Grading LOADER VS. BOX BLADE

[hunterridgefarm]

("dealer recommended I get as wide a bb as poss. and was trying to sell me an 8 foot one")

George,
Lots of good info from other posters.

I have a 3130 with FEL and two different BB. The FEL and box blade will complement each other when grading, as well as with many other chores.

The 8' BB is a little big for the 3130. I have two 6' Box Blades and when loaded full with heavy rock it is about all the 3130 can handle. Now if you were moving light-weight material a 7' would be ok...maybe.

I have one box blade that has the front and rear blade fixed and one where the rear blade is hinged. I use the fixed blade BB more than the hinged due to it being easier to "skim" the surface and level the ground without digging in. Having used and owning both kinds (hinged and fixed) if I had a choice of only one I would chose the BB with the fixed blades.

 

[Marlowe]

You've got plenty of good answers already, but that's not going to stop me. I've got both on my little tractor; both are four foot wide models. I worked most of the day yesterday doing approximately the same thing you have in store. I used both implements. I have a mound of similar clay that is huge, around 400 cubic yards. The box blade can only whittle away at the edges of a mound of clay and proves frustrating after a while. With the FEl I can break up the mound and move the clay out into the roadway. I might use the front bucket to back drag a few mounds to level it out a bit first. This keeps the tractor from doing so much traveling up and down when I'm using the box blade. I need all the help I can get. One thing about a box blade; it can move a tremendous amount of material and does it without so much load on the front end of the tractor. The drawback is enough traction to pull that load with the weight of the blade on the ground. I've had to add weight to the back end which really isn't that big a problem. Either way, it beats the heck out of a shovel and wheelbarrow.

Good luck with your project, and enjoy.

Tom

 

[flusher]

My B7510HST is a lot smaller (21HP) than your L3130, but I've found that the LA302 FEL and BB are very useful. I've used both to cut a 4' wide, 1/2-mile long exercise trail along my fenceline.

My 48"-wide KK box blade is lightweight so I usually carry about 100 pounds or so of extra weight on the BB to get it to work efficiently (a couple of 50-lb sacks of quickrete or a thick-walled metal pipe I have laying around my place). Even then I have to use the FEL at times to level the trail since the BB tends to follow the ups and downs of the rear wheels.

Like numerous posters have said, it takes a lot of practice to become proficient with the BB.

 

[inveresk]

On the basis of the comments received, I've gone out this morning for a couple of quotes for a 6' box blade. When checking prices of roadstone, one supplier has recommended 3/4 inch minus instead of the 3 inch minus I intended to use and I wonder if this would be better. There's not a lot of difference in price. The smaller stuff would tend to puncture the geotextile less, I would have thought, and it should be easier to drag, level and compact but would there be any downside to using smaller stone?

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm gonna disagree with everyone her on the merits of a box blade. Mine is a six foot landpride model that I pull on my 35 hp 4X4 tractor. I bought it based on advise from friends, the dealer and this webisite.

Except for small clean up or light duty, it's pretty much useless. In time, you can aquire some level of skill with it, but your still not going to do the job the right equipment will do.

The problem with it is every time your tractor changes angles, either tilts up or tilts down, it's worse on the blade. You job is to adjust the blade so it's not affected by the ups and downs of your tractor. This is EXTREMELY dificult to do and usually leads to even bigger problems. Thus creating the wave effect of so many roads.

The theory is with enough time and practice you can get good enough with it to create a smooth road. I'm sure some people have mastered this technique, but I'm also sure it's a very small number who have.

I also know that you can do it with your FEL, and spreading and backdragging with it is allot easier to master than a box blade. Plus moving material to where you need it is simple with a FEL, but you have to drag it with the box blade. Not very practical.

This of course is my opinion and only reflects my personal experiences and observations.

Eddie

 

[inveresk]

Provided I don't need to produce a putting surface, I've managed to get pretty level paths and trails by backgragging the FEL. I think my best approach might be to have a go at stripping the topsoil and levelling the subbase with the FEL and see how it goes. If I can't do a good enough job, I either have to subcontract (last resort) or buy in additional kit that might help do the job. I also expect to spend some time on foot with an asphalt rake, levelling out high and low spots in the crushed rock topping before I whack it.

It would be really useful to have a training school for new tractor drivers where I could try out a box blade and other pieces of equipment and see what they could do before I needed to shell out the $$ for them. Maybe there's a business opportunity there . . . .

 

[BB_TX]

I have also had the problem getting the wave effect. To solve that, I do my initial leveling and soil moving going forward. When I have everything pretty much where I want it, albeit not particularly smooth, I start going backward. (must have both a forward and rear facing blade) That way the tractor is going over smooth ground and not subject to so much up and down movement. That gives a much smoother surface. Once smooth, I may go over it a few more times forward for final smoothing. That's essentially what you do with the FEL going forward.

 

[Bird]

Eddie, we don't all have a bulldozer. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif I do believe that some people learn to do a pretty good job without Top 'N Tilt, but it ain't easy; at least for me. However, with Top 'N Tilt, I think you can do as good a job as with the bulldozer, and it's a whole lot cheaper. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[HomeBrew2]

Just a tiny bit of money and time can make anyone an expert with a boxblade... gauge wheels! See attached.

 

[EddieWalker]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Eddie, we don't all have a bulldozer. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif I do believe that some people learn to do a pretty good job without Top 'N Tilt, but it ain't easy; at least for me. However, with Top 'N Tilt, I think you can do as good a job as with the bulldozer, and it's a whole lot cheaper. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif )</font>

Bird,

I didn't mention my dozer because I don't use it for spreading gravel. I use my FEL, which I believe was one of the options he was considering. FEL or box blade.

Sorry if you misunderstood my reply. I'm not a fan of the box blade, even though I have one and use it on occasion.

Eddie