trail prep

[ezra]

what are you guys using in farm country for smoothing the fields ?
our club is thinking about buying a used disk . our fields are mostly clay junk the farmers turn them with those plow deals so very large clumps .
some say land rollers behind a disk . that would prob be a few yrs out disk first .
I also see Cultipacker deals out there used look like they have tines to dig up dirt and rollers to pack it in . any one use one of those ? like this https://rmn.craigslist.org/grd/d/13-brillion-cultipacker/6295088923.html

or any one know of a decent finishing disk with in 3ish hrs of Minneapolis ?

 

[mrbb]

I have owned and used a lot of cultipackers, but none like that, mine have all been just rollers
that one in the add , would most likely work OK, as it has what is called spring tooth harrows on it, front and rear to help break up clumps and such and then the rollers(there not traditional like roller here either) to help firm up what they disturb, but its going to need a decent sized tractor to pull it

if its in all good working condition, that price is VERY fair
I just sold my Brillion double row 12 ft wide packer for $2500.00, with NO spring teeth on it
Brillion makes quality items
BUT one thing to consider is, them packer wheels might be cast Iron, and if any break, they can be very hard to replace or repair, due to that again isn't the normal like packer disc's wheels, they will be lot harder to find to replace !

if you have rocky fields, cast iron can break, if pulled too fast by operator, and thats about speeds over 6 mph when things can go bad, even lower pending rock they hit!

there are a few companys now making NEW packers with steel wheels, but there far from cheap
a 10 ft wide one will start at about 5-6 grand and go up! as they get wider!

 

[mrbb]

if you have anyone in the club that can weld and is good at making things, I gather something like this can be made pretty easy with some steel stock
Only thing again will be rocks, they will start to pile up in front of it if there are a lot,
but an give you an idea for something, that will for sure smooth ruts and suck out for you?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tufline-LP2...300194&hash=item2f020ba419:g:tTAAAOSw5UZY96os

or this??

http://www.abiattachments.com/driveway-road-grader/tractor-land-plane-implement/

 

[ezra]

there will be no one making anything lol .
we are also looking at disks . they are not perfect for the job but better than the huge clumps .
deff need to think about parts availability . the stuff will only get used for a few weeks a yr but needs to work for those few weeks .
it is pretty crazy what a steel drum you fill with water and pull can cost lol.

 

[slimcake]

There are dealers down here that rent those rollers. I have one at home right now. 15'. 100 bucks a day though. Filled it with water and a 70hp 2wd tractor can spin out on a small hill.... Just a thought. Up that a way everything is prolly 30' though.

 

[ezra]

the rent thing is ok but when we need stuff like that it is on others free time to get done so you have it sitting at a guys hose for 3 for days then to a diff guys house for a day or 2 and so on it adds up quick over the years . it would be 1 thing if we just had 2 fields in the system . but we are buying something our club owns but will be letting a lot of local surrounding clubs have access to .pretty much all of northwest trails so the north western part of metro Minneapolis.

 

[mrbb]

a disc might help, but its not the better tool for the job
a CHEAP deal can be a simple thing made from some tele phone poles, 3-4 12 ft wide ones, or as wide as you like?
frame them so tires can be on one side, and just flipped over to be a drag

I get NO one wants to make anything, but it can be a simple deal to make and cost a LOT less than a decent correct tool will

this is the packer I just sold , it was a decent sized packer too, and the double rows, helps pack way better than a single row one
but over ruts and such, it would take a few passed to smooth anything out, and it was about 1800 lbs, NO down force , was just gravity pressured and towed, but if you got on top of a rut/mound of dirt, it would NOT squish it down , would just ride up on top of things?
as thats is more how they work> you need that sweeper bar like deal to grade things all one grade!

a Back blade is a rather cheap item and can work for you's?

that or those other implements I put links to are what you really want, its a one pass deal them?

 

[GTL]

Asking $1200.oo Maybe if they know it's going to the clubs they will really work with you???? I would love to have one of these as a lot of our trail goes across chisel-plowed fields too. Let us know how it works.