Rear salt spreader

[jcmseven]

To all, this is a post which I felt best to put here as it applies potentially to both tractor owners and UTV owners. I have both a John Deere compact tractor and a Gator 825i UTV which is new. I have a plow for my Gator and prefer plowing snow with it rather than my tractor. I live in western NC where we get some substantial snowfall at least four or five times yearly and lesser amounts in between. My drive is paved and very steep and I am in the market for a hitch (either hitch receiver on Gator) or three point on tractor mounted spreader. I wanted to get some suggestions from the group on better options here. I do not need a very large one and I feel 300-400 pound capacity is likely OK. I also am curious about whether the spreaders tend to throw material on the equipment or whether the shielding protects the machine adequately from corrosive rock salt, etc. This is important to me since my Gator is new and my tractor has under 100 hours on it.

John M

 

[leonz]

You have to decide how much money you
want to spend first as there are a herd of
options available for the two machines.

Your UTV can transport a bed mounted
spreader or hitch mounted spreader
for salt but will be worthless for seed
and fertiliser so lets get that out of the
way first; and it will wiegh much more
than a three point spreader.

The same goes for the electric tail gate
spreaders as they have no fine control
-simply on or off.


A three point spreader for your tractor
will be used the year round with seed
and fertiliser salt and sand.


The tail gate, three point spreaders
are built and set up to spread only to the rear.
The spin cast three point hitch spreaders
have poor control as far as spreading pattern,
which is pretty much all or nothing without
the side walk baffles to reduce the whip and drop
the salt and sand in a narrow band that is heavy
in volume.

The three point hitch pendulum spreaders built by Vicon
are small well built and have non corroding hoppers.

Second, you can use a pendulum spreader more
effectively as it can cast material in a narrow width for
a side walk or a drive way or wide to spread seed or
fertiliser.

Third, nothing is wasted with a pendulum spreader and
the plastic hopper will not allow material to stick and corrode
The agitator on a Vicon spreader will also keep the material
FLOWING where the spin caster will just bounce it around.

Fourth, Halite deicing salt is hardly uniform like bagged solar salt.

Fifth, sand will cost you less money and will not ruin the pavement
or leave salt residue to ruin the grass or kill shrubs.

Sixth, with a pendulum spreader you can use the smallest model and
use much less salt if you want to really use it as you could simply uses
hundred pounds and be very surprised how little you use with a pendulum
spreader as the pendulum spreader throws it further and in a more efficient
pattern.

Seventh, a three point spinner spreader is only regulated by the metering
gate and the amount is un-regulated as the spinner is throwing it as fast as
it is being gravity fed. and with the halite not being uniform your wasting
money using more salt than you actually need.

It all depends on your wallet and the overall utility you seek for the machine.

The three point spinner spreader will be more usefull for hydrated lime in the
off season as the lime dissolves quickly. The spreading of seed will depend on the
spreaders ability to meter small grass seed. The Vicon pendulum spreader and other
manufacturers pendulum spreaders excells at this. The Vicon folks were the first and
still the best in my opinion.

The metal three point spinner spreader will rust out sooner if not kept clean with
warm water and a brush to remove it ALL and it will corrode everything and
require painting annually.

the least expensive option would be the plastic or fiberglass bin tail gate mounted
spreaders that can be mounted on your gator but the electric motors checked several
times in the off season and spinner bearings will have to be greased every time it is used.

As a former salt miner by profession I can tell that Halite is a real waste of
money for most folks and a cash cow for SOME plow drivers when sand is much
more cost effective even with a little Halite.


If you buy the smallest Vicon for your tractor it will out live your tractor and be used
on the next one.

You will be able to save time and miney if you mix sand and salt together and you will have a
winning combination as the sand wil reduce the amount of Halite needed as the sand will keep
it from being wasted and over cast.

The winshield washer fluid is a must to keep salt and sand flowing as they will attract
moisture being hygroscopic in nature.

You will be able to buy a lot of sand for amount of money you spend on salt being about
50-100 tons of sand for every ton of salt and its not cheap in bag form.


The pendulum spreader can be run at 540 rpm engine speed and NO WASTE will occur
and the flow will be regulated at all times with the gate opening before it enters the
pendulum tube and is cast from side to side in metered doses as only so much
material is entering the tube at any second while it is operating.




The tail gate spreaders will last you until the motor fail and the bearing seizes and
you have to replace them.

you have decide how much money you are willing to spend first and then you will have to
lay in a supply of wind shield washer fluid to keep the salt flowing in the spinner spreader
as the draw down area is very narrow and it will bridge and and hang up.


Narrow your search, sift out the total utility and decide how much you really want to spend.

as a majority of tailgate spreaders may cost 1/2 of what the smallest Vicon will cost BUT The utility
will be zero in the off season for everything else you can usea Vicon pendulum spreader for.

BTW I do not represent Vicon, Kvernland, Myers, Western or others in the business of salt spreading.

 

[2458n]

I am kind of dense in the use of washer fluid. Is it poured into the salt and sand in order to get it to flow when the bin is clogged? Maybe it is late in the night and I am not thinking. I do know salt eats everything in Ohio and the state is using beet juice on some local bridges and overpasses. It allows the road crews to put it down early without it becoming crushed and blown off the road under heavy traffic conditions. Washing your equipment after being in salt will save you money in the long run.

 

[leonz]

Using windsheild washer fluid straight from the bottle and dumping it in the spreader directly with no added water will helpt displace what moisture is there and aid in spreading sand and salt.

 

[George2615]

Where I work they use a Deere 2305 for the sidewalks. It has a power angle plow, full cab, and a 3 pt. PTO spreader for salting. The spreader has a shield that keeps the salt from hitting the tractor and they added side deflectors to keep the salt from spreading too far on the sidewalk. For a driveway you would not need those.

 

[KeithT]

John,

Attached is a couple of pics of what I use with my Ranger. Works well. I mix salt and what they call around here "4-way chips" (small limestone chips). I fugure loaded and with the weight of the spreader it weighs about 350-400#.

BTW, as soon as power steering is a factory option on the 825i, I will have one with a BOSS plow and I will transfer the spreader over.

-Keith

 

[jcmseven]

Keith, thanks, the Buyer Salt Dogg is one I am reviewing. Have you been satisfied with it?? It looks as though yours has a small scatter shield, have you found overspray into the back of your machine to be an issue and if so, any thoughts? I have seen some nasty looking rear diffs on some machines using spreaders locally and whatever I get I would want a adequate scatter shield to prevent this. With all the actuation points and those high dollar Fox Racing shocks on my machine I would prefer to not have them rusting out as it frequently stays cold enough here in winter that hosing the machine off immediately after use is likely not realistic.

With regard to the XUV 825, I am excited to hear you may look at one in the future. I have really liked mine. As you may or may not know from other posts, I have had and recently sold my Ranger 800 EPS for my current Gator. I really liked my Ranger, but since I use a UTV mainly for work, having a more substantial machine like the Gator was important to me. What I have found thus far is that the Gator has more power (not faster, just more torquey) and moves snow a lot better due to its weight. For me, having a machine that goes 45 and can pull a house is more important than having one that can travel 54 and cannot (if that makes sense). I have also found my new Gator to be more well-made and solid and it gives one the impression that it is in it for the long-haul, a feeling I never fully had with my Ranger. That said, I had a lot of Polaris accessories on my Ranger and they seemed to be of better quality than those on my Gator (for example, the 1/2 windscreen, and poly roof, etc.).

I pre-ordered a Unisteer power steering assist for my Gator and have been told yesterday by my dealer that it has finally come in. I likely will have it fitted next week. I really would have liked to wait on my Gator until the JD factory system comes out but I hear that could be as late as next summer so I could not given the fact I had a buyer for my Ranger. I will try to post feedback on the system once on in the ATV forum. I believe one of these makes plowing much better.

Regards and thanks, John

 

[KeithT]

John, I have been very pleased with the salt dogg spreader. I went with an upgraded unit that was advertised to be light commercial duty. It has a variable spead controller that will allow the operator to adjust the coverage distance, and has wiring in place to add a vibrator if you use sand.

Actually the small shield did keep most of the salt off the back of my machine, but not all. I have a large rubber shield that I attached (after some astute person suggested it to me last winter) to the spreader that keeps the back off the Ranger completely protected. I will try to post a picture of it tonight.

I decided on the Gator after reading some of your unbiased (IMO) reviews. If it had P/S I would do it now. That with the BOSS plow (and my spreader) is the ticket for my 1000' steep drive. The Ranger has served me well. Used it last night to plow 4" of snow. I have had it for 4 years now though and I am ready for something new.

-Keith

 

[yankeerider]

If it had P/S I would do it now.

-Keith

This is one area where I (politely and in a very gentlemanly manner) disagree with John. Our HPX does not have power steering, and Deere confirmed that the UTV has lighter steering than the HPX. While I agree that power steering would be nice, i do not find the steering effort to be an impediment to appreciation and use of the machine.

We bought the HPX for my wife's use. She is a little lady. When I learned of the unisteer kit and looked it up, i asked her if she would like me to add power steering to the HPX. She said no, she didn't think there was anything wrong with the steering effort. Now, she doesn't drive the Gator when the plow is on. And, with no weight in the back, you certainly notice the extra effort cause by the plow's weight. But, with adequate ballast -200 to 300 lbs- the extra effort goes away. When plowing, there's no extra effort at all, because the plow weight is on the ground, and generally is carrying some of the machine's front end weight besides.

My point is-don't avoid the Gator due to its lack of power steering unless you have tested one yourself.

 

[jcmseven]

Jerry has a point. I have already plowed with my XUV and it plowed fine and turned OK without power steering. I am a bigger and stronger guy so it does not bother me that much not to have, but these nicer front plows like the BOSS are quite heavy and if one has frequent back and forward work it really is nice having the power steering.

John M