What size Land Plane for Kubota L3940

[CCOUGHRAN1]

I have a Kubota L3940 4x4, FEL, Ag tires...~40hp

I will be using the land plane to level off pasture in gulf coast "gumbo" soil. My plan is to rake my rippers from my 6' Gannon box blade, rip the soil, then use a 6' roto tiller, then once the soil is workable I would like to use the plane to level the pasture. What I am calling a pasture, is actually less than 5 acres.

I will begin construction on my plane this weekend, but I am torn about what size to make it.

I have given some thought to making it 6' wide with 6-8' long "skids"... Can this tractor handle a 7' wide plane?

Is there a good rule of thumb as to how long to make the skids for a given width on the land plane?


Thanks in advance,
Chris

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I have a Kubota L3940 4x4, FEL, Ag tires...~40hp

I will be using the land plane to level off pasture in gulf coast "gumbo" soil. My plan is to rake my rippers from my 6' Gannon box blade, rip the soil, then use a 6' roto tiller, then once the soil is workable I would like to use the plane to level the pasture. What I am calling a pasture, is actually less than 5 acres.

I will begin construction on my plane this weekend, but I am torn about what size to make it.

I have given some thought to making it 6' wide with 6-8' long "skids"... Can this tractor handle a 7' wide plane? I doubt it, not in soft soil. I think that you will be best off with a 6 footer.

Is there a good rule of thumb as to how long to make the skids for a given width on the land plane? I would say that the side pan skids should be as long as the grader is wide. But I have not seen any that were longer than 7 feet. I think that most are 4-6 feet in length.

Thanks in advance,
Chris

Chris, lots of things to consider, any other things that you may want to use it for?

 

[CCOUGHRAN1]

Chris, lots of things to consider, any other things that you may want to use it for?

I don't maintain any long drives or roads, so the only use I am aware that I might have for this item is leveling off a pasture.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[MtnViewRanch]

For this one time use and for how you are ripping and tilling the ground, (making it soft and almost powder) you could get away with building the grader out of wood. You won't need any cutting edges. Just use some 4x6 and or 4x8 material.

Good luck

 

[CCOUGHRAN1]

MVR,

Thanks, I plan to go ahead and build one using 10" channel for the sides, 3"x6"x3/8 rect. tubing for the top crossmembers, and 4x4x3/8 for the bottom cross members. I already have all the steel sitting in the rack, and no other plans for using it. I figure if I build it right, and find I don't need it after this project, I can always sell it at a later date. My only cost in the LP will be some time. My friend that owns a large fab shop provides the material, my other friend that runs a welding supply shop keeps me in consumables, and I am in the Hot Dip Galvanizing business, so getting the finished product galvanized is pretty much free. If I was to build something out of wood, that would actually cost me

I am thinking that I might build it 84" wide, with 96" long skids. If I find it to be too much for my L3940, I have access to an M8200 that should handle it. My thinking in having the longer skids, is that it should make a smother transition/ grade than one with 4-5' skids. Am I on the right track? Or is there some reason that it might be better with the shorter skids?

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Well, with free material, that is pretty hard to beat. The longer skids will be better, in fact the longer the better. I think that the ones for sale usually have shorter sides for cost and shipping purposes. I have a 7' grader blade with 7' sides that weighs about 1600lbs, your tractor would not pull my grader blade and be of any use to you. My tractor is 75hp & weighs about 12k pounds and if I don't pay attention, it will stop my tractor, especially in soft ground.

I really feel that the best that your tractor is going to do is to pull a 6 footer and that will depend on how heavy the grader blade ends up. I also have a 32hp tractor that weighs right at 5k pounds and the 5' grader blade that I have for it is a perfect match. I hate to see you build this thing and have to use your friends M8200. If you have pretty good luck with your 6' box blade, I would stay with the 6' width for your grader blade.

Just my opinions, hope all goes well for you.

 

[CCOUGHRAN1]

MVR,

If I was to drop the width to 6', do you see anything wrong with using 8' skids?


BTW, Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. I have done plenty of reading, but my application seems to be a little different than most, as most of the information I have read pertains to road maintenance, rather than pasture leveling.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

8' sides would be good. Plus for land leveling, straight blades are supposed to be better than the angled blades. I guess that they figure that the dirt will flow over the blades more evenly.

No problem with the questions, I enjoy helping when I can. If you don't mind though, would you post pictures of the build and finished product and maybe how well it ends up working for you. All of that info will help others in the future that are looking to do the same type of thing.

Thanks and again, GOOD LUCK.

 

[CCOUGHRAN1]

I will post up some pics of the finished product, and hopefully soon, I can post some pics of the leveled pasture.

 

[CCOUGHRAN1]

Got up early Saturday Am, turned on the torch, and got to cutting some steel. A little after lunch, I had a working Land Plane. I did not stop to take many photos, but here are the ones I did take.

This unit is 72" wide, inside the channel. The skids are 10" channel, 92' long.

Total weight is 740#, so ~123# per foot of width.


Tacking the bottom angles to the channel sides.

This was the most difficult cut/fit of the day. Due to the thickness of the steel, where the web meets the flange on the channel. I think it turned out alright thought.

I used 3" x 6" x 3/8 wall rect tubing for the front for a couple reasons. I wanted weight, something substantial enough to handle the 3pt structure, and the ability if needed to handle scarifers down the road.

I cut these holes in the rear to hold chains, if for some reason I think I need to pull an additional drag.

Here are some pics of the almost complete Land Plane. It still needs some touch up with the grinder, and it needs to be sent off to the Galvanizing plant.

 

[CCOUGHRAN1]

Finally sent my home built land plane to the galvanizing plant last week. I am pretty pleased with the outcome.

 

[beppington]

No more updates on your plane?

 

[CCOUGHRAN1]

Haven't used it since it came back from the galvanizing plant. Heck, I haven't done much of anything outside in the last month or so, it's been triple digits around here.

 

[beppington]

Haven't used it since it came back from the galvanizing plant. Heck, I haven't done much of anything outside in the last month or so, it's been triple digits around here.

Then maybe your next project should be a sunshade of some kind

 

[CCOUGHRAN1]

I've got the factory canopy... just wish I had purchased a cab tractor instead of an open station.