Getting as level of surface as possible?

Welder Dave · Apr 20, 2019

Looking for some input on the best way to get as flat a surface as possible on my 1/4 mile flat track. I'd say 85% is real close but there are a couple spots that still hold water. The lowest spot in the middle where water pools is maybe 1-1/2" low but others are only about 3/4". I have a landplane for the tractor and landscape rake with gauge wheels. Not sure what would be best? The surface should work up easy after the winter and I have a heavy H beam with backhoe teeth that works like a heavy harrow. Is it best to leave it settled or work it up so it will be real loose to drag around. Maybe working it up and just pulling a drag harrow around or turning the harrow upside down? Like I said it's real close and I'm hoping to just level off the material that's there instead of adding more fill. I could add more fill though. Don't want to have to get a grader in and don't mind just doing laps and figure 8's leveling it a little more with each pass.

td25c · Apr 20, 2019

We have pretty good luck using a box blade behind a farm tractor .
https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/threads/box-blade.14619/

My advice if you want to get rid of the water puddles is put some grade in the track one way or the other so it will drain off .

Little bank in the curves & crown on strait sections of the track .

Make a grade perfectly level and you will have water standing all over the place .

Welder Dave · Apr 20, 2019

I have a box blade with a hinged tailgate but without gauge wheels is much harder to get super level. The surface is a little higher so there is only standing water in the low spots. I think there could be a slight slope too. Your video doesn't show much and looks like it's pretty smooth to begin with. I think what I'm doing is a little more involved than something like a driveway because of area I'm trying to level. About 1/4 mile long and 65' wide which is about 86,000 sq. ft. The guy with the dozer has done lots of pads and I think it was harder for him to get it as level too even using a laser to shoot elevations. It's real close, I just want it closer.

cuttin edge · Apr 20, 2019

Actually if you could get a grader on it once, it would be easier to maintain with a drag. I grade a haul road once a year for a peatmoss company. Once I get a good shape to it, they look after it with their own drag for the rest of the year. A trip around your track by a good grader man, and you're good for years with your own drag

Theweldor · Apr 20, 2019

I would think you need something with some length. Think on the order of a road grader. It would be pretty easy to build something with some 20 or 30 ft beams and a blade in the middle. That would level out your high spots.

rondig · Apr 20, 2019

Pull type box blade with hydraulic tilt...as wide as you can pull....you can put a cheap laser kit on it...be 1/4 inch most of the time and very quick

td25c · Apr 20, 2019

I'm probably missing something .

You cats are racing motorcycles on the dirt correct ?
Why does the track have to be perfectly level ?

Welder Dave · Apr 21, 2019

By that logic why grade your driveway smooth? It's flat track not MX and you want it consistent without bumps and ripples that can mess with the bike. Riders want to concentrate on going fast and setting up for the corners rather than having to be cautious on a uneven section coming into a corner. Having your suspension unload because of a dip at 70-80 MPH wouldn't be ideal. A consistent track makes for better racing because a rider can go anywhere instead of having to avoid sketchy sections. Hoping to run carts on it as well with not much ground clearance. Also don't want big puddles when it rains. Several small puddles are better than one big one and will dry faster. The worst area is about 50' diameter and 1-1/2" low at the center. I wish there was something like self-levelling dirt. LoL

Tones · Apr 21, 2019

Hey Dave, if you mate gives you more grief turn the flat track into a jet sprint track. That will be self leveling.

Delmer · Apr 21, 2019

The way I see it there are a few different options

1) long wheelbase: grader or a long land plane like theweldor said, 20-30' long, and I'd say wheels at the back and the front mounted on your three point arms (not top link) so you can lift and reverse.

2) laser hydraulic controlled blade or short plane

3) eyeball it and take down the high spots with the landplane you have. Do it at dusk, or after dark with headlights shining across the surface, or just mark it that way and come back in the daylight to move the dirt.

The drainage is a separate issue entirely, it sounds like you have to make up your mind if you want a slope with puddle in the middle, or you want it dead flat with puddles all over.

td25c · Apr 21, 2019

Here's what they use at Chuchill Downs .

Wish I could find a better picture of the setup . Kind of a leveling drag of sorts . That track is flat with a mixture of river sand , silt & clay .

Always interesting watching them prep the track between races in all weather conditions .

https://www.kentuckyderby.com/

Bls repair · Apr 21, 2019

If you put a little crown in it you could push the water to the edges

rsherril · Apr 21, 2019

How"bout you fill "the hole" in. Look's like maybe 30 yds3. Put some wannabe's out there with rakes. Keep them on the payroll as they will be needed after every race.
Maybe I've got the wrong picture. I see twenty or so motorcycles at 70MPH converging on a three foot "sweet spot" sideways. That's how I remember it anyway.

td25c · Apr 21, 2019

Another tool we use for grading & finish work …….. Now hang on fellers this is one is pretty complex & ahead of it's time .

1972 Ford 4000 loader tractor with 8 foot disc & chain a rail tie behind it to help bust up the clods and level out the dirt .

Disc works great for opening up & drying out heavy / wet dirt with a little sun and wind .

Farm tractor also works good for compacting material .

Even grade the driveway with the 4000 once in awhile . LOL !

Don't overlook a farm tractor for multitasking type jobs .

Welder Dave · Apr 22, 2019

I've got a farm tractor with a 3 pt. hitch, a landplane, landscape rake and a box blade. The box blade is much harder to get really level. I was wondering if I should work the soil up first and if the landscape rake (York rake) with gauge wheels would be better to use or if the landplane with 2 blades on an angle would be better. Thinking about it more, the soil is looser on top after the winter and I can see the low spots better so I think I might try the landplane first without working it up first. Here's what I have. First link were taken in the fall just before the snow came. Click on the pictures and they will go bigger.

https://www.facebook.com/TricountyFTrack/photos/a.274247149869088/307153116578491/?type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/pg/TricountyFTrack/photos/?tab=album&album_id=274243599869443

Delmer · Apr 22, 2019

It depends on how much dirt you want to move whether you want to scrape off the top, or work it up and then level it. It sounds like you're close, so I'd scrape it the way it is with the landplane.

If you have a lot of scraping, eyeball it from the tractor seat. When you're REALLY close, go out with spray paint, lime, ashes, whatever marker you want, and outline the high spots and low spots, then follow that plan from the seat. It'll be easier to see after a rain before it's worked up, the smoother surface will be easy to see and mark.

gtermini · Apr 22, 2019

In the filbert orchards, we use a 3pt (top link floating) drag float for floor maintenance prior to harvest. They are 8-10' long. Some will run gauge wheels that extend forward to about the mid point of the tractor.

Prior to putting orchards in, the field is farmed fully. Some guys will hire out having the filed laser planed or pull a land plane across it.

105232d1214257239-landplane-plans-land-plane-jpg

As was said before, length on the implement is the easiest factor for slicking things out flat.

DMiller · Apr 22, 2019

Much as a full size grader machine.

Jeckyl1920 · Apr 23, 2019

https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/threads/anyone-use-a-swede-for-grade-checking.67544/

You can use swedes to set hubs. They are cheap and easy to make. You could use 2 stakes and pound them in to the right height if you want. May be harder.

Set hubs every 10 feet or so, fill, compact, and grade it to the top of the hubs.

Just make sure you pull the hubs out when done.

You could use whatever you want to grade it. It's not about the tractor, it's about knowing where the dirt has to be.

crane operator · Apr 24, 2019

https://www.rayneplane.com/

I've seen something similar to this, that was a little bigger than what gtermini posted the first picture of, but a little smaller than the one these guys build. The principle is the same, multiple blades rolling the dirt each direction, or even with a V to roll it from the high spots to the low spots.

You could built your own out of a old wagon running gear and a old lattice boom crawler boom section with a little time and "want to". Then you wouldn't have to call out the grader man every spring, just hook up to your tractor and make some passes. I think you would do it after every race weekend if you had one.

Getting as level of surface as possible?

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