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Box Scraper Landscaping Box

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dmnsmith2
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 25 North AL
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2003-06-09          57229

I will be getting a new B7800 soon and would like a box to go with it. Since I am new to the tractor world, I am new to the implement world also, :)
Anyway, I need to do some leveling, rutt removing, filling in low spots, general landscaping. What type of box do I need to get, Fixed Bar Box Scraper, Rollover Box Scraper, or a Retractable Box Scraper? I am sure there are price differences and depends on how much I can spend. I'd just like an idea of what these can do and which one would be better for me. Thanks in advance!!




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TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2003-06-10          57261

The most important box scraper feature in my experience is a hydraulic top-link. Without one you can end up hopping off the tractor every minute or so to adjust the top-link. A scraper with a hinged rear cutter may provide the ability to use a wider range of front cutter attack angles and may spread a bit better.

I use my fixed rear cutter for compacting and smoothing. Rolling the box down picks the front cutter off the ground so if doesn't pick up much loose material. I think some hinged rear cutters lock down so maybe they'd work as well as my fixed model plus provide better blade control.

Rollover boxes and retractable (scarifiers I guess) are handy but expensive. Mostly they save time for contractors who use their scrapers a lot.

Perhaps the most important feature is simply how much the box weighs. Heavy is good since a light one will bounce along hard ground without cutting it much and might not even sink the scarifiers much. You really don't want to have to use the scarifiers when the idea is to just touch up a drive.
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marklugo
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 281 Tifton, GA
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2003-06-11          57338

A rollover is nice. But any regular box blade will do. Make sure that the cutting edges are reversable though. Also, you might consider a pulverizer for the final grade work. Especially before laying sod. ....

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DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2003-06-11          57342

Can someone explain to me exactly what rolls over on a rollover box scraper? ....

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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2003-06-11          57347

Mark, on a rollover type box blade the entire 'box' is hinged at the sides to the hitch. These blades are intended mostly in high production landscaping type work, such as when we are building a golf course, where production (time) is of the utmost importance. Instead of merely having a rear-facing second blade, the entire box reverses direction so that the tractor its mounted on doesn't have to. In fact our blades also have a hydraulic rollover feature, the operator merely flips the remote lever to reverse the blade. When used in conjunction with the scarifiers for example, it gives you the ability to have the scarifiers down in 'forward' and the blade down in 'reverse'. This way you can drive forward and loosen the soil, then reverse the blade, back up and strip the dirt without having to drive over the freshly loosened soil. If you use this in conjunction with laser levelling of the 3pth you can achieve very precise grades in no time flat.

This rollover feature is also particularly handy for operations where the tractor cannot be ahead of the box blade, such as when you are backfilling a trench, the tractor would have to drive over the open trench before the blade full of material got to it to fill it in.

Have a look at the Land Pride web page below. ....


Link:   Land Pride Rollover Box Scraper

 
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TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2003-06-12          57388

You can use the rear cutter going in reverse on an ordinary box. It cuts but can't drag or spread so you have to turn the tractor around. Then if you're working a side-grade and using the 3ph leveler to tilt the box you have to climb off and tilt the box to the other side. It's not too difficult with my crank leveler but still a pain. There's still no way I could justify the cost of either a roll-over or hydraulic scarifiers for the amount I use my box.

I do backfill trenches in reverse with the rear cutter. It might be nice to be able to flip the box over so it would pick up a full box from the pile and dump it in the trench as the box goes over top. I'll throw in a comment not directly about rollovers. When I'm on lawns I've taken to dumping onto vapour barrier. When finished, I usually can just push sections of the pile back into the trench in one pass. Plastic and all goes into the trench and decent looking lawn remains on each side. Otherwise I end up spending a lot of time raking dirt out of the lawn. I can't get the last few inches of dirt up without tearing the lawn no what I use or how carefully I do it. I usually figure that if I can't pull all the plastic back out of the trench, who cares? I do reuse the stuff so I'm not filling up our landfill with plastic.
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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2003-06-12          57398

Tom, when we have to trench through finished turf we put down sheets of plywood we keep for just such use. When it's time to backfill you just put the forks under the front edge of the plywood and tip it over into the trench.

The plywood was 'spoiled' (got wet in transport or storage) but what do we care if it's starting to de-laminate? Most good sized lumber yards get some, if you ask it's usually free or very cheap.

Best of luck. ....

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DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2003-06-12          57399

Thanks Murf, I wasn't sure till now if rollover was a brand name or a mechanical function. ....

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TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2003-06-13          57462

Murf: Yes, plywood is a better solution and I hear that's what many pros do. I don't have a source of used plywood and the vapour barrier seems to be a decent substitute. Used plywood is in demand around here because that what many sheds are finished with. I'm not sure what spoiled plywood would have to look like before our local supplier wouldn't try to sell it. I imagine the building simply owner probably says the same thing about his suppliers.

Most anything is better than raking dirt off a lawn although it probably be a toss-up if I had to go to a city to find used plywood. Old construction sites are good sources I think.
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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2003-06-13          57475

Tom, another, possibly easier more durable solution is to do as one of the local lawn sprinkler installation companies does.

They purchased a couple of Army Surplus tarps (at Princess Auto) and had a local canvas shop cut them into 4' wide strips with heavy reinforcing and a length of 1/2" rope sewn into one side.

They pile the dirt on the tarp along side the trench, but on the OPPOSITE side from the 'backfill' machine. To backfill the trench all you have to do is tie the ropes to the machine and back away from the trench.

I'm told that by using this method the entire pile of dirt rolls into the trench as a single unit. The key to this is that the topsoil which was dug up first is therefore on the bottom of the pile, flipping the pile over means the topsoil ends up back on top.

Best of luck. ....

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TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2003-06-14          57583

Aha! Clever; and I said I was into small tricks yesterday. The plastic ends up on top too and that's even better. Salvaging topsoil is a problem and there's not much of it around here to start with.

I imagine that some dirt might have to be pushed off the top first for deep trenches or the tarps would tear. No problem real problem and much easier than pulling plastic out of the hole. That's what I'll try next time. I suspect that I might need something wider than 4' for deep trenches to get enough wrap around.

Last fall I broke 1/4" hardware store plastic rope while dragging a huge pile of leafs in a large tarp. I guessing that with 3/8" rope the tarp probably would have torn. Army tarps probably are tougher than box store ones though.
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