Box Scraper Box Blades

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

I’m in the market for a box blade and had some questions/concerns.

1. Which box blades are best?

My tractors are: John Deere 455 (21hp 2x4) and John Deere 4320 (48hp 4x4)

I’m only buying a box blade for one tractor not both, have not decided which yet.

I had my eye on the everything attachments xTreme 72in for the 4320 but did some comparing to woods 72in, Bush Hog 72in etc and the EA box comes in light, compared to the woods it’s half, 510lbs vs over 1000lbs, bush hog is over 600lbs etc. based off what each company rates their box blades for at least an 4x4 48hp tractor.

Which is the best value? What do you have?

 

[bcp]

Compare several different models of each brand.

Here's an EA 72 inch at 775 lbs. They make lots of different weights in each width, up to about a ton for a 78 inch.

Severe XTreme Duty Hinged Back Box Blade Box Scraper - Everything Attachments

In MY ground, a blade of 75 pounds per foot width will fill very quickly. In other places it may just bounce.

Bruce

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

Compare several different models of each brand.

Here's an EA 72 inch at 775 lbs. They make lots of different weights in each width, up to about a ton for a 78 inch.

Severe XTreme Duty Hinged Back Box Blade Box Scraper - Everything Attachments

In MY ground, a blade of 75 pounds per foot width will fill very quickly. In other places it may just bounce.

Bruce

That’s a 50-70hp rated box blade by their rating, according to them it’s overkill for my tractor.

So either they over engineered to use less material for the same HP rating or they over rate their box blades compared to other companies.

Either way I’m in the market for the best value, each company seems to rate their boxes a little differently.

 

[bcp]

Their 50hp isn't much different than your 48hp.

Anyway, is their any way you could borrow or rent a blade to get an idea what weight/foot is needed to work well for you? Will a local dealer give you a trial period?

After that, look at construction design and details.

Bruce

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

What about sizing the Box Blade? What’s too big for a 2wd 455? What’s too big for 4x4 4320 with R4s? What’s the sizing rule?

I’m looking for the heaviest, best designed box for the $$.

 

[Texasmark]

I see you are sporting a FEL on your Avatar tractor. I initially couldn't afford a FEL tractor and resorted to a box blade and the adjustable single blade like is used by county road maintainers. I haven't used my BB since. The FEL with a bucket does a superior job of doing the jobs for which I previously used the BB. However, one thing I did learn about a BB is that "weight matters". Get the heaviest you can, or add weight to a light one. I welded OTR truck axles onto mine before I quit using it, about 4 of them.

 

[darmstrong2319]

I have the EA hinged back box blade I think it’s 815 or 835 pounds don’t remember now but it’s 78” and it work great. I use this on a 40 hp tractor and the way it’s built I couldn’t hurt it If I wanted to.

 

[Z-Michigan]

I have a Woods BSM72 for my Kioti, which compares closely to your 4320 in horsepower and weight, and it works great and is plenty rugged enough for my uses. 680lbs. Specs:

Product Details

I don't want to be a brand cheerleader for anything, but Woods always seems well made for anything, and especially for dirt-work type implements.

I bought a PHD from EA and it is well made and meets my expectations for the price, so I have nothing bad to say about EA either.

Most companies rate implements by tractor horsepower, but in reality tractor weight and tire type make much more difference for CUTs. Since your 4320 is neither exceptionally heavy or light, I would not worry about an implement rated only up to 50hp, or one rated for 50hp and up. A while back I had a Deere 5105 which was a full utility, and despite the 45hp rating it had traction well above CUT levels, which contributed to two implements rated for its hp being damaged in ordinary use. (Marginal construction of these implements, both from expensive US brand names (though the green one was actually made in Mexico), also contributed.)

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/59301-box-blade-photo-comparision-brands-21.html

I just ran across this, when I get some time I’ll see if there’s any good info on box blades in there. Not much in there about EA BBs that I could see but didn’t have a lot of time to read into it. It’s 24 pages lol.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I would suggest that you determine the width of unit that you want and then shop by weight. The heavier the better for a box blade.

 

[rbtjr]

I suggest that you call Travis at Everything Attachments and discuss with him what you want to try to accomplish. Travis is very knowledgeable and very helpful. I have bought several attachments from EA and have interacted with Travis a lot. I am very pleased with my EA purchases, their advice and their service.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

I looked at the following: Land Pride, EA XTreme, Bush Hog/ Dirt Dog, Frontier, Buhler/ Farm King, Woods, Behlen, Befco, Midwest/Kioti, Howse, King Kutter and Taylor Way so far lol.

I’m still getting prices in and weights on some of them, I got most of them.

For the money I’m looking at Woods BSS720, King Kutter Professional and EA XTreme, all 72in.

To be honest the EA version looks like a King Kutter with some beefier bits here and there, they are within 15lbs of each other.

I did read all 24 pages of that thread, EA was not compared but I did learn a lot about box blades.

I have decided to order a BB for the 4320, it’s only $200-$300 more than a BB the 455 could run and I can do so much more work with the 4320.

 

[js5020]

I have a 60" KK I bought years ago at TSC, yea they may not be as heavy as some but it was reasonably priced when I bought it. I never had any issues getting it to do what a box blade is suppose to do, just need to know how to work the top link. I've used the BB a lot and have never had anything fail on it.

 

[kclark2227]

I was going to get the Landpride B1572 but I was looking at the EA version and I am trying to figure out the differences.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

I was going to get the Landpride B1572 but I was looking at the EA version and I am trying to figure out the differences.

Not too much diff from box blade to box blade looks like, weight and bracing is important.

 

[kthompson]

Box blades can use a lot of tractor depending on what you are doing. If you are working in roots and my thinking or rocks the more hp and tractor weight the better so I would rather use the bigger tractor. Now if you are not in ground with tree roots or rock and working in tight places the smaller tractor might be better option. But dirt is heavy, to really move dirt it gets old and the fewer trips the better. Also wider box blade will level better than a shorter one. Less seams in the work. You want the box blade to be at least as wide as the outside of the rear wheels so you can cover your tracks but you may not want them much wider to prevent hooking items with the box blade. Do measure the tire bag for the width. Bracing on any is important. For me that is what fails more than the blade area.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

Looks like a 78in box blade from everything attachments is in my near future. XTreme line.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

I just got off the phone with Travis, I ordered a 78in XTreme Box Blade and I’m having them paint it green with EA decals on the ends of the blade.

To say I’m excited is a understatement lol. It’s about 4 weeks out because I custom ordered.

 

[rbtjr]

We just bought from EA the 84" version of your box blade. Haven't used it yet but we do have it. It is VERY sturdily built.

 

[kclark2227]

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/59301-box-blade-photo-comparision-brands-21.html

I just ran across this, when I get some time I'll see if there is any good info on box blades in there. Not much in there about EA BBs that I could see but didn't have a lot of time to read into it. It's 24 pages lol.

I could be wrong but I think EA is not listed because it is an older thread. EA came about in I think 2008ish. And then, I don't think they made their own boxes but now they do. I have mine on order. I was going to go with the Land Pride version when I bought my tractor cause I thought I needed it to get the implement rebate. In the end I didn't need it to get the rebate so I told the dealership that I didn't want it anymore to take it off the bill. Then I turned around and called EA and order it from Travis. (I actually added it to an order that I had placed 2 days prior. I now have 3 implements coming from them and the Speeco quick hitch.) American made and Ted and Peanut make great, informative videos that demonstrate their products.