If you’re a small farm owner or prospective homesteader exploring tractor attachments for the first time, then you already know there are dozens of implements on the market with specific use-cases. However, when it comes to what tractor attachments are the most useful, there are a few that have been the go-tos for dirt work and one that revolutionized small farm, arena, and property maintenance.
Anything that moves across your driveway, arena, farm, or yard will feel variations in the land. Uneven ground can result in poor irrigation and increased risk of injury for the people and animals who use it, which is why leveling is often one of the first steps of any land-ownership experience.
You could fill holes, spread dirt, and otherwise level your gravel, dirt, or footing by hand with a rake. But that is unnecessarily laborious and time-consuming. And that’s where a box blade comes in. Many homesteaders and property owners seek out a box blade as their first tractor implement due to its usefulness from the backyard to the driveway, small farm, or garden. Box blades are commonly used to fill in holes, smooth out lumps, and generally improve hard, uneven soil.
Popular on small properties, landplanes do have a simple design for smoothing surfaces, especially gravel. While landplanes are able to perform grading and leveling tasks, their design is less versatile than a box blade as they are built for smoothing surfaces and little else.
When it comes to driveway maintenance and surface finishing, however, landplanes are a commonly used basic attachment. Long, driveable paths are within a landplane’s sweet spot as their two, diagonal cutting blades are positioned to level out the surface; and the walls on either side of the cutting blades help prevent spill-over, so you don’t have to continuously re-work the gravel or dirt to get it even.
For many, a traditional landscape rake is the go-to tool for gravel driveway maintenance. The curved tines are made to loosen small rocks, roots, and debris, in an effort to prevent compaction and minimize potholes. Used before leveling or grading, a landscape rake helps break up the top layer of the ground you are working with, to help loosen it. The curved design holds debris as it’s pulled up, making the clearing out process simpler.
Landscape rakes are effective in clearing out vegetation and preparing ground. It’s a hefty tool to be used for one step of the process when doing dirt or gravel work.
When it comes to maintaining the health of your property, chain harrows are considered by many an essential tractor attachment. Typically used after a box blade, chain harrows offer numerous benefits to your homestead or small farm. They’re useful for a range of tasks including breaking down and distributing manure clumps, and pulling weeds with shallow roots.
When used after a box blade or landplane, it provides a relatively complete surface finishing. But that finish requires all four tools, which is why ABI’s co-founder Kevin Keigley combined the box blade, landplane, landscape rake, and chain harrow into the ultimate tool for grading, finishing, and surface maintenance.
That brings us to the TR3, the all-in-one attachment that saves you storing space, time switching out attachments between jobs, and cost with only one implement to buy and maintain for your ripping, leveling, and finishing needs.
The TR3 can do everything a box blade, landplane, and chain harrow can do–but better, faster, and more efficiently.
But we’ve been in the industry long enough to know that not all property needs are the same, which is why our TR3 has different models for both property and equine use-case, for your sub-compact or compact tractor.
In the same way that the right tractor attachment improves pasture health and makes gravel easier to maintain, the right arena drag bolsters your horses’ performance. The TR3e Equine Edition gives you all the tools you need for effective landscaping while also working as an intentional, efficient drag that makes the feel of your horses’ steps match their expectations. The TR3e Equine Edition eliminates hidden compaction and uneven spots that distract your horse while training or performing and can be the cause of serious injuries.
Using the TR3e Equine Edition, you can be confident that your arena, pasture, paddock, and driveway will be optimized for your horses, property, and lifestyle. It works for sub-compact and compact tractors, making it friendly for any small farm or homestead that also needs an effective arena drag.
Compact tractors can break through hardpan, rip out vegetation, push debris, and create the perfect seedbed for lawns, gardens, or food plots with the power of a TR3 Rake. Best of all, the TR3 Rake makes the work simple by using our patented drag bar to automatically level the ground while you drive the tractor.
Don’t take it from us, take it from The Stony Ridge Farmer who tested the TR3 Rake for himself.
“This is hands-down the best thing that I’ve put my hands on for smoothing and leveling land after we cleared. You can run over it once or twice, not four times, no hiring to get the work done. Doing this you’re just ripping the ground up, getting a seed bed prepped, smoothing the land out. You’ve got a ridge. You work it down with this and you pull that ridge out and you’re ready for seed.”
-The Stony Ridge Farmer
Landowners with a sub-compact tractor will benefit from the extreme adaptability of the TR3-E Property Edition. Like the other products in the TR3 line, it comes with the utility of a box blade, landplane, chain harrow, and landscape rake. With the TR3-E Property Edition, you get the extra bonus of purchasing an optional disc system that replaces even more common tools like a disc harrow, rotary tiller, and plow. It’s the best way to manage your land, big or small, and complete your work better and faster than ever.
Our TR3 product line includes variety and options to fit your exact needs on the farm. Call a product specialist at 877-788-7253 to determine which implement sizes and styles are right for you.
