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dual plane laser grading

shaper

Charter Member
Joined
Dec 16, 2003
Messages
35
Location
South Portland,ME
Occupation
Golf Construction & Irrigation
mcnitttj8

I own a level best with dual receivers . I run mine on a John Deere 4320 tractor, it is a 7' 3-point hitch model. If the grade is within .10-.20' I can do up to 50,000 square feet in a 10 hour day. The wheels on the 3-point hitch models are in the rear on mine, they can be a pain in tight areas if you have to pick up the box and backup to reset. When you lower the box and start pulling the wheels will pivot 180 degrees, causing spin out marks

If you go back a page or two you will see a picture of mine
 
Joined
Jun 18, 2009
Messages
5
Location
Australia
The only supplier in Oz wants $40k for a dual laser receiver set up by level best. It seems far too dear for me. I think he bought a dozen and is trying to sell them here. He's not even an authorised dealer by all accounts.
Any good reps on line, or sellers of second hand gear I'm after an 8' to fit a Cat 297
 

mouse

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2008
Messages
166
Location
Sydney, Australia
Occupation
(wishfully) avoiding work as much as possible
When you say locally - Is that downunder?.............My bobcat dealer isn't interested because I went to The "darkside" and bought Cat products........

pm on its way as i'm curious who/where the dealer is. and yep, locally is here, australia, clark's pricing is nation wide afaik.

the first problem for you with the bobcat box blade is that the electronics on it work in weird wonderful ways - the attachments usually feature a circuit board which talks with the bobcat computer through the canbus, therefore the signals on the 7 pin are not so straight forward.

i asked a good sparky to build me a control box to use as an interface so i could hook some of my attachments to non-bobcat machines, they told me they couldn't build the box... :Banghead

there is a fella in usofa advertising an interface box for about $400 (i think) that supposedly works, i emailed him and got nothing intelligible back so didn't go down that path, his website didn't make me warm and fuzzy either tho he may well be dinky di.


have i used the bobcat box blade? no but i do have one on order. the last one left in the country went to an asphalter locally, the feedback is the thing works an absolute treat. more are on the ship as i write.

bobcat's box blade is not dual slope and doesn't feature the dual blade setup like the level best. i don't see that as a major problem, i think most of the rental applications will be level or single slope and those that need dual slope probably need a lot more than a box blade.

if my pitch was house pads - small areas - i'd probably lean to the level best for the ability to work material both directions. that said they are just plain bloody expensive here.

i do think the bobcat blade will work going backwards, it just wont carry much material.

at civinex recently there was a guy, from sa i think, displaying a locally made dual plane for about 34k or about 11k without the dual plane smarts, it didn't do a lot for me. it was a sort of like a level best with some interesting plumbing and linkages. even if it was gold plated i still wouldn't fork that much for a box blade.

next to him was a guy who made hotmix screeds for bobcats, he wanted 18k for something that looked to pretty much be a couple of rams, a bit os bisalloy and a day or two on a press brake. maybe i underestimate the work involved...
 

mcnitttj8

New Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2009
Messages
2
Location
Nebraska
Themandownunder--
Currently we are using/demoing a LevelBest Blade matched with a 289C CAT. They are priced considerably lower here in the states coming in between $15-$25K depending on width, and slope capabilities. We recently put it to work on a flat pad barn site 600' X 80' wide. We used it put down the finish grade of sand. We were happy with the performance and we were on grade across the entire project.

However, I am also currently looking at the DualDozer by HitchDoc. I see some advantages with both. I think the wheels being in back on the DualDozer will leave an almost perfect final grade and will allow you to get into tighter spots. I have not had the chance to price a DualDozer or even use one for that matter. Are these two blades the Top performers fo their kind?
 

KSSS

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2005
Messages
4,319
Location
Idaho
Occupation
excavation
Themandownunder--
Currently we are using/demoing a LevelBest Blade matched with a 289C CAT. They are priced considerably lower here in the states coming in between $15-$25K depending on width, and slope capabilities. We recently put it to work on a flat pad barn site 600' X 80' wide. We used it put down the finish grade of sand. We were happy with the performance and we were on grade across the entire project.

However, I am also currently looking at the DualDozer by HitchDoc. I see some advantages with both. I think the wheels being in back on the DualDozer will leave an almost perfect final grade and will allow you to get into tighter spots. I have not had the chance to price a DualDozer or even use one for that matter. Are these two blades the Top performers fo their kind?

My issue with Hitch Doc was the components are not current technology. The use their own homemade control box. Nothing wrong with that I guess but I felt better about the Apache system. I think the Apache components are much better, you can use the same control system on a dozer or smaller grader if your so inclined. If I recall Hitch Doc quoted me about 25K for their system. When you running the system being too compact is not a great thing either, Even with a tracked machine you go tortise a lot with the shorter length. What I like about the wheels out front is the longer wheel base makes the system more stable by reducing the tortise effect (if that makes sense).

As far as the value of dual plane. If you get a project with a dual slope you will be happy that you have the capability. I wanted the ability to pull in one direction and pull both axis at the same time and it works well as long as you set the laser up correctly. My thought is you are already spending big money on an automated grading system, might as well get all that the system can give you. One decent job and you have covered the difference between single and dual.
 
Last edited:

KSSS

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2005
Messages
4,319
Location
Idaho
Occupation
excavation
I am interested in getting one of these setups. I've been working/researching for the last 12 months
Any photos video links of it working
I'm going to import one to australia so anyone recommend a good dealer - even a second hand system will do
Please feel free to pass on my email
blackbilly@bigpond.com

Ray at Southern Precision out of Florida is who I used. If you google Southern Precision you can get his phone number or email.
 

samson09

Active Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2010
Messages
34
Location
Colorado
Dual Dozer

However, I am also currently looking at the DualDozer by HitchDoc. I see some advantages with both. I think the wheels being in back on the DualDozer will leave an almost perfect final grade and will allow you to get into tighter spots. I have not had the chance to price a DualDozer or even use one for that matter. Are these two blades the Top performers fo their kind?[/QUOTE]

Did you ever end up purchasing one or the other? I'm interested in feedback from someone who actually has purchased and used the Dual Dozer System. With it's ability to do dual slope not just flatwork makes it more appealign that the leve-best box which seem very nice but can't do dual slope.
 

samson09

Active Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2010
Messages
34
Location
Colorado
KSSS- As of today, still happy with your decision? Trying to decide between the Bobcat Grader sttachment (but can't get a straight answer from anyone regarding it's ability to hook up to another non-Bobcat skidsteer), Dual Dozer (don't have enough feedback from actual users)...just heard of what you got, Southern Precision's box...Thanks!
 

KSSS

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2005
Messages
4,319
Location
Idaho
Occupation
excavation
KSSS- As of today, still happy with your decision? Trying to decide between the Bobcat Grader sttachment (but can't get a straight answer from anyone regarding it's ability to hook up to another non-Bobcat skidsteer), Dual Dozer (don't have enough feedback from actual users)...just heard of what you got, Southern Precision's box...Thanks!


Yea it works well. Wish the Apache dual plane box was a little smaller. Overall I am good with it. I have not used it as much as I would like. The market on the big slabs fell off of the planet. Got a love my timing. I hemmed and hawed for three years before buying it. I pull the trigger and some one pulls the plug on the economy.:beatsme
 

ddh2433

Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2011
Messages
5
Location
St.Louis,Mo.
I'm going to purchase a laser box for my t320 bobcat and does anyone have any suggestions in which brand is good I have seen several brands like level best, bobcat, dual dozer, ect.
 

diggerdave13

Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2011
Messages
14
Location
Oregon
I have a 7' wide Dual Dozer that works great. I only had a chance to use it on 2 building pads and 1 parking lot before the economy tanked. It is quick and easy to set up and is a real time and labor saver. I only came across this post because I am selling it, so if your interested in a like new Dual Dozer at a big discount let me know or if you just have some questions in general I'd be happy to try and answer them.
 

ddh2433

Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2011
Messages
5
Location
St.Louis,Mo.
Im really looking for a 8' wide box but if the price is hard to beat i would settle for a 7' box. How much are you asking for it. I just recieved a price from my local level best rep on a 8' box. I'm curious what would be better with the wheels in front of the box or behind the box.
 

diggerdave13

Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2011
Messages
14
Location
Oregon
Im really looking for a 8' wide box but if the price is hard to beat i would settle for a 7' box. How much are you asking for it. I just recieved a price from my local level best rep on a 8' box. I'm curious what would be better with the wheels in front of the box or behind the box.

I don't have any first hand experience with the Level Best, but the first thing that comes to mind is that having the wheels out front will prevent you from getting very close to corners and will give you less flexibility on how you work an area. A couple things I noticed from watching the video were, it seemed to be made of a little lighter steel and I didn't see them grading both forward and backward.
 
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