Box Scraper 60" Box Blade Recommendation (Canada)

[Imold]

I realize this is a common topic here, but I appreciate the advice. I'm going with a 4ft Walco.

I like that Walco only uses three scarifier teeth rather then four on the 4 foot box blade, I think it will put less stress on the 22.5 hp tractor where a 4 tooth might be a bit harder, hopefully my new 1705 will be ready this week so I can start using it with the box blade as I have a bunch of stuff I want to do with it and then go over it all with the new back blade.

 

[Imold]

One more thing and this only refers to doing driveways nothing else, as I see it when I do my driveway the middle tooth will rip right down the area that is compacted from the tires and with the 3 point adjusted right will leave a nice crown in the driveway where as a 4 tooth would rip on each side of the compacted tire track unless you were a bit to the left or right of the tire track and then you would need to work it a bit more on crowning the driveway.
The main use for the box blade will be for driveway upkeep being it is about 330 ft long. I still need to get pins for the teeth and adjust them, this is how it came.

 

[Imold]

Let us know how you like yours.


Jim.

 

[Jaylegger]

The less you disturb the substrate the better off you are. From many years of using scarifiers to grade roads the thing I learned is don't use scarifiers. They create loose areas that will just compact and create depressions for water to pool when things compact again. Pooling water is what causing pot holes. Better to skim off from the top surface the least amount required to fill in holes and re-contour the road for proper drainage. The concept of digging into and below pot holes is a myth, that typically makes things worse, just fill in the pot hole and grade the area properly to drain water away from wheel traffic. Pot holes are caused from driving over standing water, that spray of water from beneath the tire removes a little gravel with it as well and over a short time as the pot hole develops the the gravel dispelling energy/action becomes a square of the depth of hole.

 

[DMW]

The less you disturb the substrate the better off you are. From many years of using scarifiers to grade roads the thing I learned is don't use scarifiers. They create loose areas that will just compact and create depressions for water to pool when things compact again. Pooling water is what causing pot holes. Better to skim off from the top surface the least amount required to fill in holes and re-contour the road for proper drainage. The concept of digging into and below pot holes is a myth, that typically makes things worse, just fill in the pot hole and grade the area properly to drain water away from wheel traffic. Pot holes are caused from driving over standing water, that spray of water from beneath the tire removes a little gravel with it as well and over a short time as the pot hole develops the the gravel dispelling energy/action becomes a square of the depth of hole.

Theoretically it may be correct, but in practice for my driveway, a boxblade is the cat's pyjamas. 150+year old gravel driveway, packs like cement. A blade just skips along the top. Using scarifiers I don't need extra weight, just adjust the angle to give the blade a bit of downforce. I've had years where it''s not touched, others when it has to be dressed 3-4 times. All depends on the weather.

Another issue is an area ban on herbicides. The boxblade is also used to remove grass/weeds growing in the driveway. Scarifiers pull up roots and all, a blade alone just trims them.

 

[Jaylegger]

Theoretically it may be correct, but in practice for my driveway, a boxblade is the cat's pyjamas. 150+year old gravel driveway, packs like cement. A blade just skips along the top. Using scarifiers I don't need extra weight, just adjust the angle to give the blade a bit of downforce. I've had years where it''s not touched, others when it has to be dressed 3-4 times. All depends on the weather.

Another issue is an area ban on herbicides. The boxblade is also used to remove grass/weeds growing in the driveway. Scarifiers pull up roots and all, a blade alone just trims them.

Agree that a boxblade for "like cement" packed gravel is too light weight. Why after 5 or so years of grading about 2km of private roads 4-5 times a year switched to a land plane setup. Even with that I had to add 250 pounds of extra weight to ensure ease of removing a skim coat of gravel. Scarifiers are great digging up the gravel required to fill the box easily to fill in holes but after many years it became apparent that their use was a short term gain long term pain scenario.

 

[Imold]

I will be doing a driveway that has never had anything done to it since the previous owner built it with a bulldozer 20+ years ago, this is the only pic I have at the moment( it’s taken 3 years to get it to look like a yard, they stopped haying it over 10 years ago ) but the driveway gets worse as you go down it the middle gets real green with weeds which i will get rid of and then I am going to have some class five dumped and I will see if he will just chain his tailgate open a few inches and drive down the driveway as he dumps, hopefully he is a good enough driver to do it smooth and even, I can finish with the back blade.

 

[jenkinsph]

Imold. Single track driveways all look like that over time. If you don't like the look you can widen the drive so that you can drive all over it.

 

[Imold]

Imold. Single track driveways all look like that over time. If you don't like the look you can widen the drive so that you can drive all over it.

I like the clean look of a all gravel driveway plus it would be nicer to snow blow or run the bade up and down, the snow can pile up more on a single track driveway also. I will also mow the side of the ditches low in the fall so the grass doesn’t act like a snow fence, I have seen a clump of grass 5-7 inches tall on a driveway create a impassable driveway during a snowstorm or blizzard just like tall grass along side a highway can.

Jim.

 

[fried1765]

Imold. Single track driveways all look like that over time. If you don't like the look you can widen the drive so that you can drive all over it.

Glyphosate, twice each year.
No extra width necessary.