New L4060hstc in my garage the good, the bad, & the ugly

Fallon · Dec 9, 2016

I was looking at draft control a while back, but was talked out of it. I'm pretty sure TnT will do a lot better for box blade control than draft control, not to mention the Rupe Goldberg aspect, which I've heard before as well.

art · Dec 9, 2016

With farm tractors we often use the draft control for attachments much like your box blade! I just sold one this fall to a contractor coming out of another make. He has been totally amazed at the performance of using it. You might have difficulty with it but for many they make it very simple. Some systems are not very sensitive so it does make a difference in the need or not.

Fallon · Dec 9, 2016

art said:
With farm tractors we often use the draft control for attachments much like your box blade! I just sold one this fall to a contractor coming out of another make. He has been totally amazed at the performance of using it. You might have difficulty with it but for many they make it very simple. Some systems are not very sensitive so it does make a difference in the need or not.

That's what got me thinking about draft control in the first place. But given the rinky dink nature of the setup on the grands & the fact TnT works so well in my experience on my L3200 it fell way off my priority list. Tapping on the toplink control to extend or retract a hair easily takes the box from filling to emptying as needed. I'm gonna guess that will be a bit smoother than draft control lifting & partially dumping the whole box.

MtnViewRanch · Dec 9, 2016

Fallon said:
That's what got me thinking about draft control in the first place. But given the rinky dink nature of the setup on the grands & the fact TnT works so well in my experience on my L3200 it fell way off my priority list. Tapping on the toplink control to extend or retract a hair easily takes the box from filling to emptying as needed. I'm gonna guess that will be a bit smoother than draft control lifting & partially dumping the whole box.

This is the exact misconception that most people have regarding the use of draft control. I can make a cut a mile long, 3" deep with my rear blade and never touch the top & tilt. Draft control picks the blade up maybe 1/16" to lessen the load and then will drop back down allowing me to continue along and never even be concerned. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

First picture is a taper cut about 6' wide from 3"-0" and the second picture is about a 1" cut through varying ground density. Look at the windrow, a constant amount of material being cut and moved. :thumbsup:

sixdogs · Dec 9, 2016

MtnView---that is a beautiful job.

MtnViewRanch · Dec 9, 2016

sixdogs said:
MtnView---that is a beautiful job.

Thanks. People think that I know what I'm doing, and maybe I do some what, but knowing how to operate the features on the machine you are operating sure makes life easier.

Fallon · Dec 9, 2016

Re: New L4060hstc in my garage the good, the bad, & the ugly

Knowing what you are doing...

A) Being a master manipulator of controls based on changing conditions.

B) Knowing your requirements well enough to get the right gear & how to turn on auto pilot.

Both will get a quality done, one is easier. ;-) May or may not look into draft control at some point. For now I'm still planning on building a land plane grade scraper. Probably cheaper than the $800ish draft control (materials only at least) & might be more effective for my needs in the short term.

I do like hearing about new info & being smarter about my equipments capabilities though.

MtnViewRanch · Dec 9, 2016

Re: New L4060hstc in my garage the good, the bad, & the ugly

Fallon said:
Knowing what you are doing...

A) Being a master manipulator of controls based on changing conditions.

B) Knowing your requirements well enough to get the right gear & how to turn on auto pilot.

Both will get a quality done, one is easier. ;-) May or may not look into draft control at some point. For now I'm still planning on building a land plane grade scraper. Probably cheaper than the $800ish draft control (materials only at least) & might be more effective for my needs in the short term.

I do like hearing about new info & being smarter about my equipments capabilities though.

Nothing wrong with a LPGS, that's for sure. Those are my go to implements for general maintenance of our 1 3/8 miles of roads. But they don't ditch so well or create crowns very well.

My recommendation if building a LPGS.

Be sure that it weighs 1000lbs.

For your tractor, I would say a 7 footer would be good as long as you don't plan on just dropping and driving off. Learn how to actually control the implement and a 1000lb 7 footer would work very well for you.

Side rails should be a minimum of 6' long and 18" tall.

Forget about all the adjustable monkey motion that companies as well as people are putting on them, why, it just isn't needed IMO.

My 5 footer weighs about 800lbs and my 7 footer 1400lbs. They have worked great for the past 10+ years and have had zero reasons to have wanted-needed them in any other configuration than what they are.

I understand that others requirements are different, but for general road maintenance, I don't see the need for the other features.

Just my :2cents:

Fallon · Dec 9, 2016

Been reading up on them here for a few years. Picked up a few grader blades cheap at auction in the past year. Need to get side plate material at some point. Maybe this summer or something, if I have time.

Not in a rush as my 72" King Kutter box blade works for now. Grader blades are already working out... chained to the top of the box for extra weight on hard driveways.

sixdogs · Dec 9, 2016

Re: New L4060hstc in my garage the good, the bad, & the ugly

Fallon said:
Knowing what you are doing...

A) Being a master manipulator of controls based on changing conditions.

B) Knowing your requirements well enough to get the right gear & how to turn on auto pilot.

Both will get a quality done, one is easier. ;-) May or may not look into draft control at some point. For now I'm still planning on building a land plane grade scraper. Probably cheaper than the $800ish draft control (materials only at least) & might be more effective for my needs in the short term.

I do like hearing about new info & being smarter about my equipments capabilities though.

I have draft control on all my tractors, except one, and would not be without it. Give me draft control, a wider blade or landscape rake and I can turn an irregular landscape or waterway into the dirt equivalent of a sheet of glass.