5' Box Blade manufacturer stand-off

[apriordan]

there are some different styles of box blades.

front cutting edge
--some are straight sheet of metal. (cut out of a piece of plywood with a cutting edge grinded on to it for example)
--some of the cutting edges are ) "curved", to help bring cutting edge to a better angle of attack of what ever you are scrapping up

rear blade
--some have no rear blade (more so the curve cutting edges)
--some have the straight sheet of metal and/or using straight sheet of metal for both front/backwards (same blade)
--some have a 2nd cutting edge on the back for going in reverse
--some have more of a "tailgate" style 2nd cutting edge on back. were 2nd cutting edge hinges up and out of the way when going forward. and then drops down when going in reverse.

sides
--some have just a thicker metal for sides straight to riding on the ground.
--others have more of a "ski" or "sled" per say on each side. so the sides ride on the surface, while allowing just the cutting edge and/or scraficers to dig in.
--others might have additional re-enforcement between "ski" and sides. and possibly a bit more "metal" on the front corners to help reduce wear and tear.

weight
--the cheap units, for say a riding lawn mower, ATV, UTV, or like. tend to offer some sort of "concrete block" box to toss concrete blocks on unit. to help bring up total weight of unit up.
--some box blades might offer better spot to say toss a chunk of a large tree branch on, or concrete bags, or sand bags, or some 5 gallon buckets on top, to help bring up weight.
--box blades rely specifically on there own weight to dig in. and not the tractors weight.

gauge wheels
--some units offer "gauge wheels" behind the box blade. normally seen on units that are not 3PH, but rather tow/pull behind units. primary used to lift the box blade up/down.
--some units offer "gauge wheels" not for primary lifting it up and down. but rather using box blade more like a "motor grader" and help read some high/low spots, without constantly being on the lever to raise/lower the box blade.

3 point hitch connection of box blade
--pending on size, some may offer cat 1 and cat 2 3pt hitch connections (for smaller and larger tractors)
--some might be stated to fit some quick hitch setup. ((make sure to always measure first))
--some of the units might offer some extra holes at the top link connect and/or lower lift arm connections to unit. (beyond the cat 1 to cat 2 connection setup)

3 point hitch and bracing
--some units have more of a triangle approach between top link to rear of unit
--some units have additional bracing between front (just below lower lift arm connections) to rear of unit.
--some have a combination of above.
--bracing might effect how you add weight if you need to add weight to unit.

scraficier teeth.
--have seen some units before were the bolt holding the teeth on is more of a "sheer bolt" and will break and allow scraficer to swing up and out of the way.
--have seen some units were tooth fits in between to L shape tabs, or in a rectangle pipe. with a bolt. and more likely scraficier tooth will bend / warp / be destroyed if it gets hung up on something nasty.
--some teeth might be soft metal inside, with a hard coating on the outside. so once hard coating gets worn away, the inside just goes away quickly after that.

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different styles....
--roll over box blade
--some 3PH rear blades you can get wings for them,
--some 3PH rear blades, you can get scraficer teeth for as well.

tossing in "land plain / grader scraper" = if you are talking about gravel driveways.

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make sure you have your check chains, and sway bar/chains for 3pt hitch.
--3ph are great pulling forward, but as soon as you turn, you can destroy the 3pt hitch linkages. the check chains and sway bar/chains can help reduce some possible damage but not all of it.

going in reverse
3ph are again great pulling forward, but when you begin to reverse, you can also destroy the 3ph linkages.

generally it is always advisable to always lift any ground engaging equipment up and out of the ground before you make any turns.

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WET and DRY
--dry dirt = concrete
--to wet = making ruts and causing additional issues
--having the soil/rock having just the right amount of wetness per say, can make things easier to work with, vs having cutting edge hip hop over the ground/rock, and/or getting the scraficer teeth to bite in.

Wow. Tons of info/data to consume. Thank you for taking the time.

In regards to "tossing in "land plain / grader scraper" = if you are talking about gravel driveways." My driveway has potholes, divots, washout and is hard packed. My concern with the scraper is ripping up driveway as well as other uses for the Box Blade. My understanding is also that the scraper would take much more time to get the driveway right again. Time is money and I've got so many projects that a day, half day or more scraping a far gone 1500' driveway leads me to believe I'm better off with the BB. Again just based on research and conversations. Zero experience.

 

[Fallon]

A LPGS is less versitile than a box blade, but superior at what it does. It will smooth & level with little skill from the operator. If you want a fast & easy way to maintain a gravel or dirt road the LPGS will beat a box blade.

 

[fried1765]

A LPGS is less versitile than a box blade, but superior at what it does. It will smooth & level with little skill from the operator. If you want a fast & easy way to maintain a gravel or dirt road the LPGS will beat a box blade.

You will have a basically flat driveway with a land plane.
After several rains, potholes will develop, and you will need to use the land plane again....many times each year.
If you use a grader blade, and develop the skill to use it properly, you can create a driveway with significant crown.
The crown will shed the rain, and you will likely only need to shape/grade your driveway 3 or 4 times each year.
The land plane is quick, and easy, but will not provide for your driveway to properly shed water.

 

[apriordan]

You will have a basically flat driveway with a land plane.
After several rains, potholes will develop, and you will need to use the land plane again....many times each year.
If you use a grader blade, and develop the skill to use it properly, you can create a driveway with significant crown.
The crown will shed the rain, and you will likely only need to shape/grade your driveway 3 or 4 times each year.
The land plane is quick, and easy, but will not provide for your driveway to properly shed water.

Thank you for this clarification, my driveway is not in need of maintenance it's repair which is why I'm pursuing the box blade. Appreciate this perspective and comment

 

[boggen]

google something like "forestry roads" there about 5 websites out there that are fairly in depth for roads. make it dirt, gravel, or other. most of this info can be applied directly to most folks driveways.

it is not like you are driving semi trucks fully loaded down, with non stop traffic on regular paved roads. were you need engineers out the wazzo checking everything. but rather the forestry road website tend be more dumb down, with less math. you still need to understand slopes / grades to get water to run off the driveway, and then into ditches, and making sure ditches carry water away from the driveway/road. the forestry road websites, tend to give you just enough data to make it worth while to at least read over them, to better re-enforce folks wants/needs.

3pt hitch rear blade, 3ph box blade, and 3ph grader scrapper, generally see most folks wanting at least 2 of them. while you might get away with one. generally 2 of them. will give you enough options to work it all better. there are other tools, such as a "chain drag" think chain link fence, or a large log that is nice and flat you can drag to smooth stuff out. there are some rakes that might help as well.

but with you stating needing repair work and not maintaining. i would say rear blade and box blade. rear blade to pull dirt/rock to one side. and the box blade to help move dirt/rock around. if tight on cash generally craiglist.org tends to have lots of 3ph rear blades for sale. and then pickup a box blade.

posting some pictures of driveway might help folks better recommend something / what needs to be done as well. and might predict of what folks push you towards as in getting something first, then something else latter perhaps.

 

[JK10MF1635]

I just got a 6 foot bb from everything attachments. Took 5 weeks to get it but it is very well made. Mines the extreme series. I have not had a chance to use it. Going to use it for yard work. It was delivered to the FedEx terminal in Windsor Locks. Took my truck and they put it in with a forklift. I used my forks to unload it. No issues.

 

[Deere Dude]

I measured my tires, the 5' box blade is at best 1/4 over for each tire or bb 1/2 wider than tire stance.

The weight is interesting. Most are 400-500lbs, so even if I buy a woods or deere at double the price I'm paying for weight of steel?

Sounds like adding weight is one of the actions needed to take for using a kk type/class box blade.

Does anyone sell a box blade weight kit? Or am I going to get some 5 gallon buckets filled with cement?

I have a couple weigh sets with barbells etc. I mounted a barbell with all the weights I could fit on the rear portion pf my Box Blade. I must have put on 3-400# and worked fairly well. Weights are almost given away by people with bad backs and arms.

 

[sandman2234]

The people who think that a 3 point "land plane" is not capable of crowning a road, are not using it correctly. Either that or they bought/built one incorrectly.
If you search for my post on Dava Grader... you will see a very heavy, well built one that does anything a box blade is capable of doing, and does it better.
I own a six foot box blade that hasn't been hooked up in years. I used my Dava Grader to maintain a dirt road, and if I need to grade asphalt, it will.
The amount of crown put into a road is determined by how much angle is put on the attachment. If I let the front down, the right side digs more, and the left side doesn't, which creates a crown all by itself. My attachment is 7 foot wide, so it shows up better than a narrower one.
I could do a 1500 foot driveway in under 20 minutes by just making a pass in either direction, to make the crown complete in the middle.
By using a box blade, you are constantly going to have to be adjusting the height of it, and as your tires go into a dip, the boxblade will dig, and as the wheels come out, the box blade will leave a pile of whatever is in the box.
I am not a road engineer, but for my money, 20 mins at a pop is a lot easier than half a day.
David from jax

 

[Creamer]

You will have a basically flat driveway with a land plane.
After several rains, potholes will develop, and you will need to use the land plane again....many times each year.
If you use a grader blade, and develop the skill to use it properly, you can create a driveway with significant crown.
The crown will shed the rain, and you will likely only need to shape/grade your driveway 3 or 4 times each year.
The land plane is quick, and easy, but will not provide for your driveway to properly shed water.

While I disagree that you cannot get a crowned driveway with a landplane the rest of this statement is right on.

If you get your driveway such that the water does not run along it but off to the side and so that the water does not sit on it you will need very little maintenance. I have graded mine this year and that is the last I will grade it. I did not grade it last year. It has no potholes or washouts and is smooth and solid. Most of the grading I did this year was to cut the crown back a little as it was getting too high and cut the edges back to make sure the water runs off immediately. Everything else was jsut spreading the stone a little.

 

[jenkinsph]

3pt hitch rear blade, 3ph box blade, and 3ph grader scrapper, generally see most folks wanting at least 2 of them. while you might get away with one. generally 2 of them. will give you enough options to work it all better.

posting some pictures of driveway might help folks better recommend something / what needs to be done as well. and might predict of what folks push you towards as in getting something first, then something else latter perhaps.

Pictures would help us help you.

A rear blade works best for ditching and moving the materials from side to side. A box blade works best for moving large volumes of material forward and back. A land plane grader scraper works well for smoothing the surface.