Mowing mowing with the bucket on/off

   / mowing with the bucket on/off #81  
I can attest that it is quite a jolt hitting something with the blade pushing backwards but I still do it because sometimes it just works better. Sometimes it is better to go forward using the blade at an angle. Where you are at in Eastern KS you should not have a traction problem. I only have one when the snow gets to deep and I have turf tires on the rear.

We have some 6-12" snows at times. Generally 3-6". I have the R4 tires.

I envision running fwd -- blade at an angle -- drive atop the snow before I push it off with the blade. I have this idea that if that all works, I can clear he driveway in an hour.
 
   / mowing with the bucket on/off #82  
My driveway is about 1/4 mile long and then I have about a 7000 sq ft area in front of the garage that I clean off. 1/2 hour tops unless the snow is so deep that I have to do a lot moving snow so that I have a place to put the new stuff. This will be real rare where you are at but there are times when we get buildup in Northern Indiana. I warn you though that with my turf tires I do a lot of plowing in road gear with a lot of spinning - technique vs power. It is a lot of fun - especially the donut at the end when I do a 180 to come back. Much quicker than a regular turn!
 
   / mowing with the bucket on/off #83  
I recently did some woods mowing and for the first time I removed my FEL for mowing, mostly because of this thread. I did like how much more maneuverable it was in the woods but I didn't like how I could easily ride a wheelie going up any sort if incline! Actually, I suppose it was pretty fun the first couple times but got old when I couldn't steer. I had to use the split brakes more than a few times to get the nose around in a sharp turn.

I did miss having the grapple on though when I came across some downed trees and couldn't move them out of the way. All in all though, the maneuverability sure was nice.
 

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   / mowing with the bucket on/off #84  
We have some 6-12" snows at times. Generally 3-6". I have the R4 tires.

I envision running fwd -- blade at an angle -- drive atop the snow before I push it off with the blade. I have this idea that if that all works, I can clear he driveway in an hour.

I have a JD 870, a bit heavier than yours, and find it works fine running forward with as much as 8," and our snow is pretty wet often. I found it works best to maintain some speed to be sure the snow rolls off the blade. Drive too slowly and it can build up under the rear of the tractor and actually lift it enough to loose traction. Then it's shovel time.

Our driveway is a quarter mile, but steep enough that I can only plow downhill, so spend half the time dead-heading back to the top. Still, with a parking area to fuss with, I can still do it in less than an hour except for the few times the drifts are so deep I have to use the FEL, which takes a lot longer.

Terry
 
   / mowing with the bucket on/off #85  
The weight of an empty bucket will realy make very little difference to anything if greased properly .
I like to grease my steering wheel and seat for safety
 
 
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