Someone educate me - why would you plow snow with a rear blade?

[acohen100]

From my reading it seems as if this is the preferred method of snow plowing but it just doesn't make sense to me. If you had anything more than a few inches of snow then you are trying to drive over it while pulling a blade behind you? Seems to me that this would be the worst of both worlds - you would be driving on top of snow with poor traction while trying to pull a blade behind you over snow you just packed down with the tractor. What am I missing?

 

[8561]

What am I missing?

Experience. Most guys spin the rear blase around backwards and push the snow in reverse. Having said that, depending on the slope of your drive, the length, the amount and type of snow, etc., it is very possible to pull snow forward if you angle the blade and roll it off the side.

 

[acohen100]

So...how is driving in reverse better than having a front blade and driving forward? Seems like it would be a lot slower and much more arduous to have to crane around and look behind you the whole time while driving backwards. Again, forgive my ignorance.

 

[Z-Michigan]

It's not better, but it generally is dramatically cheaper. All modern tractors have a 3ph and a simple rear blade can be had new from $300 and up. High quality for $1000 or so.

To use a front blade you need either a dedicated front blade and subframe, supplied by your tractor manufacturer at a significant price, or you need a FEL and a blade that mounts to the FEL (which will require a quick attach system). The FEL mounted blades I've seen seem to start around $2000, even though they are fairly simple devices.

I have used a rear-3ph mounted blade to move up to a foot of snow off of my 900' gravel driveway, while driving forward and not using my FEL for anything. It works extremely well for me. Driving over the snow before hitting it with the blade only results in a little bit of compacted snow, which has been a non-issue for me.

 

[Toolguy]

The answer is that a rearblade is a simple, cheap tool that gets the job done under most conditions. Any tractor with a 3PTH is ready for a RB. A front mounted blade that is power angled is definitely better than a RB but, it is also a lot more complicated and expensive. You can easily drive over 6 to 8 inches of snow with a CUT. The limiting factor is the type of snow you are plowing. Light fluffy snow is very easy to move. Heavy wet snow is harder to move. Most snow storms only leave a few inches at a time. If you keep up with it and plow it off soon after it snows it is not a problem. When it gets very deep is a FEL is a handy thing to have in addition to a RB. If you don't have a FEL, by turning the RB around and plowing in reverse you can move a lot of material when it is too deep to drive over. You can also push the banks back and make piles when the RB is reversed. Another thing to remember is that snow is not nearly as hard to move as dirt. Unless it is frozen solid it moves relatively easy. The biggest problem with snow is just the sheer volume of it. I hope this helps answer your question.

 

[PBinWA]

Cheap and easy. That's why I do it. Chains and a heavy rear blade work pretty good and combined might have cost $500-600. I plow a hill and I think starting at the top and letting the weight of the tractor pull the blade helps too. The rear blade is useful for lots of other projects too.

I don't get that much snow though. If I had to do it a lot then I'd look at other options.

 

[john_bud]

From my reading it seems as if this is the preferred method of snow plowing but it just doesn't make sense to me. If you had anything more than a few inches of snow then you are trying to drive over it while pulling a blade behind you? Seems to me that this would be the worst of both worlds - you would be driving on top of snow with poor traction while trying to pull a blade behind you over snow you just packed down with the tractor. What am I missing?

The other thing is that an FEL is a poor tool for snow plowing. The bucket will get full of packed snow when wet and doesn't hold much. Back blade in reverse works good, but will give a crick in the neck. But you wallet gets a severe dent from a dedicated front blade!

jb

 

[Soundguy]

When the only tool you have is a hammer.. all your problems start looking like nails.

IE.. if the person doesn't have a loader / front mounted snow blade.. and doesn't want to spend the 3-4 thousand dollars to get one.. then a 150$ to 250$ rear blade sounds like the ticket.

soundguy

From my reading it seems as if this is the preferred method of snow plowing but it just doesn't make sense to me. If you had anything more than a few inches of snow then you are trying to drive over it while pulling a blade behind you? Seems to me that this would be the worst of both worlds - you would be driving on top of snow with poor traction while trying to pull a blade behind you over snow you just packed down with the tractor. What am I missing?

 

[WayneB]

When the only tool you have is a hammer.. all your problems start looking like nails.

soundguy

Yes, but you guys in Florida don't plow snow!

I use a snowblower now and still have snow banks but they are 30 feet or so away. In the past I used a back blade and it was pretty fast for moving snow around and then pushed it off into a pile with the FEL. Storms of 4" or less I hardly ever go out and plow.

I have seen people use the backside of the back blade to move snow believing it does less damage to their dirt driveway. Here we are fighting deer flies and Poison Ivey and talking about snow…………………cold!

 

[bigdad]

Gauge wheels, blade angle and momentum are the tricks to rear blade snow removal....especially with a small tractor. If there are piles, use the FEL to move the piles.