Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Bigger 2WD tractor and snowblower

[campbellrw]

Hey guys, I've been looking at buying a Massey 3525 tractor that I intend to use for making hay and some other farm stuff in the summer. I've recently been looking for a snowblower for it. The width of the rear end, to the outside of the tires is about 94". I assume it doesn't make sense to have a blower that is narrower than the wheels, so I would need to go with an 8' blower. Is an 8' blower too much for a 2wd tractor? I know it would have enough PTO power, but it's just the traction I wonder about. Would tires chains be needed on the rear?

 

[Dave M7040]

You can get by with a blower a little narrow than the width of your tires. In fact, in some conditions it gives the tire lugs something to dig into. Chains are a big help but not cheap chains which slip between the lugs. You need a design of chain that keep the chain on top of the tire lug. I blew heavy snow for 40 years with a 2 wd Nuffield with a claimed 65 hp. My blower was 84" and was about 3" narrow than the tires on each side. Some people fabricate wings on narrow blowers to draw the snow into the auger but unless conditions are extreme I don't think it is worth the effort.
When you raise the 3pt hitch just a tiny bit a huge amount of weight is transferred to the rear tires. My front wheels would barely touch the ground if the blower had a lot of wet snow on top of it so 4 wd would not offer much over 2 wd with a skilled operator. I have 4wd now and it just allows you to get a little lax in your technique.
Dave M7040

 

[campbellrw]

Very good info, thanks for that! Do you think a 7' blower would be too narrow? That would be about 5 inches of tire on either side of the blower. I suppose, as you mentioned, if it was a problem I could always weld on some wings to widen it a little.

 

[oldnslo]

I used an 8 foot blower on a 2-85 white and 5000 Ford. Didn't have chains that would fit the White so if it got real icy we used the 5000 Ford with chains. Like Dave said slightly lifting the blower moves a lot of weight to the rear wheels.

I preferred the blower wider than the tractor so that I could always clean-up to the previous snow banks. With 5 inches of tire over hanging this could be a problem especially since the 3 PH will also have some sway.

 

[JerryK]

I would go with the 8'. It is not ' too much ' as long as you can lift it. I would think that as big as that Massey is, you would have no problem either lift or hp with an 8'. You might find out that a set of chains is a good addition. I cleared my drive for years with a 2wd J.D./78" blower before I bought my Mahindra. Some winters I used chains if the drive got icy underneath. The 2wd is actually a little more manuverable. You get to learn to spin around in place pretty easy.

 

[doxford jim]

Use the size blower that matches or is slightly bigger than the width of your rear wheels - outside to outside measurement.
The snow blower I use is slightly smaller than my outside rear wheel measurement and made a lousy job of clearing. To improve it I added two wings giving me an almost four inch gain on each side, and that has made a world of difference. I can now clear the driveway and leave straight clear sides without any snow mess.
If you tractor will lift the 96" blower then that is what you need to use. If you can go with a heavier duty blower with two augers (one on top of the other) that might be even better due to the extra weight and stronger construction.

 

[campbellrw]

Ok sounds good guys. I guess the real challenge will be finding a good deal on an 8' blower, it seems even the used ones aren't too cheap. This tractor has 105 PTO hp and 3ph is rate for 7600 lbs, so should be ok in that department.

 

[doxford jim]

Now is a good time to buy - there should be some good deals around. For you, you will probably need to go to the mainland for best buys.
Good luck.

 

[Farmer495]

8 foot is fine, I run 6.5 ft on a 2wd half that power. A good heavy blower will keep all the weight on the rear wheels anyways. Only time I miss chains or 4wd is backing uphill, but simple solution is to carry blower high or drive forward through through snow and blow down hill. I've go through 2 feet of snow going forward with the blower raised all the way and front wheels off the ground.

You'll get a 100 HP 2wd for "nothing" in the maritimes, should be lots over on PEI...

 

[Dave M7040]

Ok sounds good guys. I guess the real challenge will be finding a good deal on an 8' blower, it seems even the used ones aren't too cheap. This tractor has 105 PTO hp and 3ph is rate for 7600 lbs, so should be ok in that department.

One big factor is to be certain the blower drive line-gearbox can handle the pto power you have otherwise you will just tear it apart when backing into a drift of heavy snow. I think this is a bigger concern than the exact width of your blower versus the tractor. 105 pto power will move a lot of snow but the blower has to be able to process it. The width is only an issue on both sides when making the first pass. I have used the 3 pt lift arm stabilizers to slightly off set a blower to one side.
Dave M7040