Box blade width question.

[Garyoc]

Howdy,
I have a BX25 with rear wheel spacers (increases the tractor's total width by 4"). Should a box blade be sized by the amount of tractor/traction power or is it more important to have the box cover the wheel tracks? I'm thinking a 48" would be the right fit size & power wise and I might be better off removing the wheel spacers when I want to use a box blade whereas a 54" would cover my tracks as is but maybe I won't have the power for it. Any thoughts you guys/gals might have from previous experiences would be greatly appreciated before I make a purchase.
Best regards,
Gary

 

[EverythingAttachments]

The box blade needs to cover the wheel tracks. For your instance, we offer a 54" Compact box blade that features the same number of shanks as our 48" box blade and gives you the extra few inches to cut out your tracks. It would be a pain to remove the spacers every time you wanted to use the box blade.

 

[unbidden]

There is a BX box blade thread going on just today, be sure to check that out. the 48" just covers the stock wheel base. As EA above has written, they also have a 54" which I think would be fine as far as power goes depending on the materials you are blading.

 

[Garyoc]

Hi Ted,
Actually it's your "box blade" video that got me thinking about the width when I saw it being used. I am looking at your 54", would my little BX25 have the enough power or would I have to take lighter cuts when trying to grade off a level?
Thanks for your reply,
Gary

 

[DKCDKC]

I use a box blade a lot on my gravel drive. While it is nice to have it cover the tracks, that is a cosmetic element for gravel, nothing important. I had a 6 foot blade behind my previous tractor, a JD 2030 68 hp 2WD and it pulled it well except for soft gravel uphill - when you had to make repeated runs. I could not pull that at all with my new JD 3038e 38 hp 4WD, and traded for a smaller, 5 foot box blade. The smaller JD pulls the 5 footer about as the bigger tractor pulled the 6 foot - fine on the flat, struggling up hill if the box was full. But I manage. The BX25 is smaller and lighter than my CUT, so I doubt it could pull a 5 foot through anything but light dirt or flat gravel. I would go with the 4 foot. Also allow time to learn the tricks of using a BB. They can do a lot of things well, and are practically indestructible used properly. But there are tricks to them.

 

[EverythingAttachments]

Hi Ted,
Actually it's your "box blade" video that got me thinking about the width when I saw it being used. I am looking at your 54", would my little BX25 have the enough power or would I have to take lighter cuts when trying to grade off a level?
Thanks for your reply,
Gary

I don't think you'll feel the difference in the 6" extra width.
Travis

 

[Grandad4]

I use a box blade a lot on my gravel drive. While it is nice to have it cover the tracks, that is a cosmetic element for gravel, nothing important.

I agree. If you're using the BB for finish work in gravel or prepare ground for seeding, sure it's nice to remove your tire tracks. But it you're using it to rip, dig and relocate dirt, who cares if you see the odd tire mark here or there? Regardless of the application, the most important thing is to get the size and weight to match the tractor's ability to pull it.