So I bought a cheaper one years ago. 12ft. Realized the BS in the first strike and the seller just said to bring it back, but I had a job to get done.. Here I am, owning a POS that honestly pulls a nice flat pass, but I can't dig with it, not enough weight to get that done, and when box is loaded, not enough hydro cylinder to lift the box. Basically I got the starter kit and now stuck with making it work, probably for the same price as a real one. What I noticed is it will firm the soil in the first pass, then will dig nothing. I previously resorted to pulling a disc plow, then snagging that dirt with the mover. Big time waster. I am curious what you guys have seen to make these work right? Is it weight? Blade angle? ripper teeth? All I know is I want to be able to revert back for finish work. I will say this, my dad custom spec'd a box that may have been the innovation seen today, which is a hydraulic ripper cage that will move. We were doing very odd but EXPENSIVE work and what we got was an 8 way box design and I can tell you after running that, everything else is puke. Drop those rippers in when needed, the pull them for final.....done. And hook that to a 110HP compact 4x4 industrial tractor. The send!
I can't remember the brand name but my neighbor has one with a hydraulic ripper bar. He is happy with it. Not only can it rip hard spots but the extra added weight helps it hold grade better as well.