Rear Blade Need Rear Blade Help

[Bliz]

I have been searching for a solution to keep my long driveway graded and shaped and a friend is selling a 8' power tilt/angle Hiniker rear blade. He had it on an 80 HP John Deere 4wd and said it was actually a little heavy for his tractor. It was hardly ever used as it still has the paint on the cutting edge. It appears to be extremly well built, very heavy-duty.My tractor is a 115HP John Deere 6115D so I think it would handle it fine. My questions are: 1. will this work well to grade and spread gravel? 2. Is $2,500.00 a reasonable price for it? 3. Is there a better solution to both spread and grade new and existing gravel? Thanks for any help or advice!

 

[Mpking]

I'll let someone else comment on whether that rear blade is a good fit for you but it sounds like the opportunity to buy it has you sizing up all your options for road maintenance. I have a Land Pride Grading Scrapers and it makes it very easy to grade and spread gravel. You don't really have to worry about making adjustments to the blade angle, etc. You just raise or lower the cutting edges on one side and then just drag it up and down your road and it scrapes the high spots and fills in the low spots while building a crown and it doesn't leave any windrows. I have 1/2 mile of gravel road/driveway that I maintain with mine on my 34hp kubota and it took me about 8 hours total to go from about the worst road you've ever seen to nice and smooth. Not sure if the Landpride is HD enough for your tractor but there are other manufacturers that build them for larger HP tractors. Dura grader and Road Boss are two names that come to mind. Woods just came out with one too. Good luck.

 

[Gordon Gould]

I don't know much about the size blade you are considering so can't help there. Although it sounds like it might be a good deal to me.
I have a mile of road to maintain. I did it for 10 years with just a rear blade. Last year I built a grading scraper. It has made a huge difference in my ability to efficiently maintain a good road surface. I still use the rear blade to reset the road contours where necessary after mud season but the grading scraper is my "go to" tool for surface maintenance. Mine has fixed blades. Unlike the adjustable LandPride unit Mpking has. I might add that I don't find the fixed blades a handicap.
When I add new gravel I tailgate spread the material then use the grading scraper to even it out. Then pack it with a full truck of gravel. Then I use the rear blade to set crowns and contours. Repack it. Then finally go over it with the grader and repack for the finished road.
Everybody has their favorite road tools and methods. But for my situation I consider both the rear blade and the grading scraper indispensible.
The road surface in the picture is five years old. The grading scraper remixes the top layer of gravel and makes it like new.

 

[JDGreenGrass]

I don't know much about the size blade you are considering so can't help there. Although it sounds like it might be a good deal to me.
I have a mile of road to maintain. I did it for 10 years with just a rear blade. Last year I built a grading scraper. It has made a huge difference in my ability to efficiently maintain a good road surface. I still use the rear blade to reset the road contours where necessary after mud season but the grading scraper is my "go to" tool for surface maintenance. Mine has fixed blades. Unlike the adjustable LandPride unit Mpking has. I might add that I don't find the fixed blades a handicap.
When I add new gravel I tailgate spread the material then use the grading scraper to even it out. Then pack it with a full truck of gravel. Then I use the rear blade to set crowns and contours. Repack it. Then finally go over it with the grader and repack for the finished road.
Everybody has their favorite road tools and methods. But for my situation I consider both the rear blade and the grading scraper indispensible.
The road surface in the picture is five years old. The grading scraper remixes the top layer of gravel and makes it like new.

Gordon, your road looks great. Super nice.:thumbsup:

Did you go back to your rear blade to pull the excess on the edges back into the lane.??

 

[Gordon Gould]

Did you go back to your rear blade to pull the excess on the edges back into the lane.??

The only thing I used was the grader/scraper. The road material doesn't spread out to the sides because it is contained by the side panels. My blades are straight so it just mixes the gravel and lays it back down. There is no crown on that section. I have it flat and pitched slightly to the left so all the water goes to the low side. The right side ditch is very small because of ledge.

 

[jenkinsph]

I have been searching for a solution to keep my long driveway graded and shaped and a friend is selling a 8' power tilt/angle Hiniker rear blade. He had it on an 80 HP John Deere 4wd and said it was actually a little heavy for his tractor. It was hardly ever used as it still has the paint on the cutting edge. It appears to be extremly well built, very heavy-duty.My tractor is a 115HP John Deere 6115D so I think it would handle it fine. My questions are: 1. will this work well to grade and spread gravel? 2. Is $2,500.00 a reasonable price for it? 3. Is there a better solution to both spread and grade new and existing gravel? Thanks for any help or advice!

Not familiar with this blade but the price seems reasonable for an 8' hydraulic model.

As the others mention and I agree having a good rear blade and a grading scraper is ideal. With both implements you can get the shape and ditches you need for drainage plus the smooth finish.