box blade vs. drag scraper

[Beavis]

I am in the market for one of the following: box blade or drag scraper. Can you give me the pros and cons of each?

I've used a box blade for the past two years and have to say that it has been my favorite attachment. I have not used a drag scraper before, but can only imagine that it would do a better job of leveling since it has a long tongue and wouldn't move up and down as a box blade does since it is attached to the 3pt.


THANKS

 

[/pine]

Anyone that has used a box blade knows how much and how many different things it can do...but basically it is made to move material...
...other than it's volume capacity it is not much different than other types of blades...

most bb's are a combination of 3 main tools...usually a forward/backward blade, a scarifier bar and the hopper (box)...

IMO for maintaining a gravel road/drive a BB is the primary tool and other attachments like angle blades and drags etc. support it and can make it even more effective.

 

[eepete]

In the long run, you'll want both. I started with a box blade (am still very inexperienced with it). It will get things (like my driveway and other grading projects) close. I just ordered a 7' land plane/utility grader/drag scraper. This is an attach to a 3-point hitch, no wheels, two blades-in-a-box similar to what jenkinsp has.

IMO, works for me, standard disclaimers, I'd start with a box blade and some day/year hope and plan to get the scraper. Many have build the scraper, and some have use big logs and steel beams as intermediate low cost solutions.

Pete

 

[anojones]

I purchased a box blade with my tractor, had it about 5 years or so. I've used it to maintain a gravel drive and to do groundwork to level and put in a seedbed for our lawn around the house. It's been used here and there as well as a poor mans plow/tiller. I've never really got the hang of it, especially for driveway work, even with the addition of a hydraulic toplink I'm still not great with it. About a month ago I purchased a grader/scraper with scarifiers and haven't taken it off. The gravel drive was very easy- just drop it flat and make a couple of runs, pot holes and bumps gone, old gravel brought back to the surface. I just finished grading and preparing a seedbed around our workshop and it was much easier for me than the box blade ever was. For me there is no comparison and with the scarifiers on the grader- I don't know that I'll use the box blade again. I have a FEL, so don't need the box blade to move material and my ground is dry- the grader/scraper is not great in moister soil as it fills up and bogs down. I did a lot of searching on this site about the scrapers, there are a lot of threads that were helpful.

 

[npalen]

It is not difficult to convert a box blade into a drag scraper by adding a small wheel/tire behind each end. Then a fairly long tongue fabricated from angle iron with a ball receiver at the front can be attached to the 3 point of the box blade. A 3 point hitch on the tractor with matching ball can then be used to tow as well as raise and lower the blade. Does a very nice job of leveling.
I built one several years ago using a Land Pride blade by adding the boxed ends which also mounted the rear tires. Sold it later like a dummy.
Nelson

 

[jenkinsph]

Beavis,

If you have a boxblade already then consider a 3pt landplane to use with it. I have one of the better boxblades on this site and still use the landplane the most. This past weekend I moved quite a lot of dirt smoothing out an old field that had lumps and mounds that were two or three feet high, old ditches for irrigating and ruts all over the place. The landplane took care of all of it after tilling the ground up. You couldn't drive a pickup over this field when we started but to look at it now it is nice and smooth.

 

[anojones]

Just to clarify- I was discussing a grader/scraper that attaches to the 3-point (like the pictures above), not a pull behind box type scraper with wheels (which I've only seen in larger sizes of tractors than mine).