my road with a crusher run top skim coat and hard-packed river rock below. Should I ever need it to "dig" better, it would be easy enough to chain an old engine block to the frame. Shame that LandPride doesn't offer a GS2560!

The build quality of the LandPride is superb. I have no experience with EA.

You are doing the right thing with the 5ft width. I learned too late and bought a GS1572 (6ft) for my 10ft roads. It's important that the left side skid ride very near the center of the road for proper crown maintenance.

Rustyiron · May 11, 2017

Weight is good for working but also means there's more steel in it for an "apple's to apple's" comparison of brands/models. More steel generally means stronger. Howdy neighbor!

EverythingAttachments · May 12, 2017

Shipping to FedEx Freight in Portland would be VERY reasonable. We ship up there pretty frequently!

Weight is important. Design is also very important.
Our EA Land Leveler blades are on a 10 degree angle, which produces excellent results in fewer passes than most others.
EA Land Leveler with Ripper Shanks
EA Land Leveler without Ripper Shanks

US Made cutting edges.
A572 steel construction...NO A36 steel in our factory.
Ripper shank holders welded behind the main tube for extra rigidity.
Solid welded hitch.
Over 55" long sides.
Almost 17" tall sides.

It's a lot more beastly than the photos depict. The video shows it off better.
Travis

Soldier415 · May 12, 2017

I recently purchased a LP GS1560 and put it to work. I would have liked a higher angle on the blades like the EA model, but then again LPGS won't really move material laterally.

EverythingAttachments · May 12, 2017

We also make a lighter model land leveler that is pretty similar to the LP 15 series!

This video shows a few things we do differently than LP.
Travis

Soldier415 · May 12, 2017

Been refinishing one section of driveway today and can't get a smooth finish to save my life. Keeps coming over the top of the back blade in clumps.

bcp · May 12, 2017

All gravel or dirt, or grass mixed in it?

Bruce

Soldier415 · May 12, 2017

bcp said:
All gravel or dirt, or grass mixed in it?

Bruce

3/4" crusher run. Thinking to lengthen the top link so front cutting edges are off the ground and use the back of the rear blade to smooth?

JRobyn · May 12, 2017

Land Planes definitely do NOT like moist, clumpy material to work with! The drier the better.

aeblank · May 15, 2017

Soldier415 said:
3/4" crusher run. Thinking to lengthen the top link so front cutting edges are off the ground and use the back of the rear blade to smooth?

X2
I have to do this seemingly despite how dry everything is. I'm in nearly pure sand, which i've always attributed as the source of my "problem".

brown40 · May 15, 2017

I don't have a land plane--I have a box blade and rear blade, so there's no way to justify a plane... Everything else equal, I make weight the determining factor for purchasing decisions--especially when ground engagement is the job. If there's no clear winner more steel wins.

crazyal · May 15, 2017

When I was looking I ended up buying a BEFCO land plane. It was about the same price as the LandPride but came with the rippers. It's worked great for me.

jenkinsph · May 16, 2017

aeblank said:
X2
I have to do this seemingly despite how dry everything is. I'm in nearly pure sand, which i've always attributed as the source of my "problem".

How do you have your blades set? Raising the blades if adjustable would help when running in sand. I have my blades set flush with the skids in sandy loam soil.

aeblank · May 16, 2017

jenkinsph said:
How do you have your blades set? Raising the blades if adjustable would help when running in sand. I have my blades set flush with the skids in sandy loam soil.

They're set as shallow as possible, which I assume is flush (don't recall exactly).

JerryK · May 16, 2017

While weight of the LP may indicate a heavier ' build ', it also helps a little in the initial pass on your road to help the blades dig in. You 'usually' set it up so the rear blade is held down by the top link, if you don't it will tend to just ride up on the front blade... with the rear just going along for the ride. Once you get a mound of gravel built up inside the LP, the weight of the gravel is what makes LP cut down deeper and deeper into the bad spots. The blades are usually set at an angle, not to move gravel from side to side, but to help them slice/cut into the hard surface some. The Everything Attachments made LP's are pretty good units.

JerryK · May 16, 2017

Soldier415 said:
3/4" crusher run. Thinking to lengthen the top link so front cutting edges are off the ground and use the back of the rear blade to smooth?

Run your LP backwards [ back up ] and it will level the lumps. Works great for me. Or you can use your FEL bucket dragging backwards....

jenkinsph · May 16, 2017

JerryK said:
While weight of the LP may indicate a heavier ' build ', it also helps a little in the initial pass on your road to help the blades dig in. You 'usually' set it up so the rear blade is held down by the top link, if you don't it will tend to just ride up on the front blade... with the rear just going along for the ride. Once you get a mound of gravel built up inside the LP, the weight of the gravel is what makes LP cut down deeper and deeper into the bad spots. The blades are usually set at an angle, not to move gravel from side to side, but to help them slice/cut into the hard surface some. The Everything Attachments made LP's are pretty good units.

Sounds good in theory but is not accurate in practice.^^^^

Weight of the land plane grader scraper makes a huge difference in the first pass and subsequent passes.

The weight of the material being carried by the lpgs does contribute some additional weight but is not the major force providing downward pressure.

With angle blades at about 10 to 15 degrees there isn't much slicing effect and is over rated. One benefit of the angled blades is that you have spillage on one side of the plane primarily, with successive passes that overlap you can get a smoother appearance.

With a straight blade lpgs you can shorten the top link and cut at a uniform depth across the width. Not possible with angle blades, the leading edge will cut deeper on its side while the trailing edge will cut less.

In my world I would not lose a minutes sleep over the differences between straight and angled blades.

Weight per foot of width, width of skids, length of skids, cutting depth of blades and rigidity of the frame work are all important and will make a difference in how effective the lpgs is.

Gordon Gould pointed out years ago that clearance between the blades and frame to allow a free flow of materials is important. He is absolutely correct about this, both of my land planes could use more clearance in field work. When I have time I will modify my lpgs to allow more clearance.