Help Selecting a Tractor for my Gannon HSD 72" with hydraulic rippers

[Piston]

Okay, wise-@$$ery aside, you need any tractor with a category 2 three point hitch that is narrower than your blade. ......

Once again....you do NOT need a tractor with a category 2 3 point hitch. A category 1 hitch will work just fine.

Sure, a category 2 hitch is typical of a heavy tractor that would put more weight and traction on the ground, but I could easily use that box blade on my cat 1 only tractor. Not to mention a larger tractor will likely be wider than your 6' box blade.

Are you against using the CAT 420 for dirt working and grading purposes? I'm surprised there were no comments on my mention of that in my previous post.

By the way, Kubota has 0% financing for 84 months right now, just in case that changes anything.

Regardless, that is a very nice and capable box blade that will last you a lifetime. It was a good purchase!

 

[Turbys_1700]

Get a utility sized tractor with at least 45 HP, weighs north of 5K, and 4WD...
You will be fine...
NH Workmasters have cross drilled cat 1 and cat 2 ball ends...

 

[Gary Fowler]

I am surprised no one commented on your question about a dozer. For dirt work, a dozer is the best especially if you get one with a 6 way tilting blade. If you have a lot of dirt work to do AND rocky soil as you stated, a dozer is the way to go. After you are finished, you can sell it for about what you gave for it. Just make sure that the undercarriage (tracks, drivers and idlers) are in good shape because they are expensive to repair/replace.
After selling the dozer, you could get a much smaller tractor (40-45 HP) to use the box blade with for grading your 1/4 mile road. I love operating a dozer and wish that I had use for one.

 

[jenkinsph]

If I were to pick the best new tractor for that box blade it would be a Kubota L6060. I think the HST plus transmission with the high low would be ideal for working the box blade. When making long drags grading it allows for backing up with the box blade raised at a higher speed. That would save a lot of time or eliminate a lot of up and down range shifting,

The Deere 4066R would be my second choice, only thing it does not have is the high low. The Massey Ferguson 1758 would be next in line.

All three of these tractors would allow you to get good use out of this 6' box blade. I would also recommend the R4 tires and the tractor should be fully ballasted with front and rear weights and or fluid. Make sure you have three sets of rear outlets, two for topntilt hitch and one for the rippers. I consider the top n tilt hydraulic hitch to be essential as well as the hydrostatic transmission for the best control of the box blade and fine grading.

Since you have the 420 backhoe I would skip the fel on the tractor unless you really need two fels for other tasks. Alll of these ag type fels will be a disappointment compared to an industrial type. Flimsy comes to mind. If a fel is important to you I would suggest a new M62 Kubota without the hoe.

Used models of the above tractors would also be a great choice. Kubota N59, L5740, Deere 4720, 4520, and similar equipped tractors.

If your new box blade does not have the inside clevis ears for cat 1 hitch I would simply add them. Not a big deal to do and would be a very simple fix.

 

[roadhunter]

Get a utility sized tractor with at least 45 HP, weighs north of 5K, and 4WD...
You will be fine...
NH Workmasters have cross drilled cat 1 and cat 2 ball ends...

No offense but a 45 HP tractor that weights just over 5,000 pounds with a cat 1 hitch and no down pressure is going to severely limit what you can do with that blade. I owned a 45 hp kioti before my JCB and can't imagine hooking a big blade like this to that Kioti.

That is a big heavy blade and will require a heavy tractor to get the most out of it. Tration will be a major issue with a lightweight tractor using a really heavy blade. That is why I would recommend looking at Industrial type tractors, skip loaders, or TLB type of setups without the hoe. They are built heavier and simply work better for applications like this.

I know it doesn't seem like a big deal as most tractors do not have down pressure but once you use a tractor with down pressure you really see the benefit, especially for this blade or for things like post hole diggers. There is a big difference in the blade sitting on the ground versus pushing down with a few thousand pounds of force. Suddenly the blade is much more useful.

One good indicator of this is looking at what types of tractors come with this type of blade from the factory.



You will also notice that many of these industrial tractors which are already heavy to start with also use extra weights on the rear wheels. Weight is key for getting traction while using a blade like this.

 

[Piston]

Do the skip loaders posted above have down pressure? If so, that would be a mean machine!

I saw a Gannon hydraulic 3 point hitch (industrial) on eBay for less than $900. I think it's still there. I wonder if you could remove the hoe on the 420 and use that with it? I'm sure that's no easy task though.

 

[roadhunter]

Do the skip loaders posted above have down pressure? If so, that would be a mean machine!

I saw a Gannon hydraulic 3 point hitch (industrial) on eBay for less than $900. I think it's still there. I wonder if you could remove the hoe on the 420 and use that with it? I'm sure that's no easy task though.

Not sure on those specific models but I suspect they do. My JCB is the first tractor I have owned that has down pressure and it works great with a heavy duty blade. Here is the thread.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/352011-bison-box-blade-bb-210-a.html

 

[jenkinsph]

No offense but a 45 HP tractor that weights just over 5,000 pounds with a cat 1 hitch and no down pressure is going to severely limit what you can do with that blade. I owned a 45 hp kioti before my JCB and can't imagine hooking a big blade like this to that Kioti.

That is a big heavy blade and will require a heavy tractor to get the most out of it. Tration will be a major issue with a lightweight tractor using a really heavy blade. That is why I would recommend looking at Industrial type tractors, skip loaders, or TLB type of setups without the hoe. They are built heavier and simply work better for applications like this.

I know it doesn't seem like a big deal as most tractors do not have down pressure but once you use a tractor with down pressure you really see the benefit, especially for this blade or for things like post hole diggers. There is a big difference in the blade sitting on the ground versus pushing down with a few thousand pounds of force. Suddenly the blade is much more useful.

One good indicator of this is looking at what types of tractors come with this type of blade from the factory.
View attachment 477343
View attachment 477344

You will also notice that many of these industrial tractors which are already heavy to start with also use extra weights on the rear wheels. Weight is key for getting traction while using a blade like this.

I agree that a skip loader or landscape loader is great for box blade work. But remember this is a 72" box blade and the skip loaders are using 84 and 96" blades. A skip loader is wider than 72".

My box blade is 84" and I pull it pretty well with my 4520 compact fully weighted. A larger skip loader would do better though.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

I use a 72" Gannon with hydraulic rippers with my Kioti DK50SE HST-C. If I set it to dig aggressively, it can stop the tractor dead in its tracks. But used within the capabilities of the tractor, the Kioti handles it just fine.

And I'm really glad I bought the Gannon. I've got about $1,500 in it between buying it, replacing hydraulic hoses and rebuilding the hydraulic cylinder. It's a good example of buy once - cry once. Unless I get a larger tractor that has a stance wider than 72", I'll never need another box blade.

 

[CCSRentals]

Ok, I've spent some time on this. Probably should not have purchased the box blade before the tractor (even if it was available and at a great price). I was looking at the John Deere 4720 (or the 4520) but the problem is the tire width. This is only a 72" box blade and the 4720 is 92" with the R4 tires. Yes, I could go with the R1s (at a 65.5" width) but that's a super agressive tread that might be bad for finish grading.

Truly I'm not sure why Gannon makes this box blade in this narrow of width (i.e. 72"). I can see their other ones make more sense (i.e. 84" or 92"). It's super heavy and a CAT 2. There are not many 50-90HP tractors that are less than 72" in rear wheel width and a CAT 2 hitch.

But maybe I am missing something here :confused3: