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3/15/2021
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BG
Hi Guys,
What would be the best tractor combo attachment for track prep and filling in ruts. One that is not that big so it could be attached to smaller tractors...
I am thinking of some kind either Rotary tiller or disc harrow but has to have a big packer roller. I do not want to have big clods afterwards..
Thank you very much in advance!
A vertical power harrow is a real game changer when it comes to track prep. At the club track I volunteer at, we tow ours with a smallish 150hp tractor. Literally turns the dirt into brownie batter.
For track prep and filling smaller ruts/ripping them out cant beat a disc. If I'm just filling in ruts with the tractor I use a backblade. 3pt hitch one works good but if you want down pressure a fast hitch one is the way to go. Dirt clods will all depend on soil. If you dont have top soil and its clay it'll be almost impossible to get rid of all of them. You can maintain a track pretty nicely with a disc, back blade, and cultipacker if limited to a tractor. If I know a heavy rain is coming and the track is loose ill run the cultipacker to roll it in so it doesn't get rain ruts or too muddy.
A 150hp tractor is a very big unit. Most 50-200 acre farms around dont even have a 100hp tractor.
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For my personal turn track, I am using a 6' rotary tiller with a homemade drag attached to it. I run a 40hp tractor. I make the track about 10' wide by making two passes. The tiller won't leave clods if you go the right speed. You can also easily control depth. I can do a 3/4 mile track in about 30 minutes.
The drag will smooth it out and helps remove any debris that rises. The drag is just chain welded to a concrete filled galvanized chain-link fence post. Then it has chain-link back to another concrete filled post. I do it all in one pass.
For big bikes I usually leave it deep. If my kids are going to ride it on groom day, I pack in the insides of all corners by simply driving over it and back dragging it with a flat bucket.
EDIT: Kids are on a 50 and a 110. I make it where it is only a few inches deep so they don't struggle too hard while learning.
Sorry. I don’t operate the equipment, so I really don’t know much about it, but the guys that do are always asking for a bigger tractor.
Disk with a chain link fence behind it to break up the clogged up dirt.
All good. Its probably like a 30-40hp. I can do everything on my 1.35 mile 30ft wide track with a 60hp tractor no problem. My 130hp one is total overkill for a track I'm just a tractor nerd.
Bro…you want the deepest ruts you ca make! Around the entire track…. Yiu will never get a Loretta lynns regional without super deep , german chocolate cake mix ruts….
Do you have an image of that, is seems possible to me for my case ?
I vote for this.
Growing up we used a disk & over time ended up digging down too deep (our fault). It messed with water run off & the eventual loss of top soil.
Those are some images of the track after the last race on absolute mud.
Do you by chance have some images if that attachment ?
I will take a few pictures when I get home in about 10 hours.
The land plane will distribute the top of the soil to fill in the ruts but it won't rip down to bring fresh soil up or break the compacted dirt on the square edges. If you put some removeable scarifiers on the front of the land plane you would have better results for when you want a full groom vs. filling in small ruts.
The land plane I have has the scarifiers as does the one I posted. When I had my track the dirt was sh.. hard as a rock on certain days,but absolutely perfect after a rain but blue groove during the dry summer months. I would use a roto tiller but it would just turn into large “marbles” it was like riding on fresh gravel, not ideal. I’m sure a lot of the this will depend on the type of soil the OP is dealing with. I didn’t have the land plane when I was dealing with my track but a combo rototilling and the land plane would have been a good way to go about it. I’m sure other have a better idea since I haven’t maintained a track in a number of years.
Just for reference I have a 38hp Kubota and 6ft land plane. Ideally whatever you decide, make sure the implement is wider than or the same width as your rear tires. JMO..
Soil is a huge factor. My soil is mostly loam on the sandy side.
Edit: I accidentally put the red dot one line too high.
I've been breaking ground and around it since I was a kid. Got into the track building in 2002 at 15. A disc is the best bet for tilling a smaller track. Im not trying to be a dick but that thing wouldn't do much. You can pick up a small disc for cheaper than something like that. If you dont take care of the track you'll 100% lose the top soil. You can't just let the track go when its loose and you get a heavy rain. Thats why you'll need a cultipacker or roller also. If you ride the track when its dry you'll lose your topsoil in the turns and berms. Thats why if limited to a tractor you'll need a back blade to scrape it back on after rides. Or at minimum scrape the ruts back into the track because they'll push out. But you also must have a good grade on your whole track with the water runoff in the proper directions. A turbo tiller would be ideal but they're more money and require a bigger tractor. I would say 10hp minimum per foot. But it all depends on tractor weight ect. These newer compact tractors that a lot of people have dont have the weight of old school farm tractors especially the earlier ones built with better steel.
Pit Row
J, You’re probably right and have more experience than i do, as does Boze. So again this is all just my opinion. When I first decided to build a track we had a 3pt disc and it wouldn’t touch the clay I have. We did borrow a heavy duty pull type cutting disc that worked but the old JD I had at the time struggled to pull it and we still had to break it down from there. The LP I recommend would be more of maintaining verses building from scratch implement.
The chart that Boze put up, most of my track would have been close to the top of that scale. It was kinda built on a hillside, so you could see the soil change from top to bottom. When my ex packed up the house she took all the old photos and or memory sticks with the pics I had.
J, I beileve this is exactly what the land plane does it redistributes the “high” spots to the low spots and keeps things graded properly, or it least it can.
Thats why if limited to a tractor you'll need a back blade to scrape it back on after rides. Or at minimum scrape the ruts back into the track because they'll push out. But you also must have a good grade on your whole track with the water runoff in the proper directions.
Sorry I wasn't trying to go after you. Was trying to reply to dinger saying a disc ruined his topsoil. The issue with a 3pt disc/hitch is it doesn't have down pressure you need to add weight and lots of it to do anything. A fast hitch you can lift the rear of the tractor off the ground with the hitch. If starting from nothing you'll need to make multiple passes with the disc to do anything. Once you have a track in place the disc would work great with a couple passes max. The chart he posted is very helpful because it really depends on the soil on how it will turn out. From riding all over the us from Midwest/ north/ south each track is very different. My track is at the top of the chart mainly also. Over one hillside its sandstone. The other hill its lots of very loomy topsoil that people would consider perfect. The bottom of that hill in the valley its very thick heavy clay. A tiller that would work wonders down south would destroy the gear box and tines over the one hill at my track thats sandstone. I would really question it in the super thick clay at the bottom of the one hill. It would be very hard on it and leave football size clumps of solid clay if the ground had moisture.
Look up mx implements. Leaves some of the best finished dirt ever. So much so a few factory teams use them for prep.
What i mean by grade is the angle of the land. I see far too many tracks that have puddles in the turns. Or overly wet sections. Once I would lay a track out or put a new section it I would try to make sure there's no low spots or excess runoff over other sections of the track. Once you have it set up roughly after the first rain you can come in and re adjust the slopes and level of the ground. That way when it rains the whole track gets the same amount of moisture and you don't have puddles in areas.
Those things look great but you'll need something to turn the dirt over and give it a deep rip first if its higher on the chart. Then probably 75pto horsepower to run something like that in softer soil without big hills efficiently. It would take a large tractor. I believe it was redbud? That had them. Thats an easier soil to til.
The owner will show up eventually but im pretty sure Star uses his stuff. I dont know that red bud does because all they do is doze the sand flat n run it or a disk and leave it too deep.
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A lot depends on your dirt and tractor hp. Judging by your pics it looks like a top soil so a PTO driven unit is your best option. Rototillers work ok but don’t go real deep (4”ish) and have a tendency to bounce if the dirt is too hard. A power harrow (vertical tiller) is by the best option but eat up HP and are kinda expensive.
Just be cautious who you buy from. A lot of places will sell you an implement too big for your tractor and uses. Also the the style of pto shaft you get is super important. Depending on the clutch style you could burn up clutches in a matter of no time.
Feel free to message me on Instagram or on my phone number on the page. Wether you buy something from me or not I’ll steer you in the right direction.
My land is absolutely the same, super hard pack and good after rain but not having rain that much so I have watering system.
Good info, farmer. Where the hell were you when I was 14? Haha. Cheers mate
My chain broke so I rigged this up for you quickly with rope. I sealed the track in for the rain we had last week. We have only ridden for an hour since.
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