Grading box blade

[countonjoe]

I am looking at buying a First Choice brand box blade. Is this a high quality brand implement? I own a John Deere 2020. It is only 2 wheel drive but a 54 horse diesel. Will I have any problem pulling a 6 foot box blade once loaded with dirt? Should I consider the 5' model for this reason? Also will rear wheel weights help or hinder the drag?

 

[slowrev]

I think there are better/heavier duty box blades out there than the First Choice, but you will pay more. The JD should handle a 6 foot box blade fine. Rear wheel weights will help with traction when using the box blade.

 

[countonjoe]

thank you for the info. What brands might be heavier duty than First Choice?

 

[buckle97]

I have a Bush Hog brand 72" box blade that I would consider to be pretty heave duty (although probably not the absolute heaviest). I think the Howse brand is about the same toughness as First Choice. Can anyone back me up on that?

Lawrence

 

[Moon]

Woods makes some heavy duty box blades. I was shopping for one a little over a year ago. From memory, I believe the woods 6' heavy duty offering weighed over 1000 pounds, and cost over 1000 bucks. Problem is, I was also shopping for a bush hog at the same time and I could have prices and or weights mixed up.

 

[Bellville]

When I was shopping for mine I looked at a Landpride that was extreamly well made, and, as you would think, very expensive. Needless to say I went with something much lighter, but appropriately sized for my tractor. Please let us know what you wind up buying.

Thanks

 

[countonjoe]

Thanks to this great forum and the knowledgable men posting here I am leaning toward the 6' Midwest. Should have a price tomorrow and will make a decision then. Will let you know. This website was a great find.

 

[PineRidge]

I just picked up a 7' Land Pride box blade today. (BB2584 see attachment) It seems well made and has a hinged backfill blade to help when smoothing. I will be using it with my TC-40D

 

[grandad]

I have been using a 72" First Choice/Midwest box blade for about 2 years now. It's a good sturdy unit that has no trouble with roots, rocks or anything else I have encountered. I would consider it a medium-duty implement. All the 3 pt structure is solid and not susceptible to bending under reasonable use... quite a step up from some of the low-end units out there. The biggest issue is lack of weight... it's probably only 5-600 lbs, vs. 1,000 or so for the real heavy-duty units. I strap on a few sacks of concrete, but that's not a good solution and sometime I'll rig up a better set of additional weights. Even so, it works fine in soil and gravel. If I were using it commercially, the HD type would be better, but this has my needs covered.

Incidentally, I think First Choice and Midwest are no longer associated, but Midwest is selling on their own plus some private branding.

 

[countonjoe]

How does it hold up with roots, rocks etc?

 

[8561]

I have a Midwest and it is a terrific piece of equipment. They come in 20 series standard duty and 30 series heavy duty. Very, very well built and designed. If you do a search of the archives on this site, I believe you will find they are favored by many. I have a 30 series 5 footer. Try Corriher Equipment (corimpco.com) in NC. They will ship nationwide, very reasonable.

 

[countonjoe]

Hey Tim, Want to really thank you for the Corriher Equip recomendation. I just bought a 6' Midwest BB from them. I was going t o go 30 series but became convinced the 20 will do it for me. I will use it to cut in some pasture and maintain my 1/4 mile driveway and move some dirt around. Thanks again as Midwest Fab. had a 30 day back log and Corriher had it in stock. Really appreciate the help.

Joe