John deere 3520... Loader mounted blade vs rear blower

   / John deere 3520... Loader mounted blade vs rear blower #1  

nch209

Bronze Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2014
Messages
78
Location
Northern Virgina
Tractor
John Deere 3520
I have a front loader mounted blade I have yet to use, and am debating if it's the right tool for my job. About 2500' of lane and driveway. I'm thinking maybe sell it and go for a rear 74" blower. Money it's basically a wash, and while I'd like to have both, only gonna have one.

Any thoughts, which is better for that length if gravel drive? We don't get tons of snow, but once in a while we get pounded. Which wins, loader blade or rear blower?
 
   / John deere 3520... Loader mounted blade vs rear blower #2  
Depends.

If you have a place to plow the snow to, and it's not too deep, then plowing is quicker.

If you need to "get rid" of deeper snow, spread it out somewhere else, then a blower is better.

Example would be a long driveway with several feet of snow depth. You can reach a point where the plow will no longer have the ability to lift or move the snow off to the side. Then the only option becomes pushing the snow off the driveway . . . all the way to the end??
 
   / John deere 3520... Loader mounted blade vs rear blower #3  
As nch209 wrote, Virginia doesn't get much snow...western VA does get an occasional (every few years) heavier snow though.

For most accumulations (<5"), a blade works well...for the deeper snows, a blower is the way to go. However, since frequent and significant snows aren't really a problem every winter in VA, I'd use the bucket rather then spend the $$$ for a snow blower. West Virginia...now that's a different situation altogether!
Now, if you got a pick up and you don't mind driving some, used snowblowers (3PH type) are readily available in the northern states.
 
   / John deere 3520... Loader mounted blade vs rear blower
  • Thread Starter
#4  
^

Goal would be to snag a cheap 3pt blower and keep my front loader. Had one set up, a 66" meteor but dealer sold it beneath me even though I had first dibs on it... Contingent on a good gear box check up. Perhaps I should be patient, keep my front loader blade, and see if I can find a used blower. ..

My impatient side says ditch the front blade, buy a blower, and use my rear blade for light snow, but being patient may yield a better setup...

Thanks for the thoughts
 
   / John deere 3520... Loader mounted blade vs rear blower #5  
^

Goal would be to snag a cheap 3pt blower and keep my front loader. Had one set up, a 66" meteor but dealer sold it beneath me even though I had first dibs on it... Contingent on a good gear box check up. Perhaps I should be patient, keep my front loader blade, and see if I can find a used blower. ..

My impatient side says ditch the front blade, buy a blower, and use my rear blade for light snow, but being patient may yield a better setup...

Thanks for the thoughts

That's all well and good, but I suggest following my rule for men's toy and tool purchase decision making: Want X Need = Buy.

Notice that a lot of want, and very little need, still equals buy.
 
   / John deere 3520... Loader mounted blade vs rear blower #6  
I have a very long gravel drive. I have a rear blower which is great for deep snow plus I don't end up with a narrowing driveway, which is what can happen after repeated plowing. Nice thing about the rear blower is I still have use of the front loader for the detail work.
 
   / John deere 3520... Loader mounted blade vs rear blower #7  
Never had a tractor blower, but I can tell you, plowing with a rear blade gets old fast. I only have about 750', but my old neck didn't like looking backwards for even that much. Light snows, you can just drive forward thru, but deeper snows, you should reverse and push it aside. Blowers want cabs, too. Is that a factor for you?
 
   / John deere 3520... Loader mounted blade vs rear blower #8  
Nope, not a factor. Not having any snow yet? That's a factor :c)

 
   / John deere 3520... Loader mounted blade vs rear blower #9  
About 2500' of lane and driveway. I'm thinking maybe sell it and go for a rear 74" blower.
My neck hurts just thinking about a rear blower for that drive.:p If you had a larger, heavier machine, I would go with a rear pull blower, but thats not your case, so my opinion would be to stay with the front blade.
 
   / John deere 3520... Loader mounted blade vs rear blower #10  
if snowfall is light then i'd go for the blade. half a mile EACH pass in reverse is going to get old real fast. my personal choice is a front mounted blower, but that's based on the volume snow i move every year. also, the cost is far in excess when compared to front blades & rear blowers.

in my opinion the biggest downside of plowing a road with a tractor/blade is the lack of weight and speed. in a plow truck you are generally operating at twice the weight and a much higher speed so that you sling the snow back a good distance, which will leave room for the next storm's accumulation, and so on. if you get eventual accumulation that becomes a problem for the blade you can always revert to the bucket i suppose.
 
 
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