Rear blade recommendation for 45hp 4WD tractor

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Heavy is Good!!! I sure wouldn't want one any lighter than my 630# er.

I don't understand why everybody worries so much about digging into the ground when plowing snow. If the ground is not frozen yet I just push the snow with the back of the blade and once the ground is frozen I just drop it and go, in fact I do most of my snow plowing with the back side of the blade anyway.

I haven't seen everybody worrying about this.

 

[LD1]

If the ground is not frozen yet I just push the snow with the back of the blade

Thats great on fluff.

But 6" of wet heavy snow, you get about 2' pushing backwards and the blade rides over the snow.

I have a paved drive, so I dont have to worry. But dads drive is gravel. if you get a wet snow before a freeze, its a PITA if I do it with my blade or even my truck plow (I dont have shoes). But my blade that he uses on his 8n, and old dearborn blade, does have shoes and thats nice.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Allow me to explain then. Ron has a stone drive. As a result of stones being pushed to the shoulders as it gets traveled on, stones meander to the fringes. Some might intermingle with the grass edges. In order to pick up and crown all the stone, the blade has to be set all the way down. A lighter blade mitigates the aspect of bringing in the grass that is torn up by a heavier blade. If you relinquish blade pressure by lifting even a little bit, you lose much of the periphery gravel you're trying to bring back in as it seems to have a knack of riding under the blade. This has been my experience when using a lighter 6 foot blade as opposed to when I use a friends heavy 7' blade.

There is a difference between being all the way down to ground level and letting the blade dig below ground level. I keep thinking that many of you put the 3pt lever all the way forward when it should not be. If you simply let the blade down slowly until it just touches the ground, it makes no difference that it weighs whatever it weighs, it will only go down to ground level. It can't go any lower and do any un-wanted digging. If you have a heavier blade, it is just that much better, it doesn't ride up as easy.

 

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There is a difference between being all the way down to ground level and letting the blade dig below ground level. I keep thinking that many of you put the 3pt lever all the way forward when it should not be. If you simply let the blade down slowly until it just touches the ground, it makes no difference that it weighs whatever it weighs, it will only go down to ground level. It can't go any lower and do any un-wanted digging. If you have a heavier blade, it is just that much better, it doesn't ride up as easy.

Ground undulations can upset this and stones can ride under. I'm not certain why you are seemingly adamant not to believe this. I've experienced it first hand. First, to position a blade just right can prove maddening. Secondly, that seemingly "perfect" position goes away right quick depending on the ground formation. I'd much rather not worry about the damage to grass a heavy blade can do and simply put a lighter blade all the way down for this particular work. Giant time saver. It is the reason I thought to bring up "gravel"as having been construed with "small stone". If I hadn't been experienced with this type of work, how do you think I could be cognizant of the possibility that the op may have been talking about stone? Different experiences tend to stick in one's head one way or another. I offer what i confronted so I guess it is not a wit of matter who believes what until they themselves experience it. And thirdly runs the possibility that i'm just not as good with a back blade as you are.

 

[gladehound]

For those of you who have not experienced a wet snow on an unfrozen driveway that is made of loose stone, let me tell you it is a PITA. Some sort of adjustable down pressure to change the weigth of the blade on the ground is needed and adjustments would have to be made on the fly. At one spot it may be going fine then all of a suddent you are picking up half your driveway. The next minute the blade is riding a foot high on top of the snow. It is a balancing act. However, I think if I got a heavy blade and some pneumatically adjustable skid plates that could control edge pressure with air pressue, that would probably work very well and could be adjusted for any situation.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Ground undulations can upset this and stones can ride under. I'm not certain why you are seemingly adamant not to believe this. I've experienced it first hand. First, to position a blade just right can prove maddening. Secondly, that seemingly "perfect" position goes away right quick depending on the ground formation. I'd much rather not worry about the damage to grass a heavy blade can do and simply put a lighter blade all the way down for this particular work. Giant time saver. It is the reason I thought to bring up "gravel"as having been construed with "small stone". If I hadn't been experienced with this type of work, how do you think I could be cognizant of the possibility that the op may have been talking about stone? Different experiences tend to stick in one's head one way or another. I offer what i confronted so I guess it is not a wit of matter who believes what until they themselves experience it. And thirdly runs the possibility that i'm just not as good with a back blade as you are.

It's not that I don't believe you or anyone else. I admit to grading very little "small rock or stone", actually only about 600+ feet of road at one of my neighbors a couple times a year and that is 3/8"- 1/2" in size. It's just that some of the problems that get mentioned don't seem like they should be problems to me if dealt with properly. Now I do not have to deal with grass or sod, so I have no doubt that adds dramatically to the working conditions.

Another potential problem that I may not be taking into consideration is this variation in the surface that you have mentioned. If it were me, those variations would be few and far between and be very gradual, so dealing with some of these problems, in my mind anyway should not have to be dealt with at all other than the first and last time to get rid of them. If the road sides are rough and or not graded smooth, maybe they should be.



And finally, yes I am a pretty good operator, as in better than many pros that I have seen, not that that means anything.

 

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For those of you who have not experienced a wet snow on an unfrozen driveway that is made of loose stone, let me tell you it is a PITA. Some sort of adjustable down pressure to change the weigth of the blade on the ground is needed and adjustments would have to be made on the fly. At one spot it may be going fine then all of a suddent you are picking up half your driveway. The next minute the blade is riding a foot high on top of the snow. It is a balancing act. However, I think if I got a heavy blade and some pneumatically adjustable skid plates that could control edge pressure with air pressue, that would probably work very well and could be adjusted for any situation.

I think Ron that the RB 26 is just about a perfect blade for your purpose. Not too heavy but stoutly built, strong mold board with good height and all the availability of adding any accessory you deem necessary for the future. If you did want to go heavier, a seemingly nice blade for a good price are the Dirt Dogs. Dirt Dog Manufacturing

 

[gladehound]

Below is what I found locally (within 10 miles). I also have a JD / Frontier dealer, and while I'm sure those blades are fine the comparible blade was over $1400 and had a marginal Hp rating (max 45) for the tractor I intend to use it on. I like the land pride RB2696 better and it's less explensive, so I crossed the frontier off the list.

Model / Land Pride RB2696 / Land Pride RB3796 / Befco 296
weight (pounds) / 425 / 665 / 561
Hp rating / 25-60 / 35-80 / 30-80
moldboard hight / 17.5" / 17" / ?
Moldboard thickness / 5/16" / 5/16" / 1/4"
Category / 1 / 1 or 2 / 1 or 2
Price with hydraulic angle / $1,355.60 / $1,839.20 / $1,948.00

I really don't know anything about the Befco but it's the only one ont he lot. The others would have to be ordered. The Befco looks like a nice blade. However, I think it should be priced between the Land Pride 26 and 37 series. Definitely shouldn't cost more than th 37 series. Unless he can come down to ~$1700 on that blade I don't think I'm interested. I'm still leaning towards the RB2696 because it suits my use and costs the least.

Any thoughts on these prices?

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Just my :2cents: again. As far as I can tell, the Befco unit is hydraulic offset and there is no way to have hydraulic angle. Very common for this mistake to be made. Do you plan on using the offset feature of the Land Pride 2696? If so, the blade has to be unbolted and rebolted when ever you want to make use of this feature and it is for 12" only, no less and no more. Not a good idea in my mind, but that may just be me. The 26 series is only a cat 1 hitch where as the 37 series is a cat 1-2 hitch and would work well with a larger tractor in the future how ever far away that may seem. All the 37 series features are either hydraulic or pin, no bolting to be fooled with. The 3796 is a far superior unit compared to the 26 series and the cost reflects that.

Good luck with what ever unit you decide on.

 

[Underdog57]

Below is what I found locally (within 10 miles). I also have a JD / Frontier dealer, and while I'm sure those blades are fine the comparible blade was over $1400 and had a marginal Hp rating (max 45) for the tractor I intend to use it on. I like the land pride RB2696 better and it's less explensive, so I crossed the frontier off the list.

Model / Land Pride RB2696 / Land Pride RB3796 / Befco 296
weight (pounds) / 425 / 665 / 561
Hp rating / 25-60 / 35-80 / 30-80
moldboard hight / 17.5" / 17" / ?
Moldboard thickness / 5/16" / 5/16" / 1/4"
Category / 1 / 1 or 2 / 1 or 2
Price with hydraulic angle / $1,355.60 / $1,839.20 / $1,948.00

I really don't know anything about the Befco but it's the only one ont he lot. The others would have to be ordered. The Befco looks like a nice blade. However, I think it should be priced between the Land Pride 26 and 37 series. Definitely shouldn't cost more than th 37 series. Unless he can come down to ~$1700 on that blade I don't think I'm interested. I'm still leaning towards the RB2696 because it suits my use and costs the least.

Any thoughts on these prices?

Looking for a 7 to 8 foot rear blade for Kioti DS4510HS. Would like hydraulic angle function. Two questions:

1. What width should I get - mostly for grading gravel and moving snow (would like to be able to run a good angle and still cover 69" width of tractor). I have one land scaping project in mind where I want to turn an old flower garden and lightly wooded area area into lawn but that will be once and done.

Are you sure you need an 8' blade? You said the tractor is 69" wide, my tractor is approx 72" wide and my 7' blade covers my tracks when it is angled. Mine only sticks out 6" on each side when straight and I have to be kinda carefull not to catch it on trees and stuff. Think hard before you buy the 8'. IMHO :2cents: