Is it unwise to buy a BB narrower than your tractor??

Spiveyman · Aug 29, 2007

JoeinTX said:
Hey, ultimately you can buy whatever you like. But, if you're going to use a box blade to do what it was designed for and get the results expected, you need one to cover your tractor width. Short of that, you will continually be limited and unhappy with the results of your BB jobs and wishing you had the more appropriate unit for your tractor.

Many posters above have demonstrated clearly to this and the benefits of sizing a BB properly with your machine and they aren't spewing baloney. Go ahead, shave a few bucks and get the smaller rig but get ready to spend every day after wishing you had splurged for the bigger BB that can handle everything your tractor can dish out.

Yeah, I'm convinced on the BB wider than tractor deal. That's why I'm waiting another day for them to bring the rears in. That way I can cover my tracks with the 7' BB. Incidentally, I measured the BB too and it was a tad over 7'. So we're talking inches here, but my BB will be able to cover my tracks.

Here's hoping I'm good enough with the thing for that to matter. I've seen some of the jobs others have done here with their BB's and am impressed.

npaden · Aug 29, 2007

Not sure how much it would cost to ship but there is an 8' box blade on ebay in Missouri for $480 brand new right now.

United Box Blade/Scraper 8 Foot Model 896 HD - (eBay item 300145243055 end time Sep-04-07 19:42:06 PDT)

Spiveyman · Aug 29, 2007

npaden said:
Not sure how much it would cost to ship but there is an 8' box blade on ebay in Missouri for $480 brand new right now.

Hey thanks for looking. I hadn't really thought about looking on ebay. From the picture I don't think they are as heavy duty as what the dealer I'm working through has on their lot. The top link section on this one looks like the one's other TBN'ers have bent all to pieces doing heavy duty work. Also the weight they listed for shipping is a bit light. I think they missed with their guess. Anyway, assuming I actually get my tractor tonight it should have a BB on the 3ph when they drop it off. I'll try to get some pics so you all can see what I'm talking about when I say it's beefy!!

3RRL · Aug 29, 2007

Spiv-
I just looked at that 8' boxblade and they don't look that bad. They appear to have bracing from front to the rear panel and the lift pins are captured. The frame looks good and the top link connection is not too much of a concern for dragging forward. You can always add a reinforcement there for reverse dozing. The scarifier beam appears to be pretty hefty too. Mine was just a light/medium boxblade, but the fram etc. was worthy and allowed me to make it better overall. The price is certainly right if indeed it is as good as it looks? You can always add weight to it, again, if the basic box is good. Perhaps if you don't have the means to make it more solid and better, your post showing the one you picked is an excellent choice. I know there are super heavy duty models out there and everybody wants the best. But sometimes you have to figure out where cost meets usage and what fits for you.

I know you said you saw where my boxblade had the top link connection mangled, but that is incorrect. What I mangled were:
- the scarifiers until I added supports underneath the carrying beam.
- the lower drag links of my tractor from bulldozing in reverse. I had to beef those up to make them stronger for what I was doing with the boxblade.

Check out my posts again, because you must have mis read it. It can be confusing reading as much as you have over the last month, I know.

Spiveyman · Aug 29, 2007

Oh.... gotcha. Yeah, I thought that you rebuilt that top section that has "3RRL" on it to make it much stronger. The one I'm looking at has almost that same design on the top.

I did notice that the lift pins were captured on the ebay one, but since there's only 2 lugs I'm guessing it's Cat 1, so I'd be using bushings. The model I'm looking at has the 3 lugs, so you can use one of those two-section pins (not sure what you call that type specifically) and get true Cat 2 strength out of the pin. Not sure how much that matters, but there are going to lots of roots where I'm wanting to get started with this thing so I do want it strong. The thing that really impressed me about the one I'm planning to get now is the bracing in the corners. I'll post a picture so you can see what I'm talking about as soon as I can get some.

And yes, I've read so much stuff over the last month my head is spinning! But it's all been great.

john_bud · Aug 29, 2007

I looked at the ebay thing. Those are not light duty boxes, they look to be very light duty boxes.

You're tractor would be able to destroy one of them pretty fast.

Just MHO...

jb

SkunkWerX · Aug 29, 2007

And if you click in the Shipping quote [x] box, insert your Zip you will find that shipping is as much or more than the blade itself.

I found their 5 foot model and it was $485 in shipping charges alone!!

This is classic Ebay, set a low "buy it now" price, and Jack the Shipping thru the roof. Probably costs them around $200 to ship, they pocket another $250.

greg_g · Aug 29, 2007

Yeah, I'd say that eBay box is light duty too. Pretty sure I could tear up that A-frame, and you've got 32 horsepower on me

//greg//

HUCKthe1 · Aug 29, 2007

OK- I went out and did it today. I just purchased a Kioti BB20-60. It will be delivered Friday. Unfortunately I will be gone for a week or more so I will not gt a chance to play for awhile. I took the advice here and bought the wider BB. My tractor measures 54" so a 60" should be just right. I too thought 48" was a little small.

Ditto to the eBay shipping charges, but that also goes for some other suppliers. My dealer is delivering mine for free. I dont consider that bad for the weight of this BB.