Box Blade for Kubota L3800

[number9L]

I am thinking I need to get a box blade to use behind my Kubota L3800. It is 4x4, HST and has FEL. I will be using the BB for hard packed gravel driveway maintenance (100yd long), dirt access road that runs back into the woods on my property (1 mile long maybe), cutting drainage ditches, and other general usage I find I can do with it.

Some of the dirt access road is rocky (plate, ball sized rocks), some of it is very rutted, some of it is very hard ground, some of it is softer ground (under the tree canopy).

I don't want to buy the cheapest BB that will work, I want to buy the right BB for the job and my tractor and I want to get a good HD one that's going to last and not get beat up.

Which brand is the best, HD built and what size should I be looking at?

...

 

[tractorshopper]

I have a Dirt Dog 72" for my L3800 (in Kubota orange is what my dealer had). Most other name brands are name brands for a reason. My other attachments so far are Land Pride. Anyway, I do a lot with the BB including maintaining my "neighborhood" road and driveway, have cut and fixed ditches, etc. It works great, covers the wheels by a decent amount, weighs in at 550 lbs and the tractor handles it very nicely. I have dug a pond and moved a lot of dirt and gravel piles with my loader (same as yours) and I always leave the BB on for that type of work as additional ballast and it is also great for that use. I only occasionally remove it to put on my tiller or bush hog, but when finished with those chores, the BB goes right back on.

 

[IvanS]

I'll second the Dirt Dog. I just got a SBX 65" for my B3300 (in Kubota Orange). Ordered on a Sunday and got it Wednesday of the same week from McGee Farm Equipment in Florence, MS. It shipped straight from Dirt Dog to me in Nashville. There pricing is very good and I'd recommend you take a look at the SBX - well built and heavy enough to do the job well. Dirt Dog SBX Tractor Box Blades - McGee Farm Equipment, Inc.

 

[Recoveryhill]

I have a 60" Woods BSS60 (500# x 5 rippers) and it works very well for certain jobs. I just spent four hours on a road job this morning with it, severe erosion on hilly curves. I was able to pull a lot of accumulated dirt and stone from the edges back onto the road filling the washed out sections and trying to get the water to the ditch line.

That said, it is nearly worthless on rocky hard pack roadbed. The rippers catch on large rocks and or tear out medium rocks to the surface and 500# is not enough weight to allow the rippers to really penetrate the hard stuff and with the rippers up, it just bounces along on the surface. To repair roadbed surface, I steal dirt/stone from the shoulders, place it on the roadbed and use either an angled grader blade or better yet my York Rake to spread it evenly and comb out the rocks.

I've never used a land plane but I'm positive it would also be worthless on truly hard rocky roads. It looks great in videos resurfacing gravel/dirt roads but if you have the truly hard stuff with rocks like you described, you're going to have to spread spoil or gravel to flatten it out.

Not having top and tilt, I don't use the box blade for ditching either, it is too difficult to adjust the angle. For that I use my grader blade which both angles and tilts the blade with pinned stops.

I guess what I'm saying is probably what you don't want to hear: To handle the variety of tasks and conditions on my mountain dirt roads, I need a box blade, a grader blade and a york rake. Every time I think I didn't need to purchase one of the three, I run into a job that needs the one I doubted. I keep almost a mile of road maintained to my place and hire out in the mountains nearby fixing other roads so I'm able to see some income off the implements, which helps. I'm doing this with an L3700, nearly identical to your 3800....

 

[tractorshopper]

My Dirt Dog is also an SBX like IvanS's. Unlike Recoverhill's situation, our 3 tenth of a mile road was never prepped with 3" rock, but merely graded, then graveled and added to. I put a different top link on my tractor for like $30. It is very easily adjustable unlike the one that came on it. I change the angle when necessary, but most of the time do the road work with the BB level. I basically fill the thing up and redistribute the gravel very easily pulling what washed down hill back up hill and to fill in wash outs. I keep my teeth in the uppermost position so they are barely lower than the rest of the BB. When it's packed really well, I will make 2-3 passes, but by the 2nd pass, the gravel loosens up plenty under the weight of the BB, fills the box, then I use the position control to shave/fill. The final pass I make, I angle the blade back so it's back blade side is all that is touching the road, literally just smoothing out the gravel again. The neighbors all thank me or give me a :thumbsup: when driving by, happy to have a smooth road again.

 

[TripleR]

You might want to consider Land Pride HR25 Series. I really like the hydraulic rippers. I also like Woods products. Check your manual for recommendations on width and weight.

Dirt Dog offers a nice looking rollover which looks really nice and a lot of people really like them.

 

[oldballs]

I can't speak to plate and ball size rocks, but there are probably several good blades out there such as Woods, Rhino and Land Pride box blades. In my hands the best BB for quality and price was from Everything Attachments. I say that because the differance in price was about 30-40 % for a quality product that fit my need (sales tax counts also). Replacement ripper shanks and tips might also be an issue for availability and price.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

For a box blade to work well in most conditions, it really needs to weigh around 125lbs per foot width at the minimum. Your L3800 would do well with a box blade that is 66" in width IMO. A lot of people recommend 6 footers, and while a 6 footer will work, it really is to big for your tractor if you stay with the weight per foot rule. I highly recommend one of these, they are a good fit for your tractor. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[xzcVAbc5]

You might be interested in checking out my BB thread for some recommendations and what to look for. I started with a King Kutter 5' that you would find at any Orsheln's Farm and Home and turned it into something better, but still not as good as if I was looking to buy new. The link is in my signature.

 

[94BULLITT]

A 66'' or lighter 72'' will work will work fine on that tractor.