Don't want to be a Box Blade idiot

[GaryE]

Don\'t want to be a Box Blade idiot

In the next couple of weeks I will be looking for a Box Blade. I know everyone here swears by them, but I am still skeptical. I am going to need to level out a few fields, then some areas for some foundations / slabs. Then in the future use it to maintain some trails.

My fields grow rocks, I mean big rocks (2 footers are the average).... This is Maine! My tractor is a Kubota L-3710 GST with R4's. I think I would like to cover my tracks, wheels are just over 60" apart.

So here are my questions:

Can a L-3710 pull a 72" Box Blade?

If so or if not, what would you recommend?

Will I destroy a medium duty Box Blade with all these rocks or should I go with a smaller Heavy duty Box Blade?

What brand would you recommend?

Am I fooling myself to even think this will work?


Thanks for any input.

Gary

 

[Syncro]

Re: Don\'t want to be a Box Blade idiot

I think a heavy duty 66" or 72" will work just fine. Consider that even a small 48" will stall your tractor if its hooked to the Queen Mary! My point being that no tractor can pull unlimited objects, but for normal use you should be fine and the extra width will be nice for finish grading. I personally like the heavy duty models, especially around rocks and with powerful tractors such as yours. Used ones can often be found cheaper than a new medium duty one. I just sold a heavy duty 72" Gannon for $375.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Re: Don\'t want to be a Box Blade idiot

Gary, I have no experience with rocks so I can't advise you on that part, but you might want to look over this to see if any of this helps. Box Blade Photo Comparison

 

[GaryE]

Re: Don\'t want to be a Box Blade idiot

Syncro,

My thinking was a 66" heavy duty blade. I think Woods has a 65". I am still wondering about the rocks.... Just find it hard to believe these things will survive my rock crop /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Thanks,

Gary

 

[GaryE]

Re: Don\'t want to be a Box Blade idiot

Bob,

I was following that thread with great interest, thanks for the pics! But maybe it is just me, I just find it hard to buy that my little 3710 is going to pull a 60"+ Box Blade through my fields.... I am hoping someone can tell me I am wrong.


Gary

 

[familyman]

Re: Don\'t want to be a Box Blade idiot

Gary,
My L2800 weighs 2,500lbs., 29 gross hp, pulls a 72" boxblade in 4wd with no problems. Big rocks, wet clay, etc., can slow things down but common sense must dictate as to how deep a bite you take as you go to suit conditions. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
With your rocky conditions I'd buy the most solid, heavy, best quality boxblade available, whatever size you choose.

 

[JoeR]

Re: Don\'t want to be a Box Blade idiot

I wouldn't use a box blade to level a pasture. My neck would get tired of looking back and adjusting on every pass. I used a disc to break up the soil, followed by a chain for leveling and smoothing for my pastures. They are not glassy smooth, but I can run my tractor at 10mph across the field without bouncing out of my seat. For critical site work and house slabs, then a box blade is a must.

Joe

 

[GaryE]

Re: Don\'t want to be a Box Blade idiot

Familyman,

I was thinking a 72"er was at the extreme limit for my tractor. Maybe I am underestimating the old girl?

Thanks for the input,

Gary

 

[GaryE]

Re: Don\'t want to be a Box Blade idiot

Joe,

I was thinking of a disc also.... Several years ago I had one field rototilled.... Long story, but it was a mess. Now it is at least passable, but still needs work. Would not a disc soften up the ground too much? I just want to replant grass.

Any suggestions welcome.


Gary

 

[jeffinsgf]

Re: Don\'t want to be a Box Blade idiot

Here's a little CUT Box Blade story for you that might ease your mind.

We bought our place near Springfield, MO just about a year ago. It is 10 acres with an eclectic blend of deep rich soil and limestone bedrock 6 inches below grade. In the transition zones, you can have some really incredible hunks of limestone and/or sandstone. The yard from the previous owner was a total wreck, and having moved to the country from a subdivision where my yard was the envy of the development, I took it as a challenge.

I rented an attachment for my Bobcat called a "Preparator". It is supposed to loosen the top three inches of soil and kick all the softball size and smaller rocks into a hopper that you dump once in a while. Well it works fine if the top three inches are already loose, but it just bounces across the top of hardpack. So, out came my JD 4410 (35 engine HP) and my Frontier 60" Boxblade (Model 2060). I set the rippers as deep as they would go, with the idea of popping out the really big rocks, and loosening up the area for a few passes from the Preparator. When I hit the 2 foot square by 6 inch thick chunks, they usually made the engine grunt for half a second, the wheels lose traction for a full second, and then the differential would grab, the front would bite and out would pop the rock. On the 2 x 4's that were a little deeper, the wheels would spin when the rippers grabbed the edge. If I stopped, and raised the rockshaft, the rippers would usually break the rock loose. On a few monsters, I had to do this a couple times from a couple different angles, but I didn't leave anything in the ground because I couldn't budge it.

Round boulders like you can run into in New England might be different, but on our flatrock, the box blade is a darn fine choice.

Some day I'll post pictures of the 100 foot long, 3 foot high retaining wall that I have built with the rocks I pulled out of the yard.

 

[familyman]

Re: Don\'t want to be a Box Blade idiot

I think Joe has a good point, but I'd be tempted to drag an old hunk (at least 6') of I-beam before the chainlink fence. On several acres a boxblade could get tedious. Maybe rent the disc, find an old I-beam, buy the boxblade?
I gave you some of my tractor specs for comparison because I don't know anything about your 3710.

 

[JoeR]

Re: Don\'t want to be a Box Blade idiot

Gary, you know your soil best and sometimes you need to go with instinct or advice from a local. In Florida, I have sand and swamps with lots of pine and palmettos, so what works for me may not work for you. Let me go down the list of implements I own and the reasons behind them.

Box Blade. Used for maintaining 800' driveway. It allows me to crown the road to keep water from puddling.

Fertilizer/seed broadcaster spreader. I fertilize the pastures, and overseed with ryegrass in the winter for forage.

Disc. I use this to with concrete blocks on top of the disc for added weight. Every four to five years I will disc over my pastures and re-establish the Bahia grass.

Chain drag. This is a heavy chain with tines on one side and smooth on the other. Very heavy, and is made for this purpose. They sell them at Tractor Supply. The best tool I own. I run my disc on the three point and attach the chain to the end of the disc. This way I am discing and chaining in one pass. I run this three of four times around the pasture and get everything smooth. I also use the chain to break up manure piles, and for overseeding. For seeding, I put the tines down to create furrows, then seed, then drag the smooth side to cover the seed.

Hope that gives you some ideas.

Joe

 

[tc35dforme]

Re: Don\'t want to be a Box Blade idiot

Gary, I'm a believer in the merits of a boxblade....some thoughts though....

Get a hydraulic top link ... Its worth every cent !!!

Sub out the initial field passes to someone with a dozer and a grubbing / stone blade. You'll be happier in the long run if the big nuggets are removed before you get there. You'll find that the box blade does well on basketball size rocks, but bigger rocks get to be a pain in the butt. If the rock is taller than the box blade frame, it will lift the box blade as it comes up and cause headaches. You'll probably find a heavy duty landscape rake is also helpfull for the baseball sized rocks.

Good luck and I'm sure you'll get plenty of practice with each new spring crop of frost nuggets !! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[EddieWalker]

Re: Don\'t want to be a Box Blade idiot

Gary,

I have a 35 hp tractor and a 72 inch box blade. Power isn't an issue with it, and the size is just right.

But it's also the most useless tool I have. It's fine for dressing up an existing gravel road, or smoothing out a few bumps or ridges, and I've even had good results with filling in trenches with it.

To expect it to level out a field is pure folly. One thing you will quickly realize when using it, is that every bump your tractor encounters is made worse by the box blade. Trying to cut down a high spot becomes a challange of not being on the high spot, which is impossible. So then you have to guess as to how much to cut and spread. This goes on and on, and in the end, you have burned a bunch of fuel, but accomplished little else.

The box blade is not for leveling a field or pasture!!!

It is even worse for a foundation when you need to be level. I wouldn't even waste my time with it on something like that. Even though I own one, I hired that out to the pros before I bought my dozer.

The rocks are an issue to your area. Big ones will have to be dug out, smaller ones could probably be raked.

As for smoothing out a pasture. You need a disk to break it up, then a drag to smoth it out. I use a log with cyclone fence attached to it. The log breaks down the high spots and the fence smooths it out. There are lots of different methods to drag, but this one was free.

If your set on a box blade, find one to rent first and see what it's capable of.

Eddie

 

[curt1]

Re: Don\'t want to be a Box Blade idiot

Gary, I have a L3130F with loader that I pull a Woods standard duty GB72 with. It weighs 572# according to the Woods manual. My tractor pulls it easily in normal conditions. And I have used it in rocky ground without a problem...big limestone rocks in it. So I think your tractor would easily pull a 65" or 72" boxblade without any problems, unless you start trying to use it like a bulldozer.

Curt

 

[GaryE]

Re: Don\'t want to be a Box Blade idiot

Ok,

You guys have confirmed my gut feeling.... I am not sure which way to go!!!!!

It sounds like my tractor should pull a 72'" Box Blade. But is that what I want to do?

I am guessing that I only need to work on about 20% of my fields. The rest of them are passable. I did forget to mention I will be digging a pond (I have a BH)and using the fill to create a new 250' driveway.

I have no problem picking up some discs and or a rake of some sorts. I just don't want to waste a bunch of time. I also have no problem bringing in a dozer if that is what it will take (I have done that before), but it would be much more fun to do it myself!


I think I am going to go ahead and purchase a Box Blade, you can't have enough toys / I mean tools.... So the question is, should I get a heavy duty or medium duty? Should I pick up some discs to go at the fields first?

I see there is no clear answer to my questions, but I really do appreciate the input.

Still somewhat confused /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif


Gary

 

[Nasty135]

Re: Don\'t want to be a Box Blade idiot

Gary, I would go for the heavy duty ,to prevent any large rock from damaging my boxblade(hopefully)

But for the width you only have to think about this: the wider the blade, the further it goes past your rear tires ,the more gouging it will do unless you have the Tand T(top & tilt) ...

If its kept even with the width of the rear tires it will follow the exact contour of the tractor and won't gouge unless the front tires suddenly go up hill .

So if your property has a lot of up/down or even banks it will gouge at times... Just my thoughts /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

If I could get one it would be 60" like the width of my tractor and a wider scraper blade 72"or more for final smoothing(turned backwards of course)

 

[willywildes]

Re: Don\'t want to be a Box Blade idiot

I think your making it hard on you self which is easy to do with this tractor stuff. I have done the same. I have a 3130 and have a woods GB72 works great, never wanted a smaller one. you will never regret it for finish work. Good luck!

 

[curt1]

Re: Don\'t want to be a Box Blade idiot

Gary, I haven't looked at many brands of box blade's. So I can't say much about any brand except Woods, which I have. The Woods Standard and Medium duty blades are about the same. The medium duty weighs about 60 lbs. more than standard duty and has the floating tailgate. About the only difference is the medium duty has inside wear plates welded on. The side plates are both 3/8 inch. Hitch looks the same. So, if I were going to get a medium or heavy duty Woods, I would go with the XB which only comes in 72", 77" and 84" widths. Medium duty only comes in 72 and 84 inch widths. Standard duty (which is somewhat heavier duty than a lot of other brands) comes in 48" to 72".
The XB72 (72") heavy duty has 1/2 inch side plates and weighs in at 850 lbs.. Its shanks are also an option, which is standard on Medium and Standard duty.
Another thing I would look at is a heavy duty rollover box blade. The rollover is a bit more expensive. Makes it faster and easier to switch from scarifiers to blade. They also weigh a lot. And depends on how much you want to invest in one. Good luck in your search.

Curt

 

[have_blue]

Re: Don\'t want to be a Box Blade idiot

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Gary, To expect it to level out a field is pure folly. )</font>

Eddie,

I'm glad you brought that up and not me! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif


I agree with you.

A box blade is at its best spreading dirt piles . I think a lot of folks have the impression it works like a dozer, grader, or land leveler. My FEL actually does a better job of grading dirt smoothly to make roads. Being mounted on the rear causes the BB to go down every time the front tires encounter a bump or rise, and this can actually amplify the waves. Short wheelbase CUT's aggrivate this tendancy . Box blading both directions can help average out the waviness, but still it leaves a lot to be desired. The best place to mount a blade is in the center of the wheelbase. That way it would always average out the bumps and dips.

Box blades are great tools, and really are versatile. Just don't count on them to make flat roads and table-smooth yards without a big fight.