Grading B7610 and a rear blade

[pharmguy]

I have done a couple of searches and still haven't found a definitive answer.

What size rear blade would be best for a B7610? and what options are absolutely necessary?

My situation:
- rocky, heavy clay soil
- a lot of final grading work in the near future
- blade will also do snow removal on a fairly short (150 ft) driveway
- the maximum width on my R4s at this time is 48 inches

Questions
- is a 6 ft blade too much (manouverability, not enough HP?)
- do I need a tilt feature or should I just use the 3 point adjustment

Thanks in advance,

Jason

 

[8561]

I have a 60 inch 6 way Midwest (2260) rear blade for my B2410 (same tractor, different features). The tilt is a nice feature for cutting ditches. The problem with a small framed CUT is the limited lift height can somewhat limit the usefulness of the tilt feature, as it can be tough to get the blade high enough to tilt it. Still a nice feature, and not that much more money to get it.

Your tractor will pull a 6' blade, assuming you can get enough traction. I have loaded R4 tires so I'm usually OK there. A 5' will be more manuverable, but you obviously get less work from it with each pass. As far as grading rocky clay soil, you might be disappointed with a rear blade. A box blade is a lot heavier and will grade better in my opinion. I have a Midwest 3060 heavy duty 5' box and it does a great job moving material. If you go boxblade, definately stay 5' or less. A full box of heavy soil is all that tractor will deal with, and there may be a few times it won't move a full box. I don't think that's a big deal since most of the time it will, and on the occassion it won't, take a smaller bite.