Rear Blade What can a rear blade do for me that my box blade can't? Road and ditches mainly

[MechanicalGuy]

So I have a Kubota MX5200 with the rear tires on the widest recommended setting and I spent quite a while trying to decide on a 72", 78" or 84" box blade. I'm so glad that I ended up with an 84". Any smaller would have been a mistake.

Now I'm making ditches and leveling/grading roads with my top and tilt hydraulic system, and it's working great, but it seems like the ditch part would be a little easier with a rear blade. I'm wondering if a 96" rear blade would be better than 84". I'm also wondering what capabilities a blade would give me. I really don't know what I'm missing. Can someone who knows the difference explain this to me?

So this stuff is obvious to me:
Scraper: can be angled to make more deep and pronounced ditch
Can be angled to bring dirt or gravel out of the ditch or the side of the road and towards the middle of the road for crowning
can be much more steeply angled than a box blade, typically, in at least 1 or even 2 planes.

Box blade: much better at filling in low spots because it carries a "box" of dirt or gravel
Better at digging down into the ground
has scarifiers, so roots can be torn up prior to making passes with the blade, this might be an issue on a scraper, if trying to dig into vegetation.

I also don't understand if a scraper can dig down into the ground, except for a little corner.

How much help will a scrap blade be to me? And how big should I get if so? It seems like an 8' might be fine, for the hangover outside of the tire line. It doesn't seem like it would be a liability because unlike a box blade, it won't anchor my tractor down if I get it oversized.

As you can see, I don't know much about scraper blades, or how they can be used. I've watched all the youtube videos that I can find, but I still don't quite understand what one might benefit me. Any help explaining them would be appreciated.

 

[LouNY]

A rear blade that can be tilted and angled will big a very good ditch and the can be adjusted for less tilt and angle to spread the spoils out evenly.
When used at an angle while grading on a road it can cut down wash boarding and distribute it.
Then if you spin the blade half way around the reverse curve when angled will distribute the gravel and actually compact it slightly.
I would want my blade to cover my tractor width when angled or more I have a 10 footer and an eleven footer at the farm.

 

[MechanicalGuy]

A rear blade that can be tilted and angled will big a very good ditch and the can be adjusted for less tilt and angle to spread the spoils out evenly.
When used at an angle while grading on a road it can cut down wash boarding and distribute it.
Then if you spin the blade half way around the reverse curve when angled will distribute the gravel and actually compact it slightly.
I would want my blade to cover my tractor width when angled or more I have a 10 footer and an eleven footer at the farm.

10' wow. I have been looking at Everything Attachments and a locally made brand that only go out to 8'. I haven't seen anything but a light duty chicken house scraper that was 10'.

 

[kthompson]

Agree with all Lou said. Just to clarify one thing he mentioned or works best for me any way, when smoothing out was board road rotate the blade some so it is not staight like a box blade is. It will have the blade riding on more than one high or low area at the time and not as up and down as if straight. Hope made that plain. In other words rotate like you would to push dirt up the hill. You may run into needing weight on the front end if the blade turns the tractor, that is a big rudder when angled.

Too many people will think a rear blade is just like a box blade and say they are not worthless, they are made to grade and push the dirt to the side where a box blade is made to cut dirt and move it by pulling.

 

[LouNY]

Here's the 8050 with the 10 footer;
View attachment IMG_20180111_105420194_HDR.jpg
bought it old and used.

The deere is a 9 footer.

 

[/pine]

To directly answer your question...the answer is "ANGLE"...!

To reverse the question...most rear blades don't have scarifer capabilities...

In my experience there is not much difference in what can be accomplished with either of the implements...based on experience etc..!

 

[MtnViewRanch]

If you are going to get a rear blade for dirt work, get an 8 footer that weighs at least 100lbs per foot, or at least very close. Heavier is better. This means that you need to be looking at hydraulic actuated blades, or at least hydraulic actuated as an option to be looking at blades that are actually heavy enough to work well in about all circumstances-conditions.

You get a good heavy rear blade and learn how to use it to it's full capabilities, and your box blade usage will plummet.

You can roll some dirt with these, or take a light cut, all depends on what meets the requirements of the situation.

 

[CoyPatton]

The box blade is a poor at best ditch cutter. The angle and tilt ability of the rear blade makes it much better at this. Width wise I would want one that is wider than the rear wheel spacing width of the tractor when angled at its greatest angle. The only times my rear blade is set at the middle point (straight) is when knocking down a crown or stored (for max stability). When cutting ditches or smoothing out a driveway, it is always on an angle. If the driveway has ruts or potholes, then I want my BB and the scarifiers to bust up the base of these spots.
They are different implements designed for different purposes. Yes there are some overlaps, but some of the overlaps are done better by one or the other.

 

[Trails2004]

Windrow the material to the side....

 

[airbiscuit]

This ....

 

[LouNY]

To directly answer your question...the answer is "ANGLE"...!

To reverse the question...most rear blades don't have scarifer capabilities...

In my experience there is not much difference in what can be accomplished with either of the implements...based on experience etc..!

I'll disagree with this,
I use my back blades much more then my box blade.
I haven't even hooked up my box blade in two years.
Between cleaning the ditches and grading my driveway and moving snow my backblades are used dozens of times every year.
Based on experience...also!!!!

 

[K5lwq]

I find a rear blade easier to use than a box blade. My suggestion is get one that you can rotate all the way around without hitting your tires. After I shape the ground with the blade at an angle, I spin it around and use the back side of the blade to smooth things up. Does a great job.

Like others, I haven't used my box blade in years.

 

[jmc]

If you're thinking about an extra long blade just to do ditch work, you can also get extra rear wheel overhang by offsetting a shorter blade. Some blade offset possible by offsetting the 3point hitch. Much more offset available on blades with that feature built into it.

 

[Egon]

This ....

A rear blade set up like this very versatile when working roads. Rolling a windrow back and forth makes for smooth even surfaces. A job a box blade really can’t do. No rippers would be the only disadvantage.

 

[oosik]

I have a mile long gravel/sand/volcanic ash driveway. After 39 years - all three materials are well mixed. After the spring rains it hardens up just like concrete. I have three implements that I use on the driveway. Each has its "best use". A VERY heavy Rhino rear blade - 96" @ 1010#. A Land Pride LPGS( 84" ) with scarifiers. A Bush Hog ROBB( 72" ) with scarifiers.

I've found that any road project goes better if a specific implement is used. I have no need to push an implement to do something it's not really designed to accomplish.

Snow removal and driveway ditches - rear blade.

Remove riffles, potholes, etc - LPGS with scarifiers.

Move material, dig to modify grade or slope - ROBB with scarifiers.

 

[bcp]

If you want a scarifier with your rear blade, get one that attaches between the tractor and blade. Here's one.

Land Shark Compact Tractor 3 point Scarifier Bar Ripper

Or find someone importing the Chinese blade that has scarifiers.

Grader Blade For Tractor With Ce - Buy Rear Mounted Grader Blade For Sale,Grader,Blade Product on Alibaba.com


Bruce

 

[stephenh]

I use my rear blade extensively in winter for snow. Probably not a problem down there in the south. But what I would point out is you really want the blade to be wider than the rear tire span.

 

[MechanicalGuy]

So it looks like my little tractor has a recommended maximum weight for a three point implement of 1000lbs. The hitch lift capacity is higher though. So how big a blade can be reasonably hauled around on a 50 horse tractor that weighs 6500lbs + whatever the blade weighs? I'm starting to think 8 or 9' is gonna be the max.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Do yourself a favor and forget about a 9 footer. You will have the tail wagging the dog sort of thing going on more than you like.

Just my :2cents:

 

[oosik]

I would consider 8' rear blade as ABSOLUTE maximum. Seven foot would probably be better. My Kubota M6040 with FEL, grapple, RimGuard loaded rear tires & Rhino rear blade weighs - 10,000 pounds. The Rhino 950 rear blade is 8' & 1010 pounds. It is DEFINITELY all I would want to have on the 3-point. Anything more - in width or weight - I would be concerned about damage to components of the 3-point.