Most Useful Attachment?

[LightFoote]

I'm trying to decide which would be the more useful attachment; a box blade or an angle blade. On one hand, I am working to reclaim about three acres of pasture that needs some high spots graded and some holes filled. On the other hand, we get snow. How useful is a box blade for snow work? Whichever attachment we get will go on a 24 HP Cub Cadet tractor.

Thanks

 

[savaytse66]

I've never used my box blade in snow, but it is absolutely the right tool for leveling as you describe. I'm pretty sure an angle blade would do squat for that. I suppose you could drive backwards with a box on the back for snow removal, but after having an FEL for a couple years now, that's the only tool I'd want, outside of a blower perhaps. When I had a front angle blade on my smaller G series Kubota, it did nothing for snow that was more than 6" deep, but it was also a small, underpowered machine for what I wanted to do with it. I had more luck backdragging the snow with my blade. At that point, you might as well use the box.

 

[chim]

I have a box blade and three different rear scraper blades for the two tractors. The Kubota also has a FEL. My experiences are similar to LightFoote's. The box blade works fine in dirt. Rear scraper blades work great in snow. They can be rotated 360 degrees. On small snows it works to angle them and drive forward through the snow, casting it to the side. They can be rotated to push backward for deeper snowfalls. For some snows it works well to make the first run with the FEL, and the FEL is good for pushing the banks back or removing the snow entirely from small areas. I'm going to try a blower this year and see how that goes.

 

[EddieWalker]

I don't have enough snow to know what works for that, but I found that the box blade is about the worse tool for moving dirt out there. I would much rather use my front bucket over just about anything else. Back dragging to smooth out the dirt, digging with it to lower and area, or hauling a load of material to build it up. For those that can use a box blade effectively, they are probably less then ten percent and they have hundreds of hours of learning how to do it. I've done yards on new construction with mine and it's turned out fine, but I can do it faster and better with my loader bucket.

Eddie

 

[motownbrowne]

A back blade will do alright in the leveling department, if it's heavy duty enough. Are you talking about gopher mounds or small hills? An angle blade will be great in the snow. Point it forward, angle to the side and go fast. It'll throw snow much faster v than the fel can move it.

 

[oosik]

I use a rear blade to clear snow off my driveway. Offset & angle it and go like the wind - so to speak. When I had my 28 hp Ford - I used a snow blower to move the berms. The Ford was not heavy enough to move a frozen berm. The new Kubota will move the berms with the rear blade. IMHO my roll over box blade may work for clearing snow but its likely to mess up the driveway - at least, until its good & frozen. My ROBB will not angle so its a questionable snow clearing implement, at best. My rear blade will do SQUAT for grading, leveling etc on my dry gravel driveway. It bounces along like a rubber ball. Adding my 400 lb concrete weight to the rear blade helps but its still makes a mess. I use either the roll over box blade - to move a little more dirt/gravel or most often I use the Land Plane Grading Scraper.

Actually, you will use a box blade to level the land and a rear blade to clear snow. Join the group - having lots of implements is lots of fun!!

 

[LightFoote]

Thanks everyone ~ I even learned of a couple new attachments!

 

[LD1]

I agree with Eddie. Use the loader for leveling. Get some bolt on teeth or a tooth bar will help with a smaller machine.

Rear blade for snow. A box blade is worse than a loader for snow work.

 

[Guesseral]

Just buy em both and get it over you know you want to!

 

[Rocky Hoffler]

I don't have enough snow to know what works for that, but I found that the box blade is about the worse tool for moving dirt out there. I would much rather use my front bucket over just about anything else. Back dragging to smooth out the dirt, digging with it to lower and area, or hauling a load of material to build it up. For those that can use a box blade effectively, they are probably less then ten percent and they have hundreds of hours of learning how to do it. I've done yards on new construction with mine and it's turned out fine, but I can do it faster and better with my loader bucket.

Eddie

I agree with you on the snow. I bought a land leveler couple years ago and last year I sold my box blade because I didn't use it any more. some refer to them as land planes or double bladed graders. but what ever you call them they work great especially for road grading:cool2:

 

[PhysAssist]

I don't have enough snow to know what works for that, but I found that the box blade is about the worse tool for moving dirt out there. I would much rather use my front bucket over just about anything else. Back dragging to smooth out the dirt, digging with it to lower and area, or hauling a load of material to build it up. For those that can use a box blade effectively, they are probably less then ten percent and they have hundreds of hours of learning how to do it. I've done yards on new construction with mine and it's turned out fine, but I can do it faster and better with my loader bucket.

Eddie

Mr. Eddie,

With all due respect, I must disagree, because having and using the box blade isn't the problem, the type of box blade being used is the problem.

I hate to preach, but a RO-BB is the way to go.

It makes the learning curve so short that my spouse, who had NEVER BEEN ON A TRACTOR until we got ours in 2011, can and has learned to use it, and use it well in a variety of settings- from grading our pond banks to spreading new gravel or regrading the existing gravel in our driveway.

The ability to use any one of a forward-facing or a rear-facing grading blade, or scarifying teeth independently makes controlling the effects so much more intuitive.

That said, we never used ours for snow because we have a snow plow on our p/up truck and don't want to sit out in the open more than necessary in the arctic polar vortices we've been having these past few years.

Just my two cents and worth no more than anyone else's.
Thomas

 

[puckgrinder85]

I'm trying to decide which would be the more useful attachment; a box blade or an angle blade. On one hand, I am working to reclaim about three acres of pasture that needs some high spots graded and some holes filled. On the other hand, we get snow. How useful is a box blade for snow work? Whichever attachment we get will go on a 24 HP Cub Cadet tractor.

Thanks

I have plowed with a box blade, works great. Probably more dependent on what kind of drive you have to clear. Long, narrower road a angled blade would be the best. Tight area where windrowing wont work a box blade will shine. I can fill the box blade up that snow will be rolling up beneath me on the tractor. The containment is what makes it work great, its just like a snow pusher, just on the rear. In fact, the box blade worked so well I went and got a snow pusher and pretty much just use that now as it does the containment and snow stacking ability all in one step.

 

[/pine]

IMO...learning to use (mastering the learning curve) of a box blade is about 80% easier if you start with hydraulic top and tilt...after a few hours of "learning" you will think the bb is a magical attachment...not much good for snow but (again) IMO, it is far and away the most diversely "useful attachment" there is...

The most important thing about a bb is having one that is of correct size and weight for the tractor...that said, it is the size of the tractor and the properly sized blade that will determine how fast a particular task can be completed...a few hundred (extra) pounds of box blade can reduce many jobs by a few or more hours...
Good Luck...