Subsoiler and Box Blade for Leveling Cleared Area?

[Suburban Plowboy]

I had a bunch of rotting oaks removed from my property because they were eventually going to fall, and I didn't want them hitting the house or workshop. Now I have a big area behind my workshop, maybe 10,000 square feet, which is free of trees but lumpy and full of weeds and various types of roots. I am planning to rent an excavator when it gets cooler to get rid of the stumps.

I would like to smooth it out and tear out a lot of the roots. If I hire someone, I'll be spending a fair amount of money. I am considering getting a box blade.

I have a bucket, but it doesn't seem to work very well for leveling land. Seems like it makes it worse, and I am concerned about bending my hydraulic rods.

Is a box blade the right tool for this job? I have never used one. Looks like I can get a King Kutter for about $1300, including tax. This is for a 38-HP Kubota L3710.

I was thinking I would use a subsoiler to rip up as many roots as I could and then go back over the area with the box blade. Or should I just hire a guy with a bulldozer? I suppose he could deal with the stumps at the same time.

I like the idea of having an attachment I can use in the future, but I also like the idea of not working.

 

[Fixastuff]

IMO a box blade is only good for that if it has gauge wheels behind it.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Maybe I should just plant better trees. I don't really need the addition to my cleared space.

 

[DIYOrangeDave]

I had a bunch of rotting oaks removed from my property because they were eventually going to fall, and I didn't want them hitting the house or workshop. Now I have a big area behind my workshop, maybe 10,000 square feet, which is free of trees but lumpy and full of weeds and various types of roots. I am planning to rent an excavator when it gets cooler to get rid of the stumps.

I would like to smooth it out and tear out a lot of the roots. If I hire someone, I'll be spending a fair amount of money. I am considering getting a box blade.

I have a bucket, but it doesn't seem to work very well for leveling land. Seems like it makes it worse, and I am concerned about bending my hydraulic rods.

Is a box blade the right tool for this job? I have never used one. Looks like I can get a King Kutter for about $1300, including tax. This is for a 38-HP Kubota L3710.

I was thinking I would use a subsoiler to rip up as many roots as I could and then go back over the area with the box blade. Or should I just hire a guy with a bulldozer? I suppose he could deal with the stumps at the same time.

I like the idea of having an attachment I can use in the future, but I also like the idea of not working.

A box blade will have scarifiers which will pull up the smaller roots so a sub spoiler shouldn’t be necessary. If you were a farm operation I would suggest plowing and disc-harrowing.
My 2 cents.

 

[leonz]

Hire the dozer, broadcast good grass seed and then plant no maintenance/no pruning/no trimming
blue phitzer junipers 8 feet apart after the grass is established and watch the blue phitzer junipers
grow in good sunlight using miracle grow a few times per year.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Maybe I should stick some crape myrtles out there. They are said to produce good shade if you let them grow to full height, and I already know they like my property.

 

[CalG]

If you have stumps, and want to improve the grade.

Get a dozer in.

A Box blade won't touch a mature tree stump and root.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

The box blade is not for moving stumps. It's for fixing things after I move the stumps with an excavator.

 

[mikester]

Not sure how "rough" the plot is you are dealing with. If it isn't too bad rent a power rake like this

If you have lots of root debris and humps these forestry mulchers do a great job

The mulcher will level soil and pulverize wood debris and is good for reclaiming large areas, you can pull down humps and fill low spots. Rent a machine with a head and teeth designed for ground engagement like the Fecon/Bobcat.

The power rake is great for finer work before seeding grass or laying sod but it will pull out roots and rocks leaving you nice piles to dispose of.

For smaller areas the power rake might do the job for you.

 

[2manyrocks]

Hard for any of us to assess without even having seen a picture of the area you want to work.

The trouble I see with roots is I think I've removed them all, but reality sets in.

A box blade is really good for leveling loose dirt or gravel, but isn't a match for a stubborn tree root.

You could rent an excavator to remove the stumps and then regrade with a box blade, that sounds like a lot of work compared to maybe hiring this done with a dozer. IMO, it depends on how well you can remove all of the roots and how long it will take you.

A forestry mulcher could grind down stumps to about 3" in the top soil.

I wouldn't buy a new box blade for $1300. Good 5 or 6 foot box blades sell for no more than $650 in my area. A box blade is one of my most used implements because I have a long gravel driveway on a hillside to maintain.

When you get done with smoothing this area, do you have other needs for a box blade in the long term?

 

[chris the wrench]

Ive been building terraced flatspots around our very hilly property. Nothing like the size you are referring to, but several 30x30 spots. I have more time than $ so I drop trees, dig out stumps and then I dig the areas out kinda level with the backhoe. Then I spend alot of time going back and forth with box blade. Shanks do a great job in bringing up roots and rocks upto football size. I proceed to hand pick out all of the roots and rocks. Finally I box blade the area with shanks retracted. Its time consuming and other equipment would be faster, but it gets the job done and I can do it around my time schedule. I must have a pretty level eye, cause I do most of my eyeballing from the tractor seat and then check grade level later and Im usually pretty dang close.

 

[rgr33]

I use a subsoiler to keep invasive tree roots out of my wine grape vineyard.
A 2-3 inch root will stop your tractor dead in place, or worse, cause your front end to flip up.

This is with my 35 hp tractors with 250 lbs of weights on front end

 

[rScotty]

If it were mine, I'd first go with the bulldozer, then hire someone to disk it, and after mount a SSQA rock bucket on your Kubota to grub up the rocks and roots that got missed. Then it will be in nice shape to be workable with your Kubota and box blade.

 

[WVH1977]

I cleared 2 1/2 acres with the biggest mini-ex I could rent with blade on it. I dug out big stumps and then used the blade to rough level everything. Then I used my tractor and box blade/pulveriser to do the final grade.

 

[rScotty]

I cleared 2 1/2 acres with the biggest mini-ex I could rent with blade on it. I dug out big stumps and then used the blade to rough level everything. Then I used my tractor and box blade/pulveriser to do the final grade.


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That's an impressive project. How long did it take? What's a pulverizer?

 

[WVH1977]

2 weeks straight, around 10 hours a day. I was vibrating for a couple of days after.

That's an impressive project. How long did it take? What's a pulverizer?

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

The part about 10 hours a day has me thinking about hiring a guy with a bulldozer.

 

[WVH1977]

The part about 10 hours a day has me thinking about hiring a guy with a bulldozer.

Yours are rotting. When I dug mine they were fresh. Took 35 to 40 minutes a stump. You will probably get it done a lot faster. Depends on how much you like running equipment. LOL