Skid Steer Land Plane Attachments: Driveways, Road Maintenance, and Finish Grading

A land plane does one thing really well: turns a rough, washboarded surface into something smooth. Not dramatic earthmoving — that's your bucket's job. But once the heavy work is done, a land plane finishes the job faster than anything else you'll put on a skid steer.

What a Land Plane Actually Does

The concept is simple. A land plane is a long, flat blade assembly — typically 6 to 10 feet wide — with a cutting edge at the front and a flat rear section that drags behind it. As you drive forward, the cutting edge shaves high spots and the material flows back under the rear pan, filling the low spots behind it. One pass levels. A second pass smooths.

That rear-filling action is what separates a land plane from a dozer blade. A dozer blade pushes material in front of it. A land plane cuts and redistributes in the same motion. For gravel driveways and dirt road maintenance, that's a significant practical difference — you're not piling gravel at one end and leaving a rut at the other.

They also work in reverse. Drive forward to cut, reverse to smooth. Some operators prefer doing the whole job in one direction depending on the surface condition.

Land Plane vs. Box Blade vs. Dozer Blade

This comparison comes up constantly in r/Skidsteer and r/tractors threads. Here's the honest breakdown:

The forum consensus, and it's consistent: if your primary job is maintaining a gravel driveway or rural road on a schedule — doing it every few weeks or months — a land plane is the right tool. If you're doing one-time road building, shaping swales, or moving significant volumes of material, you want a box blade or dozer blade first, land plane second.

When a Land Plane Won't Work

Hard, dry, sun-baked subgrade in August? A basic land plane will bounce right over it. Same problem with compacted gravel roads that have seen years of traffic — the cutting edge skims the surface and does nothing. This is the specific complaint you see from operators in Colorado, Alberta, and Saskatchewan who run on clay or compacted sub-base: the tool that works great in spring mud doesn't do much in late-summer hardpack.

The fix is rippers (scarifier teeth). More on those in the next section.

Rippers and Scarifier Teeth: When You Need Them

Many land planes are available in two configurations: plain blade, and blade-with-rippers. The ripper teeth (usually 4–8 carbide-tipped teeth) mount just ahead of the front cutting edge. They penetrate the hardpack before the blade comes through, loosening material so the blade can actually move it.

The trade-off is operational. With rippers deployed, you're no longer doing a smooth finish pass — you're doing a break-up-and-level pass. Many operators use a two-step approach: rippers down on the first pass to loosen the surface, then rippers retracted (or swung up) for the finish grading pass. Some land planes have hydraulic rippers you can engage from the cab; others require you to get out and manually adjust.

MK Martin, based in Ontario, makes a hydraulic scarifier land plane specifically for skid steers — it's manufactured in Canada and available through GLC Equipment and other Ontario dealers. TMG Industrial (with warehouses across Canada) sells the TMG-SLP72, a 72-inch unit with 6 adjustable pin-locked ripper teeth and a reversible planer comb. Both are worth considering for Canadian buyers who want domestic sourcing or faster parts access.

Sizing: Width and Weight

Most skid steer land planes run 60 to 84 inches wide. The sweet spot for a mid-size skid steer (S570, T595, 330G range) is 72 inches. Match the attachment width to your machine's width — going wider than the machine's footprint causes the blade to reach outside your track marks, which creates problems on cambers and turns.

Weight matters for grading quality. A heavier land plane holds the cutting edge down and resists bouncing. Units in the 500–900 lb range are common. The TMG-SLP72 comes in around 530 lbs; heavier commercial units like the KAGE GreatER Bar push 800+ lbs. On soft gravel, weight isn't critical. On firmer surfaces, a heavier blade cuts more consistently.

Hydraulic Requirements

A basic land plane (no hydraulic rippers, no angle) is entirely passive — no auxiliary hydraulics required at all. The machine just pushes it. This is one of the land plane's genuine advantages: you can run it on virtually any skid steer with a standard quick attach, even older machines with no auxiliary circuits.

Add hydraulic rippers or a powered angle mechanism and you'll need auxiliary hydraulics. Standard flow (15–22 GPM) is sufficient for either function — this isn't a high-flow attachment. Most mid-1990s-and-newer skid steers have standard auxiliary, so compatibility is rarely a barrier.

Canadian Use Cases

Where this attachment earns its keep in Canada:

• Spring road sand cleanup — municipalities and rural property owners pulling winter sand off paved and gravel surfaces. A single land plane pass collects and redistributes the loose material faster than a broom for large open areas.
• Acreage and farm driveway maintenance — the 400-metre gravel driveway on a quarter-section that needs grading twice a year. Operators in r/Skidsteer regularly call this their most-used attachment on rural properties.
• Rural road maintenance in AB and SK — County Roads and rural municipality roads often have graded gravel that washboards after spring thaw. A land plane on a compact tracked loader handles seasonal maintenance efficiently.
• Lawn and landscaping seed bed prep — once rough grade is done with a bucket, a land plane levels the final 2–3 inches before seeding or sod installation. Much faster than hand raking a large area.
• Construction site cleanup — after rough grading a building pad, a land plane does the final leveling pass before compaction.

What to Look For When Buying

New land planes are relatively simple mechanically — there's not much to go wrong. On a used unit, look at:

• Cutting edge wear — the front blade takes all the abuse. Replaceable bolt-on cutting edges are normal; a worn edge with no replacement option is a problem. Check that bolts are available and edge material is documented.
• Rear pan condition — look for cracks at the weld seams and any bowing of the flat section. Minor dents are fine; cracked welds mean repair before use.
• Ripper tooth condition — if buying with rippers, check each tooth for wear and confirm replacements are available. Carbide tips are replaceable; some budget units have solid steel teeth that need full replacement when worn.
• Quick attach plate — verify it matches your machine's interface (Bob-Tach, universal skid steer, etc.). Adapters exist but add weight and connection points.
• Hydraulic cylinders (if applicable) — no leaks, full range of motion. Cylinder seals are the most common failure point on hydraulic-angle units.

Where to Buy in Canada

A few Canadian-specific sources worth knowing:

• MK Martin (Ontario) — Canadian manufacturer, hydraulic scarifier model available through GLC Equipment and select Ontario dealers. Good parts support, local manufacturing.
• TMG Industrial — import units, warehouses in BC, ON, QC. The SLP72 is their main skid steer land plane. Reasonable price point, 1-year warranty. Parts availability is the main concern with import equipment.
• HLA Attachments (Listowel, ON) — primarily larger land planes for tractors, but worth a call for custom sizing or if you're running a larger CTL.
• Ritchie Bros. / IronPlanet — used land planes come up regularly. Simple attachments, so buying used carries less risk than a hydraulic-heavy unit. Inspect cutting edge condition carefully before bidding.
• Facebook Marketplace / Kijiji — farm-adjacent provinces (AB, SK, MB, ON) have decent used inventory, especially in fall after harvest season when operators liquidate equipment.

Price Expectations (CAD)

Basic 72-inch land planes, new: $2,000–$3,500 for import units (TMG and similar). Canadian-made units with hydraulic rippers run $4,500–$6,500+. Used basic units in decent condition typically go $800–$2,000 depending on width and condition. A used land plane in good shape is a low-risk buy — there's very little to fail on a simple blade assembly.