Box Scraper box blades...is bigger better?

[nybirdman]

I have a six foot on that I use on a L4240 HSTC,under the right circumstances it's all it wants.One of the few times I have had to use low range on anything.I was in 4WD and have loaded R1's.Most times just lightly scraping(3-4") 2WD and medium will do.

 

[brown40]

Is bigger better:
To maintain roads--Yes, there will be filling, shaping and moving of clean material. You won't use the scarifiers deep and fetch up--the total weight of the box is your limit.
To cut roads--No. You can fetch a 200hp tractor up on a single point. Roots, rocks, and the trash that come will at times have your box standing on a point or resting over two. If you live where material is giving, then you're all set. I have more rock than anything.
I would still favor bigger.

 

[pdubdo]

Thanks for all the information! Bought a very slightly used heavy duty 6 ft Kingcutter for $500. Now time to learn how to use it .

 

[kthompson]

Weight is your friend unless you really over do it. I want a blade or mower wider than my wheels are outside to outside and as has been said not by an inch or two. If you end up with a bb or yes mower you have problem keeping up with how fare it extends past your wheels you can use pvc pipe mounted to front bumper or such to show where the edge or end of the implement is. Have done that with a disk when in a tight area. You could also use bike flags on the attachment to show where the end is much like they do on some big trucks to know where the end of the bumper is.

 

[FTG-05]

I think the BB on my Kubota is five foot, heavy is good but I don't want my BB much wider than the tractor footprint. If it's much wider you have to really pay close attention to where the blade track is. I probably added 100 pounds of weight to the Land Pride BB on the Kubota. I'll be doing the same to my Frontier BB.

Far better to have to watch the blade track and getting work done vs. having to watch the rear tires and getting squat-crap done because the tire is outside the blade and you can't reach what you're trying to work on.

The former works. The latter defeats the whole purpose. Focus on what's important.

 

[bobbymcphe77]

I have an Kubota L3901 and a newbie at all things ag. A 5 ft box blade adequately (but barely) covers the tracks. But "I've read on the internet" that my 40 hp tractor can pull a 6 ft box. So do I go with a blade that's well within the comfort zone of my tractor or go for the bigger/heavier box. I'm using it to both maintain and cut new gravel and dirt roads. Thanks for advice!

i have commercial box blade dragon made by modern in beaumont tx has hyd/cyl for the blades i do not need 2543961539 live in greenville tx

 

[ericm979]

There's a couple drawbacks to a wider box blade- if you're using it as ballast and work in tight areas it'll bump into stuff or limit your motion more. Of course you can get a ballast box which doesn't stick out as much but that's another implement to store, install and remove.
The larger blade that holds more material requires more effort to move it. You need both power and traction. Your tractor is relatively light for it's power. When trying to move a box blade full of dirt I can stop my 37hp Branson that weighs significantly more than a 3901 even before the loaded tires. I've got a 5.5' blade that just covers the tire treads.

OTOH if you're grading instead of moving dirt and work in open areas neither of these are a concern.

 

[Michael Aos]

I have the ~437lb Land Pride GS1548 land plane / grader scraper on a QH05 behind my BX2370.

Completely transformed the usefulness of the FEL / pallet forks.
--

Box Blades are the most common implement to do double duty as Three Point Hitch mounted counterbalance to a Front End Loader. So look up your FEL lift capacity and figure on buying a Box Blade 66% to 75% of FEL lift capacity. More than 66% is not necessary because Box Blade is cantilevered behind the tractor, increasing it EFFECTIVE weight as counterbalance.

 

[MoArk Willy]

if you're using it as ballast

OTOH if you're grading instead of moving dirt and work in open areas neither of these are a concern.

3 pt ballast boxes are so cheap there is no reason not to have or make one.

 

[Otgaugres]

I have a 60” Frontier that was all my JD 2720 wanted for anything but basic road grading and some lighter duty dirt moving. Very easy to lose traction with too big a bite. In contrast, same blade on my JD 4066R and I can do virtually anything I want without losing traction. May be a bit undersized for the 4066r and a bit oversized for the 2720. Based on my experience, better to be a bit undersized. JMHO