Blade size.......confused!

[bswiv]

Been taking advantage of the knowledge base here by lurking for a couple of years.......not posting because I'm still to ignorant to be of help to anyone!.......and because until now I've managed to find the answers to my questions by simply searching.

Now though stumped.

Have a M8540, 4-WD, with grapple/loader that gets used in our timber stands for fire line maintenance, disking, mowing and the like. What I have not bought so far is a blade of some sort to level the fire lines and to work on our roads with.

What has me stumped is caused by the stumps and other trash that tend to be in the timber stands and therefor in the fire lines.

I can see any sort of ripper setup being useful but also a BIG liability as striking a unseen stump IS a foregone conclusion. In fact I just got the grapple and tractor back from the welding shop after a run in with a particularly aggressive stump last week. Twisted the quick connect and pulled a weld lose on the grapple......and yes, it was expensive!

So give me some insight here.......anything appreciated.

 

[txdon]

If we are talking about a blade, not a box blade, I would say from my experience, that you would want one that when turned at 45 degrees covers your rear wheel base.

 

[gwdixon]

I work in trees/stumps quite often. Using a box blade or regular angled blade will not do the job. The stumps will destroy the blade(s) or your tractor.

The only way to do ground work in a stump filled area is to remove the stumps. That is the job done by, and the reason I have, a backhoe.

There are "stump buckets" on the market but look like they work up to about 12" stumps. In the linked video, the bucket is used like an inefficient backhoe and then the stump removed. Why not get a backhoe in the first place?

Wicked Stump Grapple Vs. Two Headed Monster Stump - YouTube

 

[Gary Fowler]

You could buy a super heavy duty rear blade that wouldn't break or bend when you hit a stump, but it would be of no use in removing the stump. You need to have backhoe to dig them out so they wont continue to haunt you. Either buy, rent or contract a backhoe to remove all the stumps is the way to go forward. Then you can use a straight blade to grade.

 

[bswiv]

You could buy a super heavy duty rear blade that wouldn't break or bend when you hit a stump, but it would be of no use in removing the stump. You need to have backhoe to dig them out so they wont continue to haunt you. Either buy, rent or contract a backhoe to remove all the stumps is the way to go forward. Then you can use a straight blade to grade.

The logic of what you said here........we've actually got a forestry mulcher scheduled for as soon as it gets DRY ENOUGH here to come and deal with a few issues and I was considering having him make a pass down all the fire lines with the thought of grinding out not just the tops of stumps but also whatever large roots that appear near the surface.

Assuming I do this so then what brand/size blade?

 

[jeff9366]

What is the outside-to-outside width of your rear tires?

Tractordata shows 78" but is not 100% reliable.

What do you have in the way of rear hydraulic ports?


TractorData.com Kubota M8540 tractor information

 

[HEC]

Go to the Everything Attachment website and look at their blades , and better still give them a call and explain to them what you need and they will set you on the right course .

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Do you want to cut grade for your roads or do you just want to make a smooth passable road? This makes a huge difference with what you can get by with and the amount of money you will be spending. An implement that can take ALL the stresses that your 8540 can handle is going to be costly. If you are looking to get by with only one more implement, then we really need to know what type of finished end result you are looking for.

As an example, a good rear blade is going to run you 4-6 thousand, a box blade is 3-4 thousand and a land plane grading scraper would be 2-3 thousand.

All of these are good implements and would work well for you, but depending on what you want for the end result which one will work best or if you really need more than one of them to get the results that you are looking for. People that do a lot of this type of work often have all 3 implements to get the best results in the shortest amount of time.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

I would suggest renting a mini-excavtor for a few days and dig those stumps out. You will find a mini-ex much faster than a backhoe. The mini-ex can dig and re-position whereas the backhoe has to be moved and re-setup.

Once the stumps are gone, a land plane grading scraper would work to level the paths and start turning them into roadways.

 

[bswiv]

Do you want to cut grade for your roads or do you just want to make a smooth passable road? This makes a huge difference with what you can get by with and the amount of money you will be spending. An implement that can take ALL the stresses that your 8540 can handle is going to be costly. If you are looking to get by with only one more implement, then we really need to know what type of finished end result you are looking for.

As an example, a good rear blade is going to run you 4-6 thousand, a box blade is 3-4 thousand and a land plane grading scraper would be 2-3 thousand.

All of these are good implements and would work well for you, but depending on what you want for the end result which one will work best or if you really need more than one of them to get the results that you are looking for. People that do a lot of this type of work often have all 3 implements to get the best results in the shortest amount of time.

There are extra ports on the tractor so that what you linked to would work. And as we have a good number of sloping ditches the ability to swing the blade wide of the tractor looks like a benefit if it will swing far enough.

So is the Land Pride heavy duty enough or is there a better choice? We do have a dealer right here which is a benefit.

The fire lines I am mostly concerned with leveling them and not so much turning them into roads as such. In fact it's wet enough here to where trying to make them into roads would be a bust.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

There are extra ports on the tractor so that what you linked to would work. And as we have a good number of sloping ditches the ability to swing the blade wide of the tractor looks like a benefit if it will swing far enough.

So is the Land Pride heavy duty enough or is there a better choice? We do have a dealer right here which is a benefit.

The fire lines I am mostly concerned with leveling them and not so much turning them into roads as such. In fact it's wet enough here to where trying to make them into roads would be a bust.

The 45 series blades are rated for a 15,000lb machine up to 125HP. I use mine on a 12,000lb 75hp tractor. They offset up to 35" to both sides and I believe that is the most of any blades of this size.

There are other manufacturers, some as good, but I don't think that any are any better at this particular size.

 

[Samuellm]

That is some nice looking dirt.

 

[sdef]

I would suggest renting a mini-excavtor for a few days and dig those stumps out. You will find a mini-ex much faster than a backhoe. The mini-ex can dig and re-position whereas the backhoe has to be moved and re-setup.

Once the stumps are gone, a land plane grading scraper would work to level the paths and start turning them into roadways.

+1 on the mini-x. I am clearing my very rocky, very hard clay property for my retirement home site. Digging out the stumps with the FEL has been frustrating using a grapple bucket and stump bucket and I think has been hard on the tractor. From here on out I will only be removing the smaller stumps with the tractor and anything of size will be bypassed until the small ones have been removed. I am planning on having a mini-x dig the large stumps.

Your tractor is a fine machine. But in the end, it is still a tractor. It sounds like the stumps may be at ground level. From my limited experience, I do not see how a back blade being dragged by a tractor in this class will be able to grab on a large stump and rip it out. I would think the tractor will lose traction far sooner than the stump being loosened enough for the FEL to be of any use. This is exactly my scenario on smaller stumps for my smaller tractor. However, my problem is compounded by the large rocks I have "guarding" the roots and your task may be easier if you have softer soil to dig in.

I had a mini-x and operator out here in the past for other reasons and it was amazing how much it could dig in a short period of time for a relatively small amount of money.

 

[bswiv]

We have literally miles of fire line in place with stumps from previous harvests being a problem in some areas. In others the ground, sand and fine loam for the most part here in NE FL, is fairly free of things to hit.

The forestry mulcher is planned as a way to take care of the stumps and then whatever implement we end up with will be for leveling the fire lines and road maintenance.

 

[Rocky Hoffler]

What I seen used around here by timber companies is a chopper pulled by large tractor or skidder. they are very heavy and blades cut up debris and split stumps. if using a heavy blade and you encounter an object that won't move if it doesn't stop you something usually breaks.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

What I seen used around here by timber companies is a chopper pulled by large tractor or skidder. they are very heavy and blades cut up debris and split stumps. if using a heavy blade and you encounter an object that won't move if it doesn't stop you something usually breaks.

When this is the case and everything is industrial quality, it is normally operator error. Usually moving along to fast for the existing conditions .

 

[Oliver1655]

Land planes are great for maintaining roads/driveways, I have one.

If you have lots of material to move with lots of debris or lots of larger holes to fill in then a pull behind boxed blade with wheels behind it may be a better option for the initial build of the fire lane. It will also work for the future maintenance.

 

[rmorey]

I would recommend you go talk with that Land Pride dealer. In addition, check out Everythingattachments.com. Compare the two, see what makes sense. If the mulcher eats all the stumps, then you will merely need a blade to remove ruts and washouts. :thumbsup: