Box blade vs scrape blade

[CMV]

Been borrowing a friend's box blade and have got a lot of use out of it, but need to get my own. It looks to me that the box blade will do everything the rear scrape blade will but has the added benefits of being able to drop teeth, more weight, use in reverse, not let material escape at the sides, etc.

Would there be any reason to choose the scrape blade over a box blade? Does the scrape do things the box won't? Maintaining a long dirt/gravel road, filling in erosion channels, filling/leveling low spots, fixing ruts, and general light grading are what I would use it for.

Also - general use question - when I go over an area that is mostly dirt/pea gravel, the box blade does a great job getting it right in just a pass or two. But if there is more than maybe 25% grass coverage, it just kind of floats on the grass and it takes dozens of passes in forward & reverse. Small amount of grass - like the middle hump of a dirt road - it just cuts. But more grass than that is too much. Do I just need to weight it down or angle a different way?

 

[bcp]

The box blade won't angle to move material sideways efficiently.

Bruce

 

[CincyFlyer]

Adding weight to a box blade is common practice. I toss several 60-lb. sand tubes on top to prevent skating.

 

[/pine]

I have both and use both...I do like to say..." Man with (tractor w/T&T*) box blade is like man who can catch flies with chop sticks...he can do anything"

However there is one thing that an angling rear blade does with a lot less effort and it's dealing with washboards...

*...IMO If you do any type of grading/grooming work with any type of rear attachment...hydraulic top and tilt are the two most profound improvements one can add to a tractor...T&T is the ultimate in making grading implements and their operation as efficient as they get...

personally I would keep watching CL etc...usually you can find both box blades and rear blades used for what a new box blade costs...there are no truer words than heavier is better when it comes to box blades...match attachments to your tractor's capabilities...

 

[nybirdman]

I have and use both;the rear blade is mostly used for snow removal but does have it uses in dirt.

 

[Redlands Okie]

If you have a choice of one of the tools then the box blade is probably the best way to go. Having a GOOD box blade is even better. Good as in being heavy heavy heavy and as well made as you can afford. Rippers or teeth being needed as part of the box blade. If you get a chance to pick up a good deal on a scrapper blade at a later date you can always add it to your attachment list.

As said above a top cylinder and or a side cylinder (depending on your needs) is pretty darn nice to have with either of them and makes using attachments so much easier and precise.

Now this attachment pictured is probably not the cheapest or a normal set up but if you can modify a grader blade or have the resources to modify one then its a really nice tool to have and just about does the job of both with no issues. Rippers on the grader blade. Bolt on and removable wings or end caps on a grader blade. The rippers lets you loosen up the soil or gravel and the wings keep it boxed up to move around to where you need it. If you look closely you will notice the wings are teardrop shaped to allow the material to come out under the ends or keep it all in depending on how the top and tilt or the angle of the blade is set. Or you can just unbolt the wings.
I bought a piece of 4 inch tube with 1/4 inch walls for less than $50 to cut up and make this modification and used the teeth off my box blade. Might be something to do with a grader blade at a later date perhaps.



P.S. one down side is that it is longer than a box blade. On a drive its not a big deal. In a backyard in tight working quarters it can be a issue.
The hydraulics are not required by any means. They just make it easier.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

If you have a choice of one of the tools then the box blade is probably the best way to go. Having a GOOD box blade is even better. Good as in being heavy heavy heavy and as well made as you can afford. Rippers or teeth being needed as part of the box blade. If you get a chance to pick up a good deal on a scrapper blade at a later date you can always add it to your attachment list.

As said above a top cylinder and or a side cylinder (depending on your needs) is pretty darn nice to have with either of them and makes using attachments so much easier and precise.

Now this attachment pictured is probably not the cheapest or a normal set up but if you can modify a grader blade or have the resources to modify one then its a really nice tool to have and just about does the job of both with no issues. Rippers on the grader blade. Bolt on and removable wings or end caps on a grader blade. The rippers lets you loosen up the soil or gravel and the wings keep it boxed up to move around to where you need it. If you look closely you will notice the wings are teardrop shaped to allow the material to come out under the ends or keep it all in depending on how the top and tilt or the angle of the blade is set. Or you can just unbolt the wings.
I bought a piece of 4 inch tube with 1/4 inch walls for less than $50 to cut up and make this modification and used the teeth off my box blade. Might be something to do with a grader blade at a later date perhaps.

View attachment 532035View attachment 532037

P.S. one down side is that it is longer than a box blade. On a drive its not a big deal. In a backyard in tight working quarters it can be a issue.

Very nice. :thumbsup:

 

[Redlands Okie]

Thank you

 

[kthompson]

I have both and use both. Rear blade that rotates both ways can be does a good job with cutting shallow drainage ditch and bedding road. Both have their place but for pure dirt moving the box blade is best. Rear blade will move dirt to the side where box blade only pulls or push it. Think all have given good points.

 

[DieselBound]

Been borrowing a friend's box blade and have got a lot of use out of it, but need to get my own. It looks to me that the box blade will do everything the rear scrape blade will but has the added benefits of being able to drop teeth, more weight, use in reverse, not let material escape at the sides, etc.

Would there be any reason to choose the scrape blade over a box blade? Does the scrape do things the box won't? Maintaining a long dirt/gravel road, filling in erosion channels, filling/leveling low spots, fixing ruts, and general light grading are what I would use it for.

Also - general use question - when I go over an area that is mostly dirt/pea gravel, the box blade does a great job getting it right in just a pass or two. But if there is more than maybe 25% grass coverage, it just kind of floats on the grass and it takes dozens of passes in forward & reverse. Small amount of grass - like the middle hump of a dirt road - it just cuts. But more grass than that is too much. Do I just need to weight it down or angle a different way?

Land planer might be another consideration.

As has been said, WEIGHT is where it's at when talking box blades. I found that with my 84", which is 1,200lbs, and an hydraulic top link I can angle it and peel up sod: I actually get sod rolling up and on to the front of the box blade which only adds to the effectiveness as that increase weight. Have hydraulic scarifiers (rippers), but soon found out that they work better at anchoring the tractor than in tearing up the ground! (raking the box blade to have the rear cutter dig in is more than sufficient in tearing up soil, for me that is). Although it's not real efficient, a box blade can do pretty well at grading, but in reverse!

Grass/sod is just plain tough to deal with! Unless one has a dozer you're not going to be peeling it up quickly.

This past summer I sold a 6' back blade that I'd gotten in a package deal when I was after a box blade for my B7800. I doubt that in the 4 years that I had it I'd only used it a total of maybe 2 hours. On the other hand, my box blade has been used extensively. While I have a bit of a driveway it doesn't get out of shape. A back blade will never bite down as hard as a box blade.

And regarding weight, a box blade tends to provide good weight for ballasting (increase traction, in the elevated position!, and for counterbalancing loader work). Back blades tend to be wider, a good bit wider than the tractor, which means running around with one on the back all the time presents increased risks of snagging stuff.

All said, however, I think it's best to first concentrate more on what tasks you need to do than on which of two implements is better than the other.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Land planer might be another consideration.

As has been said, WEIGHT is where it's at when talking box blades. I found that with my 84", which is 1,200lbs, and an hydraulic top link I can angle it and peel up sod: I actually get sod rolling up and on to the front of the box blade which only adds to the effectiveness as that increase weight. Have hydraulic scarifiers (rippers), but soon found out that they work better at anchoring the tractor than in tearing up the ground! (raking the box blade to have the rear cutter dig in is more than sufficient in tearing up soil, for me that is). Although it's not real efficient, a box blade can do pretty well at grading, but in reverse!

Grass/sod is just plain tough to deal with! Unless one has a dozer you're not going to be peeling it up quickly.

This past summer I sold a 6' back blade that I'd gotten in a package deal when I was after a box blade for my B7800. I doubt that in the 4 years that I had it I'd only used it a total of maybe 2 hours. On the other hand, my box blade has been used extensively. While I have a bit of a driveway it doesn't get out of shape. A back blade will never bite down as hard as a box blade.And regarding weight, a box blade tends to provide good weight for ballasting (increase traction, in the elevated position!, and for counterbalancing loader work). Back blades tend to be wider, a good bit wider than the tractor, which means running around with one on the back all the time presents increased risks of snagging stuff.

All said, however, I think it's best to first concentrate more on what tasks you need to do than on which of two implements is better than the other.

Things need to be kept in perspective, A 1200lb rear blade will cut every bit as good as a 1200lb box blade, if not better. People tend to always think of box blades being heavier than rear blades, but as long as a person compares apples-apples instead of apples to oranges you then get a true perspective.

This reminds me of threads where a person is complaining about the quality of a Land Pride rear blade and how poor it is due to various reasons. Well since Land Pride has 10 different levels of rear blades ranging from 120 lbs to 2400 lbs and about everything in between, just which blade is it that the person is complaining about and what machine does that person run it behind to be complaining about it?

As long as the implement is sized correctly for the machine that it will be used with, then that is all the capability that should be expected. My 100lb rear blade that is used behind my 16hp garden tractor sure as the sun rises in the east every morning does not work like the 1140lb rear blade that I use behind my 75HP 12,000 lb tractor. So should I be upset or even expect that the 100lb blade can't make a 3-4" cut and roll a full blade of dirt? :no: No, because that was never even considered when the unit was designed and built.

Everyone's needs are a bit different, a lot of people get implements and then never use them, or rarely use them. Why, lot of reasons, but I suspect that a large amount of the time it's because the person simply got the wrong implement. I notice that a lot of people don't care for their rear blades much, they don't cut in and or just bounce along the ground. Well why is that, wouldn't have anything to do with the weight of the implement now would it?

I know that I use my rear blade at least 10 times to one for my box blade and both are 1000lb+ implements. Different needs for different circumstances-conditions.

 

[bdhsfz6]

Everyone's needs are a bit different, a lot of people get implements and then never use them, or rarely use them. Why, lot of reasons, but I suspect that a large amount of the time it's because the person simply got the wrong implement. I notice that a lot of people don't care for their rear blades much, they don't cut in and or just bounce along the ground. Well why is that, wouldn't have anything to do with the weight of the implement now would it?

I know that I use my rear blade at least 10 times to one for my box blade and both are 1000lb+ implements. Different needs for different circumstances-conditions.

For almost 35 years now, I've been maintaining a 1.25 mile private road along with several 300+' driveways. Due to the slope involved, it is essential to maintain a good pitch to the 16' wide road in order to shed water. I've used both a 1000 lb box blade and an 800 lb rear blade but neither can compare to the work I can do with my 700 lb York rake. I have it fitted with a scarifier bar, grader blade, trolley wheels and a T&T kit from Fit Rite (Thanks Brian!).




The problem I have with the box blade is it won't move material from the ditches to the road center and it doesn't handle washboarding well. The rear blade is much better at these tasks but it is often difficult to smooth the resulting ridge in the road center. With the York rake, I can scarify the washboard, move material from the ditches, rake the center smooth with the tines and do all this without changing implements. I rarely have to get off the tractor to make adjustments thanks to the T&T.

Every situation is different though and what works well for one may not for another.

 

[/pine]

I was going to mention a rake...as the angling ability makes it also work well for dealing with washboards...
Mine is not near as sophisticated as the York model...but I do have some wheels that I rarely use with T&T...I did modify the ends to make it a "box-rake"...eliminates windrows etc...

 

[DieselBound]

Things need to be kept in perspective, A 1200lb rear blade will cut every bit as good as a 1200lb box blade, if not better. People tend to always think of box blades being heavier than rear blades, but as long as a person compares apples-apples instead of apples to oranges you then get a true perspective.

I'm sure that if one were to get a MASSIVE back blade that one could have one that weighs in the same range as a box blade (that's sized for the tractor). For comparisons, a 9' Rhino 950 back blade is 876 lbs. (reference) (note that the next step up in weight is an 8' at 1,712 lbs) So, "apples to apples" would also include comparing equipment that is spec'd to match the tractor.

 

[CMV]

Thank you for all the replies. Considering my machine is smaller than a lot of yours, I知 a new operator, and maintaining a long dirt/gravel road, filling in erosion channels, filling/leveling low spots, fixing ruts, and general light grading are what I would use it for, if I were to have one or the other, I would be better off overall with which one?

 

[nybirdman]

Thank you for all the replies. Considering my machine is smaller than a lot of yours, I知 a new operator, and maintaining a long dirt/gravel road, filling in erosion channels, filling/leveling low spots, fixing ruts, and general light grading are what I would use it for, if I were to have one or the other, I would be better off overall with which one?

Box blade;wonderful tool after you learn how to use it.Hint;materials must be dry.

 

[s219]

Thank you for all the replies. Considering my machine is smaller than a lot of yours, I知 a new operator, and maintaining a long dirt/gravel road, filling in erosion channels, filling/leveling low spots, fixing ruts, and general light grading are what I would use it for, if I were to have one or the other, I would be better off overall with which one?

Box blade for sure. It's a very good multi-purpose tool for all of those things. It's especially good at leveling and moving material from high spots to low spots.

Be aware that top link angle is critical to how the box operates/behaves, and you will want different angles for different uses.

 

[CincyFlyer]

Box blade;wonderful tool after you learn how to use it.Hint;materials must be dry.

But not too dry!

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Thank you for all the replies. Considering my machine is smaller than a lot of yours, I知 a new operator, and maintaining a long dirt/gravel road, filling in erosion channels, filling/leveling low spots, fixing ruts, and general light grading are what I would use it for, if I were to have one or the other, I would be better off overall with which one?

Sorry for the diversion in this thread,:sorry: I just felt that some things needed to be clarified. If I were you and your road is the MAIN concern, I would be getting a land plane grading scraper. (LPGS) The absolute best implement to maintain a natural surface road IMO.

If other tasks are also a concern , then a box blade ends up being the best all around grading implement. Sort of the Swiss army knife of grading implements, can do a lot of different things, but the correct implement for a certain type of job is typically better.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[/pine]

...materials must be dry...

This is contrary to my experience...regardless of the implement BB, RB, Rake...I find somewhat wet materials much easier to work with...