Snow Bucket???

   / Snow Bucket??? #1  

not2old

Platinum Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2010
Messages
987
Location
Scotch Creek, British Columbia
Tractor
2010 Massey GC2610TLB
I have a Massey Ferguson GC 2610 TLB and I'm thinking I'd like an oversize FEL bucket to move snow. Can anyone help me with where to look for one or how to figure out the optimum size and shape to build one myself? I expect I'd like to have some sort of quick change system on it as a set of forks are also on my wish list. It takes me a little over an hour to do my driveway and I get the feeling that I'm not using anywhere near the potential of the machine.
 
   / Snow Bucket??? #2  
I have a 2310 - think the FEL lift capacity is 600 lbs....?? been using it to clear my driveway for 4 years. If you get wet - slushy snow it gets pretty heavy. Don't know if I would want a bigger scoop. Only thing I do is remove the toothbar and bolt on a homeade bucket edge so I don't wear out the factory edge. Leave your hoe on for a counter weight.
 
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   / Snow Bucket??? #3  
I built one that slides into the bucket of my JD4300. Just a bottom and two sides. It sticks out about 24" beyond the factory bucket and bolts into it with two 1/2 bolts on each side. Carries about 1/4 face cord of firewood (tossed in) or more wet sand than the hydraulics will lift.....I re-inforced the leading (cutting) edge with a strip of 1/4" steel but the rest is just under 1/8".
I normally use the back blade to clear the driveway (+200yds) then move any piles as they build up over the winter. A bucket on the front is NOT a great way to clear driveways.....unless the snow is over a foot deep.
 
   / Snow Bucket???
  • Thread Starter
#4  
Thanks for your input guys. I'm still new at this as the tractor has 16 hours on it and I've only cleared 6" to 8" of snow from the driveway twice so far. I was thinking of a wider and deeper bucket, but will give more thought to the weights involved. So far, with the type of snow I've experienced, it seems that I'm using less than 1/2 of the weight capability of the loader so maybe I need to do some experiments and calculations. Or maybe just get a rear blade. Do you plow with the rear blade in reverse or going forward? Does the blade have some sort of depth control or is that up to the operator's skill? Should it be wider than the tractor? Angled, or straight? Don't mean to be a PITA but I've nobody else to ask.
 
   / Snow Bucket??? #5  
you can buy large snow/light materials buckets from bobcat if your machine has a ss attach
 
   / Snow Bucket??? #6  
We got a ton of snow last winter. I, growing up on a farm, am not new to the whole tractor thing. I have a cub Sc2400 which is roughly the same size as your 2610. 67PLY is right in saying you might want to reconsider making the bucket larger. When trying to push wet snow or even just a lot of snow, the tractor isn't heavy enough to compete. You'll just spin. Also, adding weight, in concept, would help. However, the problem with that idea is that the loader arms are mounted much higher than say, a dozer blade, and so there is a fulcrum effect where the resistance of the snow and the traction from the rear tires will want to raise the front on the tractor.... which, sucks. You can't stear and it's not the safest thing to do anyway. So, in my experience, you should not add weight to the back (like say, a back hoe) when pushing snow with a FEL because you'll just end up lifting the front off the ground. Wheel weights are a better option if you want to add weight.

I use my FEL for pushing snow because it's cheaper than buying a snow blower and we usually don't get as much snow as we did last winter. However, a FEL is not designed to be a replacement for a push blade. So, it has some definate down sides. Plus, these small tractors just don't have the overall mass to really push large volumes of snow.

As always, you can do what you want. I'll offer this advise to save you some trouble... If you want to move more snow than your bucket does now, do one of the following:
1. Buy a 3pt snowblower
2. Buy a 3pt or quick attach dozer blade
3. Buy a larger tractor.

Tacking on to your existing bucket won't solve the issues I've mentioned and, therefore, won't let you really move any more snow (mass wise) as you can now.
 
   / Snow Bucket??? #7  
I have a similar sized tractor as yours. At first I was in the same boat as you, something bigger and faster to clear snow. I started out with a 6 ft wooden poor mans plow. Its essentially a box that pushes snow. It wasn't angled , so it was frustrating with wet snow. light stuff, I was moving it alot faster. The following year I picked up a old truck plow and mounted it on FEL arms like a dozer and it worked whole lot better then wooden push plow due to lightweight tractor. The following summer I finally took A frame of plow and modified it to go on my FEL arms so I could angle it and boy, with the curvature shape of plow, angled, I was so much more efficient.


If I were you, I'd focus on getting a back blade or get a plow for front, factory or custom made.
 
   / Snow Bucket??? #8  
I made a snow bucket, but only use it to CARRY snow, once the piles get too big and they have a chance to settle into a solid mass. I often find that I am carrying a block of well packed frozen snow that is over 4' in each dimension. These must be moved from our "living/driving area" to the edge of a hill where I dump them. By spring I'll have a ramp of snow about 15' deep and 30' wide that I am driving on to dump over the edge onto the ice of the lake. (in fact, I'll have three such snow piles scattered around the house , barn and driveway).
I've no problem with the front wheels lifting while pushing as the angles are such that I run out of traction WAY before this happens, even with lotsa weight on the 3pth
My plans are to some day, assemble all my parts and pieces and stick a plow on the FEL using my QD feature. Until then I'm pushing snow with my back blade or blowing it with the blower. If I push it, then I will have to move it again once it builds up.....with the snow bucket.
 
   / Snow Bucket??? #9  
...You can't steer and it's not the safest thing to do anyway. So, in my experience, you should not add weight to the back (like say, a back hoe) when pushing snow with a FEL because you'll just end up lifting the front off the ground. Wheel weights are a better option if you want to add weight.

You can learn to use the tractor's steering brakes.
Even using a backblade, steering brakes help as the tractor does tend to get pushed sideways.
 
   / Snow Bucket??? #10  
You can learn to use the tractor's steering brakes.
Even using a backblade, steering brakes help as the tractor does tend to get pushed sideways.

That is true if you have steering brakes, which the Massey GC series doesn't.
 
 
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