boxes and blades

[farmerpsv]

Howdy all,
have been enjoying this site thoroughly, great group of folks.
I asked this awhile back and am hoping to get more input. I'm going to be getting a TN65 FWD FWD FWD (that thread got alot of response /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif. anyway, have never had a blade or box, have always used my FEL for 'grading'...which I admit is pretty hokey. am going to build a house, have a long road on a new property, and have some high points to lower and some low points to fill. This jusifies a blade or box for this el cheapo. the TN65 has a tire width of 82" so i assume the blade or box should be wider...84", 96"?? and would appreciate hearing from you experts on which you like best and why along with tips for grading.
thanks everyone,
paul

 

[Phred]

Paul,

This is one of those is blue or green better kind of questions....

But my take on this is that if you need to create ditches or maintain ditches then a rear blade is the tool for the job. Maybe if its just to level / smooth then a box.

For landscape work, like smoothing out top soil, a box is probably better since it leaves a smooth finish.

However, most road crews use a motor grader which is basically a rear blade.

Fred

 

[Robert_in_NY]

The TN will pull either the 7' or 8' box blade with ease so it is going to depend on where you are using it and what you want to spend. I have a 7' Bush Hog brand box blade. Just make sure you buy a heavy enough implement so that you won't bend it up as the TN's are not forgiving if you hook up a cheap implement. Look at the hp requirements and go from there. One of the local dealers here tried to sell me the light duty box blade from Bush Hog while I was looking for the Medium Duty. I told him I didn't want something that will bend to easy as the light duty was for a max hp of 35 and my TN makes considerably more. All that dealer wanted to do is sell me something they had on their lot and not what I wanted and needed.

But the 7' blade works great for me. It is not too big but it covers the tracks so I am set. I use it to maintain our roadways to our pens and clear ours and our neighbors driveways. I have also used it on jobs and have never had a problem with the Bush Hog box blade. Good luck with your search and let us know what you choose.

Also, I noticed your tire width on your TN is 82". You can get your tractor a lot narrower if you want. Mine has 16.9-30's on the rear and I am just a touch over 72" wide (most likely 74" but I have never checked too closely). Is there any reason you have your tires set out so far?

 

[StanInCalif]

A boxblade for this tractor should be 84"; Rear blade should be 96". The reason for the difference is that you will almost always be using the blade at an angle- that uses up width fast.
Also be sure to get a blade that offsets- without offset a blade would be of little use to me.

 

[farmerpsv]

Thanks for the responses.
Fred, I have a hilly piece of property with some areas i'd like to fill in a bit. have a high place on a road i'd like to lower just to make it easier to maintain...i envision taking it down with the FEL and then grading it a bit. then i'd want to grade a fairly level slope to build on, and maintain a 1/4 mile road. don't really have to maintain ditches.

Robert, actually i don't have the TN yet...am ordering it in two weeks when i close on the sale of my last farm. have been using a JD2020 with 2wd and am moving up in the world /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif. I got the width specs from the TN literature (was going by memory). as i look at it now the width is 79", i'll have 16.9R28 on the rear with 12.4R20 on the front. i run a tiller and chisel that i purposely have narrower than the tires because i use raised beds and don't like to drive on the beds. i was supposing that the opposite would be true with a blade or box.

 

[OkeeDon]

What's perfect is to get a box blade exactly the same width as your tires so that, while it covers your tracks, you can look down and know that if your rear tire clears a post or something, your box will also. For this purpose, measure at the "fattest" part of the tire that will clear obstructions. Since they don't make standard box blades in 1" increments, go with the next size up, because covering your tracks is more important. I got lucky; my little TC18 has tires exactly 48" wide, so the 48" box blade fits everywhere the tractor will fit, without hooking anything. My landscape rake is 72", and even set at an angle, I'm constantly forgetting how wide it is and hooking it on trees and such. I have kind of a bad back that makes it hard for me to twist in the seat, so one of my future projects is to put big mirrors on it so I can see what's happening back there without turning.

 

[chrisjbell]

FWITW, I own a blade and have used a (borrowed) box on my tractor. If I'd known then what I know now I'd have bought a box and skipped the blade.

Having said that, the blade works fine for certain things; I just think a box is more versatile.

 

[Hoeman00]

If u are going to use the loader to fill and cut on the drive a 8' rear blade could level the areas out and use the blade to plow snow after the drive is done.

 

[Libertine]

farmerpsv:

Might I suggest you consider a "rollover" type box blade in lieu of the straight box. These roll over to 3 positions. One for pulling (like a straight box blade), one for pushing (the "box" rolls over so you "push" it) and one strictly for ripping. Switching positions involves nothing more than pulling a lever (directly, or with a rope).

They work much better (more flexible) than a straight box blade. Sometimes, for straight grading, you don't need the rippers and the straight box blade requires "repositioning" them. If you need ripping (to loosen the ground) you use the rippers. If blading compacted dirt you rip to loosen, flip the blade (to forward or backfill) then blade it. If you want to backfill, you push, keeping the dirt, etc. within the box. Also, when pushing (backing) the wheels of the tractor are on an already leveled piece and there is less "wavey" scraping. I havn't used mine for snow, and doubt they would be so good for that, but I have a blade that angles/tilts anyway.

Being a cheap SOB myself, I didn't like the idea of the 2-3 times cost of a straight box blade, but they are worth it if you have to do much of this type of work. Also, the resale will be much more so you will get more if/when it is sold, i.e. the actual, net cost is not as bad as the price might indicate. I looked at Woods & Landpride. Both very heavy duty and I believe you can get them in the size you need. You might try renting one to see how you like them. I didn't like the Woods as well (I rented one before buying) since they have a bar midway up the moldboard (to brace the side plate) which tended to catch moist dirt (makes clogs) easily. The Landpride doesn't have that and seems plenty strong enough.

Anyway, just a suggestion.

JEH