Buying Advice CT235

[Fred Barbour]

Nightwind 15; I have a CT 235 (80 hours and counting). I have a 5 foot box blade and use this quite a bit, in particular for snow removal. I have a snow blade but like the box blade because it takes the snow out to the street and I therefore get no gravel build up on the lawn from windrows.

The other day the temp was above zero, the snow was wet and heavy. I had to go into a horse paddock to remove some snow as it was getting a bit deep for one of my ponies. I used the box blade ( extended top link to keep the front blade slightly off the ground). The tractor in mid-range was pulling the load and going through about a foot of snow and did so without problem. It was definately working and I thought this might be the limit. I'm thinking that a 6 foot blade would have bogged me down.

My tires are NOT loaded (also, I have Ag tires). I'm real happy with the power and ability with the 5 foot box blade. I am not an expert but I would suggest that a 5 foot blade may be your best choice. Additionally and for obvious reasons will be easier to get into tight spaces.

Ofcourse, things take longer with the smaller blade but I think it better suits this tractors power/weight ratio.

Fred

 

[MtnViewRanch]

There are several people that seem to have good luck with the 6 foot box blades on this size of tractor. My feeling is that a tractor should be able to scrape and pull a full load as in the picture up hill. If not, then your blade is too big in my opinion. These pics are not up hill, but my tractors will do this up a pretty good grade. Red tractor has a 66" rollover BB and the blue tractor has an 81" rollover BB. Both are Gannon's.

 

[NOTV8]

I am still trying to decide what size implements to buy for my CT235. Do I go with 5' box, tiller and rough cut mower or go with 6' stuff. All help in deciding would be appreciated.

Just look at my sig... that is what I collected so far and all are easily handled by CT235 :thumbsup:

 

[Gittyup]

I pull a 6' box with a CK25 gear. It does just fine. But, I think the 5' box would be better all around, especially with HST. But, I think you do have the HP to pull a 6' bush hog with a 235. I also pull a 7' scraper blade, and my little tractor has no problem with the scraper. In fact, it bent it very easily when it got hung on a root. Tiller: 5', finish mower: 7' rake: 7'

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I pull a 6' box with a CK25 gear. It does just fine. But, I think the 5' box would be better all around, especially with HST. But, I think you do have the HP to pull a 6' bush hog with a 235. I also pull a 7' scraper blade, and my little tractor has no problem with the scraper. In fact, it bent it very easily when it got hung on a root. Tiller: 5', finish mower: 7' rake: 7'

You need a heavier duty blade. Unless you were moving at a high rate of speed, the blade should have held and spun your tractor around.

At least this one RB3584 or this one is REEEEEEALLY NICE RBT3584

 

[milkman636]

One word of caution about using heavy duty blades made for both cat. 1&2 hitches on smaller CUTs: their higher moldboard and hitch heights make them hard to adjust for level pull while still maintaining adequate lifting height and a decent angle of attack for the cutting edge. (without a hydraulic top link)

My Woods HBL96 that I use on a larger tractor wasn't a good match behind my CT335. I ended up finding a deal on a Brush Hog 5007, it is a much nicer fit and I am happy with its performance.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

One word of caution about using heavy duty blades made for both cat. 1&2 hitches on smaller CUTs: their higher moldboard and hitch heights make them hard to adjust for level pull while still maintaining adequate lifting height and a decent angle of attack for the cutting edge. (without a hydraulic top link)

My Woods HBL96 that I use on a larger tractor wasn't a good match behind my CT335. I ended up finding a deal on a Brush Hog 5007, it is a much nicer fit and I am happy with its performance.

Milkman636, you may be right, without a hydraulic top link a person might have a problem with a smaller CUT. But I feel that with the blades that I recommended for his CT235, he would be fine. Of course he would be happier with "TnT" if he does not have them.

I know that I would love :drool: to have an RBT3584 for my Mahindra 3215 which is about the same size as his CT235. But then again I have "TnT" on mine.


Just my opinion

 

[Gittyup]

You need a heavier duty blade. Unless you were moving at a high rate of speed, the blade should have held and spun your tractor around.

At least this one RB3584 or this one is REEEEEEALLY NICE RBT3584

I have a Woods RB84. I was told it would be hard to tear it up. I was going very slow, 1st gear, low range. But, I was going down hill. Blade caught just for a second on a 3" root. Root gave way quicly and I kept on going. When I raised the blade I noticed it was bent. The bracket/plate where the blade is attaches to the pivot is what bent. Blade itself is find. But, I don't think it should have bent so easily. My original point still holds: The CT235 will easily handle a 7' scraper blade. You'd just have to be a bit more careful with the heavier duty blades (like the RB3584).

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I have a Woods RB84. I was told it would be hard to tear it up. I was going very slow, 1st gear, low range. But, I was going down hill. Blade caught just for a second on a 3" root. Root gave way quicly and I kept on going. When I raised the blade I noticed it was bent. The bracket/plate where the blade is attaches to the pivot is what bent. Blade itself is find. But, I don't think it should have bent so easily. My original point still holds: The CT235 will easily handle a 7' scraper blade. You'd just have to be a bit more careful with the heavier duty blades (like the RB3584).

Another instance where the dealer was wrong. I did almost the exact same thing with my 7520 and my MidWest RB4096 blade. I was naive and trusted the dealer as far as what I needed. :ashamed: After all, they are dealers and deal with this stuff all the time. Well with what I know now, I would rate that blade at maybe 50hp and 6000lb tractor. Oh, and the manufacturer said that I had abused the blade and that they would not warranty it. It was not a cheap blade, a little over $1,000, but it is not built for a 9,000lb 75hp machine.

Anyway, enough about dealers.