# Using Tractor to smooth/grade ruts & holes



## STI_MECE (Aug 4, 2020)

I just purchased a 2022 Kubota L2501 with a FEL to move dirt around my property to keep up with the leveling aspect. Well not so much the leveling aspect, but the shoveling aspect. With the size of my property and size of the ruts/holes I was killing my self just shoveling the dirt into my pull behind trailer then going around and spreading it.

Does anyone have any tips or implement suggestions for doing leveling work with ruts?

Getting a bucket of dirt, and dropping it over the ruts and knocking it down by floating the bucket, I thought about just getting a box blade to grade the dirt down over the rut, then going over it again with a lawn roller to compact that dirt into the rut. I know the hardest thing is getting the dirt to get compacted into the rut, with that, i can just run over it with the tractor tire.

That would do probably minimal damage to the yard.

My second idea was to get the box blade with some rippers on it and loosen the soil up around the rutthe rut, then start back dragging, aafter that, get another bucket full of dirt and back drag the area so get it smooth. This one would leave these areas pretty bare and would have to get the grass to grow back in but I would much rather have a smooth lawn than bumpy.

My thought is for now just focus on trying to smooth the lawn out, the next stage would then be level after after the major bits are fixed.

To be honest, I might even consider ripping the entire section up and compacting it back down. The ruts do encompass a rather large section so it might be something I consider as well. Some of the ruts overlap with each other.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


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## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

I've gotten to the point where I drop with the bucket in a line in the rut, the box blade it the first pass. Second pas I float the bucket the opposite direction, then I get the ZTR and use the rear wheels as my compacting tool.

I wouldn't personally go as far as using the rippers on the box blade (mine has them), as you'll end up creating more work for yourself then needed. If I was going to go that far I'd just rototill, but then you're still stuck with having to compact the area.

When I had that Fedex Semi get stuck in my yard a few years ago, I went the rototill route. The area was large enough to warrant it. "regular" truck tires I just tractor/blade.


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## STI_MECE (Aug 4, 2020)

I suppose I have to go order a load of sand then. I went to a really nice plant and soil place. but they wanted 70 bucks a yard for 70% masonry sand and 30% filtered compost.

Then they wanted 40 bucks a yard for straight masonry sand. I nearly cried. They charge 125 bucks for delivery, and they can bring in 18 yards at once. So if i was going to have to pay for a truck I was going to load that puppy up.

I might have to keep looking around, a year ago i was able to get 15 yards of masonry sand for 400 bucks delivered.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

I usually just back drag with my loader bucket, but you might also consider a land plane. If you're buying orange, I think Land Pride calls them a "grading scraper".

https://youtu.be/oAg9KGgobto


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## SWB (Sep 22, 2018)

This is what I did. Not level but very smooth afterward. I screwed a piece of plywood across the bottom of the landscape rake to keep too much material from passing through the tines at once.



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## STI_MECE (Aug 4, 2020)

I think I am going to try floating the bucket for the moment. I got 10 yard of bank sand coming in today for 255 out the door. I

Both of those implements seem like they would do what I need and alittle more. But I am keep falling back on the back I can backdrag by floating the bucket and do that same thing.

The rake idea seems clever. Its delicate enough to where it wont regard the existing areas but its strong enough to move the loose filled stuff around. Those wheels on the back, are they manually set? Or does the 3 point control the height only?

I need to proceed with caution on the implements. Considering their prices I really need to make sure it will do what I need.


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## SWB (Sep 22, 2018)

STI_MECE said:


> I think I am going to try floating the bucket for the moment. I got 10 yard of bank sand coming in today for 255 out the door. I
> 
> Both of those implements seem like they would do what I need and alittle more. But I am keep falling back on the back I can backdrag by floating the bucket and do that same thing.
> 
> ...


Don't be fooled by the rake….it will dig in hard when set on an aggressive angle. The gauge wheels are a must with a landscape rake imo. They control the height of the rake. The 3ph doesn't have any downward force. Without them you get a washboard effect. There are a lot of ways to do what you need to do. Take your time choosing implements as they can get pricey.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

I forgot about the 3-point landscape rake. That's a great option too.


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## Uk0724 (May 1, 2019)

Just my .02

I use a box blade with the top link extended where the back for the blade is being drug (smoothing) instead of the front of the blade (cutting). Go slow and it won't bounce. Most box blades have the capability to pull or push. Set the top link where the pushing side is being gently pulled across the material.

The float option on the loader works ok, but I've personally had better luck with the box blade.


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## STI_MECE (Aug 4, 2020)

Uk0724 said:


> Just my .02
> 
> I use a box blade with the top link extended where the back for the blade is being drug (smoothing) instead of the front of the blade (cutting). Go slow and it won't bounce. Most box blades have the capability to pull or push. Set the top link where the pushing side is being gently pulled across the material.
> 
> The float option on the loader works ok, but I've personally had better luck with the box blade.


I saw that yesterday is that the back blade and pretty much be used for back filling. I might have to get one of those anyway because i need to scrape away some old vegation prior before sod gets put down.

Its just the prices of them -_- I need to find a good place nearby for renting this stuff as a demo. I need to get better ties with my kubota dealer near me. Thats why I went orange to begin with. It's so close I am able to drive my tractor to their shop in about 10 minutes.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

STI_MECE said:


> I just purchased a 2022 Kubota L2501 with a FEL to move dirt around my property to keep up with the leveling aspect. Well not so much the leveling aspect, but the shoveling aspect. With the size of my property and size of the ruts/holes I was killing my self just shoveling the dirt into my pull behind trailer then going around and spreading it.
> 
> Does anyone have any tips or implement suggestions for doing leveling work with ruts?
> 
> ...


If you've got a lot of dirt to move, a power box rake scarifies, levels, hauls, and filters out debris far more efficiently than anything else. I've seen them for rent, both as 3pt implements or skid steer mount.

If you are just trying to spread and level out some loose fill/sand/topsoil, a landscape rake with a flip down grader blade, or a straight rear blade is probably the way to go. Much faster than floating and back-dragging with a loader bucket, although that method is fine for smaller, localized repairs.


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## STI_MECE (Aug 4, 2020)

I gave the front end loader a go yesterday afternoon. I got pretty solid results considering all things. I have major ruts to fill at the moment. After this stage I'm gunna get another 10-20 yards and then evenly dump that over the entire section.

I have a 6ft x4ft drag mat coming in that I'm going to use whenever I do the next stage of dirt.

The bank sand I got was a good mix of clay and sand it was loose enough to move around and heavy enough to get some compaction down.

I did about 15 runs bucket runs in 1 hour and this tractor made quick work of it. I am extremely thankful for being able to afford a machine like this. I did this by hand the other week and took me 14 hours to do a fraction of the work.


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## SWB (Sep 22, 2018)

Nice tractor! You'll be amazed at the # of projects you'll find to use it on.


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## HomerGuy (Jun 5, 2017)

SWB said:


> This is what I did. Not level but very smooth afterward. I screwed a piece of plywood across the bottom of the landscape rake to keep too much material from passing through the tines at once.


This is a great idea with the plywood.

Unfortunately I don't have gauge wheels for my landscape rake and I agree that without them it would tend to dig too deep. Wondering if you tried flipping the landscape rake around so the tines weren't angled forward, but angled backwards and dragging it that way?


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## SWB (Sep 22, 2018)

HomerGuy said:


> SWB said:
> 
> 
> > This is what I did. Not level but very smooth afterward. I screwed a piece of plywood across the bottom of the landscape rake to keep too much material from passing through the tines at once.
> ...


I've never tried that but I'm skeptical it would work as I think the tines would just float over the material rather than spread it. The gauge wheels are expensive but imo vital to make the rake work with these smaller tractors.


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## STI_MECE (Aug 4, 2020)

After just doing it this weekend and week, I'm all for floating the bucket to knock the dirt down then use a drag mat to spread the sand. Dollar for dollar anyways, the mat I got was 375.


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## HomerGuy (Jun 5, 2017)

STI_MECE said:


> After just doing it this weekend and week, I'm all for floating the bucket to knock the dirt down then use a drag mat to spread the sand. Dollar for dollar anyways, the mat I got was 375.


What drag mat did you purchase?


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## STI_MECE (Aug 4, 2020)

HomerGuy said:


> STI_MECE said:
> 
> 
> > After just doing it this weekend and week, I'm all for floating the bucket to knock the dirt down then use a drag mat to spread the sand. Dollar for dollar anyways, the mat I got was 375.
> ...


BSNSPORTS Heavy Duty Drag Mat - 6'6''W x 4'L https://a.co/d/ix8rPtL

Just arrived this afternoon. It's quiet heavy to say the least. It definitely is not light enough to be pulled by hand this thing is pull behind worthy. I'll give it go Tomorrow or maybe this weekend. I can let you know how it goes if your interested. I'm recovering from a stomach bug my kiddo gave the wife and I. That knocked me on my feet!


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## HomerGuy (Jun 5, 2017)

@STI_MECE Yes, please let me know how you like it. I think I need to add a drag mat to the arsenal, and not sure if I want to go with the mat style that you purchased or more of a chain harrow style. I see pros and cons to both.


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## STI_MECE (Aug 4, 2020)

@HomerGuy here is the update on the dragmat. It is good for loose light sand, anything that is light and not heavily packed it will spread well.

Not entirely sure how its going to hold up over time. I am wondering if the ends got snagged whenever i was making sharp turns. They were pretty easy to bend back in place after I was done.

This thing is not strong enough to regrade any existing soil or compacted soil. But it was very good for spreading anything lose.

If I could recommend anything, I would buy a link so i can pull it from a single link rather than pulling the entire chain like shown. I only had to reset it once, but somehow it will drag with unequal tension and it was pulling at an angle. I didnt have anything around that fit inside the link so i just ran with it.

This beats floating with a bucket. But if i had to use different words, floating the bucket gets you 90% of the way, the extra 10% is where this mat comes in. The mat is helpful in the sense that it really pulls the dirt in the high spots and drags it to the lows. You might have to make several passes to get what you need but all in all it does well.

It will stress your turf if you make alot of repetitive passes on bare grass but if you are doing an entire area. it really doesnt matter sense it will all get covered up anyways.













This was the damage to the ends after I was done.


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## HomerGuy (Jun 5, 2017)

@STI_MECE This is great, thanks for the feedback.

I'm currently using a TR3 rake behind my B2601, and while it does a nice job, I feel like one more step to put a final "polish" on the surface prior to dropiping seed would be beneficial. After seeing your results, I actually think I need to try a chain harrow instead of the mat like you have. I have a lot of rocks in my soil, and I think those rocks would cause problems with the mat style drag, whereas they may be less of an issue with a harrow style.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

STI_MECE said:


> @HomerGuy here is the update on the dragmat. It is good for loose light sand, anything that is light and not heavily packed it will spread well.
> 
> Not entirely sure how its going to hold up over time. I am wondering if the ends got snagged whenever i was making sharp turns. They were pretty easy to bend back in place after I was done.
> 
> ...


They do wonders on aeration cores as well.


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