If the rear tires are not out of balance pressure wise then one of your cross members are slightly twisted. You can check this with a straight edge. To realign it you have to cut the old cross member out and replace it. I did my dad's tractor last year.
Weight is key to a back blade doing what you want, so the heavier the better. You might have to add weight to make it dig in and cut the dirt. I have a #950- 7 foot, 6 way adjustable blade that I love. Adjustability is also something that you'll thank yourself for later.
Retirement is wonderful, but I find that I still work for someone, my new boss (the wife) is harder than the one I retired from lol. I love it just wish I could have done it before my body wore out.
Has anyone seen or done a study on off road diesel and over the road diesel to determine if one causes more frequent regens? Inquiring minds want to know if there's a difference.
I vote no on the spacers and yes on the fluid in the tires. The backhoe alone is sufficient ballast but without the hoe you'll be light in the rear. Fluid combined with a decently heavy implement will help take the place of the backhoe.
Spacers add additional stress to lighter weight axles...
I thought about this too and was sold on the idea until I priced them. Then I decided to build my own them priced the steel. I opted to wait and lucked up on a HD box blade that was cheaper than the endplates and a little more the building my own.
Now Guage wheels are still on my radar
I have an 18" and 36" buckets for my BH 92. We have sandy soil here but it still challenges the 36" one. I use it for digging burn pits and the occasional drain field. I've learned that if you keep the 36" at 3/4 full it works fine. The 18" works fine for everything, I use it most of the time.
Sorry I'm late to the party but I use my rear blade for ballast a lot on my MX, especially when using my grapple for heavy lifting. Mine weighs in at 950+ lbs so it does really well. The other nice thing is I reverse the blade and I can smooth out or level anything. For light work I use my box...