Rear blade

seal oil · May 8, 2014

I would like to know how big a rear blade I should get . My tractor is a 3316 . Is a 7 ft blade too big ?

bcp · May 8, 2014

A blade should cover the tire tracks when angled.

At a 45 degree angle, here is what a blade will cover, to the nearest inch.

5 ft blade covers 42 inches

6 ft blade covers 51 inches

7 ft blade covers 59 inches

8 ft blade covers 68 inches

Bruce

MtnViewRanch · May 8, 2014

seal oil said:
I would like to know how big a rear blade I should get . My tractor is a 3316 . Is a 7 ft blade too big ?

No, a 7 footer will be fine. You would be quite a bit better off though if your tires were filled. I dream of getting a Land Pride RBT3584 for my 3215 some day. :drool:

deerseeker001 · May 8, 2014

I have a int 2500 with 7 ft Bucket and have 7ft blade works great,long as its as wide as your tires.

94BULLITT · May 8, 2014

I think you would be best off with a 6' blade. A 7' blade can always be cut down to 6'.

CalG · May 9, 2014

You guys with nothing but open space can make use of the wide blade.

Here in "hill country" A blade as wide as the tread width when at 90 degrees is much more practical .

I was using mine today, and extra width was NOT welcome.

But, when it comes time to grade the road, wider would save some passes ;-)

bcp · May 9, 2014

I have lots of tight clearances in all the fir trees and the boulders. If I am doing a job where using the blade straight is best, I would probably put on the box blade. Most of my blade work is angled, so I want tractor width when angled. A 5 ft blade angled at 45 degrees is the same width as my tractor.

Your needs may be different.

Bruce

Deerherd · May 9, 2014

I would get a blade that covered your tracks when angled that also had off set for those times you wanted to get closer to buildings, fencing etc.

Threepoint · May 9, 2014

A rear blade wide enough to cover your tracks when angled is nice, but in heavy work may be a bit much for your particular tractor, depending on its weight and whether your tires are loaded. A longer lever arm means more rotational force, which can cause the rear end to slip sideways. Not fun when trying to clear snow. An alternative to a 7' blade would be a 6' blade with an offset capability, in addition to its angle capability. When offset at an angle, it will let you clear your tire track on that side.

oosik · May 9, 2014

A rear blade that will completely cover your rear track when angled will be bigger than your tractor can handle. What you are looking for is angled AND offset. My rear track is 80". I have a Land Pride RB3596 that when offset and angled - more than adequately covers the 80" track. Its my winter blade to clear snow off my mile long gravel driveway.

MtnViewRanch · May 9, 2014

oosik said:
A rear blade that will completely cover your rear track when angled will be bigger than your tractor can handle. What you are looking for is angled AND offset. My rear track is 80". I have a Land Pride RB3596 that when offset and angled - more than adequately covers the 80" track. Its my winter blade to clear snow off my mile long gravel driveway.

When your 96" blade is angled at a 45* angle, it does not cover your tractor width. Now if you only run it at a much lesser angle which is fine at times, no big deal. But there are times when it is preferred to have it angled over at 45*.

I have to disagree with that. If he has his tires ballasted, the tractor weighs over 5000lbs. A 5000lb tractor will handle a 7" blade just fine. Based on what you are saying, I can't do this (Pictures shown) and yet it does it pretty easy actually. That is a 9' blade behind a 78" wide tractor.

94BULLITT · May 9, 2014

I think a 7' blade would work for somethings on the OP's tractor and for some jobs it would be too big. That is why I recommended a 6' blade. Judging by his location he is probably going to use this blade in the snow. I think most of the time he is probably going to have a blade angle 15* or 30* and a 6' will cover his tire tracks. If he does need to angle is 45* he can offset the blade. A 7' blade will be too much in the snow. If I angle my 7' blade too much on the 4240 which is close to 7000lbs it will drag the tractor sideways.

MtnViewRanch · May 9, 2014

94BULLITT said:
I think a 7' blade would work for somethings on the OP's tractor and for some jobs it would be too big. That is why I recommended a 6' blade. Judging by his location he is probably going to use this blade in the snow. I think most of the time he is probably going to have a blade angle 15* or 30* and a 6' will cover his tire tracks. If he does need to angle is 45* he can offset the blade. A 7' blade will be too much in the snow. If I angle my 7' blade too much on the 4240 which is close to 7000lbs it will drag the tractor sideways.

So Roger, in your opinion, you should never have an implement that will over power the tractor? I understand that the ideal situation is for everything to be perfect, but that doesn't happen very often. You say to rely on the offset, but when you offset, you now do not cover your tracks and are then required to make a second pass.

If what you say is true about the snow, then he might as well forget about working any dirt.

I don't have to deal with snow too much where I'm at, but I can tell you I have done plenty of dirt grading. I would rather deal with the occasional pulling of the tractor vs continually having to make more passes than what would have really been needed if I would of had a foot wider blade.

So as to another question, how much dirt (deep) does a person have to be moving to be equal to a foot of snow?? 4", 6", 12"

When ever I have plowed snow, (again not any to often here) The blade is as full as it can be and I never even felt the pull at all. Depending on the situation-conditions at any certain point, my blade would be angled between 30* & 45*.

If the OP wants to be conservative, I'm sure that A 6 footer will work fine for him. I have basically the same tractor that he does, and when the day comes that I can afford the Land Pride RBT3584, that will be the blade that I will be getting for work to be done with the smaller machine.

DB Pilot · May 9, 2014

I like a blade 6" wider on each side than the width of the tires. :thumbsup: When the snow gets really deep I get better straight scraping. And in tight spaces near trees or cars I can maneuver better.

When the going gets tough what matters most is can you control the blade to get the results you want. :2cents: With an angled blade and a heavy load, tractors like to slide sideways and really slow down. Might be one of those "less is more things". :tractor:

seal oil · May 11, 2014

Thanks to everyone for all the good information .

orangeandgreen · May 12, 2014

According to Tractordata, my Kubota L3240 is about 600# heavier than your tactor and it handles a 7' blade just fine. I have had it in snow, gravel, and dirt and no issues with the tractor being pushed sideways.

oosik · May 12, 2014

My goodness - we must all be from different planets and using the rear blade for different material. Lets see - last time I rolled over the grain scales in town with the FEL and rear blade on it said 9650 lbs(with me off the tractor). If I set my blade at full offset and max angle when pushing snow - yes, the snow will tend to push the tractor sideways. Thats why I never use or need that setting. With the first tractor it took three passes to clear the driveway - the new tractor and RB takes two passes. Remember folks, I'm retired and not in a race to clear the driveway - got no where to go anyhow when it is clear. And yes, I offset and angle the rear blade just enough to cover a little more than the 80" rear track. Whatever angle and offset it is, works just great for clearing the driveway and has for the last 32 years that I've been here.
Actually I was never in a hurry clearing the driveway when I worked either. I always got to work as soon as I had breakfast and cleared the driveway.

FatTire · May 12, 2014

Everyone uses their equipment differently, and for different tasks. I have an RBT3584 (7 ft) on slightly larger machine than yours. I rarely get past 30 degrees, but when I do, it usually involves a drainage ditch or pushing back some funky frozen snow bank, and then I prefer some offset even with the 7 ft blade. Depending on what you are doing, you might have entirely different needs/preferences. Read all the comments, think about how much space you have, and decide on 6ft or 7ft based on your specific circumstance. On snow, using offset can be difficult unless you have tire chains. With chains, especially all 4, it can be very useful.