Which rear blade for Kubota M5040

   / Which rear blade for Kubota M5040 #1  

bossgobbler

New member
Joined
May 16, 2013
Messages
20
Location
Southeast Ohio
Tractor
Kubota
Good evening! I am looking to purchase a rear grader blade for my tractor. I have been looking for a few weeks but the more I look the more confused I get. I need a little help!

I have a Kubota M5040 4wd. It is a 50hp for those that don't know. I will be using the blade for grading/maintaining a 1/4 mile driveway, moving dirt, etc. We don't have a lot of money to spend but I don't have an exact figure. Basically, I want a good solid blade that will last but not break the bank. Like the rest of us!

Our tractor is roughly 81-82" wide. Now here are the questions.....

Do I want an 84" or 96"?

I have been focusing on LandPride but am open to suggestions. What series of LandPride? ...I know I want tilt, and swivel. Is offset that important?

Manual is just fine unless The hydraulic price is within reason of upgrading.

What price range should I expect to pay this blade?

Thanks so much for the help! I appreciate it
 
   / Which rear blade for Kubota M5040 #2  
In Land Pride my first choice for your size tractor would be the RBT35 if your flush with cash. Get the 96" it will still cover your tracks when angled. The manual adjusters are surprisingly pricey (kind of like gauge wheels for rakes) and hydraulics aren't really that much more. Off set is nice for getting close to objects when you need to but embarrassing if you forget it's off set and hit an immovable object!:laughing:

The RB37 would also be a good choice and its less than $2000, if that's more in your price range.
 
   / Which rear blade for Kubota M5040 #3  
Like Deerherd mentioned, the Land Pride RBT3696 would be a good match for your tractor, but costly. If money is tight, you might want to check the ETA rear blades out.

Actually if maintaining your road is your highest priority, then you should really consider one of these types of blades.

Good luck, ask more questions if you have any. ;)
 
   / Which rear blade for Kubota M5040 #4  
I have the Land Pride RB3596 on my 4WD Kubota. Its bigger than recommended (72" max back blade) by Kubota however I've used it a little over four year with no trouble. I found the 96" was necessary to adequately cover the 80" rear wheel width - particularly when you offset AND angle to plow snow or dirt. Offset is very handy if you are wanting to get up real close to something(fence, foundation etc) without knocking it down. I offset when I plow snow so that I can get the resulting snow berm as far off the driving lane as possible and still have the berm define the very edge of the driving surface. So even though your OP manual will probably say 72" is max blade width for a back blade (as mine does) I can tell you that unless something really stupid is done it should cause no damage to your tractor. Now as far as the RBT(hydraulic version of the RB) - I have never found it necessary to have this addition - just more to go wrong and I'm not so stove up at 72 years that I can't get down and swing the back blade - yet. Besides once the offset and angle are set you go up one side and back the other and never have to make any changes to the blade. I have a mile long driveway and I find real pleasure clearing snow off it - especially with about 8-12 inches of fresh evening snow and it turns really cold the following morning. I bought my back blade with my new Kubota four years ago and it cost $1450 at the time. Right now Tractor House is selling a 2012 USED RBT3596 for $2795. A new 2013 RBT3596 will be quite a bit more than the used 2012 and do you honestly need to spend the extra $1200-$1500 for the hydraulics!
Anyhow, the Land Pride 35 series is a very heavy duty blade and I know you will not be disappointed if you buy one.
 
   / Which rear blade for Kubota M5040
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Thanks for the replies! I appreciate your input.

Here's where I'm at today....

I narrowed it down to two blades. A LandPride RB3696 brand new for $1375 or a Frontier Equipment RB2196 for $890.

The LandPride is new and has offset capabilities. The Frontier is old and faded green but never been used. Neither one matches my orange tractor! Both are 96". Both tilt, and swivel. Decisions, decisions! What are your opinions?
 
   / Which rear blade for Kubota M5040 #6  
It sure is nice to off the offset when you need it. ;)
 
   / Which rear blade for Kubota M5040 #7  
That's a good price for the Landpride, I was quoted $1850. The 3696 is discontinued and was replaced with the 3796. I inquired as to the differences in the two variations and the Kubota dealers who sell them were absolutely clueless. Two out of the three didn't even know they were discontinued and none of them knew what was changed on the new model. A call to Land Pride was a waste of a half hour, I was transferred from Mo to Larry and finally Curly who thought it was something with the hydraulic mount was changed. But he couldn't be sure.

I did just buy the rake that uses that same frame and it was a real PITA fitting it to the QH, the dimensions for Cat 11 were at the absolute minimum and I ended taking a grinder to the QH to make it fit. Also the holes for the angle adjustment all had burrs and I needed a small sledge to pound out the pin. Spent half an hour with a Dremel tool cleaning that up. (I could see the hammer marks on the pin where the moronic dealer installed it.)

It seems to work good now and a nice feature is that you can buy the rake by itself and use the frame of your blade. Not sure how hard it would be to change between rake and blade but the concept is good.
 
   / Which rear blade for Kubota M5040 #8  
Thanks for the replies! I appreciate your input.

Here's where I'm at today....

I narrowed it down to two blades. A LandPride RB3696 brand new for $1375 or a Frontier Equipment RB2196 for $890.

The LandPride is new and has offset capabilities. The Frontier is old and faded green but never been used. Neither one matches my orange tractor! Both are 96". Both tilt, and swivel. Decisions, decisions! What are your opinions?

I'm pretty confident that our ETA Xtreme Duty Scrape Blades out-spec both of those models.
The LP appears to be the closest....
A quick comparison between the LP and ETA tells me that:
Ours has 7 reverse blade angles vs. 5 on theirs.
The hitch looks to be heavier on ours.
The kingpin that holds the moldboard on is much more substantial on the ETA blade.

Our Xtreme duty blades now come with a Cat 1 and Cat 2 hitch(shown in video with Cat 1...actual hitch pictured below) and are Quick Hitch compatible. They offer a standard parking stand and optional sides and skid shoes.
ETA-XD-SBLADE-12S.jpg

The ETA blades ship free to a business or supporting freight terminal within 1,000 miles of Newton, NC. No tax if shipped outside of NC.
Travis

 

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   / Which rear blade for Kubota M5040 #9  
Imagine my surprise when I checked and Land Pride no longer makes the RB3596. I guess its been replaced by the RB3796. My 2013 catalog is even out of date.
 
   / Which rear blade for Kubota M5040 #10  
Now as far as the RBT(hydraulic version of the RB) - I have never found it necessary to have this addition - just more to go wrong and I'm not so stove up at 72 years that I can't get down and swing the back blade - yet. Besides once the offset and angle are set you go up one side and back the other and never have to make any changes to the blade.

Right now Tractor House is selling a 2012 USED RBT3596 for $2795. A new 2013 RBT3596 will be quite a bit more than the used 2012 and do you honestly need to spend the extra $1200-$1500 for the hydraulics!
Anyhow, the Land Pride 35 series is a very heavy duty blade and I know you will not be disappointed if you buy one.

I would agree that the Landpride is a great blade. I picked up a very lightly used RBT 4096 20 months ago for $2400 with three way hydraulics, shoes and end plates. Having the infinite setting fine control of hydraulics is nice compared to incremental manual adjustments to the blade. I find that I can adjust the blade on the fly which I do frequently. If you have top and tilt you can get away with not having the blade tilt control being hydraulic but I find it a useful tool. If not in a rush, spend a little time looking and you can possibly find a used blade saving you significant money.
 
 
 
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