Scraper owners, which features do you value?

[vanguard]

I'm looking to buy a scraper blade for maintaining the swale around my house (14 acres) and next to my driveways. I also need a way to remove the occasional North Carolina snow.

My 45hp tractor is about 6 feet wide but it's my understanding that people often choose a wider blade so that it can cover the tractor's width even when it's angled so that the snow/dirt can slide aside.

All scraper blades seem to pivot and most but not all seem to have tilt. Some have the ability to offset too, which seems nice for digging out a swale without having to dig right under my tire.

What would you suggest to me? I looked at the EA blade but it doesn't offset easily. Also, their "shipping to a freight facility, call us to learn which one" makes them hard to do business with. They also don't have "pick up" prices on their web site.

This one looks good too. It checks every box in terms of features and it's a nice 7' wide. However, it says it's rated for 40hp and I'm at 45hp. Should I care about that?

This one is cheap but I fear that if I get something too light I'll suffer from the "buy it nice or buy it twice" life lesson that I've learned too many times.

Given that this is my first scraper blade I don't really know what to look for. Any advice would be great.

 

[bcp]

I would look for a blade that swings for the offset. Here is the first example I found.

Taylor Pittsburgh Taylor Way 6' Medium Duty Rear Blade 5500-RMB-72 by Taylor Pittsburgh Manufacturin for $1,064.97 in Box Blades - 3 Point Blades & Box Blades - 3 Point Equipment & Accessories - Agriculture : Rural King

Bruce

 

[Birdhunter1]

The cheap one will bend. It will do snow and certainly do your grading but at some point in time it will be bent and/or twist. The other one will probably bend too.

Notice how the moldboard on each looks like it was a flat piece of steel that was bent in a brake to shape? That's because it was, and snow (I don't know how much snow you will get) will not roll off of it as well.
Also without having downpressure in hydraulic systems on the three point hitch on tractors neither will cut into dirt (unless loose) very well.

However: Notice how this one (UTILITY REAR BLADES | Rhino 70 Series) is rolled steel that is reinforced on the back of the moldboard, it will pivot, angle and offset and is built very heavy. It won't bend as easily and will cut in dirt better.

I have a comparable Landpride 35 Series that isn't hydraulic that I bought used (but barely used) for $700 on ebay a few years ago. Used heavy ones are out there at good prices and probably comparable to either of the ones you listed.

 

[farmer2009]

Hate to just repeat everything said before but yes you'll be better off with a heavier blade. Have a 7' Servis blade. Very similar to the rhino already mentioned, and should Servis owns Rhino. It'll angle, tilt, and swing. It's a little heavy for my 45hp tractor. Wants to push tractor sideways when in something heavy. Wet dirt or snow. Works well on 55-70 hp tractors though.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

If you are buying new, forget about cheap, a good rear blade and cheap simply DO NOT go together. I would go with a 7' blade with your tractor and at a minimum weight in the 600lb range + or - a few lbs. None of these types of blades are going to be cheap to purchase, most anything worth having IMO is going to start around $2000 and up. This Land Pride unit or it's equal would be the minimum blade to get and be fairly sure that it would work well and hold up. This Land Pride unit would be the ideal rear blade for your tractor IMO.

One other thing, get skid shoes no matter what rear blade you get. If they are not offered, you do not want that blade. :no:

Good luck with your search and your final decision. :thumbsup:

 

[TerryR]

My blade has angle, tilt, and offset adjustments. I use it mainly to maintain a quarter-mile driveway (see An Interesting Driveway) and clear snow (we live in the mountains of western NC, so get somewhat more snow than you do).

I find the tilt adjustment not too useful - the adjustment points are too far apart. I do better by setting to angle adjustment, then adjusting the top link to tilt the blade forward, which causes the front corner of the blade to cut in, but less vigorously than the tilt adjustment.

I seldom find the offset useful. But I can tell you that if you fail to plow the snow far enough off the road and come back after it's frozen to move it more, the offset adjustment will quickly put the tractor into the ditch.

Terry

 

[vanguard]

Well, I really appreciate the feedback and I'm happy to listen to more. I just thought I'd check in because I know when I try to help somebody like you guys are doing here I like knowing the guy at least heard me.

Everybody's message appears to be pretty consistent, "buy it nice or buy it twice".

At the moment these are the two leading candidates:
Everything Attachments Heavy Duty
Land Pride RB37

On a side note, I do wish this industry made finding prices a bit easier. EA has prices but I don't know where they'll be shipping it to or what the local price would be. Land Pride has less than that.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Well, I really appreciate the feedback and I'm happy to listen to more. I just thought I'd check in because I know when I try to help somebody like you guys are doing here I like knowing the guy at least heard me.

Everybody's message appears to be pretty consistent, "buy it nice or buy it twice".

At the moment these are the two leading candidates:
Everything Attachments Heavy Duty
Land Pride RB37

On a side note, I do wish this industry made finding prices a bit easier. EA has prices but I don't know where they'll be shipping it to or what the local price would be. Land Pride has less than that.

As far as ETA, there are so many variables that unless they were to just have high prices listed out, it is really hard to have the exact info that you are looking for and still be able to have that lower cost. Call them on Monday and I'm sure that all of your questions will be answered. Be sure to note the weight of their unit.

As far as Land Pride, they sell through dealers only and that right there has enough variables that it is about impossible to list out an accurate cost for everyone. I know first hand that it is something that should be shopped, not just purchase from the first LP dealer you come across. When I bought my LP rear blade, one dealer insisted that there would be a shipping charge while another dealer said that as long as I was willing to wait for the std LP area delivery, that delivery was free. Not only was this dealer less money for the blade, but a lot less because of the free shipping.

My understanding is that it will be very hard to beat this price for the Land Pride RB3784. These guys are known for their low prices.

 

[oosik]

I have a Land Pride RB3596 behind my Kubota. It weighs 566 lbs and does a good job of clearing snow off my mile long gravel driveway. I've tried trenching with it and its no joy - even with my 400 lb concrete "block" added to it. I do all my trenching, rooting, leveling, smoothing etc with a Bush Hog Roll Over Box Blade. It will do in minuets what would take hours with the rear blade.

If & when the rear blade does start to dig - I do have some soft fields - it also starts "hopping" and ends up making a roller coaster/wash board out of the field.

I have found in my situation it best to go this route - disk harrow or bottom plow, followed by Roll Over Box Blade and finally my Land Plane Grading Scraper. You loosen the dirt - you move the dirt - and finally you smooth the dirt.

 

[Code54]

The everything Attachment blade is nice! As others have said go HEAVY DUTY. My tractor is similar to yours in size and I have 7' HD blade (about 700lbs) and I often use it cleaning ditches, changing grades, etc... Often I catch a root on the far edge of the blade and I hear a pop or odd noise but NO damage to the blade or frame. I have bent the 1" pin that you stick in the hole to angle it if that gives you some idea the force it takes. At least that is a cheap easy replacement....

 

[MtnViewRanch]

My blade has angle, tilt, and offset adjustments. I use it mainly to maintain a quarter-mile driveway (see An Interesting Driveway) and clear snow (we live in the mountains of western NC, so get somewhat more snow than you do).

I find the tilt adjustment not too useful - the adjustment points are too far apart. I do better by setting to angle adjustment, then adjusting the top link to tilt the blade forward, which causes the front corner of the blade to cut in, but less vigorously than the tilt adjustment.

I seldom find the offset useful. But I can tell you that if you fail to plow the snow far enough off the road and come back after it's frozen to move it more, the offset adjustment will quickly put the tractor into the ditch.

Terry

Terry, I think that you will find that your side link of your 3pt hitch pretty much covers all of the adjustment in between the major tilt adjustments of the rear blade. So if you need a smaller amount of tilt, then get it with the side link adjustment. If you need more tilt, then you would use the first blade tilt location and fine tune the tilt with the 3pt side link. That would apply to each major tilt adjustment that the rear blade has.

 

[paulfun9]

Weight is your friend and making adjustments by hand gets old fast. My last blade purchase was a Taylor Way 8500 Taylor Pittsburgh Taylor Way 8' 8500 Series Heavy Duty Rear Blade with Manual Offset and Tilt with Hydrualic Angle 8500-RMB-96MHM by Taylor Pittsburgh Manufacturin for $2,141.97 in Box Blades - 3 Point Blades & Box Blades - 3 Point Equipment & Accesso with HYD tilt/offset and angle that I got for a real good price when a guy returned it on trade after finding out he couldn't work it with his tractor, a little too much bite with an 8FT blade for his intended use. This is not my first heavy blade but is my first with HYD adjustment and let me tell you I wish I would have gone with the HYD many years ago.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Dirt is tougher than snow. A blade for snow and a blade for dirt. But a heavy duty blade can do both.

 

[TerryR]

Terry, I think that you will find that your side link of your 3pt hitch pretty much covers all of the adjustment in between the major tilt adjustments of the rear blade. So if you need a smaller amount of tilt, then get it with the side link adjustment. If you need more tilt, then you would use the first blade tilt location and fine tune the tilt with the 3pt side link. That would apply to each major tilt adjustment that the rear blade has.

Thanks Brian,

I've experimented a lot with the adjustments. I find the side link adjustment on the 870 has very little range- it seldom is enough to help. I get much more range by adjusting the top link.

The tilt adjustment I find not usable on my blade because the first hole is always too much angle to be useful. But then I'm using it to clean ditches, not to create them. If I were starting from flat ground it might be useful.

 

[brown40]

How much snow will you realistically need to move?
For 1-2" a box blade will do a really nice job without creating a windrow on you, and it has scarifiers for breaking into soil for maintaining surfaces close to the grade they are at. They are great for moving material forward and backwards, and can shift material laterally, but nowhere near as effective as a plain blade.
3" plus of snow and the box blade fills too quickly to be very efficient. I use the rear blade primarily for maintaining the road crown.
Features I like on a rear blade.
1. Enough weight to be an effective counterweight with the loader on (mine is not).
2. Captured hitch pins.
3. Configuration that allows turning the blade 180 degrees while mounted, to go from cutting to smoothing without removal from 3pt.
4. Replaceable, readily available cutting edge.
5. A kickstand/front support that keeps the 3pt up for hookup.
I have a rear blade and a box blade, and tend to favor the box as its such a nice counterweight, and doesn't make a huge radius in turns, like an offset, angled rear blade does. I found the rear blade to be minimally more effective in snow 2-4", but nowhere near as tidy, and more prone to catching high spots on the substrate the box would ride over (box has two blades--front and back). Neither was great for significant snowfall--you may not have much of that.
Unless you get a heavy blade, it'll tend to slide above turf--once its in it can shave off material nicely, but sometimes is hard to dig in. Scarifiers are nice for breaking up and getting in.
I have the KK 7' professional blade you linked to. It has a lot of manual adjustments in it, so my experience is based on that. It is their "HD" unit--but it is not heavy enough to really deserve the name. The solid mast is nice, but no captured pins, and it is light. I never knew you could put end plates on a regular blade--that'd be neat to see in action.
Good luck with the shopping.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Thanks Brian,

I've experimented a lot with the adjustments. I find the side link adjustment on the 870 has very little range- it seldom is enough to help. I get much more range by adjusting the top link.

The tilt adjustment I find not usable on my blade because the first hole is always too much angle to be useful. But then I'm using it to clean ditches, not to create them. If I were starting from flat ground it might be useful.

Terry, obviously what you do works for you.

I would be curious as to just how much tilt you can actually get with your side link. One of the problems with getting your angle cut by using the top link is that you change the cutting angle of the cutting edge from where it is designed to work best. Sort of like so many guys that shorten their top link with a box blade to get the rippers further into the ground, they drastically change the optimum cutting angle of the ripper by making the cutting edge more vertical. This is the same thing that you do when you shorten the top link on your rear blade to get the blade to tilt down when you rotate the blade.

Again, this works for you and that is great. :thumbsup:

Just a thought, can you drill some other holes in the blade adjustment so that the pinned adjustment is not so great? :confused3:

 

[TerryR]

I would be curious as to just how much tilt you can actually get with your side link.

I can't say in any real terms. I know from experience that the tilt has to be pretty close to what I want for the side link adjustment to dial it in.

One of the problems with getting your angle cut by using the top link is that you change the cutting angle of the cutting edge from where it is designed to work best.

I understand that in theory. But I'm mainly either plowing snow or re-grading gravel back on the road, which I do when the road is wet, so getting it to cut isn't an issue.

One advantage of using the top link to adjust is that I can reach it from the seat, so I don't have to dismount to adjust.

Just a thought, can you drill some other holes in the blade adjustment so that the pinned adjustment is not so great?

Could be. But I don't own anything that would drill a hole that large in a piece of steel that heavy.

 

[Code54]

Just mentioning this in case you want to try it.

If you want to try and drill a hole in it you can do it with a regular elec. hand drill (there are better ways but for a one shot deal it will work just fine) - just need to buy a hole saw (maybe 1" or whatever size your pin is just a hair bigger) and use a lot of oil or cutting fluid (old engine oil will work if you don't have anything else)
I used the rigid holes saws from Home depot before and they are not real expensive and worked fairly well.

 

[TerryR]

Just mentioning this in case you want to try it.

If you want to try and drill a hole in it you can do it with a regular elec. hand drill (there are better ways but for a one shot deal it will work just fine) - just need to buy a hole saw (maybe 1" or whatever size your pin is just a hair bigger) and use a lot of oil or cutting fluid (old engine oil will work if you don't have anything else)
I used the rigid holes saws from Home depot before and they are not real expensive and worked fairly well.

Really? You can drill a hole in 1/2 in. steel with a hole saw? I wouldn't have thought so. I wouldn't have attempted even a 1/4 hole with a regular drill bit in that much steel.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Really? You can drill a hole in 1/2 in. steel with a hole saw? I wouldn't have thought so. I wouldn't have attempted even a 1/4 hole with a regular drill bit in that much steel.

Hole saws typically work pretty good up to 1" thick material. As mentioned use some oil, WD40 or similar works well. You are just trying to cool as well as flush the chips out of the slot-hole.