Rear Blade Box Blade vs. Grader Blade

phastmac · Dec 28, 2014

I am looking to get a blade to put on the 3 point hitch of my tractor. I have a Kubota MX4700. I am going to be maintaining a drive way that is 3/4th mile. The drive is dirt and gravel. I would like to cut some ditches on the sides for drainage, be able to level and smooth. Also what size should I get. Any advise is appreciated.

Thomas · Dec 28, 2014

When it comes to ditching I would lean towards rear scraper blade,rear scraper should reach be on your rear tire width when set at 46 degrees...don't purchase light duty.
Box blade will also do ditching but will take longer..lot longer.
Box blade should be comfortable width be on your rear tires,you may want to consider rippers also.

phastmac · Dec 28, 2014

Thanks

phastmac · Dec 28, 2014

Thanks. Also read a few posts on Grader Scrapers. Right now I'm leaning towards box blade. Appreciate the info.

nybirdman · Dec 28, 2014

I have both;six ft.box blade(medium duty) and a seven ft.(medium) rear blade.Both have their place in drive way maintenance but the box blade wins out for me.It does a beautiful job on dry materials.
I do use the rear blade some for pulling material back onto the road ways,but winter snow removal is its primary function.
I also have a York rake.

Baby Grand · Dec 28, 2014

Plenty of quality information about box blade use/capability here:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/122762-beginners-guide-using-box-blade-11.html?highlight=#post3759803
Start at the beginning and pay special attention to the comments from 3RRL - he has a way of describing box blade use that's clear, logical and detailed.
Like nybirdman said - both box & rear blades have advantages in road building & maintenance.
Top and tilt makes both tools much more productive and useful.

moriboy · Dec 28, 2014

I have a grading scraper and absolutely love it. I don't think there is an easier way to maintain roads. Just drop it down and drive. For ditch work I don't think it is a very good choice though.

MtnViewRanch · Dec 28, 2014

phastmac said:
I am looking to get a blade to put on the 3 point hitch of my tractor. I have a Kubota MX4700. I am going to be maintaining a drive way that is 3/4th mile. The drive is dirt and gravel. I would like to cut some ditches on the sides for drainage, be able to level and smooth. Also what size should I get. Any advise is appreciated.

You have a fair amount of road to maintain there.

Depending on your budget, but there is a good reason to have several. I use 4 different types myself.

For general all around maintenance of your road, pretty hard to beat a land plane grading scraper. (LPGS)

For ditching the edges and creating a good crown, tough to beat a good rear blade.

For moving a lot of dirt, taking care of washouts (hope not

) and what not, a box blade works well.

For just going out and making the road look nice and doing some light grading, a landscape rake works very well.

Really anytime that you are doing grading, best to have something that is 100+ pounds per foot of width. 125lbs-200lbs per foot width is optimal.

For your MX4700, I would look at 6' LPGS, 8' rear blades, 6' box blade and an 8' landscape rake.

If you want to "get by" with only a single implement, then the box blade is your most utilitarian implement.

Good luck with your research and decision.

Mendonsy · Dec 28, 2014

Here's another thought for you .....
I have a york rake which is fine for leveling gravel but not so great for loose soil. I modified the cutting edge of an old snow plow so that I can bolt it to the tines of the york rake. That converts the york rake into a rear blade with only 5 bolts.

Gordon Gould · Dec 28, 2014

If your drive is 3/4 mile dirt and gravel you will most likely end up with more than one dirt implement before your done. Mine is a mile. I used a rear blade for 10 years of maintenance. It will do everything. Then I added a land plane grading scraper which was a fantastic addition but it is not a do-all implement like a blade. It is, however, my most used and favorite road tool now.

If ditching is really important to you my preference would be, hands down, a rear blade with tilt capability like the LandPride RBT series. A box blade will do it but you have to have one wheel in the ditch and the angle you can get is limited by you 3pth geometery. You need a lot of blade extended beyond your tire to ditch. A wide blade will do that but you don't want more blade than the tractor and operator can handle. Another option is to get a blade that is offsetable as well as tiltable (again like the RBT series) so you get more blade on the ditch side to work with. This is what I mean by offsetable.