MBRfarms
Junior Member
Posts: 58
Likes: 90
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Post by MBRfarms on Nov 14, 2023 10:52:30 GMT -6
I'm in the red river valley, so flat heavy gumbo that needs good drainage. Have a Trimble FM1000 with WM-Drain + RTK and have surveyed our fields. So far I've just printed off the maps and cut main drains where needed with WM-Drain running the slope control, which has worked good but only really hits targeted spots. Also have combined old fields with old boundary ditches, disker ridges, etc that I would like to level out. Looking into getting the whole design software (Farmworks or Optisurface etc) and designing a whole field drainage plan and putting pre-made maps into the monitor rather than driving around the field with a paper on my lap trying to make sure I'm in the right spot. I'd like to do some leveling/sloping of the fields while I'm at it not just cut more ditches. Currently I rent a neighbor's 11yd 8ft cut dolly scraper, it works but isn't the fastest dirt mover and isn't great for leveling areas with the small dolly wheels. Thinking of investing in a proper dirt mover of some sort, thinking of going with a wider cut 18-20yd direct mount scraper (10-14ft cut) or a 16ft pulldozer. Have an older 360hp 4wd with 2yr old Michelin radials full of fluid.
What are pros/cons between the 2?
Part of me thinks the scraper is the best "all around" machine, can cut new ditches well while the wider cut and direct mount would allow decent land leveling in the other areas.
Pulldozers seem to be the hot thing out west, but I don't know of any in my area. How do they do cutting new ditches? Most ditches are fairly shallow 12in deep or less, but usually a few bigger main ditches per field are needed. They would definitely be the best machine for leveling big areas or feathering out ditches, but I don't want to sacrifice ditching ability.
Basic new pulldozers look to be in a similar price range as used/refurbished scrapers in this size, so not a huge $ premium either way it seems.
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Post by meskie on Nov 14, 2023 11:53:45 GMT -6
Traded my cat 70 scraper for a 18’ pull dozer this fall. The pull dozer is way faster moving dirt short distances and finishes it far better.
It will cut a new ditch but didn’t get into any hard clay this fall. Most of our land has the ditches already just needed to shape them or clean them out. Would get serrated blades for deeper ditches.
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Post by Oatking on Nov 14, 2023 13:40:44 GMT -6
You might want to add a third option….. a rotorary ditcher.
Out of the three , I would put money down on a scraper. You can build a pad with a scraper or move the soil from a dirt to a high spot in the field .
Dad said in the 40 s and 50s farmers hired the rm graders to make ditch’s in their field . Problem is now we are busy moving the hills on the edge of those ditches with a scraper .
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Post by meskie on Nov 14, 2023 13:41:58 GMT -6
And the best thing to use to move those hills along ditches is a pulldozer
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Post by bob123 on Nov 14, 2023 17:41:13 GMT -6
wouldnt the pull dozer always leave a ridge on one side of a ditch blocking the water from coming in on that side? Opti surface looks cool though and probably would be nice with the pulldozer.
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Post by meskie on Nov 14, 2023 18:20:17 GMT -6
Mine never left any ridge except when it was full and started going out the side. Then you go back and clean it up the next time.
Our land has enough slope and sloughs in it you are always putting the dirt back in the low spots to fill them in. We never leave any dirt along the side of a ditch.
Ran ours with a claas Xerion CVT this fall and it would be really hard to go back to a power shift tractor. Standard shift would cut the productivity down a lot also. With the cvt the tractor would slow down before it would spin a bunch when you drop the blade in the ground too far or hit a hard spot. Didn’t get into any stones this fall so not sure how the pull dozer will work in them.
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Post by kenmb on Nov 15, 2023 8:55:14 GMT -6
Haven't used a pulldozer but each time I use the scraper I think of how nice the dozer would be to have. Scraper is nice and can do everything needed but for moving earth a short distance the dozer would be the tool. I spend a lot of time digging, lifting and dumping earth just to move it 100 feet out of the way to get to the stuff below it where the dozer could do it in a few minutes. And then all the time spent running the scraper as grader to level things off when done. Would be nice to have both but I suspect I would use the dozer 80% of the time, and I would be taking down more hills which I don't do now.
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MBRfarms
Junior Member
Posts: 58
Likes: 90
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Post by MBRfarms on Nov 15, 2023 9:52:24 GMT -6
Rotary ditchers are all the rage in the area, and for small ditches or cleaning existing ditches nothing can touch them. But 4ft cut and not as much control on dirt placement, plus no big tractor with a pto, and they're not really an option.
Meskie, how do the pulldozers handle sticky ground? If we get down into our clay layer the scraper will pile 10ft high with giant sticky slabs. How far can you feasibly drag dirt from your cut before it becomes very inefficient?
How fast do guys cut and maintain good grade? Tractor is a standard shift, always ditched in low range but top out at 4mph when not cutting and range shifting requires a full stop and is a pain to do twice per scraper load. Would I be pleased with the grade control if I went in medium and cut at 2-3mph but could then go 8mph when not cutting?
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Post by Oatking on Nov 15, 2023 10:12:44 GMT -6
 well looky here, a Leon’s pull scrapper. is this what you have or similar to meskie.? rosenort motors has another smaller version. |
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Post by meskie on Nov 15, 2023 10:16:27 GMT -6
Clay was dry this year so I’m not sure how it would handle it when wet. Didn’t get to cutting many new new ditches was more cleaning cat tails and taking sharp edge off. (Close to 2’ of black topsoil where I was working this year) Our clay has a lot of sand in it also not real gumbo. Pull dozer held more dirt then out cat 70 and wasn’t moving it real far so not sure where the line is for efficiency. Was cutting at 4-5mph and close to 8 when empty. I try to plan so I’m cutting dirt both directions and limit driving empty but doesn’t always work.
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Post by meskie on Nov 15, 2023 10:19:27 GMT -6
this is the one I got. Would want at least 400hp on it. 500 worked good. the Leon’s one I’d call a pull grader. |
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Post by kevlar on Nov 15, 2023 11:57:43 GMT -6
well looky here, a Leon’s pull scrapper. is this what you have or similar to meskie.? rosenort motors has another smaller version. 👎👎👎Booooooooooooo 👎👎👎 |
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Post by Oatking on Nov 15, 2023 14:56:51 GMT -6
well looky here, a Leon’s pull scrapper. is this what you have or similar to meskie.? rosenort motors has another smaller version. 👎👎👎Booooooooooooo 👎👎👎 It’s totally weird how rosenort motors has good stock on Leon equipment that is not moving for a few years yet there are paid customers left without a product. Distribution at Leon’s is fu€% up! I am sure our dealer got these products cheap from canceled orders. What do you guys think? |
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Post by Oatking on Nov 15, 2023 14:57:20 GMT -6
well looky here, a Leon’s pull scrapper. is this what you have or similar to meskie.? rosenort motors has another smaller version. 👎👎👎Booooooooooooo 👎👎👎 It’s totally weird how rosenort motors has good stock on Leon equipment that is not moving for a few years yet there are paid customers left without a product. Distribution at Leon’s is fu€% up! I am sure our dealer got these products cheap from canceled orders. What do you guys think? |
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