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

Spiveyman · Aug 31, 2007

john_bud said:
Wow, thicker than Woods! Cool, what is it 3/4 or 1" plate? The thinnest in my Woods is 1/2 plate.

All kidding aside, looks like a good box. The top link area could use some beefing up, IMO. My thin and wimpy Woods uses 3/4" plate in that area -- OOPS! There I go kidding again...

One tip. When you snag a root and it stops the tractor, you have options to get unstuck. Simply lifting the 3pt up all the way may break the root and let you go on your way. OR it may pretzel the lower arm (guess how that was found out?). A small lift, and backing up is probably the way to go in most cases. If you have lots of roots, a middle buster that has been sharpened on the leading edge may be a smart thing to drag around before using the BB. A single edge will break and cut roots where a set of scarifiers won't.

Let's see some "dirty pictures" of that box!

jb

Ha! So is this going to become the "my BB could beat up your BB" thread now?

This could be a new extreme sport, instead of head-to-head competition, it would be a tail-to-tail competition in dozer mode!

When I get a chance I'll get some better pics showing the BB and I'll measure the plates to be more precise. I probably should have said "I was told that this box is thicker than Woods..." I didn't actually get out the calipers and validate this claim.

The steel used for the box does look thicker to me, but I'll measure it to be sure.

I will have to agree that I really like the extra support tube used on both Woods and BH for the top link area. The steel that's there on mine extends beyond what is used for the Woods & BH, but structurally the tube would be much better. All I can say there is that it resembled what 3RRL has on his and that was good enough for me!

If I can manage to tear that up at least I know what rout to take to fix it. The big selling point for me was all the extra bracing around the box in the corners and joints to firm it up. I'm not sure if this picture is the same box you have JB, but here's the pic from Wood's website next to mine so you can see the direct comparrison:

Mine does not have the floating tail gate, although the guy who made this one will do that.

That is a great idea about using a middle buster given the roots I'll be dealing with, and justifies me buying another toy... I mean implement.

As for "dirty pics," ha! I have so little time to devote to using my equipment right now it is pitiful, but as soon as I get a chance you better bet I'm going to get 'er dirty. I'll probably just play around in a paddock for starters to figure out the angles and all of that. I won't be able to start my big projects until I can swap it out with a back hoe and get rid of some trees.

3RRL · Aug 31, 2007

Skunk,
Yeah, lol ... I know I've posted it a bunch of times.
I've used some of the remnants but can't figure out what to do with the rest?

Spiveyman · Aug 31, 2007

Skunk,
Hey, I called the dealer where I bought the BB. The guy I usually work with wasn't there, but one of the ladies told me where I could go to get the info I was looking for. The company that distributes my box blade is called Richey Equipment. Here's a link to their web site:

Richey Equipment, Inc.- Your Wholesale Farm Equipment Distributor"

My BB is the "heavy duty" version on page 6 of the PDF in the "products" page. In this process I discovered two things: 1.) I got a decent price for my BB given the prices listed in their PDF brochure. 2.) I totally could have afforded the 8' box given the delta in the price listed between the 7' and the 8'.

I was told the 8' would be another $300.

So you live and learn and ask more questions up front next time. Maybe when I get my smaller tractor I'll move this BB to that one and get the 8' one for my big tractor! Yet another implement justified.

Grrrr · Aug 31, 2007

Spiveyman said:
Skunk,
Hey, I called the dealer where I bought the BB. The guy I usually work with wasn't there, but one of the ladies told me where I could go to get the info I was looking for. The company that distributes my box blade is called Richey Equipment. Here's a link to their web site:

Richey Equipment, Inc.- Your Wholesale Farm Equipment Distributor"

My BB is the "heavy duty" version on page 6 of the PDF in the "products" page. In this process I discovered two things: 1.) I got a decent price for my BB given the prices listed in their PDF brochure. 2.) I totally could have afforded the 8' box given the delta in the price listed between the 7' and the 8'. I was told the 8' would be another $300.

So you live and learn and ask more questions up front next time. Maybe when I get my smaller tractor I'll move this BB to that one and get the 8' one for my big tractor! Yet another implement justified.

Oh well

I am sure you will be fine with the BB you have got for your tractor but I would be pretty annoyed that the bigger one was only $40 more

Just to make you happy, I had to pay about what you have for your BB and mine is only 5 foot and is much less heavy duty than yours. But thats England for ya

Spiveyman · Aug 31, 2007

Grrrr said:
Oh well

I am sure you will be fine with the BB you have got for your tractor but I would be pretty annoyed that the bigger one was only $40 more

Just to make you happy, I had to pay about what you have for your BB and mine is only 5 foot and is much less heavy duty than yours. But thats England for ya

Thanks man. I got a 7' heavy duty BB for $750, so I can't complain. That's a pretty decent price for what I wound up with. They did move my rears in, so I'm clear. All I need now is TIME!!! I'm currently negotiating with my wife for some seat time over this LABOR day weekend.

sandman2234 · Aug 31, 2007

Price difference might have also considered the fact that the one they wanted you to buy was on their lot, while the 8' one would have to be ordered, etc. Dealers really like to sell the equipment they have sitting, over ordering a new piece in, and leaving them one to sit till the next buyer comes along. That is usually insured by "increasing" the price of the piece that needs to be ordered, figuring the buyer won't reseach that piece too closely.
David from jax

SkunkWerX · Aug 31, 2007

Spivey ,thanks for the link, it's always good to have info on the various brands, I had never heard of Richie, but when i saw the Light-Duty model, i recognized it from Ebay.
Light Duty and BoxBlade just don't sound right when used together. It's like saying Light Duty JackHammer, or Light Duty Rock Pulverizer.

Glad to see you got the Heavy Duty series.

Your 7 footer is going to the job just fine. The Heavy Duty series looks like they have some nice impressive weights to them. And everything i read emphasizes that overall weight is a key ingredient to BBs.

Now we need some dirt dragging scarifying action pics!

Spiveyman · Aug 31, 2007

SkunkWerX said:
Spivey ,thanks for the link, it's always good to have info on the various brands, I had never heard of Richie, but when i saw the Light-Duty model, i recognized it from Ebay.
Light Duty and BoxBlade just don't sound right when used together. It's like saying Light Duty JackHammer, or Light Duty Rock Pulverizer.

Glad to see you got the Heavy Duty series.

Your 7 footer is going to the job just fine. The Heavy Duty series looks like they have some nice impressive weights to them. And everything i read emphasizes that overall weight is a key ingredient to BBs.

Now we need some dirt dragging scarifying action pics!

Ha! Light duty Jack Hammer! Good one. I bet there's someone making one of those things somewhere. I agree, more power, heavy duty!

Actually, I was a little disappointed when I saw the stated weight of the 7' BB. A measly 680 lbs.

I may yet have to weight that thing down, but first I'll play with the top link and see if I can get it to bite real well with the right angle. I'm hoping to get to practice with it Monday evening, and I'll be sure to get some pictures of how it works.

HUCKthe1 · Sep 2, 2007

I am so glad I went ahead and purchased my BB and also so glad I bought it wider than my tractor from the thoughts in this thread. I just finished leveling and building up around my pond. The town paved our road and I had to redoing my driveway to match the new pavement. I am amazed how much better a BB works over a reg drag blade. I have done my drive with my old blade many times but never had it come out this even. I am still working on making a super highway to the back of my property (halfway there).

I still have a field I want to level and the trails need work too. As soon as the piles of cattails dry out I well be knocking them down and spread them too.

I have included a few photos.