Rear Blade for a John Deere 5075E

   / Rear Blade for a John Deere 5075E #1  

coosa

Silver Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2004
Messages
153
Location
Central Alabama
Tractor
JD 5075E; Yanmar 2210BD
I've got a 400 acre farm in AL that has about 50 acres of open land and the rest is in forest. I've been keeping it up with a JD5210 in 2 wd and D3B Cat Dozer with a 6 way blade. I bought the Dozer 6 years ago to clear 20 acres of land and to build several miles of fire lanes. I burn about 125 acres every winter, and plant about 20 acres in various wildlife plots. I had always planned to keep the 5210 as long as I lived, but old age is making me rethink what I need.

The 5210 is all I need for most of my work, but I can't do the burning without the dozer. I take the dozer and run down the lanes with the blade down and scrape off the grass, then run back over them with the 5210 and discplow with 3 discs. When the burning is finished, I go back with the dozer and smooth the lanes back out. Of course, trees fall across the lanes pretty often, and the dozer works well in moving them. I have timber cuts about every 3 years, and the dozer is great for repairing ruts and washes left behind by the logging crew, and also cleaning the debris from their loading areas. I have 2 miles of ditched roads that I keep up with it, and the 6 way blade does a good job. I have many miles of trails without ditches that I just run over once in the fall.

But keeping a dozer running takes a lot of time and energy, and I'm getting to the point with my health that I feel like I need to get rid of it. I've talked with a JD dealer about trading both of my machines in on a new 4wd JD5075E with a FEL. My thinking is that I can do everything with the new tractor and get by without the dozer. I've never used a FEL and I don't know how well this is gonna work. If you buy 2 implements, you get $1500 off, so I am planning to buy a rear blade of some type and this is where I could really use some advice. I have a cheap rear blade that I used on the 5210 before I bought the dozer, and I am doubting that I can get by with another light blade like it.

Here's my options:

A RB2184H has one hydraulic cylinder to change the angle, and tilt and offset is manual. It only weighs about 400 lbs, but it lists at $1505, so it would essentially be free. I think I could keep the roads up by using it in conjunction with the FEL, but I don't know if it will hold up when working fire lanes.

A RB2284 weighs 755 lbs, but it looks like the only thing you can get hydraulics on is the offset. It would be a real pain to be constantly getting off and making manual adjustments, but I guess it would work. This seems to be the blade that is rated for my tractor. It lists for $2289 in the manual model.

A RB2307 seems like the Cadillac model; it weighs 1060, and is available with 3 hydraulic controls - tilt, angle and offset. I don't think I would need a hyd. offset, but it looks like that's the only way to buy it. Cost for the hyd. model is $3841. I think this would fit my needs a lot better than either of the others, but I wonder if it would really be worth the extra expense? I might get by fine with the one that would be free. Also, I'd have to pay for 2 more remotes to run the big blade.

Part of my problem is that I just don't know how much dirt work I can do with the FEL. It would be great if I could use the tractor a while before deciding on a rear blade, but that won't be an option. I'm also unclear on whether I need the 512 loader or the more expensive 553. I have nothing to load - all I'll likely do with the FEL is push fallen trees out of the way and whatever dirt work I can manage with it. I just need to skim the grass off the lanes, and the FEL might be ok for that. The cheap blade should be ok for smoothing them out after the burning. One minute I think the cheap blade would get me by, and the next I'm thinking I need the heavy blade.

Thanks for any advice!
 
   / Rear Blade for a John Deere 5075E #2  
Think you would be disappointed with any rear blade compared to a dozer.I think you should be looking at a box-blade instead.The heaviest you can get with hydraulic functions,tilt,angle,scrafiers.Not familar with JD Fel's but I would opt for the more heavy duty and add a tooth bar for sure and may-be a thumb on the bucket.
Check what some of the guys on this forum have done with a box-blade...amazeing.I have a manual adjustment model and it is a great tool.
 
   / Rear Blade for a John Deere 5075E
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Thanks for the reply, nybirdman. I'm under no illusions that I'm gonna make the new tractor into a dozer; I'm just hoping it will get me by in those limited situations where I now use a dozer. A box blade is great for producing a smooth driveway, but I like a blade for pulling ditches and filling back in behind the discplow. My roads aren't heavily used, and they are just farm roads, so perfectly smooth isn't necessary. I do need ditches to keep the roads from washing away in our spring floods. I will sure check on a tooth bar for the FEL. Thanks again!
 
   / Rear Blade for a John Deere 5075E #4  
If you can swing the hydraulics Id def suggest it. Also dont forget, you are going to need to adjust the tilt of the three point hitch to get it to work correctly, I.e. digging or spreading. I would also suggest getting the bigger loader, that extra capacity comes in handy, especially if you decide on getting a root grapple. Whether you decide on a box blade or a straight blade, make sure it covers the wheel width but get the heaviest one you can afford. It makes them work so much better and eliminates that annoying washboard look.

I would also suggest getting atleast 3 rear remotes and possibly 4 if you can manage it. I would also suggest 3 mid mount remotes. I have fabbed up a hydraulic line from the rear of my tractor up the loader boom to be able to use my hydraulic square bale grabber and i curse everytime i use it because i didn't get more outlets. Its not that it doesn't work well, it just looks hacked together and that irritates me.

If you do get a new tractor, make sure you get the tires loaded (i reccomend beet juice) and make sure the dealer sets the rear tires out at their widest or next to widest width for stability.
 
   / Rear Blade for a John Deere 5075E #5  
First on the blade- get the heaviest you can. Two points here one being the weight will perform better for grading and digging. The other is that tractor has enough HP to fold a light weight blade the first time the tip catches a root before it even starts to spin a tire.

I can understand the dozer is a bit of work to maintain, but I think you will regret going to a tractor. Forest work is hard on paint, body panels, and all the other cables, hoses, and sensitive areas of the tractor. The limbs will really give you a fit if you don't have risers. The dozers are made a lot more protected. Except for a few ways, the dozer just gets scratched up. Pushing trees and limbs always seem to find the tire stems and rip them out.

This is my opinion from doing the work you describe both ways. I do a lot with the tractor fel and I have a heavy 8' BH blade. I started with a light one and bent it up so bad I finally scrapped it. I've had to take so many front tires in to get new valve stems I can't count them up. Not expensive but a big pain in the back. When the big jobs come up, I rent a dozer for a week. I wish I could afford to keep one on the farm but it just doesnt make sense for the 150 acres I tend to. You can rent a 450 to 650 for around 1800 including delivery. It might be a good compromise if you do all the heavy work renting the dozer for the week, and maintenance chores with the tractor.

That said, you can do it with a tractor but slower, more machine damage, and rut problems or getting stuck. You said AL so terrain could be just about anything. Red clay? If you use the tractor for fire lanes, get a bog disk or forestry disk as it will tear up the grass and brush pretty good, yet not break on every snag or rock. Pull type and really really heavy! Also get a HD clam shell or root grapple bucket. For pines, you can pick up and move a whole tree easier than pushing it around. They are also better at leaving your topsoil in place. I think you might like the root grapple for cleanup work better than the clamshell but a lot of this is preference. For woods work, a cab will be punished but will save you from the innumerable yellow jackets and wasps that just love downed trees.

Hope this helps.
 
   / Rear Blade for a John Deere 5075E #6  
Just my :2cents: here, so take it for what it's worth. ;) You can do everything with the new JD. All you should do is get everything as heavy duty as you possibly can.

Get the stronger loader and plan on getting a root grapple, so you will need either a diverter valve or a 3rd function valve for the front. The grapple will make dealing with all of your trees a snap. :thumbsup:

Get the all hydraulic rear blade, you need the weight of it, plus it just plain gets old having to always be getting on and off the tractor. You will find that you make all the adjustments when needed because you can hydraulically vs not making them when they have to be made manually because you are tired of having to make them manually, so you just don't. It really is that simple. So you will need a minimum of 3 rear remotes, I would go with 4 myself. ;)

You have a lot of roads to maintain, while the rear blade will be the best implement to work the roads, it is VERY nice to have a good heavy box blade to repair those wash outs when they might happen.

Finally with all the roads that you do have, just for being faster and easier to (maintain) them with, I HIGHLY recommend a land plane grader blade. These are a double bladed grader implement that makes taking care of roads a breeze. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Here are a few pictures to give you an idea. My tractor is a 75hp machine and I too take care of a little over 2 miles of roads.
I have a dozer also, don't really use it very often since I got my utility wheeled tractors.

Good luck with you decisions. ;)
 

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   / Rear Blade for a John Deere 5075E
  • Thread Starter
#7  
Many thanks to both MistyRidgeFarm and MtnViewRanch for all the great info; this is just what I was looking for.

>>>I can understand the dozer is a bit of work to maintain, but I think you will regret going to a tractor. Forest work is hard on paint, body panels, and all the other cables, hoses, and sensitive areas of the tractor. The limbs will really give you a fit if you don't have risers. The dozers are made a lot more protected. Except for a few ways, the dozer just gets scratched up. Pushing trees and limbs always seem to find the tire stems and rip them out. <<<

This is my greatest fear - that I will sell off my dozer and always regret it. The D3 is the ideal size dozer for a farm my size, and I have really gotten used to having it. I know I will miss it greatly if I trade it, and I am definitely having second thoughts. But I've also gotta face reality, and that is that I'm getting older and my health is getting worse. I've got a bad back and I can't run the dozer more than about 3 hrs before I'm beat. Simple maintenance like changing the oil is very hard on me, and I am usually having to work by myself. To make it worse, I live 90 miles from the farm and am limited to working on weekends. It seems like I have spent more time this year working on the dozer than on the farm; takes me hours to do a repair that a good mechanic in a shop could do in 10 minutes.

But the big reason I'm thinking I can get by without it is the fact that I've already done all the hard jobs I bought it to do. The 20 acres is cleared and planted. All the fire lanes are in and just require the annual maintenance. On the ones that I am not burning, I usually just bush-hog them each year. My soil is primarily sand over clay, so its not that hard to roll the soil over when I get ready to burn, and I'm already doing the plowing with the 2 wd tractor and a discplow. And yes, I've had it stuck and had to use the dozer to pull it out several times. Only got the dozer stuck once and was fortunate to be close enough to the road that a wrecker could winch me out. So I know I will miss the ease that the dozer does some jobs, but I will not miss working on it all the time.

MistyRidgeFarm, I really appreciate your warnings, and I'll continue to think and pray about what I ought to do. But I'm really thinking that I've reached the point with my health that I just can't continue to keep up the dozer.

MtnView Ranch, thanks for all the advice and the pics. It look like your Landpride RBT451 rear blade is very similar to the RB2307. I talked to my dealer this morning, and he said he had never sold one of those, so he couldn't tell me much about it. He did tell me that the 2 additional rear remotes would run about $1300, so I am looking at paying about $3400 more to get the heavy blade with all the hydraulics vs the light one that only has an angle hydraulic. I really don't see where I would need a hyd offset control for working firelanes, so I might save close to $1000 by just adding one rear remote.

I don't even know what some of that equipment in your pics is, and I can't see myself accumulating as much as you have. If I move to the farm someday, things might be different, but right now I think I can get by with a FEL and a good rear blade. This farm doesn't produce a lot of income, so I've got to keep it reasonable on how much I spend on equipment. But I think everyone has convinced me that I need to forget the el cheapo rear blade and go with the heavy one. All of these additions may make the trade financially foolish, and I may wind up just keeping what I have. Guess everyone can tell I'm having a hard time deciding what to do. The dealer is coming tomorrow to look at my equipment and make me an offer. I'll let all know how it goes.

Thanks again to all for the help. It looks like a lot of folks have read this post and not many have responded. I take it that not many have one of these heavy rear blades, so maybe there is a reason for that.
 
   / Rear Blade for a John Deere 5075E #8  
You are right, not many have the rear blades, both because of cost and because most guys on TBN don't have a tractor big enough to be able to use one. If money is a concern, then go with the heavy 3 hydraulic blade and the grapple. You can definitely get by with only the rear blade and you really need the grapple to deal with your trees. The other 3pt implements are nice to have, but not needed. You want the offset rear blade to better be able to clean out your ditches. I had a manual rear blade to start with. It was what I would call a good medium duty blade. And although my dealer at the time said that it would be fine, it was not and it ended up slowly bending in several directions over a 2 year time frame. It just was not enough for my tractor and I ended up with my Land Pride RBT45108 which has been great for the past 5 years.

Good luck
 
   / Rear Blade for a John Deere 5075E #9  
I totally understand how the dozer beats you up! If you have all the hard clearing done, then it may be time to let it go. You still have the option of renting one or hiring it.

One other option the the blade is to see if the hydraulic kits can be ordered later. My BH one is all manual but except for the tilt, it looks like buying a cylinder, hoses, and pins it could be made hydraulic with no welding. I have an 8 foot width, rarely have to use the offset feature. Hydraulic angle though sure would be nice.

If your health isn't good, then positioning a heavy blade manually isn't an option. I'm a big guy, no spring chicken, but the blade can be hard to move and get the pins into the right spot by yourself. It does do a great job grading roads though and will be the best attachment for this function.

I think you will be fine with the tractor you are considering. Not sure if you can get the air ride seat on the 75 but do it if you can. That will really help your back. Good luck and best wishes.
 
   / Rear Blade for a John Deere 5075E
  • Thread Starter
#10  
The JD dealer told me he would meet me at the farm early Friday morning, so I got up early to get there ahead of him and get both machines cleaned up. At 10 a.m., he hadn't showed up, so I called his office and found out that he had to go somewhere else and wouldn't be coming. Things like this are the main reason I don't want to try to retail the machines myself; I know people will be telling me they are coming, I'll drive 90 miles, and never hear from them again. I didn't expect that from the JD dealer. We talked later and he told me to make pics and he would make me an offer based on the pics.

I told him what all I wanted on the new tractor, and I have decided to go with the heavy rear blade, but with just 2 hyd cylinders - tilt and angle. I think I can get by fine without a hyd offset. I wouldn't want it offset in the woods, and I can move it one time when working roads and just work the same side all the time. This will save me money on the blade and also save having to pay for a 3rd remote. I'm gonna wait on buying a grapple. I need to know more about them, and will also need some purchases in the next tax year. I've also got a relative that has one and I may be able to get it cheap.

I have the feeling that I'm gonna get a really low offer on this trade and I will have just wasted a lot of time, but we will see. I used the dozer about 6 hours over the weekend and blew another seal on a hyd cylinder. Its always something.

Thanks again for all the help and I will post what happens.
 
 
 
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