Does anybody have any feedback on the 6' LS Box Blade ?

[The Gaul]

Hi folks,
New Kioti owner here. My dealer, who does his main volume on LS tractors, is steering me toward a 6' LS box blade for my tractor @ a price of 1,440$.
He has it readily available and I kind of like it. Looks strong, esp. with the optional skids installed on the side.
Does anybody have any feedback on these attachments ? Thank you !

 

[Yander]

I'm sure that box blade will do the trick. It is rated for up to 60hp so should be fine for you tractor. It's a box blade, I wouldn't over think it. Unless you are going to use it in a business for heavy duty work, and if you are I would buy a Woods or a BEFCO or an EA.

However, unless you like shiny new and have $$ burning a hole in you pocked, buy a used one. Around here you can get a very nice used box blade for under $1k and probably around $800. There isn't much that goes wrong that isn't obvious.

Your tractor could handle an 7' BB, might want to consider upsizing.

 

[The Gaul]

I'm sure that box blade will do the trick. It is rated for up to 60hp so should be fine for you tractor. It's a box blade, I wouldn't over think it. Unless you are going to use it in a business for heavy duty work, and if you are I would buy a Woods or a BEFCO or an EA.

However, unless you like shiny new and have $$ burning a hole in you pocked, buy a used one. Around here you can get a very nice used box blade for under $1k and probably around $800. There isn't much that goes wrong that isn't obvious.

Your tractor could handle an 7' BB, might want to consider upsizing.

Thank you. Used is like 80% price of new in this region, and usually means rusted old stuff. Net, I don't want to buy anybody else's issues.
I looked at Woods (and Kioti implements, which are made by Woods), but it doesn't look like it is worth double the price. EA gives me a bad vibe : every implement is '4 months out', which means they are producing up to order and keeping the 4 month float as finance income (one can get 5.5% interest on a 3 month treasury nowadays). Hmmm, not impressed by such antics, don't really want to support a company like that.

I won't be using it for any jobs outside of my own property, but I am concerned about the Central Oregon soil. This is a volcanic region, and we have big boulders surfacing everywhere, including in my hay fields.

 

[Yander]

Yes, I put your region into FB marketplace and there wasn't much and what was out there they wanted new price as you say. I say go for it. I don't think any box blade will hold up to a boulders.

I have a Frontier box blade I bought used and like it a lot.

 

[Racenut]

I bought one, have not actually used it yet. But I generally liked the way it was built. The way the mounts attach just looks better designed and stronger vs the other box blades they had. I also like the idea of the skids for grading, seems like it will help my ameture skills from just digging in when I don't want to. Paid $1270 for mine which was less than I expected, especially here in California.

 

[Bearsixty7]

I have one, used it twice so far and it has worked great. First time was cutting a Steep embankment down so My Dad could mow it with the ZT safely and not feel tippy. I was actually surprised how well it cut through the turf and dirt. I figured I would have to stand on the BB while someone else drove the tractor but that wasn't the case, it had plenty of weight.
The second time was smoothing a dirt parking lot that was an old cow pasture and a small section of gravel driveway. I initially had the rippers lowered as I thought it was too dry and packed but quickly realized I didn't need them so raised them up out of the way.
I do have the hydraulic top link and used it a lot making adjustments for the different areas ad what I was doing.
Also, Maybe its a regional difference but I bought mine last year at a Farm show and paid under $1k, so I think you need to do some haggling. I was looking for any brand 6' Box blade and the only other one there that looked any stronger was an Xtreme duty one for up to 80hp and they wanted $1400 for it. All the other ones were more money than the LS and didn't look any better built.
I had shopped for used ones a while and like you, they all wanted near new price and many didn't have the rippers and looked like they were 50 years old and rusted.

Edit: As for EA, I have a grapple and the tooth bar from them. The Grapple took a few months to get but was well worth it. Their products are in high demand for a good reason, They are probably the best built implements around today. I would not hesitate to buy from them again. I just didn't feel I needed a EA BB and felt the LS one was good enough for my use.

 

[The Gaul]

Thanks, this is all very informative !

 

[Walter L]

Check out farm equipment on face book in your area, i have seen lots deals out there in my area

 

[jeff9366]

510 pounds / 6' = 85 pounds per foot of width.

You will find few heavier per foot of width.

Make sure your BB choice completely covers the width of your rear tires.



I have a grapple and the tooth bar from EA. The Grapple took a few months to get but was well worth it. Their products are in high demand for a good reason. They are probably the best built implements around today. I would not hesitate to buy from them again.

YES.

 

[DTLS]

I purchased one from the dealer I bought the tractor from. MT335H. I am a retired metal fabricator and was going to build my own. The problem is I could not find a decent price on the cutting blade.The shipping was as much as the cost of the blade. I finally got one from Behlin Country website. It was $100 and $35 shipping. The reason the shipping was so inexpensive was it was only 3/8" thick so it was within the 50lb. limit of UPS. So I was tuned into the thickness of the cutting blades. 3/8" was too light so I decided just to buy one with the 1/2" blade.
I looked at the King cutter box blades at Fleet Farm. They have a good thick 1/2" blade on them and also were on sale for about $250 less then the LS. My dealer had done some extras for me when I bought the tractor so I figured I would patronize him.
After I got it home I noticed it only has a 7/16" blade. Pissed me off that I didn't look at it closer before I bought it. I also find it works better for moving material if you take off the side skids. I have a hydraulic top link and I find if you tilt the front of the box down it just rides on the skids and lifts the blade up. It actually works more like a land plane with the side skids on. Look at most of the land planes...they all have the runners on the sides. If you want to move some material or ditch out a driveway you are better off removing them.
See what happens when you try to be a nice guy.