Implements

[Recoveryhill]

I took delivery of my 3700 a week or so ago, with a 60" bush hog and heavy box blade.

Road repair/maintenance is at the top of my needs list and last Saturday I angled the box with the outboard rippers lowered and it did a fine job of angling the ditch line. Before I was able to work it further, on Sunday we had 4.5" of rain and since then, another 4"!

Based on what I saw out of the job, today I ordered a 72" back blade, the one with offset/angle/tilt adjustment...King Cutter SO-6. The tractor angle cutting the ditch was at the limit so with the offset ability I will be able to keep the wheels on more level ground and still grade the deepened ditch bank.

For 200 bucks I had them throw a light duty boom pole on the pallet, as well.

After massive rains since the first of the month, our totals are nearing 40" since August 1. This is not normal and in the land of steep dirt roads, things are very bad. My car is stranded on the mountain and the 4wd Ranger can barely make it off the hill. I need some sunshine to dry things up before I do much else as disturbed soil turns to pudding!

We all need an end to storm season down here, and soon! It has been a very difficult run.

 

[Code54]

Great tractor - love mine.
I don't mean this in a bad way, but be real careful using the King Kutter to rip ditches. I did that and caught a root with the corner and bent the heck out of it - basically ruined it in about 3 seconds. Now mine was a lighter model so you are already ahead of me there but I ended up buying a 600lb Cat 2. rear blade just so I can't do that again! Just don't want anyone to screw up their stuff like I did - it was a lesson learned

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Any chance you can get a 7 footer instead of the 6? I think that you would be a lot better off with the 7. When the 6 gets angled, it ends up being a little narrow. You would be able to reach just a little further with that 7 also.

JMO, and I'm sure that you will be happy with either one. In general, rear blades work much better on roads than BBs in my opinion.

 

[Recoveryhill]

Thanks for the suggestion. I considered the 84" unit but with the ability of the unit I purchased to shift the blade off center, I'm hoping the 72" will suffice.

SO-6 Swinging Offset Tractor Scrape Blade 72"

The box blade was the right thing for me to have, as before the monsoon, the area I had to cut was tough. As it was, I had to make five passes with the outboard teeth down and box angled to make the cut. The problem is that when the flood hit the newly cut ditch, it got a few inches deeper and the slope after I cut was at the limit to begin with! It won't erode deeper as now that the material I cut is washed out, the base is what we lovingly call, Rotten Rock.

I've got loose soil on the bank and the blade will easily grade it smooth, at the right angle and keep me upright!

I also like the weight of the box blade as rear ballast but the scrape blade will work well to dress the road once I get it repaired.

What I really need is my own asphalt plant but a tractor, box and blade are a poor man's way to keep the road accessible.

At least what I purchased what correct and only needed another piece of the puzzle rather than having purchased something that wasn't right for my job! I've got the better part of 1/2 mile and a 700' gain in elevation to deal with.

I also ordered a boom pole for the 3pt. I couldn't build it myself for the 200 I paid. I like that better than hooks on my bucket, for lifting and moving stuff around. I've cleared some 2" saplings and have the trunks in parallel stacks. A choker around each stack attached to the boom and I've got a light duty skidder out of the deal.

 

[Recoveryhill]

I don't mean this in a bad way, but be real careful using the King Kutter to rip ditches.

I hear you! I did the cut with a tank heavy Woods Box Blade with rippers. I would have destroyed a back blade doing what I did. I just didn't know I would also need a scraper blade to do the job completely.

How much money is it worth to maintain access to your home? I also rent out an apartment up here during the winter to short term tourists and need to keep the road "rental car" ready. That means 8" diameter tires and 3" ground clearance:laughing:

Between keeping my road open and hiring out for those in the area with similar problems, I hope to break even or make a couple of dolla.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

With 1/2 mile of road to maintain, you would be well off to have one of these road grader blades. While there are times when I use my box blade and my rear blade on my over 2 miles of roads, I would hate to be without my grader blades. :thumbsup::thumbsup:
Everything attachments has these also, but I could not get the link to work.

Land Pride Grading Scrapers

GradeMaster Grader Blades

Road Boss Grader - Road and Landscape Grading, Surfacing and Leveling, and Material Spreading and Reclamation

 

[Verticaltrx]

Just FYI, the SO-6 is a Leinbach scrape blade not a King Kutter. It is a nice blade however and so far the quality of all my Leinbach equipment has been good. The are made right in NC.

 

[Recoveryhill]

Just FYI, the SO-6 is a Leinbach scrape blade not a King Kutter. It is a nice bald however and so far the quality of all my Leinbach equipment has been good. The are made right in NC.

Gotcha! It looks to be a well built piece and the lateral blade shift is going to be good. Tilting my Box Blade is a real trick! Next time I'm going to angle it on chocks and adjust the 3pt to match before connecting. Trying to do it after it's connected is not a pretty affair! Of course angling the Leinbach blade will be a piece of cake.

MountainView: I've seen that unit demo (video) What concerns me is the lack of much loose dressing on the road to get full advantage out of it. I have crusher run hauled up here and sift that onto the travel portion to hide the dips between sharp rocks (every four inches). The water course crosses the road in two serious spots and that's where I have most of my trouble. Keeping water breaks in place deflecting runoff to the ditch line before it gains enough volume to sweep all my crusher run away is the key.

Late last night we had another 4.67 inches of rain in two hours and it demolished my water breaks (and more). Yikes!

http://stjohnsource.com/galleryimage/billcurry/2010/11/10/frederiksted-flooding

 

[Recoveryhill]

While there are times when I use my box blade and my rear blade on my over 2 miles of roads,

MtnViewRanch: Nice Mtn.View! That's actually dirt on your road; I'm envious.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

So when you scrape with either your box or rear blade you get very little material pulled up? A good grader blade is going to weigh about 800lbs or more and will cut into the hard stuff. What you actually want is for it to cut off any wash boarding and that gets you material to fill in the low spots. These blades work very well and the ground is generally not soft on an established roadway.

I am only giving you suggestions to try and make your overall maintenance easier. There are many people with these blades and I have not ever read about any complaints.

Good luck