[KUBOTA B3200] Grader Blade / Box Blade Recommendation for Driveway Maintenance

[Forest_Man]

New to TBN as well as to Tractor life. Happy to be here. I'm shopping/researching a grader blade or box blade - are these the same? - for maintaining and repairing a muddy driveway with a Kubota 3200. plus lots of loads of gravel.

The market seems to be filled with different brands. Just trying to learn a bit more and get recommendations to help me funnel my shopping:

- Good brands that will work well with a 32HP Kubota? Maybe brands to avoid?
- Used x New?
- Good prices?

Thanks in advance!

 

[oosik]

Welcome to TBN - Forest Man. Wow!! That driveway is a real challenge in its current condition. Honestly - I would not recommend that you work on the driveway in this condition with any type of ground contact implement. It must dry out before you will be able to do any meaningful improvements.

Here is how I see the basic driveway maintenance implements.

Box blade - good for moving loads of dirt from here to there. Does require practice, experience and patience.

Rear blade - good for building and maintaining driveway ditches. OK for rough grading and snow removal. Requires a whole lot of practice, experience and worlds of patience. A rear blade is a wanna-be road grader. The tractor/rear blade combo just isn't physically long enough to make the road grader status.

Land plane grading scraper ( LPGS ) - good for putting the final finishing touches on the driveway surface. Easy to use, requires little experience and delivers good results.

If you are looking for an all weather driveway - you need to build up the road with gravel. Large gravel - well compacted at first. Then smaller gravel ( pit run ) on the surface that can be smoothed and compacted.

Road side ditches are needed to control runoff and keep the water off the road surface.

Once that road dries - you might need a larger piece of equipment to construct the driveway ditches. Depends upon soil type and how much rock is in the soil.

Implement brands - Land Pride, Bush Hog, Rhino, Pittsburg...... there will be many added brands as members log on.

You have the beginning of a fairly large project there. Keep us posted and be safe.

 

[D&D]

New to TBN as well as to Tractor life. Happy to be here. I'm shopping/researching a grader blade or box blade - are these the same? - for maintaining and repairing a muddy driveway with a Kubota 3200. plus lots of loads of gravel.

The market seems to be filled with different brands. Just trying to learn a bit more and get recommendations to help me funnel my shopping:

- Good brands that will work well with a 32HP Kubota? Maybe brands to avoid?
- Used x New?
- Good prices?

Thanks in advance!

depending on where you live; woods, land pride and Gannon are about the top 3. Lots of other manufacturers Homestead, Ironcraft, Catawba, etc…. Weight is your friend with this kind of stuff

 

[oosik]

D&D indicates another important point. Weight is your friend with land engagement implements.

I had a Land Pride rear blade with my first tractor. It was great for clearing snow on my mile long gravel driveway. It weighed around 300 pounds. It was totally useless in the summer when my driveway dries out and becomes hard as concrete.

I got a Rhino 950 to match with my new Kubota M6040. It weighs a tad over 1000 pounds. It's seven feet wide. What a difference. I can easily offset - angle and depress this blade to clear my driveway ditches.

It will cut into the surface crust that forms on my driveway. Unfortunately - the rear blade is not a big 'ol road grader. It takes a whole lot of patience and practice to make a smooth finish when going over swalles, lumps and bumps. I use my LPGS for finishing the driveway surface.

It depends a whole lot on the finish surface of the driveway. My surface is a combination of gravel, sand, silt and volcanic ash. In the summer it becomes just like concrete.

Many have a surface that is almost 100% screened gravel or pit run gravel. This type surface responds much better to the use of a rear blade.

 

[nyone]

you need a uphill ditch on that driveway first and foremost. A box blade isnt going to do that.

 

[D&D]

I would remove a couple more trees and straighten it out. Looks tough to get a large truck in there (when dry). 2% slope to the downhill side might do wonders also.

 

[deezler]

Holy crap, thats your driveway? No offense intended, its just so, so far away from being ready for daily automobile/truck traffic. Is this your future homestead? Beautiful forest!

You need an excavator first, not a box blade for your tractor. (ok you need that also, but not as tool #1). You could rent a mini-ex for a weekend and get things shaped up.

You need a 12' wide, crowned or sloped road bed, with drainage/ditches on each side.

Then you need 6+" of 2-3" sized rock. Then whatever final gravel type you want atop that.

This is just my opinion, but if you don't start with a proper base, you'll be fighting this driveway for the rest of your life.

 

[oosik]

Forrest Man - how long is your driveway.

 

[Forest_Man]

Welcome to TBN - Forest Man. Wow!! That driveway is a real challenge in its current condition. Honestly - I would not recommend that you work on the driveway in this condition with any type of ground contact implement. It must dry out before you will be able to do any meaningful improvements.

Thank you very much! And yes, it's been raining and I understand I need to let it dry before trying anything on it.

Here is how I see the basic driveway maintenance implements.

Box blade - good for moving loads of dirt from here to there. Does require practice, experience and patience.

Rear blade - good for building and maintaining driveway ditches. OK for rough grading and snow removal. Requires a whole lot of practice, experience and worlds of patience. A rear blade is a wanna-be road grader. The tractor/rear blade combo just isn't physically long enough to make the road grader status.

Land plane grading scraper ( LPGS ) - good for putting the final finishing touches on the driveway surface. Easy to use, requires little experience and delivers good results.

Thank you for the summary. Maybe I won't be able to fix my driveway but I will try to maintain it. The Box Blade seems more adequate for my conditions and limitations.

If you are looking for an all weather driveway - you need to build up the road with gravel. Large gravel - well compacted at first. Then smaller gravel ( pit run ) on the surface that can be smoothed and compacted.

Where does the "crusher run" fits in this advice? If at all?

Road side ditches are needed to control runoff and keep the water off the road surface.

Once that road dries - you might need a larger piece of equipment to construct the driveway ditches. Depends upon soil type and how much rock is in the soil.

What type of equipment would be adequate to construct driveway ditches? Yes, we have fairly rocky soil. Most of them fist size but some larger.

Implement brands - Land Pride, Bush Hog, Rhino, Pittsburg...... there will be many added brands as members log on.

Thank you! I came across a used Land Pride 5 footer. Already shopping but not yet comfortable pulling the trigger before I understand what I actually need and will be able to use.

For instance, my B3200 has a quick hitch on the back. So I suspect any box blade I choose to buy must be compatible with my quick hitch. Or is this already standard?

You have the beginning of a fairly large project there. Keep us posted and be safe.

I am excited and a bit anxious too. Believe me, many more questions to come.

Thank you!

 

[Forest_Man]

depending on where you live; woods, land pride and Gannon are about the top 3. Lots of other manufacturers Homestead, Ironcraft, Catawba, etc…. Weight is your friend with this kind of stuff

Awesome video! Really informative, thank you! We do have Woods and Land Pride nearby. Good to see Land Pride in the top list. Came across a used on for $800 with 5 feet.

Regarding weight, I understand the importance of weight but I suspect it must be a balance with my B3200 limitations: 32HP + R4 tires (did I get this right?) + loaded tires + 8" spacers + quick hitch.

Kubota lists box blade weight at 500 Lbs maximum. Is this a good number already to maintain a driveway? I suspect lack of weight would mean more passes? Or what would you recommend for a box blade length and weight for my package and total inexperience?

Here is the rear end of my tractor:

 

[Forest_Man]

D&D indicates another important point. Weight is your friend with land engagement implements.

What would you recommend for box blade length and weight for my setup: 32HP + R4 tires + loaded tires + 8" spacers + quick hitch.

 

[Forest_Man]

I would remove a couple more trees and straighten it out. Looks tough to get a large truck in there (when dry). 2% slope to the downhill side might do wonders also.

Right now it looks really terrible because we had a timber sale few months ago AND it is rainy. But normally it only looks normal bad and we have propane and sewage pump trucks driving in and out when it is dry with no issues. If anything I got stuck in the past with my van in wet season.

Yes, 50% of the reason I bought the Kubota was to maintain the driveway. Right now I need to get it fixed by the Timber company then hopefully I'll be able to maintain it with a box blade after they are done with the work.

 

[paulsharvey]

What would you recommend for box blade length and weight for my setup: 32HP + R4 tires + loaded tires + 8" spacers + quick hitch.

You might be able to get away with a 6 ft box blade? I have used one with my old L285, which is a similar size/power, 2WD, loaded ag tires. Frontier is a good brand as well.

I would try to get the water off the subgrade, and get an idea how much rock is needed. If it's 10-15-20 loads, I would consider renting a track skid steer for a week for that, and use the tractor for maintenance.

If money is tight, and drive is long; consider this a multi year deal. Add 2 or 3 loads per year, and spreading with the tractor will be fine.

 

[paulsharvey]

@Forest_Man Don't know your area, or what materials are available locally or if you have freeze-thaw stuff, so I'm gonna try to be as General as possible;

Step 0; get a string line, tape measure, and marking paint, maybe some lathe, and lay out the drive

Step 1; strip organics and add a way for water to get off the subgrade

Step 2; 'box out' the base area; 12 ft wide is a good number; but cut down maybe 4"; only in the roadway, roll, or track everything in well; remember you can't pack mud or dust; some moisture is good, too much is bad. If anything is really mushy, cut that out and add decent fill

Step 3; add whatever the cheap base material available locally; to get it back upto grade; roll/pack

Step 4; seed any slopes and ditches, to prevent erosion getting out of hand

Step 5 (optional); finish grade, roll, and if you want a 'pretty' top lift,



Define your goals; if pretty isn't one of them, or even smooth, but 365 day access is the goal; you might be able to get by with cheap dirty rock, ball field clay, ect

To do the dirt work portion; if it's longer than maybe 500lf, I think your gonna need more than a 3 point attachment; but spreading base can easily be accomplished a box blade as long as you get the dirt work done.

Although not ideal; you could simply add gravel/rock/base to that subgrade; 100% over the next few months it will sink into the mud, but you can get it passable, and you can add additional rock/base as time goes by. People often want a one time solution, when really just ordering 3 loads of base every 2 years isn't the worst thing in the world. You will want to stop water crossing the drive,

 

[Forest_Man]

Holy crap, thats your driveway? No offense intended, its just so, so far away from being ready for daily automobile/truck traffic. Is this your future homestead? Beautiful forest!

Dang bro... i don't want to tell you that I've been living here for almost 4 years and without a AWD car.... Yes, it is doable. Only got stuck once. But yeah... it looks a lot worse now than normal. Normally it only looks bad.

You need an excavator first, not a box blade for your tractor. (ok you need that also, but not as tool #1). You could rent a mini-ex for a weekend and get things shaped up.

My plan is to rent excavator as needed - already have a french drainage project coming up this year.

I plan on playing with the excavator at the same time and try creating some drainage ditches - what bucket size would be the best for someone that doesn't know **** about what they are doing? A 9" 12" 18"?

You need a 12' wide, crowned or sloped road bed, with drainage/ditches on each side.

Drainage on each side and 12' wide is not going to happen. God bless you and I hope one day we'll do it. But not for now.

Crowned x Sloped Road: could you expand a bit on this or point me to good literature that explains exactly the cons and pro's of each; costs differences; degree of complexity and energy spend building these two solutions? I need to understand this better.

This is just my opinion, but if you don't start with a proper base, you'll be fighting this driveway for the rest of your life.

My commitment to the cause is solid. I am even trying to learn as much as I can about all of this.

 

[Forest_Man]

Forrest Man - how long is your driveway.

About 955 yards.

 

[Forest_Man]

You might be able to get away with a 6 ft box blade?

Is this something that it is worth trying to buy the 6 ft box and if too much raise some scarifies or take more passes with less load? Or will I need to sell it and buy a 5 ft instead?

If money is tight, and drive is long; consider this a multi year deal. Add 2 or 3 loads per year, and spreading with the tractor will be fine.

Hearing you say it and made my remember that I don't need to stress (too much) about it. It will be fine!

 

[paulsharvey]

No offense; but looking at what you have now; Why would you have scarifiers down? Your gonna want to drag the slop off, not loosen up the ground more. You should only need rippers in hard, packed, heavy soils,

 

[paulsharvey]

I would see what's available and if a 6 ft is available for the right price, buy it; if you end up going rear blade, it's going to have to be min 6 ft to reach outside the tires when angled.

 

[Forest_Man]

I literally cannot do those steps. Not right now. I am maybe 2 years away from having the minimum required knowledge to do it.

But I will price the job, just to understand the value of the work, and if I decide to do it with a professional, I'll be watching and learning every step.

Although not ideal; you could simply add gravel/rock/base to that subgrade

Okay, what you think about "crusher run"? Is that acceptable for the gravel?

How about rock and base? What are those? Are these required required? How do I properly shop for these?

People often want a one time solution, when really just ordering 3 loads of base every 2 years isn't the worst thing in the world. You will want to stop water crossing the drive,