Hello all, I am looking for a blade for my 4701, and dealer has a Hardee blade that I am interested in. Does anyone have any suggestions about it/rhem? It is a 7 foot blade, 530 lbs, multi positioning
Rear blades for tractor
- Thread starter WHW
- Start date
^This.
I have a 6' blade I use behind my M7060. A full blade of dirt will bring the tractor to a halt with tires spinning. And using it to plow snow, with the blade at a 45 degree angle, will push the rear of the tractor sideways.
Do you have R4 / Industrial tire or Ag / R1's? And are you in mostly sandy loam down in Louisianan? You might have to "baby" it and not get too aggressive... (if you have ag tires) I run a 6 foot rear blade with 29 hp. Having hydraulic top and side link helps with adjusted the amount of bite the blade takes on the go.
jyoutz
Well-known member
Equipment
MX6000 HST open station, FEL, 6’ cutter, forks, 8’ rear blade, 7’ cultivator
Actually when buying a rear blade, the heavier the better. Light blades aren’t very useful except for moving snow. I run a 8’ 950# blade behind my MX and it works very well. For the OP’s tractor I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a heavy 7’ blade. And a blade that offsets is near perfect for road maintenance, especially for moving snow into ditches, or pulling soil and gravel out of ditches.
NCL4701
Well-known member
Equipment
L4701, T2290, WC68, grapple, BB1572, Farmi W50R, Howes 500, 16kW IMD gen, WG24
I have a 6’ blade and 6’ boxblade I use with my L4701 HST that has loaded rear R4’s, 15psi, set in the next to widest position.
Straight, the back blade barely covers the tire tracks. Angled, you have to offset it to cover one of the rear tires if that matters to you. Owner manual lists back blade size at 72”. My back blade weighs probably about 350lb but I’ve never weighed it so I don’t really know. I don’t use it for grading compacted clay or reshaping compacted gravel roads. I use it for pulling in gravel that has migrated toward the ditches and cleaning out established ditches. It’s good at moving material sideways (windrowing).
I use the box blade for heavy grading because it has scarifiers and it weighs more at about 525lb plus sometimes I’ll hang 100lb or so of chains on it. The L4701 set up as described above plus loader for weight on front, in low range 4WD, will pull the 6’ box blade with a full box of material and rippers all the way down in compacted old gravel road or dry red clay in low range without spinning out and without notable strain. The tractor and 6’ box blade are a good match for maximizing the capabilities of both. I don’t think I’d want a 7’ blade for heavy grading.
I think whether a 7’ will work depends on what you plan to do with it. If you’re spreading loose material such as gravel, 7’ should work fine and will cover the tire tracks better when angled. If you’re cutting hard packed material, hitting a lot of roots, etc. 7’ is a bit much and you might consider something with scarifiers. If you don’t have loaded rears, you aren’t going to pull much of a blade to do anything more than light, loose material.
Of course if you get a really good deal on a 7’ blade and decide it’s a bit too big, you could cut 6” off each end and make it a 6’ blade. Manual lists back blade capacity at 6’. They seem to be a bit conservative but I’m sure they have a reason.
Edit: And I ran that 6’ back blade behind a 9N Ford for years. You just couldn’t take as big a cut with it as you can with the L4701. Part of what the tractor will handle is dependent on operator ability and expectations. No offense intended to anyone.
Straight, the back blade barely covers the tire tracks. Angled, you have to offset it to cover one of the rear tires if that matters to you. Owner manual lists back blade size at 72”. My back blade weighs probably about 350lb but I’ve never weighed it so I don’t really know. I don’t use it for grading compacted clay or reshaping compacted gravel roads. I use it for pulling in gravel that has migrated toward the ditches and cleaning out established ditches. It’s good at moving material sideways (windrowing).
I use the box blade for heavy grading because it has scarifiers and it weighs more at about 525lb plus sometimes I’ll hang 100lb or so of chains on it. The L4701 set up as described above plus loader for weight on front, in low range 4WD, will pull the 6’ box blade with a full box of material and rippers all the way down in compacted old gravel road or dry red clay in low range without spinning out and without notable strain. The tractor and 6’ box blade are a good match for maximizing the capabilities of both. I don’t think I’d want a 7’ blade for heavy grading.
I think whether a 7’ will work depends on what you plan to do with it. If you’re spreading loose material such as gravel, 7’ should work fine and will cover the tire tracks better when angled. If you’re cutting hard packed material, hitting a lot of roots, etc. 7’ is a bit much and you might consider something with scarifiers. If you don’t have loaded rears, you aren’t going to pull much of a blade to do anything more than light, loose material.
Of course if you get a really good deal on a 7’ blade and decide it’s a bit too big, you could cut 6” off each end and make it a 6’ blade. Manual lists back blade capacity at 6’. They seem to be a bit conservative but I’m sure they have a reason.
Edit: And I ran that 6’ back blade behind a 9N Ford for years. You just couldn’t take as big a cut with it as you can with the L4701. Part of what the tractor will handle is dependent on operator ability and expectations. No offense intended to anyone.
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