what can the gravely rotary plow do?

[twrighthere]

I am maintaining and building several miles of single track trail for mountain biking... I am intrigued with the idea of a gravely walk behind and several of it's attachments.. if anyone could give me your thoughts on the following , I'd appreciate it.

trail construction is full bench cut, that is working on a shallow side slope, and removing from 4 to 8 inches of soil on up hill side. do you think I could use the rotary plow for this..

how problematic would small roots and small rocks be?

is there a clutch or other saftey system if the rotary plow hits a large root?

how effective is the snow/dirt plow. I am not thinking of trying to move huge piles of dirt, but can it help direct and spread gravel and dirt?

thanks for your thoughts

 

[PossumHound]

:welcome:

Howdy! I don't have experience with the Gravely unit, but the job you describe might be tough even for a tractor/turning plow if you're going to encounter substantial roots or rocks plus the plow will only cut the hill in one direction- are you always going to run from left to right across the hill face?. Beyond that, your logic sounds good. What are the terrain conditions going to be?

PH

 

[RichardTX]

Several miles of trail? That will take a while to do. The Gravely can do a fantastic job of plowing a garden making a near perfect seedbed, but for what you want to do, you may need something bigger.

With regard to roots and rocks, the rotary plow can deal with them but there is a limit. A lot depends on soil type and conditions. I have some soil around my house that not even the Gravel plow can break up. A backhoe or jackhammer is about the only thing that can cut through these hard areas.

Yes there is a safety clutch on the Gravely rotary plow.

The snowplow works great in snow. It is much less effective in dirt because it just can't get the traction needed.

If I were you I would get a local Gravely owner to survey the situation and if possible, give you a demonstration. It may be that the Gravely rotary plow is perfect for what you need.

 

[RichardTX]

To give you an idea how the rotary plow handles rocks, here is one pile of rocks I took out of new garden this past spring. The largest ones (football sized) the rotary plow had an issue with. The rest were no issue at all. I had two more piles of similar size.

 

[twrighthere]

Thanks for all the info....

I was planning on using the rotary plow to help dig out the high side of the full bench cut... the soil is not overly rocky, more organic for a few inches and then down to clay about 4-8 inches below... the tree roots would be something else, but I could plan ahead for them.. was also thinking of using the cultivator tool holder,, and running it with those 5 points (don't know what you call them) to help scratch up the organic matter.. it is likely that I will be following up that work with the standard hand tools of trail building, but my hope is the Gravely will help out with the intensive part... there are times and areas that creating a ditch to help direct run off is necessary...

thanks for the pics of the rocks and the clearing of them.. I have a possible deal on two gravely's, super convertible with electric start and commercial 12 with some accessories,, (both run) two 30 inch mowers, snowblower, cultivator tool holder,, rotary plow with extra bit. some extra set of dual wheels. and a plow.... was even thinking of cutting down the plow a bit more narrow since the single track wouldn't be 4 foot wide,, but might just try to make something... all that for $700... what do you all think?

again, thanks so much for all the info, pics and ideas...planning on using brush hog to keep some of the areas free of the thorn bushes.

can they pull a log, say about 12 inch diameter, and about 10 to 12 feet long..??

 

[Zork]

If your choice is a shovel or this contraption powered by two wheels I'd say take your time and go in small bites. Good luck. Rotary plow on Gravely 8163-T - YouTube

 

[twrighthere]

anyone out there pull logs around with their gravely?

also, where is the best place to get info on taking care of the thing,, do they still sell manuals...

what do folks use for oil, and for the pto?

 

[RichardTX]

I have pulled all manner of stuff with the Gravely including logs, cars, other tractors, big rocks, etc.

All the manuals are archived at oldgravelys.net

I use 20w50 in my engines and transmissions but I live in Texas. 10w40 is likely a good choice for the engine end transmission. Gravely has changed their recommendations over the years. The latest recommendation from Gravely for the transmission is 10w30.

The rotary plow is a implement like no other. It takes some fiddling to get it to plow correctly. You will know when you have things set right when it just cuts a straight furrow without any help from the operator as shown below.

 

[twrighthere]

trying to find info on mounting up the dually wheels... like how??

 

[whistlepig]

trying to find info on mounting up the dually wheels... like how??

Try looking here.Jacks Small Engine Parts Help Page

 

[RichardTX]

trying to find info on mounting up the dually wheels... like how??

At Oldgravelys.net the instructions for almost every accessory that Gravely made is there.

Here is the dual wheel manual.

http://oldgravelys.net/pdf/Dual_Wheel_Kit_Instruc_0473.pdf

I at least partially deflate the tires before putting the dual wheel adapter on. I don't trust those wheels with just 3 bolts holding them together.

Sometimes the bolts holding the wheels together have to be moved so that the valve stem is not being smashed by the wheel spacer.

 

[twrighthere]

Richard.. thanks, when I was trying it, it just seemed to simple.... but now seeing the instructions, i guess, yes it's that simple...

thanks again..
I am sure I will be back with several more questions.

 

[twrighthere]

getting ready to play with the rotary plow this weekend.. I see that it can be pivoted for a "shallow pass" is this recommended. the soil it will be working in is likely considered (loam, organic for first 4 inches,, then in some parts will be clay...

? just take it slow and steady??? if it begins to walk off in a direction other than straight do I need to adjust the angle (pivot?) of the shaft/blades>>

I don't have a dirt shield,, but I am not overly concerned where the soil will end up, actually the more spread about the better,,

but if I end up needing one, anyone retrofit their own design,??

 

[RichardTX]

I don't use the dirt shield.

When experimenting at first, here are a few tips

- stay away from the handlebars.
- use at the lowest and slowest speed possible. Slightly above an idle is good.
- the angle determines if it will plow straight or pull to either side.
- read the old L tractor manual and the other owners manuals carefully.
- look at Gravely published pictures of the plow in action to determine approximate settings.
- start shallow
- If you hit a rock or root the tractor will buck. Stay clear of the handlebars.
- Make sure the attachment safety clutch is working.
- Make sure the gearbox has gear oil in it.
- The rotary plow has so much torque it will pull 20ft of 3/4" conduit out of the ground in about 1.3 seconds.
- The front wheel height also determines the depth.
- The front wheel offset determines how much dirt is going to be removed on each pass. Less is more when learning.
- Once the angle is set right, it will likely never need adjustment.
- The plow works slowly. Look at what it is doing compared to a standard plow. It is not only turning the soil, it is also breaking it up and moving it further. In short it is doing 3 operations at once. Plowing, discing, and cultivating.
- Let the tractor do the work. Once you get it set up, all you need to do is to be there to stop it if it hits a rock, etc. See picture below.

Note the offset of the front wheels.

 

[twrighthere]

richardtx,

thanks for the tips, looking forward to getting the hang of it.

 

[RichardTX]

Here is a link that I found that might encourage you.


Rotary plow, So easy a Girl can do it!

The #1 rule I have is if I find myself having to actually work at keeping the tractor straight, something is wrong.

Having said all that, there are some patches of soil around my home that nothing can penetrate. The Gravely can't, a pick can't, nothing can. Well actually a pneumatic jackhammer/air chisel or a backhoe can but that is not exactly plowing. I am not making this up or exaggerating either. The neighbor's lot a block away has nothing but this hard almost concrete soil. As a result he had to have a mechanical septic system put in. The soil will not allow water to pass through.

May the skies be always be blue, the sun warm, and all the soil you plow be sandy loam that is free of rocks and roots.

 

[RichardTX]

Let us know how things work out for you.

 

[twrighthere]

back with more questions,, the "tilt adjusting"plate ,, I take that it attaches to the left upper and lower mounting pto bolts/holes to that the rotary plow housing is actually slanted down to the left??

also I put on the dual wheels, but I wonder does that rob the tractor of torque? it seemed to just about pull me across the ground when single tires,, but now with the dual it seems like I could hold it back??

anyone out there rig a hitch or extension to tow an husky garden cart behind it, while sittting on it, I know the actualy gravely are set up but wondering if I could rig something up..

 

[RichardTX]

Dual wheels put more rubber on the ground but sometimes that is not what is needed. For maximum traction in soil the 4.80-8 single luggers are about as good as it gets. When pushing snow, then duals with chains rule. For mowing with a 50" deck out front, then dual turf tires work good. When I use the rotary plow I use single luggers or snow tires.

Based on your description of the plate, it sounds right. I will take some pictures of my rotary plow setup and post them later.

This may help

http://oldgravelys.net/pdf/Rotary_Plow_OldStyle_Own_Man_0774.pdf