I had a job opportunity come up on building/grading a 1500' road, using crushed limestone. I'm no stranger to grading, do a bit of house pads but know a road is different. I'm curious how to go about building the road for a real good end product and what attachment will make it the easiest. New to the forum, ill fill out my sig soon. I have a Kubota svl90.
I would demo a grader blade setup w/ the wheels out front. They seem pretty slick.
Yes I am planning on demoing one, just wanted to see if anyone has used any grader attachments and recommends one over another?
The best in the market is Bobcat's grader, you can even get one with a GPS. I had a quickattach brand blade with wheels in front and it was pretty good, especially for 40% of what the Bobcat grader costs.
Welcome to the forum ! :wavingLook into a Bobcat Landplane. No aux hyd. needed. Just skill and a little thinking out side of the box. I've used mine along with a standard smooth bucket for roads and with good results. More money in your pocket and less crap to haul around. :my2c
Thanks guys! So how do I go about getting a demo for a few days? They just give out a demo to anyone, is there usually a fee? There's a bobcat dealer about 90 miles from me.
well im about to demo an s510 they told me they will drop it off in the am and there is no charge no pressure to buy so tomorrow we are going to set up a date idk if it works the same way with an attachment
Generally if you show some serious interest in a product they will let you demo one. They know you are spending a lot of money and want to explore your options. Worse case your could always rent one.
Sounds good, thanks. Looking back, I kinda wish I tested some ctl's, but I've operated cat and new Holland skid steers, and spent a ton of time researching. Been extremely impressed with everything I throw at our Kubota. Just wish it had an rpm guage, I might have to add one.
Hi HRP I have an older Bobcat grader for my skid steer and it has been excellent for road building and maintenance. The ability to angle and tilt the blade accurately makes it possible to create the right shaped crown in a road so the water sheds easily. Using the angled blade you can also win gravel/road base from the edge of a road and spread it to where it's needed when doing road refurbishment. The more work I do with the grader the more work I get as people are impressed with the result compared to other contractors using landplane style attachments. Go for the grader, you won't be disappointed. AusDave
I have a Dual Dozer that I pull with my dozer or push with my Mustang. It's the best way to go, imho, for the best bang for the buck. Mine has dual masts and dual receivers - great for crowning. This isn't a pic of mine (can't find one), but it's just like it. http://dualdozer.com/
Unless they have changed, I don't think that BC grader can be used on anything but a BC. I checked into that a couple years ago and was told that by BC. It is a way cool grader attachment. But it was big money as well.
Think I decided prob the best attachment will be a dozer blade on the skid steer, have to cut 2 trenches on the sides of the road to be built. Then using the dirt from the trench build up the road, then gravel on top of that.
That dual dozer is really awsome and I'm def checking into it. Might be good for finishing the road and for once I get a contract to maintain oil/gas pad sites around here. Thanks!
I'd give the dozer blade a try before you buy. Unlike a real dozer, a skid steer is lighter and has a short wheelbase/tracklength which means the blade will dive in soft soil and skid over the hard bits. The reason why the grader blade with the wheels out front works so well is because it eliminates most of these issues. I have used mine as a blade for just pushing loose soil by lifting the wheels with the bucket crowd. I have also used the angled blade to cut trenches/ditches on the sides of a road and cast the material to the centre. Loosening the soil with a ripper/cultivator etc will make this even easier. However when digging roadside trenches in really hard soil, nothing beats your bucket, especially if it has teeth. You can also go in at the trench on an angle to maximise your cut depth and the bucket crowd will break out the hard material and increase traction. Again ripping this type of soil makes it easier. BTW my Bobcat grader is an older model which just uses 3 toggle switches in the cab to control the blade. As the blade controls are only a bank of hydraulic solenoid valves mounted on the grader, it wouldn't be hard to wire a control system to make the more modern Bobcat systems work for you. However you should check out the 2nd hand market as you'll probably find a better deal there than new. They're pretty solid devices with not much to go wrong. AusDave
I agree with AusDave on this. For hogging out material/ditch with a toothed bucket. I don't think you'll like the dozer blade for hard work. Loose spreading yes. When you dig your ditch with your bucket and place/ spread the material, you will break up dirt and gain some sort of compaction when you back drag. Really after that you just need the grader blade or planer or dozer blade to finish because you've already rough shaped the road. That why I personally just use the planer. Just my preference. Having dozers and such I thought I would like a D blade for my skid but was disappointed when I tried it. For me it's just quicker to use the bucket and to be honest , I don't really use my Landplane that often. As far as maintaining locations , here's my experience. I came to a site to maintain what was existing and as I was back dragging the gravel with my skid bucket , I discovered the sparky's and who ever set the site , just threw the 3phase line to the pump on top of the ground and just covered it with rock. This happens more than I care for, so I've learned to be very gentle / evasive with what ever I use on a location. Just my thought and experience. I wish you the best of luck !
My suggestion is just use your skid steer with tooth bucket to shape and build the road. Then find a a dump truck company that has drivers who can tailgate stone - tailgate the loads, touch it up with the skid and call it a day. 1500' is a fair size drive but really not that long and a good dump driver who can tailgate will make this process easier and so much quicker. One driver with the trucking co. I use can tailgate #57 stone so smooth and evenly you don't have to grade it except for the stopping and starting points.:cool2 If you have your drive shaped and crowned, it will cover it evenly. Potholes and dips will transfer through the gravel if you don't fix them first. Save your money, don't get a dozer blade, you will be disappointed as the other members have said. If you do a lot of gravel drive/road maintenance or want to get into that niche then look at getting grader blade/box attachment as they are not cheap.
Good advise ! :iagree
Thank you guys for the great advice. When you talk about tailgating the gravel with the truck what exactly does that mean?
Chain the gate so it only opens a few inches, raise the bed and drive forward to "pour" the rock out in a hopefully even and smooth strip. The alternative is dump a pile then push the pile out, which is more work.
I see, thanks.
If you're on locations, you're probably gonna see more belly dumps and end dumps depending on where you are at.
Here's a pretty good example - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trm3uhq7grY
So I called Dual Dozer and has no demo, or dealer in Texas. Bobcat only for bobcat, landplane isn't really what I need, and dozer blade won't work as I thought. Where does that leave me? The dual dozer style would be perfect. I know I can do this road, just thought there would be an attachment that would perfect it.
As previously stated, there are other possibilities for the grader attachment. The older model Bobcat grader attachments used 12 volt solenoid valves and can be controlled by a simple hand control or control box inside the cab. QUICK ATTACH makes this 6-way-dozer-blade GREAT-ERRR also makes this grader attachment . Mini-Might Patrol may be another option. Their website seems to be down so I don't know if they are still in production. This grader attachement from Australia is very similar to the original grader attachment made by Palm Attachments for Bobcat. Site Pro also makes a SSGB-8 Skid Steer Grader Blades I have heard of people mounting a Bobcat Tilt-Tach to a Landplane to provide the ability to cut the cross slope. Many options, you just have to decide how much you want to spend to buy an attachment or rent a small grader to work more efficiently.
Dave can you post a picture of the grader attachment & the toggle switch control you have. I would like to get one also for a Bobcat 864G. Thx
HERE is an old model Bobcat Grader Attachment for sale on Craigslist in Vermont for $1900. It also has the optional scarifier. It can be controlled with 12 volts and three double pole momentary switches.
Have you thought about a 4 in 1 bucket? You can push, pull, dig, scrape, grade, load, might be worth trying one out.
Thanks TriHono. That looks like a well built unit, I am in Missouri and would buy it, however not sure what it would take to ship it to me from Vermont. I have about 1/2 mile of farm road to keep maintained and that would sure help out...
I’m a big fan of the Power Box Rake, I use a Cat PR184 the same as the Harley MX7 and do a lot of long rural gravel & clay driveways with it. One advantage is that you can run a light scarifying pass over the area prior to puting down your top surface this will minimise any delamination between the old and new surface, which can be an issue down my way. Using chains on the tailgate of the tip truck is a must and massive time saver as mentioned above, one truck run down the middle of your road/track already provides you with your crown height, working either side of the material pass should give you your profile. You can use the angle system on the rake to regulate your material coverage from the crown. I don’t normally run a rake pass down the road centre as it will remove your crown, likewise when compaction rolling it. If your material isn't wet when it is delivered, water it as you spread it, this will keep your mixture together as the rake rolls and spreads the material. The action of the power rake is similar to the action of the grader mouldboard. Good luck which ever way you decide to go. Oh and welcome to HEF.
Check out a "Roadrunner" http://www.roadrunnerblade.com/skidSteerModels.html I have an 8' on a big Gehl and it does a great job. A much cheaper attachment, and with it's long skid shoe it works like a grader blade.
Good dual dozer. I want to see lots of information with this.
Company website: http://dualdozer.com/specs.php