I have two 30 hp tractors and both have manual tilt and offset back blades with removeable end caps. This is the Colorado high country and our "dirt" is mostly rock, disintegrated granite (DG) and sand. Darn little real dirt in there. I've worked the ground with these blades on these tractors for 20 years.
The best of the 30 hp tractors is an old JD530 two cylinder. It has a true category II 3pt and swings an 8 foot blade like it was a toy. In spite of the low hp, The 530 is a full size Ag tractor. Definitely not a lightweight. The 8' blade is one I bought used, it was painted industrial yellow, and is branded a "Big Rhino". It must weigh well over 1000 lbs, and is definitely not the same as the modern Rhino brand of the last few decades. I tried one of those but it was too light. This old blade is a much heavier construction with 7/16" thick blade, replaceable edge, Cat. II/III, and lots of big castings and reinforcement. The blade matches the tractor well and this tractor has no trouble pulling it even with the end caps on (box blade mode) and full of dirt.
Then there's the 33hp 4WD Yanmar. I love that tractor, but it wouldn't even be able to lift the JD's 8 foot blade. The blade on the Yanmar is made by Land Pride and is their RB3572. It weights about 500+ lbs and I'd say it is a near perfect match for any 30 to 35 hp compact tractor. Woods makes a similar one called the HBL72. These are cat I/II and have 5/16" blade material with bolt on edges. You need that much strength when working offset. Don't even think about buying a 1/4" thick steel blade in rocky ground. The Yanmar 336 handles the 72" blade OK, but not as easily as the JD530 handles the 96" one.
Some hints: Unless you are ditching where you are just dragging with the offset tip in the ground you will not be able to offset the blade very much without wrenching the tractor out off-line and sideways. BTW, alway DRAG the tip when ditching in tough dirt and let the weight do the work; don't angle it forward unless you are in pure soft ground and maybe not even then.
For simply blading dirt or snow a couple of feet of offset is all you can really use at the best of times. The adjustment gives you 9 choices of offset but you'll rarely use more than half that much.
Both of my blades are full manual adjustment type. Tilt, angle, and offset are all done with pins....I surely do wish they were hydraulic sometimes.... Wouldn't that be sweet!?
As you can see from my comments, I think that you can't have too much weight and strength in an offset back blade.
On the blade tilt: I rarely use the tilt because both tractors have cranks on both their 3pt connecting links and that gives a more precise adjustment and is easier to do. Any blade also pulls better when tilting up by the 3pt than when tilting back at the blade.
I'll bet you find that a 10" tapered pin and a steel rock bar are handy when changing the adjustments. No sense in wrestling these darn implements more than you have to. And on that note, check out the leg or stand, too. Both these blades must have a sturdy and unbreakable stand because you can't lift either one to put them on the tractor. Any time they aren't on the tractor they live on that leg stand and you can expect to have to back up to them where they are standing to hitch them up. And I'll bet you you bump them at least a few times. It's nice if they don't fall down.
New, these are expensive blades. But they do a huge amount of real work. And are particularly good for maintaining dirt roads. There are a lot of really good old used blades out there - don't overlook them. Most most of them will work just as well as a new one if they have the angle, tilt, & offset and cost a quarter as much. JD made a particularly good 3 way blade 50 years ago. So did MF and Ford. You can tell the good ones by the heavy construction plus look for a fairly tall blade with a lot of "roll" in the blade shape. Lots of "roll" costs real money to manufacture but is worth it to you.
Good luck and give me a shout if you have questions. I've got some photos too.
What else? Oh, you might as well spring for the end caps. End caps make it do double duty as a box blade when using both caps, or as a spreading leveler on dirt roads using only one cap on the spill end. You'll see what I mean.
good luck to you, rScotty
