Grading LOADER VS. BOX BLADE

inveresk · Nov 1, 2005

I've about 500 feet of new driveway to install on my property to a location within our woodland where we're relocating the house and building a barn. I have a Kub. L3130 with FEL and BH which I intended to use for stripping the topsoil and spreading the roadstone. Having read some of the threads on TBN on box blade use, I'm wondering if I should invest in one before I begin. What I'm not sure of is whether the box blade compliments the loader and backhoe or whether it does little more than duplicate some of their operations.

I'd be interested in hearing from TBN'ers who have both loader and box blade. When do you use one instead of the other and what advantages does a box blade bring in terms of time and quality of work?

My soil is light clay with some gravel through it and there are some significant rocks down there that will no doubt be exposed during excavation. Scope of works is to remove topsoil (about ten inches) lay geotextile then 6" of 3 inch minus roadstone, gravel top with about 4" of 1/2 inch crushed rock to finish. I'll also install a curtain drain with silt sock and several service ducts on the uphill side of the road.

CJ4 · Nov 1, 2005

After about 35 yrs of compact type tractor experience I have just acquired a FEL this year. For all those years I used a box blade and what I call a straight/grader blade on the back 3 pt hitch. I'm finding a bucket on the FEL is really nice to backdrag a pile and move material from one general location to another. Alternatively, I can't imagine doing alot of grading, smoothing, leveling and finish work without a box blade. I think it'd be a good investment. It does take some experience/finesse to coordinate leveling with the box blade...ie:working the hydraulic lever at just the right times. I think i've got to learn all over again with my new tractor that has draft control on it. Maybe some of these guys that are experts on using the draft control and lever together could give us some pointers as well. In the past it's just been mostly "feel" and second nature. <font color="blue"> </font>

inveresk · Nov 1, 2005

I should have mentioned I don't have draft control on my 3ph, just position control.

kmdigital · Nov 1, 2005

IMHO you definitely need a box blade. The FEL is fine for stripping the top soil, but the box blade is much superior for spreading and leveling the stone. A FEL is hard to control precisely unless you back drag the stone, and then it doesn't move and level material like the box blade. You will also want to use the box blade to level the dirt after the top soil is stripped, as the FEL will tend to leave humps and dips in the dirt.

Actually, the box blade will also be much faster to strip to the top soil, but you will need the FEL if you want to pile it or load it into something. I think that a box blade is in many ways more useful then a FEL and it is much better for clearing snow and moving dirt around.

I find that the trick to using the box blade properly is how you set the top link. This controls the angle of attack of the cutting edge whether it just skims the surface or digs down.

inveresk · Nov 1, 2005

Next question is what width of box blade and what features should I look for? (I recollect a recent, good thread on different box blades and their construction which I'll search for). A local implement dealer recommended I get as wide a bb as poss. and was trying to sell me an 8 foot one. I don't know if that's too much for my 32hp tractor or not. The road I'm building will be ten feet wide so it's two passes regardless . . .

elarson · Nov 1, 2005

Another humble opinion. If I could only have one of the implements it would have to be the FEL, but The Box Blade is a perfect companion. Lots of beef to help with balancing the loader, and when it bites in it can really move some material. Excavating with the loader bucket seems to put a lot of unnatural strain on my little machine, especially in the heavy clay and granite around here. I just finished grading and gravelling about 400 feet of forest road and leveled a 50X100 foot pad out of about a 10 percent grade. I am sure that I would not have been able to pull off either project without the box. I have a neighbor who swears that a box blade is useless and that a rear grader blade is the way to go. I shared his frustration at first because all I was doing was amplifying the irregularities in the ground. (I'm still not sure how the rear blade would be any different /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif) A few hours of practice and you can get the feel for when to lift and drop the blade.
Happy tractoring!

YanmarFever · Nov 1, 2005

I have cleared a few roads in my time & a box blade with ripper teeth is the way to go for a road. The loader just doesnt dig evenly going forward unless your moving sand.

I would get the BB and practise with it until you get good .
It will save the wear & tear on your machine like the others have said /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Ernies Imports

ScottAR · Nov 1, 2005

I'd get one to overlap the tires just a bit. My BB hangs out about 6" over my tread width each side. This lets you get close to buildings and what not without overloading your tractor. Just an opinion.

Egon · Nov 2, 2005

I do not have a box blade but I do use a rear blade. I have seen a box blade used many years ago on construction sites for spreading gravel in very tight areas.

To me a box blade will work well for short confined areas where movement is limited.

A rear blade with gauge wheels [ very important ] works best on long runs where a windrow can be rolled back and forth. Building roads this is the way the grader operator gets the road base into the proper shape. He does have much more control of his blade though but patience should make up for this.

Initial leveling or speading the gravel would be best done with the loader pushing a full bucket ahead of it. This keeps the tractor on level ground and makes it much easier to get a rough distribution of gravel. May take a little time to get the soft hands for loader control though.

Then its time to get a windrow and roll it back and forth or is it forth and back? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Should also mention that on the subgrade a packer works in conjunction with the grader.

Egon /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

RedRocker · Nov 2, 2005

I would think a 6' BB would be about right for a 32 hp tractor. I've got a 5' on my 30 hp tractor and it works great. You want to cover your tracks at least.