Hinged Box Blade

[MarkV]

Anyone have experience with a hinged box blade? My dealer is pushing me towards a box with the rear blade hinged. He feels like it will leave a smoother finished surface than a fixed rear blade. Many have written about ajusting their top link to use the rear blade for finishing, like back bladeing, and I think that is the idea behind the hinge set up. I am planning on working roads, with the box, and am not sure this set up would work as well. Thanks for any help anyone can offer.

 

[roysallis]

I'm anxious to get some info on this too. I am going to buy a box blade within the next 2 weeks and I can not make up my mind which one to buy. I am looking at a 6' blade made by Monroe TufLine http://www.monroetufline.com/. Their Model TB 172 has fixed rear blade, weighs 560#s, an is 17 cu. ft. Their Model TB272 has a hinged rear blade, weighs 625#s, and is 21 cu. ft. The 272 is about $100 more than the 172 but it is 65 #s heavier and has 4 more cu. ft. It is my understanding that weight is one of the most important factors in a box blade. The hinged rear blade will help to smooth out the dirt as you drag the box blade. I already have a grader blade so I can smooth things out after using a box blade. But would having a hinged rear blade save time? Is the additional weight worth the money since I could add some weight to the lighter blade? What to do? Sometimes I think there are too many options to choose from!

 

[MChalkley]

I rented a hinged box scraper once and didn't like it as well as a fixed blade. I used it for working a road and smoothing a future yard. I found the action of the hinged blade to be a help part of the time, but too unpredictable to be really useful.

To be really easy to use for fine grading or leveling, I find that a trailing gauge wheel on a blade is the really way to do it. If you can control it hydraulically, that's great, but if not, it's still a lot better than the next best thing.

Mark

 

[TomG]

I did what I thought is a good job of smoothing with my fixed blade scraper by floating the hitch and tilting the back enough so the front cutter didn't bite. Of course, that method does require separate passes to be made after the cutting is done.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I remember a comment that hinged rear cutters don't work very well, or not at all, for rear dozing. I use the rear cutter as a poor man's dozer a lot, and wouldn't want anything that messed up that ability. Maybe somebody remembers the comment better than I do.

 

[W5FL]

The purpose of the hinged cutter is to allow you to take a big bite with the front blade and let the back blade just not be there (same as with a roll over box blade). Conversely most hinged back blades give you a way to lock the hinge securely so they operate just fine pushing backwards. Yes the top link adjustment is very critical to cutting properly with either blade, just a little with the front blade, or none with the front blade and dragging with the back blade. All are effective. If I had a hinged back blade that didn't have provisions to lock it down, a couple of 5/8 holes and two bolts would fix that. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[TomG]

Thanks Wen: Think I've got it in mind now what the hinged rear blade does. Of course, if I got one, I'd have to get ag tires to go along with them--to take those big bites.

 

[_RaT_]

Get the hinged blade that also can be locked in place. When doing smooth material without rocks or clods the hinged blade will do a nice job. Rat...