48" or 54" box scraper for B7610?

[8561]

Re: 48\" or 54\" box scraper for B7610?

I have a B2410 which is the same drivetrain. I use a 60" (5 scarifier) heavy duty 30 series Midwest boxblade. I have used it mostly for new landscaping on a new house lot. I have R4 tires loaded with calcium. I had clay hauled in to spread under my loam as a base layer. It was cut with some sand and was not native like Bob and others are talking about, which makes quite a bit of difference, but I can pull a full box of material, with no scarifiers. I can pull a box of loam so full it spills over the top. In native soil with the scarifiers down you do have to be careful how much bite you take. A hydraulic top link helps tremendously here. As Bob has articulated, and I agree, it really depends on the soil and what you are trying to do with it. In my opionion, if I were you, I would rather buy the 54 and take less bite on those few occasions where grip or power are issues.

I also have a 5' tilt/offset/angle Midwest blade. It's a great unit, but I sometimes wish it was a 6 footer. I probably use this implement the least of all I own. I have a 6' Woods Landscape rake, and as Bob advised, I think you would prefer that for final land prep. Get the guage wheels with the rake, you'll be glad you did.

 

[seapea]

Re: 48\" or 54\" box scraper for B7610?

Thanks for all the info. It's all been very useful.

As for the TnT, yes I definitely plan on getting this. I also plan on getting hydraulic scarifiers. This is one reason I want to make sure I make the right choice. I will be a lot more costly to switch out this box scraper for a different size because it cost quite a bit more to start with, and I doubt if there is much of a market for a used hydraulic box blade around here, which means I'd probably have to work out a deal with the dealer.

I'm leaning towards the 54" at the moment. It sounds like neither box will handle a full load of heavy clay. I think the 11% size difference probably does not greatly impact how careful I'll need to be with the load (they'll both bog down with a full load), but the 54" will do a much better job of covering my treads, plus do the job faster when doing light grading.

As for the grader blade and it's usefulness compared to a landscape rake, I was actually going to get a rake with flip down grader blade, plus gauge wheels. Although pricey, it is cheaper than getting both a rake and a grader blade, both with gauge wheels. However, the 6ft blade might be a bit too big, but I don't want to downsize to a 5ft blade and be stuck with a 5ft rake also. So, I need to figure out if I should get just the 6' rake, a 6' rake plush a 5' blade, or the 6' rake/blade combo.

BTW, all the dealers around here (JD, Kubota, and NH) deal almost exclusively with Gearmore attachments. My landscape rake request has really thrown them for a loop. The NH dealer says he has never sold a 3PH landscape rake with guage wheels (Gearmore doesn't offer one). The JD and Kubota dealers both had to dust off the seldom used Woods and/or Landpride catalogs to see what was available, and were completely unfamiliar with the offerings from both (I basically had to guide them through it).

 

[8561]

Re: 48\" or 54\" box scraper for B7610?

As far as the landscape rake, or other implement, you might try contacting on of the on-line dealers. I dealt with Corriher Implement (site sponsor, corimpco.com) for several implements, and I have also bought from CCM. I have never purchased from Ken Sweet, but he's seems like a nice guy and has been a good poster on the board. The reason I bought from these guys is they were able to ship me stuff cheaper than I could buy it locally and they had what I wanted.

I am a little curious about your choice of a B7610. Obviously I like the tractor, the size and the power since mine is the same. It really is a great package. However, it seems like anyone serious enough about boxblade work to spend the money on hydraulic scarifiers would be demanding position control from their tractor. I think I recall you posting in the past that you wish they still made the 2410 (so do I) but maybe a NH TC24 or a JD 4115 or the B2630 is a better fit for your needs. They are all a little bigger and heavier, so that may be the overriding reason for eliminating them. You seem to be putting a lot of effort, time and research into your decision, which is great, but I wouldn't underestimate the need for position control if box blade work is primary on your list of tasks.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Re: 48\" or 54\" box scraper for B7610?

<font color="red"> I am a little curious about your choice of a B7610 . . . However, it seems like anyone serious enough about boxblade work to spend the money on hydraulic scarifiers would be demanding position control from their tractor. </font>

Ditto.

 

[seapea]

Re: 48\" or 54\" box scraper for B7610?

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( As far as the landscape rake, or other implement, you might try contacting on of the on-line dealers. I dealt with Corriher Implement (site sponsor, corimpco.com) for several implements, and I have also bought from CCM. I have never purchased from Ken Sweet, but he's seems like a nice guy and has been a good poster on the board. The reason I bought from these guys is they were able to ship me stuff cheaper than I could buy it locally and they had what I wanted.)</font>

Ok. I'll have a look.

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I am a little curious about your choice of a B7610. Obviously I like the tractor, the size and the power since mine is the same. It really is a great package. However, it seems like anyone serious enough about boxblade work to spend the money on hydraulic scarifiers would be demanding position control from their tractor. I think I recall you posting in the past that you wish they still made the 2410 (so do I) but maybe a NH TC24 or a JD 4115 or the B2630 is a better fit for your needs. They are all a little bigger and heavier, so that may be the overriding reason for eliminating them. You seem to be putting a lot of effort, time and research into your decision, which is great, but I wouldn't underestimate the need for position control if box blade work is primary on your list of tasks. )</font>

Besides the 1 acre field, I'll be doing the following:<ul type="square"> [*]Moving a lot of mulch, woodchips, and possibly some other delivered materials.
[*]Very light grading about 1/2 acre of land around the house that will by seeded with winter rye in the fall and allowed to die in the summer (it only rains here in the winter). For this I'll mostly just be raking, possibly also tilling about 3" deep first just to make it easier to work. I'll probably do this every year. This is all very odd shaped land, so a smaller tractor is much better here.
[*]Mowing the back field and 1/2 acre listed above. This will be done in winter, so the ground will be soft. The lighter the tractor the better. I'll probably use a rear discharge mower for this.
[*]Possibly mowing my lawn at some point, but for the time being I will continue to use my lawn tractor (once again lighter is better). I'd like a mulching MMM for this, but I really don't want two decks (I doubt the mulching mower would do well on the fast growing and wet winter rye). Sigh, another hard decision to make.
[*]Tilling a garden that will be about 30' by 100'
[*]At some point I might get a backhoe to dig holes when landscaping, but I'll probably just rent an excavator for this.[/list]
Yes, I would like position control. I'm still considering the TC24. The B2630 is also still a slight possibility. The TC24 is a about 200# more than the B7610, and the B2630 about 450# more. The weight is a slight issue with the above tasks. The B2630 is also about 8" wider, which I really don't care for, because there are quite a few areas where narrower would be better. The JD4115 is close in weight to the B2630 (not so good), but close in size to the B7610. However, it cost 4k more than the B7610 and just isn't worth the extra $$$ to me.

In addition to the above, I have very limitted trailering capability. Just a 5' x 10' landscape trailer, 3500# axle, 2000# carrying weight. I can't fix this without buying a new towing vehicle, which won't be happening anytime in the next few years. I'm mostly concerned about having the ability to trailer the tractor to the dealer 65 miles away. I can do this with a B7610 with the loader removed, but a B2630 is pushing things. I'm less concerned with the TC24 because the dealer is only 7 miles away.

I guess I could always just consider paying the dealer to trailer the tractor as part of the cost of ownership and not worry about the weight. I'll at least get him to agree to cover all warranty work without travel or trailering charges before I go this route.

Far too many things to consider. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif Ask my wife how long it took me to pick out a dishwasher a few years back. Actually the house was a much easier choice than the dishwasher. The difference? There were about 100 dishwasher to choose from, but the house was the only one we saw on the market in 6 months that came even close to meeting our requirements.

 

[seapea]

Re: 48\" or 54\" box scraper for B7610?

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( <font color="red"> I am a little curious about your choice of a B7610 . . . However, it seems like anyone serious enough about boxblade work to spend the money on hydraulic scarifiers would be demanding position control from their tractor. </font>

Ditto.

)</font>
The hydraulic scarifiers add about $450 to the cost, and it is also a heavier duty box blade. The way I see it, it's simply a question about whether or not I'm willing to spend the extra $400 for the feature, and the asnwer is yes I am. When it comes to position control, it's no just a matter of shelling out some more $$$. It means getting a different tractor, possibly even a different brand, so there is a lot more to consider.

 

[B2400]

Re: 48\" or 54\" box scraper for B7610?

I pull a 60" King Kutter box blade behind my B2400 and haven't had any problems with it. Even with 5 scarifiers all the way down it still pulls until you hit a good sized tree root! Should it stall out for any reason, a slight lift on the three point and I'm back in motion.
I also use a 72" back blade for moving snow. the only problem I've had is with wet snow, it will push the back of the tractor around a little.

 

[8561]

Re: 48\" or 54\" box scraper for B7610?

So weight and size are at the top of the list for priorities. Fair enough. Sounds like you either need to search out a used B2410 or live with 1/4 inching. It wouldn't shock me if there was a B2410 sitting on a lot new somewhere you might be able to get your hands on. Given the description of your priorities, I can tell you for certain it is an outstanding machine and is what you're looking for. Good luck.

 

[btolle]

Re: 48\" or 54\" box scraper for B7610?

I would like to have position control on my B7510 but was not willing to pay the extra $ to upgrade to a different tractor.

The consolation is that the TnT ovecomes some of the shortcomings of the 1/4 inching. I can tilt the box blade or blade so fast that I can pretty well do what I would do with position control. I would use the position control to knock down high spots. By tilting the blade I can reduce or increase the amount of cut I am making very easily.

Bill Tolle

 

[seapea]

Re: 48\" or 54\" box scraper for B7610?

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( So weight and size are at the top of the list for priorities. Fair enough. Sounds like you either need to search out a used B2410 or live with 1/4 inching. It wouldn't shock me if there was a B2410 sitting on a lot new somewhere you might be able to get your hands on. Given the description of your priorities, I can tell you for certain it is an outstanding machine and is what you're looking for. Good luck. )</font>

I've called 8 dealers. No luck. Most of them tell me the same thing. They never did stock them because for just $500 more you could get a B2710, which was more than worth the extra $500.