Wanted (more) info on Front Mount Snowblower

[dourobob]

Well, I have been all over the map on this one from "just put up with the stiff neck and back /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" to "buy a whole new outfit for $35K 'ouch /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif") and it looks like the only way I'll be able to afford to blow snow while looking ahead from the tractor seat is to try and fabricate (with the help of a friend who is really good at this kind of project) a kit to convert a rear PTO blower to a front blower that can run off the rear PTO. I understand the concept and the challenges with the lining up of drive shafts etc. and I think it could be done.
Has anyone here undertaken a project like this on a 40 HP tractor? Any advice, pictures, plans, sketches, warnings, lessons learned? Any suggestions on where to obtain the unit that runs off the 3PH and drives a PTO shaft to the front? If I was looking for that unit, what would it be called?

Thanks
Bob

 

[RobertN]

Run it with a hydraulic motor front. Put it on a Skidsteer universal detach, so switching from loader bucket to snow blower is an approximately 2 minute job. The forward hydraulic remote could be used later for a loader mounted auger, clamshell bucket, or?

I hear mention, maybe in the "Construction" forum, about a "PTO" 3pt plate to mount on the loader arms of a skidsteer. That would be a SWEET setup! Be able to run your mower on the loader arms, even your 3pt auger...

It would certianly, while not cheap, add a new dimension to the tractor.

 

[rugs]

I went to the NYS Farm Show in Syracuse, NY this past Friday. Woods showed a 72" (I think) front snowblower they are developing. Iit's basically a 3 pt blower adapted to run up front. It mounted to the FEL arms and would be powered by a hydraulic motor (motor was not installed). The Woods guy said they calculated it needed about 15 gal/minute flow to operate. Electric chute rotation. Very solid construction.

This looked like a fairly easy conversion to do on your own... but, as always, $$$.

 

[dourobob]

Thanks
I've sent a note to Woods, I've looked at Schulte's web site, and I've gone to Erskine's web site as well.

Are there any other manufacturers I should check out?

Has anyone done a conversion of a 3PH blower to a front blower on their own? With pictures?

Bob

 

[nuvz]

I sure have been thinking about the same thing... Would really be nice to have the blower up front, but how would you keep the cost down? I think a simple gear system on the back driving a shaft held by two carrier bearings could be built well and built cheaply. The blower already has a slip shaft that could be used to raise and lower the blower on the quick connect bracket on the loader arms. My main problem is the gear assembly in the back. Two toothed-gears would accomplish the reversal of rotation and if you used the same size gears, the speed would be the same. Just need an idea on the gearbox. Where could you come up with one?

 

[Renze]

Yes, if you mount it up front, the rotation needs to be inversed, because the implement is mirrored.

Over here, the machinery hobbyists tend to use old truck gearboxes for purposes like that.. I think the reverse gear on these boxes give too much rpm reduction...

With the long underbelly shaft, if you drive over a rock or tree, you will probably damage the shaft, and i think you will need bearings on two or three places, equally spread over the shaft to prevent the shaft from swinging, and disbalance.


You could buy my hydraulic motor & PTO pump set, as we will be wrecking an old truck trailer that used to be a manure tanker. The manure pump was hydro driven.
I dont think you're going to take our stuff from the Netherlands to USA... /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Why dont you take a look at local truckyards, or at construction machinery wreckyards, for a second hand hydro set.
The hydro hoses are flexible and you can toss them around without having to worry about decreasing ground clearance, how to align the shafts from rear to front, and about that gearbox you are talking about.

If you need someone to weld and mill the splined shafts for you, you would be better (cheaper) off with a second hand hydro set, a PTO pump mounted in the rear 3p lift, and some quickly removeable hoses over the rear axle, alongside the motorhood.

 

[ducksjunk]

Bob;
I'm currently in the process of converting a TPH blower to front mount. Have built a front pto. pully type with electric clutch. Plan to drive hydraulic motor from that.
I'm not using FEL harness for mounting as I have a much smaller tractor so i want to keep the blower close to the front end. Don't forget to allow for float in your lift system otherwise you'll be doing more landscaping than blowing. We get 10 to 12 feet of snow hee each winter, and I have 1200 feet of driveway to maintain so I have great hopes for this machine. No pics yet but they will come soon.