Leveling with box blade & FEL

[michael.white]

Hi all,

I want to level a strip of land that butts (i.e. tees) against a rock face, or at least to within 10' or so of the rock face. The rock face is at the top of a mild slope, so the closer to the rock face the deeper I'll need to dig. After finishing I'll put down a layer of gravel. It'll probably be 20-30 yards long, 10' or so feet wide. Foot traffic only other than the occasional maintenance with the tractor.

I'm hoping to avoid renting a dozer for a small project like this. My current thought is to use the 4' box blade at its deepest setting to break up the soil then use the FEL to scoop up and pile the soil at the base of the rock face. I expect to hit some rocks but don't expect to hit solid rock.

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks.

 

[tractorshopper]

I would try that approach first. In fact, if you have a tooth bar, you'd be surprised how much you can peel away bucket by bucket without even using the BB, unless the ground is rock hard. I've done sections like that to create banks or swales by just digging in perpendicular to the obstacle to get the first pad part level, then going from there parallel to the obstacle in layers. First layer obviously has all the weight and bucket fill on one side.

 

[michael.white]

I haven't got a tooth bar but it sounds like it'd save me a lot of turning around, and it'd let me get into a lot tighter spaces. The ground here can get rock hard, but we had some decent rain a couple weeks ago that softened the soil.

Thanks!

 

[Western]

Does your BB have ripper teeth? if so you can drop them down and get the ground scarified, just dont pull to hard or they may bend. I've done this on hardpan clay a few times, it is time consuming but will get the job done and makes digging easier at times.

 

[lutt]

If you set your cut right on your front end loader,you be suprised how much you can peel off with out ripper teeth, just put a little angle on your bucket with it being a few inches off the ground where it will peel off instead of cutting out chunks. We have some pretty hard clay here also. If you dont have ripper teeth,you may want to invest in some to put on your box blade. When youre working dirt to be smooth, you want to take little bites or skim it off the surface. LUTT

 

[michael.white]

I've just got the normal teeth for the box blade. Is that different than ripper teeth? A search doesn't seem to differentiate between those.

For peeling off the soil with the bucket, I'm a bit paranoid about putting too much stress on the tractor. The back of the FEL is attached to the transmission housing, not a separate frame.

Thanks!

 

[Western]

I've just got the normal teeth for the box blade. Is that different than ripper teeth? A search doesn't seem to differentiate between those.

For peeling off the soil with the bucket, I'm a bit paranoid about putting too much stress on the tractor. The back of the FEL is attached to the transmission housing, not a separate frame.Thanks!

Same "teeth", they should be adjustable to around 2-4" below the blade depth. Using them will make it easier to use the bucket to "peel" it off as Lutt mentioned.

What size/type tractor do you have??

 

[michael.white]

I've got a TC-30 (30 HP engine, 25 at the PTO).

 

[Gary Fowler]

First, Make several passes with the box blade teeth set at lowest level to loosen everything up. Shorten the top link so you are just scarifying unless you want to drag the dirt with you. Then pick it up with your FEL and move to where you need it. IF you are very good with the controls, you can do both operations at once. That is how I leveled an area for my shop. Scarify, load both FEL and boxblade to drag as much as I could pull while picking up a FEL bucket full at the same time, dump both, scarify back towards high ground then turn around scarify and load both again. That doubles up your dirt movement without any wasted trips as you are doing something in both directions.

 

[deezler]

^ Gary, that's pretty slick. I will have to try that when I get to excavating for my house slab.

So if a bare loader bucket can dig dirt at a baseline ability level of 100%, what does adding a tooth bar take it to? 150% 200% ? I'm sure it depends on the soil type, but I'm looking to justify buying another attachment.

 

[michael.white]

Gary, I'll have to think about this a bit to see how trying both at once will work for me. One end of the strip will be against a rock face. The dirt I dig up will eventually end up next to the rock face although putting it there can wait until after I level the strip completely.

Given my novice level of experience, I'll start out with the inefficient way until I feel comfortable with what I'm doing.

 

[Western]

Michael, you can hit it with the teeth, then use your FEL to dig or pull it (tilt FEL drag backwards) until you get where you feel comfortable using both ends of your tractor at the same time. There isn't any rules, just have fun and be safe. What works for one guy, may not work for you or your situation, but you can sure get allot of great ideas from the guys on TBN.

 

[MF 1532]

Given my novice level of experience, I'll start out with the inefficient way until I feel comfortable with what I'm doing.

You have the tools to do it , it may take a little while to catch on , but you will :thumbsup: I have moved a lot of dirt with a fel and bb , just take your time

 

[lutt]

Gary, I'll have to think about this a bit to see how trying both at once will work for me. One end of the strip will be against a rock face. The dirt I dig up will eventually end up next to the rock face although putting it there can wait until after I level the strip completely.

Given my novice level of experience, I'll start out with the inefficient way until I feel comfortable with what I'm doing.

We all started out that way,some of us like me have strong ag backgrounds or construction backgrounds and grew up running equipment, Take your time,get out and run your equipment, and practice or play. I already have my youngest daughter able to smooth and level roads on our property. Dont get upset, have fun, it will all come in due time. LUTT

 

[lutt]

^ Gary, that's pretty slick. I will have to try that when I get to excavating for my house slab.

So if a bare loader bucket can dig dirt at a baseline ability level of 100%, what does adding a tooth bar take it to? 150% 200% ? I'm sure it depends on the soil type, but I'm looking to justify buying another attachment.

It will turn that cub into a new digging animal! LUTT