box blade advice

[jenkinsph]

You should be able to handle a 7' box blade such as a Gannon with the MX5100. There are some slightly smaller sizes between 72" and 84" but all of these should work. This assumes your rear tires are fully weighted which is necessary to reduce wheel slip.

 

[IndyIan]

I'd go 7'. You can make a trail in one pass, and for moving material around it gives you more capacity. Also the extra width lets you level an area better like pushing fill into a low area backwards. You might not be able to drop all the rippers all the way down in some soil but I find I like to take longer shallow pulls anyways. Also get a hydraulic top link at the minimum, it works well and is handy if you have wet clay, sometimes the only way it would come out is if you tilt the blade so the back is vertical.

 

[/pine]

IMO...Weight helps but is not really that big of a factor when it comes to box blades...however, for commercial work bigger/heavier is usually better...wider is better regardless...
I have a 17HP B series and use a 5' Bush Hog (brand) BB that weighs about 250#'s...in my experience there is nothing a bigger heavier tractor with a bigger heavier BB can do that I can't...it may take me a few more passes and a few extra minutes to lower and raise my rippers (more often)...but it's really all about learning how to use the implement for what all it can do...

Again, in my experience...weight is over-rated when it comes to grading etc. implements...especially if every minute of machine time is not a major factor...IMO...having a hydraulic top link will save more time with a lighter weight BB doing the same job as a heavier tractor with heavier BB will spend making manual adjustments in most case scenarios...having a hyd. side link only adds to this theory...

When it comes to individual drag type attachments...box blades are hands down the most versatile...and can do more, different things than any other...the key is learning their potential and taking advantage of their abilities...those that learn how to use a box blade efficiently...naturally tend to like them more every time they use one...sort of like being able to catch a fly with chop sticks..."man that can do that...can do anything"...!

 

[Threepoint]

IMO...Weight helps but is not really that big of a factor when it comes to box blades...however, for commercial work bigger/heavier is usually better...wider is better regardless...
I have a 17HP B series and use a 5' Bush Hog (brand) BB that weighs about 250#'s...in my experience there is nothing a bigger heavier tractor with a bigger heavier BB can do that I can't...it may take me a few more passes and a few extra minutes to lower and raise my rippers (more often)...but it's really all about learning how to use the implement for what all it can do...
[snip]

My experience has been a bit different on this point. For many years I felt as Slash Pine does, but no longer. I can do many things with my excellent 470 lb. 5' Howse box blade behind my Kubota B2150HST (22 hp), which is a beast of a little tractor. But when I got my Kioti 4510HST cab early last year with my 750 lb. medium-duty 7' Woods BSM84 box blade, I realized I can now do much more, and not just do the same thing faster. The heavier BB is way more effective in cutting, leveling, contouring and crowning my 3/4 mile driveway of hard-packed crusher run. In very dry conditions, the lighter blade just skates where the heavier blade fills the box easily, and the filled box makes it even heavier. More passes with the Howse don't make up for it. If I put the Howse scarifiers down, I can cut grooves to loosen the material that way, then go back over it. But that disturbs hardpack unevenly that I prefer to keep in place. The large difference in performance is interesting to me because the weight of a 750 lb. 7' BB (technically its ground reaction force), is distributed over a larger surface area of blade edge, and thus exerts less pressure per square inch than and equal weight in a 5' BB. Yet it's still enough to make a big difference in the work I can do.

 

[TomSeller]

My 50 something HP Kubota with 72" wide rear tires, handles my heavy 72" box blade easy peazy.

The scarifiers can stop any tractor in its tracks when they hit a big rock. I rarely use them.

 

[rswyan]

The wheelbase of a vehicle is the distance between its front and rear wheels, and so has nothing to do with the width of the blade one needs. What matters, as you explain further, is the width of the rear wheels, not their distance from the fronts.

However, you are not alone in this mistake. DR continues to talk about the wheelbase of a tractor as a factor in selecting it's offset fence row mower when it means the width of the rear wheels.

For general informational purposes, the side-to-side distance between a vehicle's wheels is known - appropriately enough - as it's "track" ...

 

[newbury]

OP - is this your project?

I am going to follow this one closely, as I have a similar project. There is a right of way running thru the middle of my hayfield and it seems the only time it is used is when the ground is soft. so the ruts are huge and the folks using it tend to run into the hayfield to avoid the ruts and they make new ruts. i am going to move the right of way in stages and am also looking for pointers on gravel road construction. I do have to remove some trees and the stumps to reroute the road. sorry if this seems like a hijack, it was not intended as such, just looking for some gravrel roadbuilding tips.

I have a Kubota MX5100 HST (4wd). I am looking to purchase a box blade and was looking for advice on size. would this tractor be able to pull a 6 ft box blade? the loader is 6 ft and I can dig some pretty good holes with it.
I am looking to prep a dirt path to be able to put down gravel and an looking to go about 4 inches deep and 10 ft wide.

any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Although a BB and FEL might be able to do it, that project is of ANY decent length cries out for rental of a bulldozer.

I have a similar sized Kubota(L4240 HSTC) and a six ft. box blade.The only time my tractor has been in low range was pulling my BB;it handled it fine but it was a load for sure.You should be fine with a six ft.

Have you tried a 2 bottom plow in heavy clay?

IMO...Weight helps but is not really that big of a factor when it comes to box blades...however, for commercial work bigger/heavier is usually better...wider is better regardless...<snip>

Again, in my experience...weight is over-rated when it comes to grading etc. implements..<snip>

"Weight" comes in several forms - weight due to thickness of metal, weight due to the size (;ength) of the implement, weight due to piling "stuff" on are far different. In box blades the weight of different implements of the same size usually indicates the extra "beefiness" of the unit.

For example Everything Attachments sells box blades.
Comparing two of their "house" brand and a King Cutter in the 72" size they have weights of:
500 lbs - King Kutter
515 lbs - EA XTreme Duty Box Blade
635 lbs - Category I & II Severe XTreme Duty
I dare write that the Category I & II Severe XTreme Duty BB will put up with more beating than the other two. I'm willing to bet that if you put concrete blocks on top of the King Kutter it would stand less abuse than the "Category I & II Severe XTreme Duty".

And if you pile weight on top of a heavy duty BB it will definitely dig deeper in tough situations. I've a 5' KK that when I'm going into clay just about requires 200lb of weight on top, with either of my tractors.

I've an M4700, the same size as yours. Based on my pulling of my 5' blade (bought for my 23hp B7610) in heavy clay, you will probably be able to handle a 7' footer in decent soil. But you may need loaded rears.

I still think for a one time clearing of a 4" deep, or deeper, 10' wide path a weekend rental of a bulldozer or skidsteer would be a better approach.

 

[jenkinsph]

My experience has been a bit different on this point. For many years I felt as Slash Pine does, but no longer. I can do many things with my excellent 470 lb. 5' Howse box blade behind my Kubota B2150HST (22 hp), which is a beast of a little tractor. But when I got my Kioti 4510HST cab early last year with my 750 lb. medium-duty 7' Woods BSM84 box blade, I realized I can now do much more, and not just do the same thing faster. The heavier BB is way more effective in cutting, leveling, contouring and crowning my 3/4 mile driveway of hard-packed crusher run. In very dry conditions, the lighter blade just skates where the heavier blade fills the box easily, and the filled box makes it even heavier. More passes with the Howse don't make up for it. If I put the Howse scarifiers down, I can cut grooves to loosen the material that way, then go back over it. But that disturbs hardpack unevenly that I prefer to keep in place. The large difference in performance is interesting to me because the weight of a 750 lb. 7' BB (technically its ground reaction force), is distributed over a larger surface area of blade edge, and thus exerts less pressure per square inch than and equal weight in a 5' BB. Yet it's still enough to make a big difference in the work I can do.

I find weight is very important when it is in the structure of the implements. Tools such as box blades, rear blades and land plane grader scrapers all work better if heavy and sturdy. The uniform loading across the face of the blade may work on paper but I find that small variances in the surface are the normal occurrence. For example you may have a hard spot or rock to dig out that is 6 inches wide and when contacted the entire blade weight is utilized in that spot. Uniform loading across the entire blade is much more likely to occur when working compacted engineered fill and your points are well taken.

I have two box blades a small 4ft Cammond and a 7ft Frontier (by Gannon) and there is no comparison between them, if I can physically fit the larger 1250 lb box blade in the worksite it does a better job. I only use the small box blade, land plane and rear blade where the larger tools won't fit to save manual labor costs.

 

[TripleR]

IMO...Weight helps but is not really that big of a factor when it comes to box blades...however, for commercial work bigger/heavier is usually better...wider is better regardless...
I have a 17HP B series and use a 5' Bush Hog (brand) BB that weighs about 250#'s...in my experience there is nothing a bigger heavier tractor with a bigger heavier BB can do that I can't...it may take me a few more passes and a few extra minutes to lower and raise my rippers (more often)...but it's really all about learning how to use the implement for what all it can do...

Again, in my experience...weight is over-rated when it comes to grading etc. implements...especially if every minute of machine time is not a major factor...IMO...having a hydraulic top link will save more time with a lighter weight BB doing the same job as a heavier tractor with heavier BB will spend making manual adjustments in most case scenarios...having a hyd. side link only adds to this theory...

When it comes to individual drag type attachments...box blades are hands down the most versatile...and can do more, different things than any other...the key is learning their potential and taking advantage of their abilities...those that learn how to use a box blade efficiently...naturally tend to like them more every time they use one...sort of like being able to catch a fly with chop sticks..."man that can do that...can do anything"...!

I'm sure that's true for some, but having owned and owning both, I can't recommend them across the board. My 593 pound works OK on one of our farms with a good loam with some sand content, but when I try it on our other farms with a pretty high clay content in the dry summer, my BB2584 just skips across the surface with little effect requiring multiple passes even with the scarifiers down. My 1100 pound HR3584 works great in all types of soil. If I had bought heavy first I would have saved a lot of money. I tried selling my BB2584 for over a year and no one was interested, so I use it for ballast when the HR3584 is on another tractor.

I sure agree with you on the hydraulics as I have TnT with hydraulic rippers and wish I had done it long before.

 

[Baby Grand]

Some people use track width to mean the distance between wheel centers.
Some people use track width to mean the distance between tire outer sidewalls or tread contact.
To avoid confusion, I like to state it as "track width, measured between tire outer sidewalls".

For box blade sizing, I like a box blade width that's a few inches wider than the tractor track width, measured between tire outer sidewalls.
This covers your tracks, even in a fairly gentle turn, while maximizing your traction to ground engaging draft load.