Confused about box scrapers

[Steuny]

Gentlemen: I have a JD 750 (about a 20 HP) tractor I am using to keep my 2 km driveway clear. It has a areas of gravel, crushed limestone , and some soft sandy areas . This time of year there are ruts and potholes. I have a rear grader blade that I used for the snow along with a snowblower once the sides of the laneway got too high to push. I viewed a number of posts on box blades and wondered if this was a useful attachment Are there certain brands that have unique advantages then others. I read a lot of the posts here but it started to get quite confusing hence my posts. Anyone who uses this attachment and is quite familiar with it's advantages over a simple grader blade please reply. I would hate to purchase a box blade without some recommendations from those that have good luck operating one. Thanks for any feedback.

 

[john_bud]

Either will work. Operator skill needs to be a little bit higher with the scraper blade, but not much. Gage wheels on the scraper make it nearly as easy to use as the box blade.

The box blade is better for moving soil from high spots to low spots. But you can get (or make) side wings for the scraper and do the same thing.

To work well, either has to be heavy. In my OPINION, a box blade around 5-600 pounds would be about the ideal for your application. Much lighter and your just joking around. Much heavier and your tractor will struggle. This is assuming you have loaded ag tires and not turf.


have fun!
jb

 

[LarryD]

I work for a general contractor and we frequently do civil work. I can say the box blade is the preferred attachment the contractor uses for getting final grade on all our dirt work (ok, not the 75 x 2000’ taxiway). Your 2km driveway is long and a grader would certainly reduce the work hours involved but if you want to DIY then a box blade will have an advantage over a straight blade

The problem with a pothole is you can’t just fill it in with material, it will return because the bowl does not let water pass easily. The fines migrate out when the hole is saturated and the rock soon follows. The only way to get rid of a pothole is to rip up the base completely and then compact. A box blade with rippers lets you dig down into the base and remove the offending pothole.

I can’t recommend any specific box blade but there are numerous manufacturers out there that build fine attachments, there’s even a thread on box blade comparisons. One would do well to look at welds, thickness of materials and strength of 3-point attachment.

Having said all this, I have a box blade and I can’t even come close to the finesse I’ve seen some operators display. I am getting better though.
/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[Egon]

Chances are you will not have enough tractor to do a proper job.

The ideal would be to rip/scarify the entire entire road, use a blade to pull up the shoulders, get a windrow of material and roll it back and forth. This redistributes the fines and will also help even out the road humps and hollows. Unfortunetly not many of us have access to a grader which does this job very well.

In your case a box blade with ripper teeth and the rear blade may be combined for a very nice proper job. Rip and move dirt with the box blade. Roll a windrow with the back blade. Guage wheels would be very helpfull.

Roll that full windrow about twice as many times as seems necessary and the do it again befor laying it down. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Egon /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[jbrumberg]

Steuny:
You should lay geotextile material down before laying down ballast rock. This material is expensive, but it reduces water "pumping" which extends the life of a gravel driveway. Wait till everything dries out before you start your project. All the advise you have received is solid. Jay