Rear Blade Box Blade vs. Grader Blade

[phastmac]

I am looking to get a blade to put on the 3 point hitch of my tractor. I have a Kubota MX4700. I am going to be maintaining a drive way that is 3/4th mile. The drive is dirt and gravel. I would like to cut some ditches on the sides for drainage, be able to level and smooth. Also what size should I get. Any advise is appreciated.

 

[Thomas]

When it comes to ditching I would lean towards rear scraper blade,rear scraper should reach be on your rear tire width when set at 46 degrees...don't purchase light duty.
Box blade will also do ditching but will take longer..lot longer.
Box blade should be comfortable width be on your rear tires,you may want to consider rippers also.

 

[phastmac]

Thanks

 

[phastmac]

Thanks. Also read a few posts on Grader Scrapers. Right now I'm leaning towards box blade. Appreciate the info.

 

[nybirdman]

I have both;six ft.box blade(medium duty) and a seven ft.(medium) rear blade.Both have their place in drive way maintenance but the box blade wins out for me.It does a beautiful job on dry materials.
I do use the rear blade some for pulling material back onto the road ways,but winter snow removal is its primary function.
I also have a York rake.

 

[Baby Grand]

Plenty of quality information about box blade use/capability here:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/122762-beginners-guide-using-box-blade-11.html?highlight=#post3759803
Start at the beginning and pay special attention to the comments from 3RRL - he has a way of describing box blade use that's clear, logical and detailed.
Like nybirdman said - both box & rear blades have advantages in road building & maintenance.
Top and tilt makes both tools much more productive and useful.

 

[moriboy]

I have a grading scraper and absolutely love it. I don't think there is an easier way to maintain roads. Just drop it down and drive. For ditch work I don't think it is a very good choice though.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I am looking to get a blade to put on the 3 point hitch of my tractor. I have a Kubota MX4700. I am going to be maintaining a drive way that is 3/4th mile. The drive is dirt and gravel. I would like to cut some ditches on the sides for drainage, be able to level and smooth. Also what size should I get. Any advise is appreciated.

You have a fair amount of road to maintain there. Depending on your budget, but there is a good reason to have several. I use 4 different types myself.

For general all around maintenance of your road, pretty hard to beat a land plane grading scraper. (LPGS)

For ditching the edges and creating a good crown, tough to beat a good rear blade.

For moving a lot of dirt, taking care of washouts (hope not) and what not, a box blade works well.

For just going out and making the road look nice and doing some light grading, a landscape rake works very well.

Really anytime that you are doing grading, best to have something that is 100+ pounds per foot of width. 125lbs-200lbs per foot width is optimal.

For your MX4700, I would look at 6' LPGS, 8' rear blades, 6' box blade and an 8' landscape rake.

If you want to "get by" with only a single implement, then the box blade is your most utilitarian implement.

Good luck with your research and decision.

 

[Mendonsy]

Here's another thought for you .....
I have a york rake which is fine for leveling gravel but not so great for loose soil. I modified the cutting edge of an old snow plow so that I can bolt it to the tines of the york rake. That converts the york rake into a rear blade with only 5 bolts.

 

[Gordon Gould]

If your drive is 3/4 mile dirt and gravel you will most likely end up with more than one dirt implement before your done. Mine is a mile. I used a rear blade for 10 years of maintenance. It will do everything. Then I added a land plane grading scraper which was a fantastic addition but it is not a do-all implement like a blade. It is, however, my most used and favorite road tool now.

If ditching is really important to you my preference would be, hands down, a rear blade with tilt capability like the LandPride RBT series. A box blade will do it but you have to have one wheel in the ditch and the angle you can get is limited by you 3pth geometery. You need a lot of blade extended beyond your tire to ditch. A wide blade will do that but you don't want more blade than the tractor and operator can handle. Another option is to get a blade that is offsetable as well as tiltable (again like the RBT series) so you get more blade on the ditch side to work with. This is what I mean by offsetable.



If you have a big budget there are some great blades a available that make the RBT look primitive. I just used it as an example.

gg

 

[jmc]

Here's another thought for you .....
I have a york rake which is fine for leveling gravel but not so great for loose soil. I modified the cutting edge of an old snow plow so that I can bolt it to the tines of the york rake. That converts the york rake into a rear blade with only 5 bolts.

We're gonna need a picture of that one!

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Land Pride RBT blade.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Land Pride RBT blade.

I guess it was a mistake for me to say an RBT blade was primitive. :laughing: That is some blade you have there Brian !!!
I didn't know they had changed so much. They don't even make an RBT25 blade like the one I have any more. Guess I am turning into a dinosaur.

 

[ovrszd]

Thanks. Also read a few posts on Grader Scrapers. Right now I'm leaning towards box blade. Appreciate the info.

During the buildup phase a rear angle blade would probably be your friend. If you patiently shop using tools like Craigslist, you can pick up an old angle blade for a couple hundred.

For maintenance the Grader Scraper is your best friend.

30 years ago before Box Blades or Grader Scrapers became popular everyone did their driveway maintenance with a rear angle blade. Just requires more patience and operator skills. The Grader Scraper can be used by anyone that has the talent to get it hitched to their tractor.

 

[sandman2234]

I have a box blade, maintained a dirt road (not gravel, just dirt!) for years. I moved on to a homemade two blade pull behind grader and pretty much parked the box blade.
I don't have a budget for it, but really like the off-setable rear blade, wow those are nice! Considered building one, but time has gotten more valuable!
David from jax

 

[xrsrfn]

Allied Farm King makes a blade like the Land pride but is much heavier. I found a used 100109 that weighs 1300 plus and is one of the easiest ways to move large amounts of dirt in a short time I have had the pleasure of using. My vote is a large grader blade. My next build project is going to be putting hydraulic tilt and offset on unit as well as hitch so I never have to take it off :laughing:

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I guess it was a mistake for me to say an RBT blade was primitive. :laughing: That is some blade you have there Brian !!!
I didn't know they had changed so much. They don't even make an RBT25 blade like the one I have any more. Guess I am turning into a dinosaur.

Gordon, aren't we all. One thing that no matter who you are or how much $$$$ you have, we all get older. A person may be able to slow it down, however it is that "they" may be able to do that? :confused3: But in the end, time will get us all.

Thanks for the comment on the rear blade, one of the best investments that I have ever made IMO.

 

[crazyal]

If you have a road and are going to buy new get the grading scrapper. Both a box blade and a rear blade can be found used but grading scrappers are few and far between. Once people buy them I don't think they give them up. Also they are not as well known so they don't sell as well as rear blades and box blades. I would get one with the ripping shanks. I've found 6' wide is about all I need. 6' allows you to do up to about a 11' wide driveway in two passes, up one way, turn around, and come back down the other side. Also weight is your friend while width isn't. The wider the blade is the more weight you need.

For doing ditches I use the front loader as long as the driveway isn't too steep. This allows me to remove dirt and place it where I want. Also I can sculpt the banks. I just put the edge of the bucket facing almost straight down and lift the front tires off the ground then slowly drive forward while curing the bucket. Sure it's slower but that's just more seat time so it doesn't bother me. I borrowed a box blade a few times and found it worked ok but once I got my BEFCO grading scraper I don't see myself ever needing a box blade again. Over the years I've even used the grading scraper to level the yard and i use the ripping shanks to break up ice on the driveway in the winter.

 

[alia176]

sorry for this dumb question is the term "grading scraper" and a "land plane" used synonymously on this site?

 

[nybirdman]

sorry for this dumb question is the term "grading scraper" and a "land plane" used synonymously on this site?

No,they are different tools.Rear blades are a lot more common,box blades also are popular,grading scraper not so much.