DK40 Box Blade size? 72"? 78"? 84"?

[IXLR8]

I have a new DK40, loaded rear tires and Fel, I have some chores that I think a box blade would be good for. We have a 1/4 mile long dirt road that the neighbor hires out to have maintained. Only issue is the guy who does the work always levels the road and doesn't put any crown on it, which of course leads to pot holes and wash out. Road is established, 20 years old, and just needs to have a crown put on it and the pot holes broken up and filled in. I also have some area's of lawn that I want to level out, nothing larger than 40' x 30'. R4 tires set at their widest position, measure about 71" outside to outside. As there is a 1' drop off at the edge of the road, I was thinking of getting the 84" BB to keep the tires away from the edge. I don't have much cleaning up to do the road so I won't be taking big bites, just a little shaving here and there. I was looking at the Everything Attachments 84" utility tractor BB. Any thoughts or input if it will be too big or if the DK40 can handle it. I do have TnT, just haven't installed them yet.

Thanks

 

[murphy1244]

I would use a 78" or so Land Plane with a TnT set up.

 

[nc redneck]

I second Murphs post. Go to big and it will be hard to put a crown on road. Also it may be hard to level your yard. In the end I think you have a great tractor and it will pull up to 84 inch with no problem.
Scott

 

[94BULLITT]

I would go with atleast a 78'' but a 84'' would be better.

 

[IXLR8]

I would use a 78" or so Land Plane with a TnT set up.

As part of their rental program my local Kubota dealer has a Land Plane, with scarifiers. If it is wide enough, and available, I will have to try it out. They don't have a box blade for rent, but they do have the Land Plane... but every time I have contacted them about it... it is out so I have not even seen it yet. Seems it is typically rented out 4-6 weeks out, which is why I was looking at buying so I didn't have to deal with the hassles of scheduling renting.

 

[murphy1244]

As part of their rental program my local Kubota dealer has a Land Plane, with scarifiers. If it is wide enough, and available, I will have to try it out. They don't have a box blade for rent, but they do have the Land Plane... but every time I have contacted them about it... it is out so I have not even seen it yet. Seems it is typically rented out 4-6 weeks out, which is why I was looking at buying so I didn't have to deal with the hassles of scheduling renting.

That's what I have and it works great. How wide is your drive?

 

[IXLR8]

That's what I have and it works great. How wide is your drive?

never measured it... it is a single car wide dirt road, it is within a 20' wide ROW, I am guessing 15'. I won't be home again until Wed afternoon to verify.

 

[rjwerth]

I use a 78" and feel it is perfect for the DK series.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

For a land plane or medium duty box blade, I'd probably go with 78" or 84" also. But I just bought a 72" Gannon box blade with hydraulic scarifiers and it is a real heavy duty beast. I'm not sure I'd want one any bigger. They had an 84" one, but it only had a Category II hitch, so I didn't have to make a decision.

 

[94BULLITT]

For a land plane or medium duty box blade, I'd probably go with 78" or 84" also. But I just bought a 72" Gannon box blade with hydraulic scarifiers and it is a real heavy duty beast. I'm not sure I'd want one any bigger. They had an 84" one, but it only had a Category II hitch, so I didn't have to make a decision.

A box blade like a Gannon is way heavier and holds more material so it is going to pull harder than a light weight wider box blade.

 

[davel8257]

Maybe I'm missing something -- but I'd go 'smaller' -- 72". Just work on one-half at a time. I would think about cranking one of the arms out to set the blade at an angle to get the crown that you want. Make two passes -- 1 in each direction. You mention that this is an established drive. I did a lot work on our church driveway this summer -- with the knives set way down. It brought up the ground-in stones -- people stopping in thought that we'd already had a load of new rock delivered -- but we hadn't. The knives bring up the rock (takes several passes).

 

[sdef]

I have a DK45 HST, TNT and a 72" Dirt Dog ROBB, 710 pound. My rear track with R4s is 68". Without the scarifiers down, it will pull the blade quite nicely through clay. With scarifiers down and aggressive, the ROBB will stop the tractor. To me, I just want enough width to cover the rear tires. But I am new at this and a lot of other folks here have far more experience than I.

On the other hand, if I were to use a scrape blade it would be 84"' probably, so when angled it will still cover the tire tracks.

 

[ritcheyvs]

I think I'm in a similar boat. I have a DK45S that is used mainly for mowing and bush-hogging. I also have some dirt trails that tend to get ruts in the wheel tracks and high centers. I've fixed the worst of the mud puddles by cutting drainage ditches with the loader. But I think I need a box blade (or a land plane?) to level the dirt. I'm thinking something in the 72-78 inch range will suffice. I've read that I need a heavy box blade; most of the ones I've seen are in the 400-500 pound range.
How heavy is enough?
Are the box blades from Tractor Supply any good?
How about Everything Attachments?
Are some brands/models to be avoided?

 

[kco]

Another option is a heavy duty landscape rake with guage wheels. I find it is more versatile than a scrape blade.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

I think I'm in a similar boat. I have a DK45S that is used mainly for mowing and bush-hogging. I also have some dirt trails that tend to get ruts in the wheel tracks and high centers. I've fixed the worst of the mud puddles by cutting drainage ditches with the loader. But I think I need a box blade (or a land plane?) to level the dirt. I'm thinking something in the 72-78 inch range will suffice. I've read that I need a heavy box blade; most of the ones I've seen are in the 400-500 pound range.
How heavy is enough?
Are the box blades from Tractor Supply any good?
How about Everything Attachments?
Are some brands/models to be avoided?

I'm not very experienced with a box blade, so take this with a grain of salt, but here's my take on it. I wanted a box blade to serve a dual purpose: (1) grading, leveling and moving dirt for roads and a building pad, and (2) acting as ballast for my FEL. So I wanted one as heavy as possible. Fortunately, a heavy one helps for both purposes. Best I can tell, mine is about 1,000 pounds.

Remember that there's nothing holding your box blade down on the ground when it's grading without the scarifiers except the weight of the box blade. The 3 point hitch does not put any down force on it. I have black clay soil that's like concrete when it's hard. A light box blade would just bounce around on top of the soil, I think. So heavier was better for me in that regard. And the heavy ones are usually better built than the light ones. If you have sandy loam soil, a lighter one might work fine but it won't be heavy enough to act as ballast for your FEL if that's a concern at all.

Edit to add: If all you want to do is fix up your trails, and not really move any dirt from one location to another, a land plane might be a better choice and easier to use.

 

[murphy1244]

Seems we or I got lost as I was telling the op to use a Land Plane not a Box blade.

 

[IXLR8]

Seems we or I got lost as I was telling the op to use a Land Plane not a Box blade.

Murph, I don't think anybody got lost. From comments here and the various discussions I have had with others, the Land Plane would be a better tool for doing the road work, the Box Blade would do a better job of my yard leveling.. but I can't afford both. It is going to be tight to afford the EA BB, an okay Land Plane is twice as much and one of the better BB's is even more.
Decisions decisions decisions??

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

Jim, a box blade is one of the easiest things to buy used - at least around where I live - and save a bunch off the price of a new one. There's really nothing to go wrong with one of them. So there's no risk in buying used if you can look at it before you buy.

I typically see them on Craigslist in my area for $300 - $500 depending on brand, model and condition. Unfortunately, I hardly ever see a used land plane for sale.

 

[IXLR8]

Jim, a box blade is one of the easiest things to buy used - at least around where I live - and save a bunch off the price of a new one. There's really nothing to go wrong with one of them. So there's no risk in buying used if you can look at it before you buy.

I have been looking on Craigslist and our regional 'for sale' sites/papers for the last year and box blades are not common and the ones I have looked at have been cheap junk that need more work than they are worth. I would love to find a good used one but I have about given up on finding one.

 

[sdef]

I have a similar experience in the SC/NC/Ga areas. The only things I found were overpriced, highly used, lightweight equipment that were not all that much less money than new. And the reason I extended up purchasing a new ROBB.