Building a drag to clear & level land

[Greg]

We have 3/4 of an acre behind our home that's bare land, it gets overgrown with weeds and is a fire danger & eye sore. It's not flat either, a bit bowl shaped with some high & low spots here and there. In the past I've gone back there 2-3 times a year with the riding mower and cut it, but that's very hard on the mower & blades as there are big rocks embedded in the dirt. Plus, it takes a 1/2 day to mow it, as you have to make multiple passes to cut it all down. I'm looking for a better option.

Yesterday I whipped up a 10' x 8' drag using chain link fencing, some steel pipe at the front (1 5/8 x 1/8) and loaded it down with 4 tires, a railroad tie, couple cinder blocks & a chunk of steel. It worked OK in some places, but at one point it got hung up and bent the pipe. I ended up straightening it best I could, then adding a 2nd pipe and wiring them both together to reinforce the leading & pulling edge. There were other places where it just wasn't cutting the ground enough to dig up weeds and it didn't level the ground very well in other places. I don't think it's heavy enough for my needs and after a bit of use it's already falling apart.

I have been thinking about a better design, have access to some scrap railroad rails and have 2 different plans in mind... thought I'd see what you guys think would be better.

1st idea is a straight piece of rail, 8' long and laid on it's side... the bottom of the rail would face toward the direction it's being pulled, making a cutting edge that would sit at about a 20* angle. If I use the common size rail we have available, it would weigh around 350#'s. I thought about welding railroad spikes on the edge, about every foot so it would also dig down & cut the dirt. I could run a chain or some chain link fencing behind it to smooth it all out. I should be able to flip the rail over, so the spikes are pointed up and have a smoother edge that I could drag around to finish it off. IMO the cons of this could be not enough weight, it could snag and hang up easily and I don't know how deep it would cut. Pros would be that it wouldn't take up much room far as storage goes, would be pretty easy to move (pull from one end) and it's a simple design.

2nd idea is to build a 'V', with 3 separate pieces of rail, all about the same size. I would lay the 2 leading edged on their sides as well, then the 3rd 'crossmember' piece on edge facing the direction it would be pulling. It would end up incredibly heavy, probably over 1,000#'s! Pros... the V shape should cut a bit better, not get hung up as easy, etc. Cons would be the weight, it would be very hard to turn around, storage size is big, complex construction, etc.


What do you guys think? I'm leaning towards the first idea... easier to build, smaller & simpler. I could always add a 2nd rail if I needed more weight.

 

[Jinx]

How about the first idea one with a second rail chained/tied to trail behind the first.

So the first one rough cuts with the spikes and the second smooths and levels.

Still heavy and compact to store.

What at are you pulling this with? Truck? Tractor?

i have used a stack of pallets and a four wheeler to level a back yard but nothing like a 3/4 acre.

 

[Tonkaman]

Sounds like you just need to make it an endurocross track! Let that knobby kill the weeds

 

[Hickey]

I like the first idea, but the dirt may pile up against the leading edge. The first idea is similar to the drag/scraper I've seen on the oil field roads, but they used a 18" pipe split in half. The pipe halves were the front and rear of a box shape, and the were both facing down like an upside down "U". The side pieces of the box were heavy C channel, and they acted like skis. All of the weight of the box slid on the skis, and all of the ruts in the road would get cut down by the pipe. Excess dirt would pour over the top of the pipe and get leveled by the second pipe.

Maybe you could use the RR rail for the skis, and look for a large pipe or blade to cut with. For tines, you could pierce the blade/pipe and drop the Spike through the top, then pin them in place.

 

[Hickey]

Also, if you till the land first, it will be a lot easier to manage with just scraping once a month or so. Know anyone with a disc plow?

 

[jeeper]

My grandmother had a spot of land with a similar issue.
We built a track.

But I like the first idea.

 

[Hickey]

These two ideas would work pretty well. The first for digging/tilling (sorta) and the second for leveling.

 

[Jinx]

The second pic is the basic idea behind my suggestion.

Hickey does a better job of explaining.

 

[Hickey]

If you want storage to be as simple as possible, I would suggest renting a tractor for a day and plowing/tilling the hell out of it. Once you've done that, you could just drag a single RR rail on chains. That's essentially what I did to level my backyard. Churning up the vegetation and roots is necessary before it will grade easily.

 

[Greg]

How about the first idea one with a second rail chained/tied to trail behind the first.

So the first one rough cuts with the spikes and the second smooths and levels.

Still heavy and compact to store.

What at are you pulling this with? Truck? Tractor?

i have used a stack of pallets and a four wheeler to level a back yard but nothing like a 3/4 acre.

I'll be pulling it with the Jeep.... Was actually using the Willys yesterday, putting the 'ole girl to work!!

Sounds like you just need to make it an endurocross track! Let that knobby kill the weeds

I started to build some obstacles, but a knobbie doesn't clear out weeds... just digs trenches! That and I don't have a dirt bike anymore... just my 990 Adventure. And due to my shoulder injury, which is still causing pain, I doubt I'll have another dirt bike.

I like the first idea, but the dirt may pile up against the leading edge. The first idea is similar to the drag/scraper I've seen on the oil field roads, but they used a 18" pipe split in half. The pipe halves were the front and rear of a box shape, and the were both facing down like an upside down "U". The side pieces of the box were heavy C channel, and they acted like skis. All of the weight of the box slid on the skis, and all of the ruts in the road would get cut down by the pipe. Excess dirt would pour over the top of the pipe and get leveled by the second pipe.

Maybe you could use the RR rail for the skis, and look for a large pipe or blade to cut with. For tines, you could pierce the blade/pipe and drop the Spike through the top, then pin them in place.

:thumbs: I can get a hold of rail a lot easier than I can pipe! I may try the first idea and see what it does.

Also, if you till the land first, it will be a lot easier to manage with just scraping once a month or so. Know anyone with a disc plow?

I don't know of anyone, I'm sure I could find someone that would do it though? Seems like overkill for such a small chunk of land.

My grandmother had a spot of land with a similar issue.
We built a track.

But I like the first idea.

No track, so the first idea it is!

These two ideas would work pretty well. The first for digging/tilling (sorta) and the second for leveling.

I think I'll try the single rail with spikes. I was talking to my neighbor last night, he ended up letting me borrow his drag (it's a V-shaped drag build out of I-beam with a pipe across the top) and while it worked OK, it didn't cut down like I needed. He actually has some massive cutting edges that are about 12' long, 12" tall and probably 1" thick. He doesn't weld, but I do so we talked about building a leveling box like the 2nd one you posted. I think it would be great for leveling out the highs & lows. Probably chop down his cutting edged to something a little more easy to handle, then build a box and have the rear-most cutting edge sitting at a 45* angle so dirt would fill in and spill over the edge.

The second pic is the basic idea behind my suggestion.

Hickey does a better job of explaining.

:thumbs:

If you want storage to be as simple as possible, I would suggest renting a tractor for a day and plowing/tilling the hell out of it. Once you've done that, you could just drag a single RR rail on chains. That's essentially what I did to level my backyard. Churning up the vegetation and roots is necessary before it will grade easily.

There's really not that much root & weeds that it needs to be turned over and the soil is very sandy/rocky, so I think it would break up pretty easy with the rail & spikes.

 

[Greg]

Here's how it looks in the Spring after some rain.... not super dry at this point, but by mid-Summer it's a fire hazard.

And here's what it looks like as of this morning... after going over it with my 1st chain link drag, then my neighbors I-beam drag. There are some old sprinkler heads that I had to maneuver around (hence the funny pattern), need to cut them out of the way.

 

[Hickey]

He actually has some massive cutting edges that are about 12' long, 12" tall and probably 1" thick. He doesn't weld, but I do so we talked about building a leveling box like the 2nd one you posted. I think it would be great for leveling out the highs & lows. Probably chop down his cutting edged to something a little more easy to handle, then build a box and have the rear-most cutting edge sitting at a 45* angle so dirt would fill in and spill over the edge.

This would work really well.

 

[Spork]

The old farm spike tine harrows had a lever on top so you could set how deep the spikes went down, they aren't anywhere near 350 lbs.
Link for picture --> http://www.drag-harrow.com/dragharrow/spike-tooth-harrow.html
I guess I'm a little confused on what the plan is, just drag it every month? Level it out so you can mow it? Does the area need to have something growing on it to prevent erosion?

 

[Greg]

The old farm spike tine harrows had a lever on top so you could set how deep the spikes went down, they aren't anywhere near 350 lbs.
Link for picture --> http://www.drag-harrow.com/dragharrow/spike-tooth-harrow.html
I guess I'm a little confused on what the plan is, just drag it every month? Level it out so you can mow it? Does the area need to have something growing on it to prevent erosion?

It would be nice to have it adjustable, but that's way too much work!


I want the weight of the rail to help cut the roots of the weeds and turn the soil a little to keep stuff from growing. My chain link drag with a lot of weight on it wasn't digging down deep enough. My plan is to drag it twice about year, not planning on planting grass. I want to keep it weed-free, not overgrown and not a fire hazard. There's no need to have anything growing on it, just dirt is fine by me. My neighbor has his back acreage like this (smooth dirt) and it looks good. Once it sets up, it shouldn't be dusty either.

If I could find some wildland grass that looked decent and didn't require me watering it (or mowing it) I'd consider that... but prefer the look of smooth, groomed dirt.

 

[Hickey]

I think you're on the right track with the box idea and the cutting blade. You might angle the blade even more, cuz it will fill up with dirt and be quite a lot to drag. If it has tines in it, you will probably only have to drag a couple times in spring, and once just before fall.

 

[Greg]

I think you're on the right track with the box idea and the cutting blade. You might angle the blade even more, cuz it will fill up with dirt and be quite a lot to drag. If it has tines in it, you will probably only have to drag a couple times in spring, and once just before fall.

Yeah, I agree.... 2 implements doing different work. And I think you're right on the angle too, that's just what my neighbor and I chatted about last night. If it got loaded and that angled blade was still 8" high it would be a ton of weight.

I took quick look at grasses that don't really require irrigation or much mowing and found Buffalo grass. If I can get this back acreage cleaned up & smoothed out and find some grass that is low/no maintenance, that would be pretty decent.

 

[Greg]

I did a lot of work on the property today, dug up about 12 sprinkler heads, picked up and moved loads of rocks, removed about 9 old tires (that were in place around the sprinklers) and yanked 6-7 tree root balls out of the ground, in preparation for the next round with a drag. Hopefully I can haul home my rail tomorrow and do some welding in the evening to get it prepped.

 

[Hickey]

We have Buffalo grass at my work. I think I would prefer dirt. It seems like it would be just as much work to cut as the weeds are.

 

[Greg]

Drag 3.0 went into service this weekend! I used some angle iron and C-channel I had laying around. The first piece of angle is laying with both edges facing down, then the 2nd is laying with the corner forward. I welded on a pivoting piece of tube, with several RR spikes that are layed forward, so if anything is hanging up, it will hopefully work free.

The idea is that I could adjust the depth of the cutting/tilling I wanted to do or fold it up if I don't want to cut. I built it to be light enough to pickup by hand and move, but modular and strong enough that I can stack additional material on it for weight.



It worked OK at first, but much better when I added more weight to it. The rear tines kept getting kicked up, no matter how tight the bolts were. I'll have to add some kind of locking lever to keep them down.

It did the job though, I mowed the property in early Summer and let it go. It was overgrown with weeds and looked nasty. I pulled the drag with the truck this time, pretty sure I made some enemy's with all the dust.



Still want to plant buffalo grass in the Spring... but its $$$$ for an acres worth.

 

[Jesser04]

I think I posted this already earlier in this thread. My old man uses a steal grate approximately 6x3 with a couple large tractor tires on it for weight and about 9’ of 3/8’s or bigger chain hooked to each corner on the back. It works awesome next time I’m over there I’ll take a pic. He drags 8 acres with it behind his truck.