First Frost and no Snowplow

[ChrisfromCT]

Good Morning,
The mercury took a nose dive last night and I'm thinking I need to figure out what I want to do for a snowplow.

I'm the wonderfull position of having a brand new tractor. A new Kubota B2910 with a loader and all the rest of the goodies. I've looked at the Curtis Loader blades, 1275.00 plus tax and welding. Is there a better less expensive way? My dealer who was great (Ahearn's Equipment for those in CT, RI, and MA) suggested I get an old plow off a Willis Jeep and weld up a frame. He said I could get that done for 4 or 5 hunderd. What is the general feeling about this?

Regards,
Chris

 

[TomG]

A light duty back blade is a good cheap solution. Besides, you'll probably need the loader bucket to stack snow. Getting used to driving backwards isn't too bad.

The blade should fully rotate so it can push snow backwards. Plenty of tilts and angles help keep the blade from digging in and pushing snow to the side. Blades do dig in (See a recent discussion). Heavier duty blades, and ones with offsets, are better for dirt next summer, and don't cost much more. Myself, I don't have a back blade, but I think they're the best low-cost solution. I have a box scraper and a snow blower.

 

[gerard]

I'm in the same boat as you and looked at the curtis blades too. Definitely a top shelf way to go for snow and you get the ability to power angle the blade with the loader hydraulics. If you cobbed up an old truck balde would it be fixed or would you try and rig up it's own hydraulics? If so I don't know if you could do it for 4-500 and it would be alittle of reinventing the wheel. Not wanting to spend 1100 on the Curtis when I can only use it for snow, I'm shopping for a 7 foot backblade and will use that. Not a great solution but I can also use it for grading/dirt and certainly a lot cheaper than a snowblower. (Also I don't have a live pto and only 2 reverse speeds so a snowblower wouldn't be an option for me anyway)

 

[glennmac]

Same boat, also.

I'm wondering if the Curtis rig can be used for the same dirt grading functions as a backblade. In other words, can I justify the purchase of the Curtis on the ground that it will save me the expense of the backblade. Over the life of my tractor, snow removal will clearly predominate over dirt grading. Therefore, I should buy the solution (Curtis) that gets an A for snow removal and a B for dirt grading, rather than the solution (backblade) that gets a B for snow removal and an A for dirt grading.

Gee, I'm almost convincing myself already, based on no facts or experience whatsoever.

Comments?

 

[gerard]

What you say makes a lot of sense and I'm sure the curtis could be used for moving loose dirt. I wouldn't try and do any grading in hard packed dirt though. There's also the cost factor (almost double) but there's no doubt it would be far superior for moving snow. I also wouldn't be concerned about not having the bucket to do loader work. Most of the pushing the banks back could be done pretty effectively with the snow blade. Bottom line is I don't think I cleared up a darn thing for you!! I can say if cost wasn't a factor I'd go for the curtis in a heart beat but for the 20 times I have to do my drive per season I can make do with a back blade (I hope!!)

 

[Rowski]

Chris,

You can probably do it for less. Will only work for snow. It won't look pretty but it works. You can save some $ if you can do some drilling (maybe some welding).

First find an old plow. Size depends on your tractor. Most likely a 6.5' or 7' should do. You would also need the push bar. Just the bar not the push bar plates. This is the bar that the plow hooks into with two pins usually and is located under the front of the truck. The price depends on the condition of the plow. I have seen some for sale for 100 to 200 bucks. You don't need the hydraulic cylinders most are one way anyways.

Next thing that needs to be done is to center the push frame inside the bottom of the bucket and dill holes two of them so the push frame can be bolted directly to bucket behind the cutting edge. Then make the lift chain (on the plow) longer so you can attach it to the hook on the center of your bucket. If don't have a hook on the center of the bucket install one. Search for hook on bucket thread for info. For angling you may have to drill a hole to put a pin in on the plow to angle the blade, kind of like on a rake or rear blade. Some of the older snowplows even though they had hydraulics had a place for a pin. You could also make you own bracket (instead of the push frame) by using four pieces of angle iron and 2 pins. Requires more labor and metal.

This way if you need to stack snow you can easily remove the plow and use the bucket. In the summer remove the push frame. If you want you could spend more $ and install hydraulic cylinders and hook them up to the curl ports on you bucket. You just need to get the curl angle right before you disconnect and hook up the angle hoses.

If you need to have someone else do the work you might try to find a GOOD & CRAFTY service/repair station and they might be able to it cheaper than the dealer.

Hope this helps. Like I mentioned it doesn't look pretty but it works and is fairly inexpensive if you can get a good deal on the plow.

Derek

 

[glennmac]

Gerard, I notice that you have a york rake. I wonder if you could plow snow adequately with one of those flipdown blades you can put on those rakes. That would be even less expensive.

 

[Rowski]

If the plow has a saftey trip edge it may not work to well in dirt. Even loose dirt can cause the edge to trip more so when the blade if full of dirt. You could always make a lock out for the trip edge but the plow may not be able to take it if you hit something hard (it was ment for snow).

Derek

 

[gerard]

glenmac - sssshhhhhhhhhhh! My wife might read this board!! Seriously you could probably do some snow removal that way but the york rake is kind of light and I think it would tend to "ride up" pretty easily after you got filled it with snow. I'm also planning on getting the 7ft blade vs my 6 ft york rake. The extra foot should translate to less time freezing! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif