Road boss 7' or 8' commercial decision - Deere 5115M

[johnsayen]

Hi all,

Going to purchase either the commercial 7' or 8' road boss grader to go behind my 5115M. The website lists the following for the specs and I'm having a tough time making my decision.

The rear wheels on the tractor are set to 82" exterior to exterior, so I think the 7 footer would cover my tracks appropriately. The occasionally windy 1/2 mile gravel road I maintain has varying widths, I haven't taken a measuring tape to it yet but I think it gets down to 12' wide at some spots.

I'd lean toward buying the 8 footer so that I could more easily suck some of the gravel up from the side of the road as there are trees near the roadside and snugging the tractor right up next to them isn't feasible but I also don't want to buy too much of a unit for the tractor horsepower.

I recognize I might be worrying about this decision too much since the specs say the 8 footer can be handled by 80-115HP but it's a big purchase for me.

Commercial Model 7 – 1100 lbs Tractor Horsepower Requirements: 60-80 HP
Commercial Model 8 – 1200 lbs Tractor Horsepower Requirements: 80-115 HP

Thank you

 

[ning]

Hi all,

Going to purchase either the commercial 7' or 8' road boss grader to go behind my 5115M. The website lists the following for the specs and I'm having a tough time making my decision.

The rear wheels on the tractor are set to 82" exterior to exterior, so I think the 7 footer would cover my tracks appropriately. The occasionally windy 1/2 mile gravel road I maintain has varying widths, I haven't taken a measuring tape to it yet but I think it gets down to 12' wide at some spots.

I'd lean toward buying the 8 footer so that I could more easily suck some of the gravel up from the side of the road as there are trees near the roadside and snugging the tractor right up next to them isn't feasible but I also don't want to buy too much of a unit for the tractor horsepower.

I recognize I might be worrying about this decision too much since the specs say the 8 footer can be handled by 80-115HP but it's a big purchase for me.

Commercial Model 7 – 1100 lbs Tractor Horsepower Requirements: 60-80 HP
Commercial Model 8 – 1200 lbs Tractor Horsepower Requirements: 80-115 HP

Thank you

7' = 84"
Your 82" tracks will likely not be covered by a 7' grader on even minor curves.
You've got the tractor for an 8', make use of it.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

It's not the HP, but the weight of the tractor pulling the implement. You should be over 10K pounds with the loader, more so if you have additional ballast. You can pull the 8 footer no problem, just depends on the conditions of the ground.
I have a 1400lb 7 footer that I pull with a 12K pound 75hp tractor.
One of the things that I have learned, use draft control, you will never bog down.

 

[ning]

Another thought - is the 7' grader 7' outside to outside, or is that 7' the width of the cutting part between the outside frame?

 

[sandman2234]

I have a homemade 7 footer and although it was built extremely heavy, I wish it was 8 foot. When I am moving piles of dirt and it fills up above the 20" sides, the JD 2555 (70-77 hp) knows it is back there, but I have no weights on nose and its 2wd.
David from jax

 

[johnsayen]

I think I am over 12k lbs with the 540m MSL loader with cutting edge and R34 rear Nokian snow tires filled with rim guard. I also have two sets of wheel weights on the rear.

I believe the road boss 7’ is 7 feet of cutting edge.

Thanks for the tip on draft control.

It sounds like you all are leaning toward the 8 footer for me.

 

[ning]

I think I am over 12k lbs with the 540m MSL loader with cutting edge and R34 rear Nokian snow tires filled with rim guard. I also have two sets of wheel weights on the rear.

I believe the road boss 7’ is 7 feet of cutting edge.

Thanks for the tip on draft control.

It sounds like you all are leaning toward the 8 footer for me.

Well, we do like to spend others' money and the 8' is likely more spendy than the 7'.
But more seriously, I think it's a better fit overall and I doubt you'll be disappointed.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I think I am over 12k lbs with the 540m MSL loader with cutting edge and R34 rear Nokian snow tires filled with rim guard. I also have two sets of wheel weights on the rear.

I believe the road boss 7’ is 7 feet of cutting edge.

Thanks for the tip on draft control.

It sounds like you all are leaning toward the 8 footer for me.

Yes typically the said width is the blade cutting width. (Distance between insides of side panels.)
I am happy with my 7 footer, because I would still have areas in the road that I would need to go over 3 passes wide.

Forget about pulling material sideways, it just does not happen. I have painted the ground to check to see how much it moves from side-side, the ground itself moves about 1".
You want to pull material from the sides toward the center, get a rear blade.

 

[johnsayen]

I guess it is pretty irrational to fear that a tractor at the top of the HP recommended range is undersized for the attachment. Too much thinking about it.

 

[Hay Dude]

8’
Go big or go home.