Box Scraper converted to rear ballast....

[opie74]

I have a 60" box scraper that I used on my B2650. Its too small for the L4060 and I have been working out plans to build a concrete ballast box for the 4060 as its primary role will be to work in the woodyard.

As I was sitting here working out selling it to fund a larger box blade, I thought "why not use the old box blade, add some rebar and a form for the bottom and the front, and turn it into a ballast?" It already weighs a few hundred pounds, its quick hitch compatible which I need and it will get the weight wide, low and behind the arms which equals less weight needed.

Am I crazy?

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

It would make one nice ballast box for sure!

 

[fried1765]

I have a 60" box scraper that I used on my B2650. Its too small for the L4060 and I have been working out plans to build a concrete ballast box for the 4060 as its primary role will be to work in the woodyard.

As I was sitting here working out selling it to fund a larger box blade, I thought "why not use the old box blade, add some rebar and a form for the bottom and the front, and turn it into a ballast?" It already weighs a few hundred pounds, its quick hitch compatible which I need and it will get the weight wide, low and behind the arms which equals less weight needed.

Am I crazy?

Rather than filling it with concrete, why not build a form to pour a block that will fit on it, but can be removed with your loader if necessary?
I am planning to do this.

 

[opie74]

Interesting idea. One of the random thoughts was to just add weight that can be removed.

Ill likely still fill it, Ill never use it behind the 4060. It doesn't have a lot of weight to it which is what made it work well with the 2650.

Interestingly enough, I just purchased a 60" land plane from EA last year... Ill likely see about trading that off for a 72" or 84" box blade. 60" is inside the width of the tires, 72" is just past the tires, but not much.

 

[ning]

I'd think you could sell the box blade and fund the ballast box with the proceeds... at least around here, used implement prices are so high you may as well buy new stuff

 

[fried1765]

Interesting idea. One of the random thoughts was to just add weight that can be removed.

Ill likely still fill it, Ill never use it behind the 4060. It doesn't have a lot of weight to it which is what made it work well with the 2650.

Interestingly enough, I just purchased a 60" land plane from EA last year... Ill likely see about trading that off for a 72" or 84" box blade. 60" is inside the width of the tires, 72" is just past the tires, but not much.

If you fill it (permanently, with concrete) The only thing it can ever be is a weight.
If the weight is removable from the box blade, it could be later sold as a used box blade.

 

[opie74]

Honestly, when I factor in what it would take to build a quick hitch compatible rear ballast, the box blade makes sense. I was already planning to use my existing trailer mover as the foundation for a ballast box... That would to take some finesse to ensure a portion of it fits within the quick hitch.

Things line up well, for me, to just use the old box blade. It just seems simpler as well.

 

[opie74]

If you fill it (permanently, with concrete) The only thing it can ever be is a weight.
If the weight is removable from the box blade, it could be later sold as a used box blade.

It could also be sold as a quick hitch compatible rear ballast that's low slung and wide.

I get what you're saying, there is value in my circumstance to make it a dedicated rear ballast. Its a TSC (Tarter) box blade. I picked it up for like $400, new, because it was all scratched up at the store.

 

[WranglerX]

Sell the box blade for a few hundred and spend a small portion of it for your own custom ballast box.... I have about $50 into a 500 pound one for my SCUT.... You really want your ballast to be as compact as possible, it runs into thing if it covers to much territory...

Dale

 

[jenkinsph]

Make sure the hitch is strong enough to support the added weight of the concrete.

Also would add that a landplane does not need to be wider than the rear tires, So if the current land plane is working and fits the driveway widths I would keep it.

 

[opie74]

All good points and I didn’t intend to discount any of the previous ones.

I’ll stew on them for awhile, I’m in no hurry.

 

[fried1765]

Sell the box blade for a few hundred and spend a small portion of it for your own custom ballast box.... I have about $50 into a 500 pound one for my SCUT.... You really want your ballast to be as compact as possible, it runs into thing if it covers to much territory...

Dale

Absolutely correct!

 

[opie74]

The box scraper was my primary ballast on the 2650, I'm used to its presence on the back of the tractor and it will have a smaller footprint on the 4060. I also do not operate in confined conditions so there really isn't anything to hit other than a pile of wood.

 

[opie74]

Well, the 4060 was able to lift these with just a 72” blade on the rear. I think it would have been fine even without the blade.

So I’m just going to build a simple block of concrete.

 

[Xfaxman]

Well, the 4060 was able to lift these with just a 72 blade on the rear. I think it would have been fine even without the blade.

So I知 just going to build a simple block of concrete.

View attachment 685566

I saw the Log-Lift bags on Mike's channel: Ideal Solution for BULK FIREWOOD? Massive Bags That Hold The Weight #1011 - YouTube

 

[opie74]

I bought 6 to try them out compared to the Dino bags... Ill likely go with the Dino bags based on nothing but cost. A pallet of 200 gets the cost down to $10 per bag.

 

[opie74]

Copied another members idea, seems to have turned out well. 16 bags of 60# mix with some 1/2” rebar I had lay around.

 

[camshawn]

I recently needed a little more ballast for some fork work. Craigs list yielded the flat bar pieces for a good price. The bottom piece is bolted to box blade. It took a few hours to drill the holes. Easy to undo the threaded rod and add/remove pieces as needed. An extra 500 lbs. was a little much, 300 just about right for a full bucket of gravel.

 

[opie74]

Looks good, and functional.

Here’s how the concrete turned out.

 

[TractorNH]

Looks like it turned out great!