Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Snow Plowing with Kubota 72" plow on B3000 Cab (B3030)

[amg280]

This is my first winter with this tractor. I bought the kubota QA with the 72" Kubota blade, all hydraulic angling. My question is, should I have my 500# rear ballast on when I snow plow, or will that work against me? I have R4 tires. I have skid shoes on it for my long gravel driveway to the barn, but have a fairly decent sized paved driveway at the house that I might like to go lower on the shoes with, maybe even scrape.

Thanks for any advice.

Andy

 

[brewdog]

I think its a good idea to have the additional weight especially when pushing into a pile and normal transport with the blade up. I'm not a fan of chains except for extreme conditions. Chains destroy concrete and asphalt finishes.

On my NH I had the tires filled with a non-corrosive liquid that added 900 pounds to the machine. Still have my ballast bar and weights, I want to see if the loaded tires are enough.

I like the idea of using a rubber scraper blade but have not tried it yet.

Good luck, enjoy your new machine.

 

[Gizmo2]

My rear ballast is full off 3/4" stone for Spring, Summer and Fall and I take about a third of the stone out for winter and plowing snow. Too much weight in the rear (with blade down) kills the 4WD benefits and lessens turning ability on slippery surfaces.

 

[RoyJackson]

You'll find out if 500 lbs is adequate ballast pretty soon, I think. And there is absolutely no doubt you'll need it.

The B3030 specs out pretty close to my old 790 in power and weight. I had about 600 lbs or so in my ballast box. I use sand since that's what was in it when I bought it (used). Sand is pretty handy...you can shovel a bit under the tires if you need a bit more traction.
I do think you'll have traction problems, even with the rear ballast. The downside of using a plow (rather then a bucket) is you won't be able to push yourself out of a situation when you get stuck...and, I think you will get stuck on occasion.
Personally, I think it's advisable to get chains...now. Your R-4's are 12.4-16 and 2 link ladder type chains would be the least problematic with your paved areas. They're also quite heavy. And read your manual about usage of the differential lock.
Another thing...your area tends to get some pretty heavy snows. I suggest you consider going out when the accumuation is no more then 6-8 inches and push the snow well clear of the driveway. Keep the bucket handy so you can quickly swap out between the plow and bucket when you need to move the snow further away from your drive and parking area.

If you do hold off on chains...have a plan to extricate your tractor, if necessary. A 20' tow chain and clevis for your draw bar would be handy to have...just in case.

As I wrote, your B3030 is pretty close in specs to my old 790. I had to use the tractor with R-4's and no chains during the major snowstorm we had in February, 2010. I did run out of traction and I did get stuck, and I'm only clearing 150' or so of gravel drive.

Good luck and be safe!

 

[High Compression]

I have a B3030 and I have loaded my rear tires with roughly 700 lbs of Rim Guard. On top of that I usually have a spreader with 800lbs-1000lbs of ice melt. With turf tires, no chains, that tractor goes anywhere, even on ice.:thumbsup:

 

[grsthegreat]

I have a 500# hydraulic tank on the 3 point of my DK45 with a 7' front mounted plow, and i can still get a light rear end feel sometimes when pushing a load of snow up a bank. And i have filled tires.

I am using 2 link ladder chains but i have just gravel to deal with. I hear they work great on asphalt but i sure wouldn't want to mark up a driveway with them if it was my place.

I would try it first without chains to see how it works. My plow is over 650# plus its way out front of the loader, so i figure i needed all the rear weight i can get.

 

[Gizmo2]

With chains on the rear of our 2320 with ballast I seldom need 4WD. Ice is a different story.

 

[amg280]

Thanks for all the good advice. I will mount my ballast back up and leave it on there. Not sure how much the plow weighs but it looks pretty heavy duty. I guess the plan will be to feel it out first snowfall and go from there.
I used to plow with my little JD 345 (2wd) and without rear chains and wheel weights, went nowhere. My paved driveway wont be an issue I dont think since at the end of the driveway, it drops off some. I can keep pushing snow into there. I just need to not fall into it cause logic tells me its going to be a tough ride back through the plowed snow, around the back of the house, and then uphill in the grass/front yard!

I do have a tow rope and comealong I sometimes throw in my ballast box in case the worst (inevitable,haha?) happens. The tractor is actually not the 3030 but the new 3000 (3030 replacement I believe), but it is the same thing, esentially. I find it strange that you have to have the ac compressor on in heat mode to keep the windows from fogging. They fog up quick. I keep in on fresh air mode too. Dont know why they fog up so easy. I do notice when its really cold, the ac compressor doesnt kick on at all. Hope the windows dont fog then. Like Roy said, we get some pretty nasty and frequent heavy snows here. Going out every few hours isnt a bad idea during a storm. Otherwise, if its anything like the JD, when you angle the blade, it will just push the front of the tractor off the path.

Should I get my rear tires loaded? I wanted to avoid this since this will be doing mowing duty in the summer, quite a bit, unless my father plants some crops this spring.

I do believe if I get rear chains, I might need a spacer kit. Tolerances are pretty tight back there. I went with the heavy duty snow blade because if any of you remember on my older bx2660(great machine!) I traded in, my kubota front snowblower got the crap beet out of it everytime. One little pebble would trigger a snapping shear pin, and pull paint from the boxed frame/shoot like noones business. I also broke 2 driveshafts (2nd one might have been dealers fault). Finally the blower (on highest skid setting) picked up something in the driveway and upchucked it through, but while doing it, broke some box welds and screwed up the gearbox, not to mention started a mystery leak from the rear tranny (kcc wrote that off and gave me a new blower). I still would rather have a blower and just be VERY careful, but couldnt justify the price they get for a front mount. Maybe in the future (already got quick hitch).

Im looking forward with snow removal this year with a cab. I froze my ***** off last year

One last thing in this already overly long post, has any of you with a B cab tractor noticed how squeeky and noisy they are? The hydraulic whine is ear peircing and the plastic on the left and right that house the levers, holy crap im about to just remove them. Actually, I was going to remove them and put some felt where they come into contact with the metal frame, then tighten them back down. Does anyone know if the plastic sheething on the valve levers (under the handle) is supposed to come off, or stay? Thats a significant point of noise as well. Maybe im nit-picking, I will be warm at least. But for the price I expected slightly more. Like all the switch gear....they arent back lit in the dark. But if you take a switch out, they have little bulbs in them and extra pins for it. seems like Kubota took a shortcut there.

thanks again for all the help. This forum is the best tool one could have.

Andy

 

[stevess]

i don't own a b3000 but took one for a test drive recently. that plastic panel to the right on the seat rattled like crazy. other than that cheesy piece of plastic it seemed like a machine i would love to own. the loader control valve seemed much smoother than the other b series i tried. i agree with the turf recommendation. i plowed with a 60 inch hydro on a bx25 with rimguard and turfs with no other ballast or chains and that thing seemed unstoppable. didn't even have the backhoe mounted as it actually made the front too light.
steve

 

[grsthegreat]

Thats weird. i test drove an Lxxxx tractor before buying my Kioti and i dont remember the cab being noisy at all. Must be the difference between the b series and the l series.

My dk45 is nice and quiet inside...cept for my radio