Which Box Blade to buy based on Tractor Size and HP

jcri · May 7, 2019

Hello All,

I'm looking to buy a box blade from my 40+ hp tractor. Initially I've looked at the Land Pride and Everything Attachment (EA) blades... The sales guy at the Kubota dealership shot me a price on the Land Pride BB12 series blade which according to the specs is designed for 17-30hp tractors. The EA blade in the same price range is rated for tractors up to 50hp... So, things don't appear to be apples to apples when trying to compare these blades.

I plan on using it primarily to work on my gravel road/driveway and some yard finish grading work. Looking for some recommendations on a good blade. I don't think I need over-kill on the most heavy duty blade out there... I just want to make sure that I buy a blade that I'm not going to bend or tear up on the back of my 45HP L4310. I worry that the Land Pride '12' series blade that he quoted me on is too light weight for my machine?? Thoughts, comments, suggestions, recommendations??

Thanks,
jc

EverythingAttachments · May 7, 2019

jcri said:
Hello All,

I'm looking to buy a box blade from my 40+ hp tractor. Initially I've looked at the Land Pride and Everything Attachment (EA) blades... The sales guy at the Kubota dealership shot me a price on the Land Pride BB12 series blade which according to the specs is designed for 17-30hp tractors. The EA blade in the same price range is rated for tractors up to 50hp... So, things don't appear to be apples to apples when trying to compare these blades.

I plan on using it primarily to work on my gravel road/driveway and some yard finish grading work. Looking for some recommendations on a good blade. I don't think I need over-kill on the most heavy duty blade out there... I just want to make sure that I buy a blade that I'm not going to bend or tear up on the back of my 45HP L4310. I worry that the Land Pride '12' series blade that he quoted me on is too light weight for my machine?? Thoughts, comments, suggestions, recommendations??

Thanks,
jc

I would not put a land pride 12 series blade on any 40+ hp tractor. Our 2.1 Land Shark box blade is an enhanced/improved version of the land pride, and, even though ours is stronger, we still chose not to make them above 60" because of the bolted hitch design.

My ultimate pick for a 30-40 horsepower L Series(or comparable) tractor is our EA Xtreme 30-70 Box Blade.

More goes into our box blades than meets the eye, substantially more if you really take a close look.
The side plates, hitch and other components are tabbed by the laser. Benefits include precise, uniform assembly and extra, Xtreme durability compared to something that is only welded. The edges are also smooth and rounded rather than sharp and jagged like many economy models.
The side plates normally reflect the age and use/abuse of a box blade. To minimize that wear and increase the life span, we weld extra plates of steel to the front leading edges.
Our hitches, from the lightest to the heaviest, are all solid welded. Yes, it's easy to stack and cheaper to ship a square box with no hitch sticking up in the way, but we feel that a solid welded hitch provides more rigidity and durability.
All EA box blades have horseshoe shaped plates welded behind the bottom of the ripper shanks to strengthen the tube and prevent piercing.
The minimum grade of steel found in our factory is A572 Grade 50, which has a higher tensile strength, shear strength and yield strength than most commonly used A36.
Just a few things that we do to provide you the most for your money; more than you'd think! We've been using US cutting edges since the start!
Travis

The underneath speaks measures!

CADplans · May 7, 2019

I put a light duty (30 HP) box blade behind my IH 584,,, a 60 engine HP tractor,,

When I bought the box blade, tractor HP was not mentioned,,

the box blade held up just fine, going forward,,,
I did manage to deform the 3 point attachment parts, in reverse,, backing down a grade,,
I hit a root, or small stump, the parts bent,, luckily, the parts were easy to re-fabricate,,
I did make the new parts out of thicker and wider steel.

BUT, that blade could easily stop the 584 going forward,,
I guess what I am saying, even a 30HP box blade can be used,, assuming you exercise proper caution,,

FTG-05 · May 7, 2019

jcri said:
Hello All,

I'm looking to buy a box blade from my 40+ hp tractor. Initially I've looked at the Land Pride and Everything Attachment (EA) blades... The sales guy at the Kubota dealership shot me a price on the Land Pride BB12 series blade which according to the specs is designed for 17-30hp tractors. The EA blade in the same price range is rated for tractors up to 50hp... So, things don't appear to be apples to apples when trying to compare these blades.

I plan on using it primarily to work on my gravel road/driveway and some yard finish grading work. Looking for some recommendations on a good blade. I don't think I need over-kill on the most heavy duty blade out there... I just want to make sure that I buy a blade that I'm not going to bend or tear up on the back of my 45HP L4310. I worry that the Land Pride '12' series blade that he quoted me on is too light weight for my machine?? Thoughts, comments, suggestions, recommendations??

Thanks,
jc

Look at your owner's manual and it will have a list of recommended 3ph implements.

And then don't be afraid to ignore it.

For example, for my first couple 3ph implements, I used and followed the L4330 (40 hp) User's Manual recommendations. Big mistake.

My BB is 6' wide weighs 675 lb from the factory. To make it operate better, I added a 410 lb weight block and my 110 Ratchet Rake for a total of about 1195 lbs, which far exceeds the manufacturers recommendations. But there is nothing I can do about the 6' width. Which, since I widened my rear tires for my hills, now doesn't cover it. I should have got a 7' BB (and a 7' bushhog/rotary cutter).

My BB also serves as my 3ph counterweight of choice; it's fairly compact and pretty dense for it's size. I too use it for my one mile gravel road maintenance.

I'm firmly in the "Buy Once, Cry Once" camp for BBs, you truly get what you pay for. For ~$1k, I wouldn't hesitate to get the 7' EA BB for your tractor. And then add some weight to it. Ethical self disclosure: I am extremely biased; I have an EA 8' ED grader blade and couldn't be happier with it.

Good luck!

TripleR · May 7, 2019

No way would I use a 12 Series on that size, I bought a BB2584 for my L5030HSTC and added weight and it was "OK". When I bought my L5740HSTC, I bought a LP HR3584; expensive but worth it for my uses. I do like LP, but sometimes the cost doesn't match what you get. I never bought anything from EA, but they have really good reputation.

You might consider a Roll Over Box Blade, several members use them.

kthompson · May 7, 2019

I bent a rear blade with my B2710 Kubota that was rated for about a 50 hp tractor for what that is worth. You want a blade that will cover your rear wheels first. Then you want a heavy blade. Blades need weight to cut. To me a box blade needs it more than a rear blade for box blade can only cut straight on where rear blade can be rotate to cut on an angle. Backing up as has been said is easier to bend one that going forward.

jjp8182 · May 8, 2019

My first thought/question would be: What do you mean by "yard finish grading work"? specifically in the context of would you be using the rippers down or keeping them up and using the blade cutting edge?

If the rippers are going to be up I'd recommend a heavier box blade over a lighter one just to make it more likely there will be enough weight to help effectively drive the cutting edge into the soil. The weight per foot of cutting edge needed to do that will vary by the type and moisture content of the soil, but other threads here have typically recommend 100lbs per foot of implement width when it comes to blades. As an illustrative example: around here if the (mostly clay) loam is moist it's not hard to dig into with a shovel, but once it dries out shovels are pretty much useless as they can't penetrate the soil to any useful degree (even with several hundred pounds driving it downward).

When working on the gravel road/driveway the same considerations come into play, except the type of gravel and overall compaction would be drivers for how effective the box blade would be. For example: my neighbor's gravel drive has been compacted (by being driven on by many trucks pulling horse trailers) to the point that it's almost as hard as my concrete driveway. At which point even 100lbs per foot isn't likely to do much without having the rippers down.

So FWIW I'm using a 72" Category I & II Severe XTreme Duty Tractor Box Blade - Everything Attachments on my L3560, and the only thing I've managed to bend is one of the ripper shanks (think it got caught on a very large root that caused it to bend a bit to the side). Fortunately those are easy to replace.

While overall it's been very useful implement there's been more than once I've considered selling it and buying the hinged-back version as (more than once) the fixed rear cutting edge has been the limiting factor on how much material I could remove in a single pass.

Just my :2cents: (which may not even be worth that much).

BukitCase · May 9, 2019

I have a 7' Gannon box I found used, I use it with my old Allis Chalmers. It weighs right at 1100 pounds, (the Gannon, not the tractor) and I've NEVER wished it was LIGHTER...
Altho I AM glad I found enough front weights so I didn't need to steer with the rear brakes

- 575# of front weight solved that. The Gannon (now available from LP(edit- sorry, Woods) under their name, IIRC) has a hinged rear blade, lockable in the down position (another option, as useful as having it hinged) - it also has hydraulic rippers, not always necessary but VERY useful if you're moving a LOT of dirt.

My land is mostly sloping, I made a 200' square LEVEL area using that blade on the back of my old Case 580B (hoe removed, OEM 3ph installed) - in 3 days I moved approx. 900 cubic yards of dirt with the loader/box blade combo. Clay soil, dry weather - few passes side hill with rippers down, then drive the bucket in downhill, roll it out (full) and into float, drop the box, drive to dump area, raise/dump bucket then raise box, drive over the (created by me) bank and back around, repeat a LOT of times...

I'd had a quote from a local construction outfit - $1800 for about 4 hours of D6 cat work - I found the Gannon (including oem Case 3ph attachment) for $1700, did the job myself and still have the equipment. "Free" equipment, MUCH more fun, IMO it's a win/win.

Keep in mind, almost NO non-industrial tractor has power DOWN on the hitch, and IME it's not much use when your back tires aren't on the ground

so the weight of the implement is all you got for anything with a blade on it... Steve

Steppenwolfe · May 9, 2019

jcri said:
Hello All,

I'm looking to buy a box blade from my 40+ hp tractor. Initially I've looked at the Land Pride and Everything Attachment (EA) blades... The sales guy at the Kubota dealership shot me a price on the Land Pride BB12 series blade which according to the specs is designed for 17-30hp tractors. The EA blade in the same price range is rated for tractors up to 50hp... So, things don't appear to be apples to apples when trying to compare these blades.

I plan on using it primarily to work on my gravel road/driveway and some yard finish grading work. Looking for some recommendations on a good blade. I don't think I need over-kill on the most heavy duty blade out there... I just want to make sure that I buy a blade that I'm not going to bend or tear up on the back of my 45HP L4310. I worry that the Land Pride '12' series blade that he quoted me on is too light weight for my machine?? Thoughts, comments, suggestions, recommendations??

Thanks,
jc

I bought an EA 6ft box blade for my 52 horse MX. They are very well built and heavy. I would think you could pull a six footer.

jcri · May 9, 2019

Thanks a lot everyone for the responses and great information. I called Everything Attachments today to order the Xtreme Duty 6 way 7' scrape blade and a 7' box blade and unfortunately the guy told me that they were backed up at least 2 1/2 months before they would be able to get to me. I need something a whole lot sooner than that. Does anyone have a suggestion on another manufacturer/brand that is good quality? I would have loved to buy from EA, but I need the blades sooner rather than later.