Moving earth efficiently is the backbone of successful agriculture, construction, and land development projects. Since 1946, Strobel Manufacturing has been engineering rugged, “Strobel Strong” equipment built to handle the toughest terrain. Whether you need to fix field drainage, grade an industrial site, or level out a feedlot, choosing the right dirt mover makes all the difference in your cost per cubic yard.
Strobel offers three distinct types of pull-type scrapers tailored to specific operational needs: Forced Ejection Scrapers, Box Scrapers, and the DS50 Dump Style Scraper.
Here is a breakdown of how they work and where they excel on the job.
Strobel Forced Ejection Scrapers: Precision and High Capacity
Designed for major earthmoving, excavation, and large-scale land development, the Strobel Forced Ejection (FE) Scraper line bridges the gap between light-duty farming tools and industrial equipment. https://strobelmfg.com/forced-ejection-scraper/
- How It Works: Rather than tipping to dump, an FE scraper utilizes a hydraulic “push-off wall” (ejector plate) that moves from the back of the bowl to the front. This physically pushes the material out at a steady rate while moving forward, providing a perfectly smooth, controlled spread at a consistent depth.
- Material Strengths: Because it forces material out mechanically, it is the ultimate tool for wet, sticky, heavy soils or clay that would otherwise cling to a traditional dump bowl.
- Best Applications:
- Agriculture: Ideal for large-scale agricultural land leveling to eliminate standing water and optimize field irrigation for maximum crop yields.
- Construction & Infrastructure: Perfect for building durable farm roads, carving out drainage terraces, or rapidly handling commercial site preparation.
- Key Models: Available in high-capacity options like the FE 858 (8.5 cubic yards), FE 1210 (12 cubic yards), and the FE 1611 coming in at 16 cubic yards.
2. Strobel Box Scrapers: The Ultimate Leveling Versatility
If your primary focus is grading, smoothing, and short-distance material leveling, the versatile line of Strobel Box Scrapers is the industry benchmark. With solid, reinforced welded sidewalls, these scrapers drag and redistribute dirt with exceptional structural durability. https://strobelmfg.com/box-scraper/
- How It Works: Box scrapers lock material inside a heavy-duty steel enclosure, dragging it from high spots and depositing it naturally into low areas as the machine moves. Advanced configurations offer options like tilt axles controlled right from the cab for precise road crowning.
- Material Strengths: Excellent for loose soil, gravel, packed dirt, and managing organic materials like manure in livestock pens.
- Best Applications:
- On the Farm & Feedlot: Unmatched for maintaining and shaping feedlot pens, clearing lagoon areas, and keeping farm lanes smooth.
- Land Improvement & Construction: Widely used by construction crews to level foundations or drag massive swaths of terrain—especially when paired with Strobel Earth Packers to grade and compact haul roads in a single pass.
- Five Distinct Models: Strobel manufactures five distinct classes—Light Duty (LD), General Purpose (GP), Medium Duty (MD), Heavy Duty (HD), and Extreme Duty (XD)—ranging from nimble 6-foot versions up to commercial 20-foot workhorses.
3. The DS50 Dump Style Scraper: Nimble Cut, Carry, and Dump
When you need to move bulk material across an acreage or small farm without the price tag or horsepower requirements of an industrial machine, the Strobel DS50 Dump Style Scraper is the perfect fit.https://strobelmfg.com/dump-style-scraper/
- How It Works: Often called a “carry-all,” the DS50 lowers its cutting edge to engage the ground and fill its 5-yard hopper. Once loaded, it lifts for transport and uses hydraulic cylinders to pivot and tip the entire bowl, relying on gravity to dump the material quickly.
- Material Strengths: Best suited for loose, dry materials like sand, topsoil, or gravel that tumble out naturally when the bowl is tipped.
- Best Applications:
- Small Farms & Acreages: Perfect for daily maintenance, minor land leveling, building up driveways, or clearing silt from ditches.
- Specialty Ag Structures: Its low profile and nimble footprint make it highly effective for cleaning and grading inside poultry barns or tight livestock enclosures.
- Operational Advantage: Weighing nearly 5,000 pounds and featuring a simple, single-valve hydraulic system with a 360-degree swivel hitch, the DS50 easily transforms standard 70 to 225 horsepower farm tractors into high-efficiency earthmovers.
Choosing Your Advantage
To maximize your efficiency on the ground, match the scraper to your material and tractor capabilities:
| Scraper Type | Best For | Unloading Action | Ideal Material |
| Forced Ejection (FE) | Large-scale fields, site prep, terraces | Hydraulic push-plate (high precision) | Heavy clay, wet, sticky soils |
| Box Scraper | Feedlots, road crowning, finish grading | Drag-and-drop redistribution | Packed dirt, gravel, manure |
| DS50 Dump Style | Barns, acreages, budget bulk moving | Gravity dump (high speed) | Loose, dry topsoil, sand |
