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Addressing limitations
Pull scrapers have evolved. "They are tending to get a little easier to load and a lot less maintenance," says Allan Clark, president, Clark Bros. Inc., Dos Palos, CA, a construction and land leveling company that constructs building pads, drains and canals, etc. Its equipment fleet includes both motor wheel scrapers and pull scraper systems.

Clark feels today's pull scrapers have become more durable. "We had a lot of trouble with bending them in really hardpan conditions," he notes. "We don't have as much problem today as we did."

Pull scraper systems are also overcoming one of their traditional drawbacks - top speed limitations of the scraper tractors. "In some cases, when the haul is longer than one mile, the contractor may opt to use excavators or conventional scrapers," says James Hausner, vice president of marketing, Reynolds International. "However, many opt for pulling up to three units per tractor. As far as speed and gradeability, motor wheel scrapers can run as fast as 30+ mph, whereas tractors average around 23 mph, with some exceptions."

Those exceptions include industrial tractors that are capable of pulling scrapers at speeds comparable to a motor wheel scraper. "With the introduction of the new high-speed industrial tractors, the haul distance is no longer a factor," says McCrory. "The two most prevalent trends are the use of higher capacity pull scrapers, and the use of industrial tractors specially built for pull scrapers."

Mission Paving Co., Mission, TX, has found pull scraper systems a highly effective way to move soil. The site work contractor owns four self-propelled elevator scrapers, plus three tandem Reynolds 12C scraper rigs and a tandem 17C scraper rig - all pulled by 8000 Series John Deere tractors.