Newbie tractor owner question - I ordered a truckload of sand for my arena. I have now taken the bucket and basically dumped it around the arena. There are small humps of sand.
whats the best way to level this? I started driving my drag n fly groomer over them but I think it mostly coasts over the jump. I have a blade on a 3 point hitch. Is that the best way to do this?
i have a huge learning curve ahead of me.
DH does it with the bottom and lower edge of the front loader bucket, driving in reverse. It takes some skill with the controls to ‘float’ the edge and release it at the right time, but he can get things pretty smooth and then I clean up what’s left with a rake.
Your blade on the 3 point hitch should level it, going into it from different directions.
Using the bucket here and there will also help, but won’t be as exact as the blade.
There is only one way to learn, do it, spend time at it until you find what works best for you.
Our neighbor has a grader and moved all that sand around to level it.
Would have taken longer with our little blade on the 3 point hitch.
Did a very good job, the TR3 drag we have did the rest.
Now we have a perfectly groomed arena.
We always try and spread it as we are dumping it. Not into piles, but backing up as it’s coming out of the bucket.
Then, as mentioned above, take the bucket and drag the sand backwards. It does take some practice to get it just right.
And then … unfortunately … you will probably have to hand-rake it.
Definitely use the bucket in reverse method to smooth as best you can and then do the drag. Does take practice but you will figure it out.
It’s definitely a frustrating experience, because every time the tractor wheels go over a bump the bucket or scraper blade goes up or down. I haven’t found either the bucket or blade to be better than the other, except maybe the back or bottom of the bucket doesn’t dig in as much as the blade. But I can see the blade a lot better than the bucket so just go really slowly and try to adjust the height as I scrape.
It’s definitely a frustrating experience, because every time the tractor wheels go over a bump the bucket or scraper blade goes up or down. I haven’t found either the bucket or blade to be better than the other, except maybe the back or bottom of the bucket doesn’t dig in as much as the blade. But I can see the blade a lot better than the bucket so just go really slowly and try to adjust the height as I go.
Your front end loader likely has a float function. Engage it by pushing the control handle fully forward… past a detent. The bucket will then float with ground level.
Back drag with the heel of the bucket… Not the edge. You can bend the hydraulic cylinder rod if you hit something solid. Using the bucket heel, the hills will be dragged into the low spots.
Even if your FEL doesn’t have the float function back drag the heel to prevent damage.
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