Dirt Moving Best size box blade for NX?

[Bob from Maine]

I guess this thread has become a bit of a “Box Blade vs Land Plane” discussion in addition to appropriate sizing.

Having recently moved up from a Bobcat CT 2025H (CK 2610H) I’m thrilled to hear that the 5010 will pull a full 84” box with ease (in “M” ?!? Wow).

It seems that a land plane does a terrific job at leveling but not much else, while a box blade doesn’t have the finesse but is much more versatile.

I do have a hydraulic top link and will likely add a tilt cylinder. I’m guessing with those (TnT) fine tuning the box will be much easier and with practice I’ll become (almost) proficient.

My dealer gave me an incredible trade allowance AND price for the new one. We included every option that I paid to add on the 2025 that didn’t already come standard on the NX:
2nd rear remote
3rd function
Filled tires
Rear tire chains
Block heater
Bucket hooks
Bolt-on cutting edge

I’m very happy with the deal, the dealer and the salesman (Brad Olson at Bangor Tractor & Equipment)
He’s offered me very decent quotes on implements as well.
Pretty sure I’ll go with 84” box and tilt cylinder.

Thanks for all the input. I’d love to hear more info and opinions.

 

[LD1]

Youd even be fine for road maintenance with an 8' blade given the size of your tractor.

Forget the recommendation of 6'. Too small and you will regret it.

 

[Threepoint]

Youd even be fine for road maintenance with an 8' blade given the size of your tractor.

Forget the recommendation of 6'. Too small and you will regret it.

Agree about 6'. Also agree that Bob's tractor could handle 8' for basic road maintenance. But since he's concerned about maneuverability, I'll add a data point on 8'. I tried a neighbor's 8 footer behind my NX4510HST/cab (same frame size as the NX5010HST) and found it really impeded maneuverability, especially on sections of road passing through woods. My rear tire track width is nearly 84", so that surprised me. My neighbor was no longer using the BB, and kindly offered to give it to me. Even so, I decided to go with the BSM84. The OP's tire track width is only 73", so the outboard overhang would be even more of an issue.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

I recently upgraded to an NX 5010H open station and looking at getting a box blade to fix/maintain my driveway and road (approximately 1/4 mile x 20’)
I’m considering the Woods BSM72 and BSM84.
I’d appreciate any feedback and suggestions.

A land leveler is the best way to go, not a box blade. Get a hydraulic top link.

 

[IndyIan]

If you are going to do some bulldozer work with it too, then a 7' is probably a good compromise, my HD 7' is all my tractor can really handle well on the flat or downhill. I don't have enough traction to pull it through undisturbed soil going up much of a slope.

 

[Piston]

I recently upgraded to an NX 5010H open station and looking at getting a box blade to fix/maintain my driveway and road (approximately 1/4 mile x 20’)
I’m considering the Woods BSM72 and BSM84.
I’d appreciate any feedback and suggestions.

I’ve had a 72”, 78”, and 2 different 84” box blades (all heavy duty) on my 46hp Tractor.
I’d recommend the 84” for yours based on my experience. It is almost required (IMO) that you have your rear tires filled if they are not.

 

[Bob from Maine]

I’ve had a 72”, 78”, and 2 different 84” box blades (all heavy duty) on my 46hp Tractor.
I’d recommend the 84” for yours based on my experience. It is almost required (IMO) that you have your rear tires filled if they are not.

I inadvertently quoted and posted this and can’t figure out how to delete it
Can anyone help?

 

[Bob from Maine]

I do have RimGuard and ended up going with the 84. That thing is massive. Weighs in around 750#

Probably won’t get to use it till spring and with the TnT it’ll be interesting to see what it’ll do

Just curious why you went through 4 box blades. Not wide enough? Still not wide enough? Not heavy enough?

 

[MF243RedTop]

Hmm. Interesting.
I do have a hydraulic top link. Can the land plane be tilted with the side link to create/maintain a crown?
Will it scrape material off the edges and bring it back to the center?

You'll need a rear scrape blade/back blade for that type of work..
Box blade excel at digging, moving dirt, leveling
Land planes excel at leveling and smoothing surface with limited ability to move soil laterally to crown
Neither excel at pulling from edges and crowning a drive. That's where a rear adjustable blade comes in handy and excels at it..

Little drive I cut in and crowned.. with rear scrape blade

 

[Piston]

I do have RimGuard and ended up going with the 84. That thing is massive. Weighs in around 750#

Probably won’t get to use it till spring and with the TnT it’ll be interesting to see what it’ll do

Just curious why you went through 4 box blades. Not wide enough? Still not wide enough? Not heavy enough?

That is a good question lol. I started with a Landpride HRL3578. That was a GREAT box blade and I had no legitimate reason to upgrade.


After doing some pretty extensive land clearing with it, and building basic roads, I did wonder if more weight per foot would work better.
I ended up finding a very low priced Frontier BB1284 which was 6” wider and about 300 pounds heavier.
It just so happened that the same guy had a 72” rollover box blade for cheap as well.
So I bought them both.



Then I tried out the rollover box blade and hated it (to be fair, I only bought it to flip) and then sold the Landpride and rollover and made a decent profit.

I was perfectly happy with the Frontier. It is the perfect match for my tractor and it weighed enough to be very useful in every situation I used it for. I added a rear hitch to it and moved around empty trailers often. I loved it, and I only had a few hundred dollars of my own money into it.


The ONLY thing I REALLY disliked about it, was that it wasn’t quick hitch compatible and during some major dirt work project I had going on, I found myself changing between the box blade, power rake, and rear blade very often. The BB was a PIA since the others were QH comparable. (First world problems here).

Then I just happened to come across another very good price on an even heavier box blade (at that point I didn’t know there was anything heavier). So I picked that up because it was quick hitch compatible. This one is a Paladin FFC 440 at 1,600lbs.




It is, as you can imagine, a beast of a box blade, and really is designed for a larger tractor than mine, obviously.
If the Frontier was QH compatible I would still have it. It is the sweet spot of perfection for my size tractor.