Hydraulic Boxblade Gauge Wheels

[3RRL]

A while a go I made a set of Gauge Wheels.
You can see them in this thread Quick Connect Gauge Wheels, and they are hydraulically controlled.
I made them originally as a replacement for the rotary cutter because I wanted the ability to raise the rear wheel on the cutter.
As that project developed, I soon saw the possibility to use them as quick connect wheels for some other implements such as the boxblade or even landscape rake.
This thread will show how they are fitted and used on the boxblade.

For the boxblade and rake, I needed the dog-leg connectors to get the gauge wheels closer to the ground since they were originally designed to sit on the rotary cutter which is much lower profile. I had made the receivers at home to fit those dog-leg connectors . I don't need them to suspend the boxblade or rake up very high off the ground anyway, since they will be true leveling wheels on these implements.

So I went through the same steps of fitting and spacing them. Only this time the receivers not only had to fit the QA wheels, but the dog-leg connectors as well. You can see the dog leg connectors, the QA wheel frame and the receivers which are welded to the boxblade. You can see they will use the same pin on design as the rotary cutter.



I welded a 3/8" plate to the boxblade and the receivers on top of that.
I ended up angling them up a little more than I wanted because of where I needed to weld, but I still got enough travel for the wheels to work properly. My plan is to use these wheels when I want to spread gravel or dirt in even lifts, or to smooth areas which need some touch up only.

[3RRL]

Here are a couple close ups after being welded and painted. The dog-leg connectors are now pinned in the receivers. You can also see the QA wheel frame and how it is captured under that lip on the dog-leg connectors, just like on the rotary cutter receivers.



Here is a series of photos that show the attachment of the QA Gauge Wheels to the boxblade. First is to line up and insert the dog-leg connectors and pin them. Then line up the QA wheels and slide on and pin them too. They sit up pretty good out of the way for regular boxblade work and add a hefty weight to it.

[3RRL]

A few more angles of them on the boxblade.



Also a couple photos from the game camera when I started up the road to the homesite. In one of them you can see how high they clear when folded up. With the hydraulic cylinder, if I run across an area that needs real cutting or ripping, I can lift them clear up out of the way. Another lever sends my hydraulic activated scarifiers down if needed.



One thing I noticed was how well the added weight made the boxblade sit down better. My boxblade is pushing 1,000lbs as it is with all that hydraulic gearing I have on it, so the QA wheels add even more. You can tell I've got some mileage on that boxblade too.
Rob-

[3RRL]

Now for the acid test. I have 2 videos of how the QA Wheels attach to the boxblade.
I needed 2 videos because Loretta ran out of video on the first one. I guess it took a little longer to mount than on the rotary cutter due to the extra dog-leg connectors. There are only a only few seconds missing between the two.




OK, so I guess they are really "Almost Quick Attach" or AQA Hyd Gauge Wheels now.
You can see indeed they are pretty heavy duty and I had to struggle a little to get them on. Nevertheless, I got them on within a minute and they work great.
Rob-