Rear Blade 3 pt rear blade

[ahlkey]

I am looking to add a HD-heavy duty rear blade. I would use it for road grading on the two miles of woodlot trails I have and for light landscaping. In addition I would like to use it in combination with my front loader bucket for snow removal but I am just not sure how well it will work with snow? My driveway is nearly a quarter of a mile long and right now I push everything with the front bucket of my 4X4 tractor but these past two years it is tough pushing everything in mid winter with all the snow (central wisconsin). I hate to invest in a v-plow or straight plow for my truck or buy a 3 pt snowblower since all I can use it for is snow. It really then is also a cost issue as well. Any expereince in using the rear tractor blade that can be angled for snow removal would be really helpful along with the bucket set a little higher? I think I need the blade no matter what but it would be really nice to get a good HD-Heavy duty one that is large enough to do snow as well.

 

[mwb]

I would recommend Buhler; their blade is well made, can be offset to either side and also rotated for crowning. I am sure there are many mfr's that make the same quality. I don't know what HP you are working with, I have a 7ft on my 39HP machine and it works nice.

Blading sucks because you make banks. RM snowblower is great for no banks but you have to back up... If you don't get a lot of snow (maybe 6" or less at a shot) then the blade is very fast.

Depending on what size tractor you have, how about buying an old truck plow and mounting it on the front. Lots of projects on here about doing this.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I use a 7' Woods HD blade for snow removal the last 5 years in Northern Indiana and it works great. I am pulling it with my Jinma 284, 4x4 tractor. It has a FEL and weighs 5,200# with me and the blade on it so its a heavy little beast.

Only thing I use the FEL for as far a snow goes is to push back the piles.

Here is a couple a pix's after a 14" dump a few weeks back.


Chris

 

[radioman]

Basically any backblade you pick will work. If it look sbeefy and heavy, then its heavy duty. If you make snowbanks with the BB and have no more room ,no problem,use the fel to move the banks back and higher. I use a combination of a light duty BB and a used truck plow mounted on the FEL arms. It works for me. If I ever need the bucket back on the FEL arms, it only takes me 5-10 mins to swap it.

So as for your question - Get the BB for snow - no problem.

 

[woodyacres]

I use my BB primarily for snow removal. If it gets too deep like this year, I just swing it around and back-up. That allows me to push the snow back off the drive more and then the banks are smaller. Works great! Oh, mine is really not necessarily a HD either. I bought it from a guy for $100 (6 ft).

 

[john_bud]

Back blades are one of the attachments that seem to be easy to buy used. I looked for a couple weeks and got a 7' medium duty Massey Fergusson for 400. There was a heavy duty 7' Gill with hydro turn for 750 in the paper too.

 

[Ken45101]

For snow duty, probably a light duty blade is adequate.

But for heavier work on trails, you need to match the blade to your tractor. Initially I had a light duty (Tractor Supply) blade on a 45 HP Kubota and I was a frequent customer at the welding shop Later, they started marking them for 25 or 30 hp max

I upgraded to a medium duty Woods blade and haven't had any more problems in ten years

Ken

 

[Thomas]

I kinda use the same setup as Radioman.
BB to pull snow from buildings also extend blade to right side sort of winging back the snow banks.

Front plow attach to bucket for quick plowing,than quick pin pull allow to use bucket.

Visit farm auctions etc. they have good second/third hand plow setup at low cost.

Been useing my setup for 13 plus years never had problem.

 

[ahlkey]

Thanks for all the feedback. I will go with a BB for my 45 HP 4X4 tractor and see if I can get a heavy duty blade given my rocky landscape. I have seen two used JD rear blades listed on Craigs List for $650 or $450 or I could get a HD-heavy duty model from KingKutter. At two dealers the HD model is being sold for $900 but I can get one for $670 that was a demo and in perfect condition. This HD-heavy duty model is not the KK light models or professional line you see at either Tractor Supply or Fleet Farm (#290 lbs). In fact it weighs over #700 lbs so I am considering this KK-HD model. The newer JD models are very expensive maybe more than double and the used ones may work ok but at least 10-15 years or older. When I compare the HD-KK blade to the JD used blades (weight & design) they seem close. Any one used the heavier HD blades from KK?

 

[john_bud]

The KK stuff at farm fleet, etc is for folks that shop by price as the #1 (and 2,3,4,5) deciding point. KK does make some decent stuff, but you have to special order it most of the time. I would not be worried about a KK HD blade that was 700 pounds. Get it.
jb

 

[wedge40]

I use a 7' Woods HD blade for snow removal the last 5 years in Northern Indiana and it works great. I am pulling it with my Jinma 284, 4x4 tractor. It has a FEL and weighs 5,200# with me and the blade on it so its a heavy little beast.

Only thing I use the FEL for as far a snow goes is to push back the piles.

Here is a couple a pix's after a 14" dump a few weeks back.


Chris

Loaded tires?

Wedge

 

[ahlkey]

It is nice to hear that KingKutter does make some quality stuff and the HD-Series appears solid. I did call the KK factory and they surprising told me not to buy the lighter models that are sold at T & S or Fleet Farm given my intented use and the size of my 4X4 tractor. The guy I talked to was an old timer who knew his stuff and said while the HD model is roughly three times more expensive it is worth it. I now think I better jump on that HD demo price before it is gone. I also have fluid in my rear tires and add chains when ice storms hit.

 

[KenKubota]

When I bought my first tractor the dealer threw in a rear blade. I tried using for landscaping but found it next to useless. The blade goes up and down with the tractor and either digs in skims the surface. I switched to a landscaping rake with gauge wheels and found it much more useful. Now I only use the back blade for moving snow. It works very well especially when you want to pull snow away from a garage door or something. The FEL means that the snow piles can always be moved if they get in the way.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Loaded tires?

Wedge

Yes, just the rears with Windshield Washer Fluid Adds about 340#. The tractor alone weighs 3,800#, the loader is about 800#, the blade is 400#, and me at 165#.

I used to use this blade on the back of my Ford 861 but the Jinma will do twice the work being 4 wheel drive and having a diff lock.

Chris

 

[Ken45101]

When I bought my first tractor the dealer threw in a rear blade. I tried using for landscaping but found it next to useless. The blade goes up and down with the tractor and either digs in skims the surface. I switched to a landscaping rake with gauge wheels and found it much more useful. Now I only use the back blade for moving snow. It works very well especially when you want to pull snow away from a garage door or something. The FEL means that the snow piles can always be moved if they get in the way.

I assume you mean a scraper blade? Box blades do a better job of smoothing and levelling. But you are right that rake with gauge wheels works well if the soil is loose.

With patience and some skill, you can smooth things out with a scraper blade but the first rule is that you can only do a bit at a time. You have to work the dips and rises out.

A previous poster mentioned a "BB". I'm not sure if that's a "back blade" or a "box blade".

Ken

 

[john_bud]

When I bought my first tractor the dealer threw in a rear blade. I tried using for landscaping but found it next to useless. The blade goes up and down with the tractor and either digs in skims the surface. I switched to a landscaping rake with gauge wheels and found it much more useful. Now I only use the back blade for moving snow. It works very well especially when you want to pull snow away from a garage door or something. The FEL means that the snow piles can always be moved if they get in the way.

Not to be mean or anything, but back blades take skill, experience and proper set-up to be used effectively. The angle of attack is crucial. About 10x more important than with a box blade. Even 1 or 2 turns of the top link can mean the difference between working well and frustration.

It takes about 10 - 20 hours working a box blade to get to understand it's moods and be able to adjust for changes in the terrain and soil compaction/composition. Multiply that by 2-5x for a back blade. That whole situation is made worse when the blade is too light to engage the ground effectively. Now put training wheels on one and you can be a pro in an afternoon.

If you've ever watched a pro with 20+ years experience you'd think they were the simplest tool to use to make the ground smooth and dead flat.

 

[MJPetersen]

Now put training wheels on one and you can be a pro in an afternoon.

John, That is so funny and so true. I have run heavy equipment for years and understand about skill necessary to smooth things. But on my very short wheel base Yanmar 1510 the rear blade was just impossible to use in any kind of a situation where it could get a bite. the resulting "whoop-de-doos" would make you think of the mechanical bull at the fair. However, with the addition of the guage wheels ("training wheels) it was super easy to get it all super smooth. A pro in an afternoon. Yep it is true.

Mike

 

[mojoinco]

Good timing for this discussion: Are the gauge wheels mounted at the ends of the blade or as an idler behind the rear pivot?

 

[Ken45101]

John,

Good post. Now maybe by the time I'm 90, I'll be halfway good at it

Ken

 

[AKfish]

I kinda use the same setup as Radioman.
BB to pull snow from buildings also extend blade to right side sort of winging back the snow banks.

Front plow attach to bucket for quick plowing,than quick pin pull allow to use bucket.

Visit farm auctions etc. they have good second/third hand plow setup at low cost.

Been useing my setup for 13 plus years never had problem.

Pretty slick bit of engineering there, Thomas. I'd like to see the wood stove that you plunk those half rounds into, too!

I'd have to hire the neighbor kids to come over and load the stove...

AKfish