Box Scraper Box blade recommendations? Weight?

   / Box blade recommendations? Weight? #1  

Fallon

Super Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2013
Messages
6,852
Location
Parker, CO
Tractor
Kubota L4060hstc, formerly L3200hst
I have a new Kubota l3200 (2,500lbs, 32hp) with a loader. No weights or loaded tires... yet. Haven't used it enough to figure out if I need the extra weight yet, but read up on ballast around here a lot.

Anyway, my next purchase is likely to be a box blade. I'm figuring a 60" or 66" one to go with the 60" width on the tractor. Is weight of the box blade going to be a decent proxy for its durability? How heavy of one should I go for? I've seen a hand full a bit under or a bit over 500lbs at the width I'm looking for. Debating on grabbing something local or possibly from ETA.

In addition to grading, I can see the BB being better more compact ballast than my rotary cutter, which was on the machine for the first bit of loader work I did. Will I likely want to end up filling the tires anyway?
 
   / Box blade recommendations? Weight? #2  
I would highly recommend getting a box blade for ballast if you have a loader.
I would also recommend weights on the rear tires and or have them loaded. Not only for traction but also for safety when using a loader.
 
   / Box blade recommendations? Weight? #4  
I would definitely get rears filled. I had mine filled with beet juice after a couple weeks with no rear weight just to try it out. What a difference...helped everything from stability while doing loader work and mowing on slopes. Will also give you more traction when using BB or other implements on rear.

I moved my tires as wide as they will go on my L3200 and I wish I would of purchased a 66" wide BB instead of the 60".

At 1st I had to use my bush hog for counter weight until I purchased a BB. Using the BB is much easier for me as a counter balance since it doesn't hang out so far.
 
   / Box blade recommendations? Weight?
  • Thread Starter
#5  
I've been assuming I'll end up with ballasted tires, but haven't gotten to it yet. My Kubota dealer is only a few months old & they didn't have any ballast yet (had the tank sitting there for it & I assume the rest of the gear, but just nothing in the tank quite yet). Otherwise I'd probably have just had it delivered with filled tires.

I hadn't really looked at any of the rollover box blades, because honestly I'm not quite sure how they work. Can you only use the blade flipped forwarded, flipped back, or the ripper teeth at any one time depending on how you unlatch & rotate the blade assembly? What is the advantage to this configuration compared to raising & lowering the ripper teeth on the standard box blade style? Are the rollover style notably more expensive?
 
   / Box blade recommendations? Weight? #6  
I've been assuming I'll end up with ballasted tires, but haven't gotten to it yet. My Kubota dealer is only a few months old & they didn't have any ballast yet (had the tank sitting there for it & I assume the rest of the gear, but just nothing in the tank quite yet). Otherwise I'd probably have just had it delivered with filled tires.

I hadn't really looked at any of the rollover box blades, because honestly I'm not quite sure how they work. Can you only use the blade flipped forwarded, flipped back, or the ripper teeth at any one time depending on how you unlatch & rotate the blade assembly? What is the advantage to this configuration compared to raising & lowering the ripper teeth on the standard box blade style? Are the rollover style notably more expensive?

They are more money. The HUGE plus to them besides being heavy and just work very well, is that with a pull of that lever from the tractor seat, you have all of your rippers in the ground. No stopping, getting off the tractor, putting 1 ripper down at a time. I can put all of the rippers in place in about 15 seconds. No one can do that with a std type box blade. You need to go to hydraulic actuated rippers before you get to a better box blade than a ROBB in my opinion. ;)

Just my :2cents:
 
   / Box blade recommendations? Weight? #7  
I use a box scraper with Top and Tilt and hydraulic scarifiers, very expensive and I use it with a cab. If I was buying for an open station, I would seriously consider going with a rollover scraper, here is the only thing I could find on using one and the guy really is not familiar with it.

Free Gannon Earthcavator - YouTube
 
   / Box blade recommendations? Weight?
  • Thread Starter
#8  
Based on price, with my rather lower usage (5 acres of property, nothing particularly exciting) I don't think I could justify a rollover. Would I be on a decent track just going for the heaviest most reasonably priced one in the right width I can find locally? While cool time saving features are nice, I have yet to justify top 'n tilt yet when I can just do them manually for now. Looking for something of decent quality that I won't tear up & will perform reasonably well for a long time.

ETA
King Kutter Professional Hinged Back 60 Box Blade
520
$1,105

King Kutter Professional 66 Box Blade
435 lbs
$920

Everything Attachments 66" XTreme Duty Box Blade
439 lbs
$788

I've seen other local stuff in the $600-800 range, but assume it's towards the lighter (lower 400's) end of the spectrum.

The only rollovers I could find online were Dirt Dog RO65 5.6 Ft. Rollover Tractor Box Blade for almost $1,300 + and additional $400 or so for shipping. Or even more expensive on E-bay.
 
   / Box blade recommendations? Weight? #9  
Based on price, with my rather lower usage (5 acres of property, nothing particularly exciting) I don't think I could justify a rollover. Would I be on a decent track just going for the heaviest most reasonably priced one in the right width I can find locally? While cool time saving features are nice, I have yet to justify top 'n tilt yet when I can just do them manually for now. Looking for something of decent quality that I won't tear up & will perform reasonably well for a long time.

Certainly, I used a standard Land Pride BB2584 before I bought my LP HR3584 and the finished product is the same, my brother uses an old "no name" scraper and does really well with it, I can just do stuff a bit quicker and don't spend a lot of time crawling in and out of a tractor. We have several farms and do a lot of dirt work, so it made sense for us.
 
   / Box blade recommendations? Weight? #10  
Just as you say....based on your usage and price, I'd go with the most heavy one that covers your tracks that you can afford. That's what I did. Although I'd prefer the Cadillac of everything, one has to balance his purchases when pouring money into the tractor pit. Working around my neighbors and my little three acres, I found that the soil condition has a lot to do with the effectiveness of the BB. Right now, the dryness has made our soil like concrete. Then too, learning how to set the rippers and the pitch of the blade is most important.....even though you have to do it manually. Cheers, Mike
 
 
 
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