Does a boxblade / bucket make for decent excavator?

[TheCommissioner]

I am brand new at tractoring, but experienced at earthmoving, so I am appreciative of advice! Thanks for any and all responses.

I have a pond with a spillway that is nothing more than a big trench or cut in the bank. I want to place a big culvert in the trench and then backfill so I can drive across the spillway.

There is an area of my property maybe a hundred yards from the spillway where I want to excavate the soil for the backfill. The best equipment for this application would be a track loader. However I don't have one but I do have a Kubota L3400 with a regular bucket (no teeth). And since I am a hobbyist, time isn't of the essence.

What I am thinking is to purchase a boxblade which I need anyway for road maintenance and using it to loosen the soil enough that I can load it with the bucket and tram to the dumpsite. The soil is clay and if there are any rocks they will be small broken shale. I anticipate having to move about 25 cubic yards.

Can a boxblade be effective at loosening and windrowing soil for picking up with a regular bucket?

 

[js5020]

Works for me, best implement I have is the box blade.

 

[Grrrr]

If you bought the box blade I think you would find lots of uses for it.

Your other option would be to get a toothbar for the bucket and then you could dig easier or just take really small bites with the standard bucket.

 

[Diesel_Boy]

i'll be getting a new box blade soon. i plan to use it partly for breaking up the topsoil in my garden before rototilling. i would think it will work great for your application, especially if you plan on getting a box blade anyway. let us know how it works out.

 

[jbrumberg]

TheCommissioner:

A good box blade paired with a FEL toothbar is a potent dirt moving combination . The toothbar is much more efficient at penetrating denser materials than a cutting edge (more force/penetration at tooth contact areas). Jay

 

[wushaw]

That is how I do it 99% of the time. I start by putting the rippers down and rip up an area then come back and pull it with just the box and make a good pile of dirt then start transporting it to where I need it with the FEL.

 

[VA Rebel]

It makes a great excavator for what youre talking about, especially if time is on your side. Youll figure out pretty easily how it works fastest. If you have a gravel road to maintain, youll wonder how you ever did it without the box blade. I bought a pretty cheap one from TSC and its been great.

 

[sandman2234]

I know you said time was on your side, but unless you have an awfully big bucket, your going to get really tired of driving back and forth enough to move 25 yards of dirt. Try to break it up into at least a couple of days so you don't get too bored.
I am doing just about the same thing, except mine is a pile of dirt/sand and it is 3/10's a mile away. I built a trailer to haul it on, and then built a box to mount on the end of my slope mower to make it a lightweight backhoe. The dirtpile has been waiting on me at least a year since I got the ok to move it, and 8 years since I paid to have the other two moved that were with it.
There isn't much better than free dirt.
David from jax

 

[Deerlope]

I just bought a 6 foot from TSC and I bent it today. I was using the rippers and it must have hooked a rock that pushed it sideways. I can fix it and make it better at the same time. I wonder why it is that every piece of equipment that I buy I have to change its design and make it preform better.

 

[3RRL]

That is how I do it too. I rip up the soil with the boxblade scarifiers and/or the fel with toothbar. Then scoop it up with the bucket plus drag a box full of dirt at the same time.



I did quite a lot of dirt moving and excavating in this thread using that method.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/104037-3r-home-barn-project.html