3-Point Hitch GC2610 Hydraulic hose connections for 3pt Hitch

[amwood]

Not to speak for others....

Very easy in my eyes. 15-20 minutes to take off fel and put on QA and blower. Do you plan to take it off once it's on during the winter?

No, I will leave it on for the winter. Your driveway looks like mine. Do you need chains, or do you leave the backhoe on for traction? I would prefer to leave the backhoe off.

What do you do for fuel treatment in the winter, or do you run #1 diesel as recommended in the owner's manual?

Thanks for the help.

 

[SteveM70]

Pixguy, what is the barrel beside the driveway for?

 

[irvingj]

Hah -- Steve, that's a staple around here! Contains sand (and usually a shovel) to put on the ice when it coats the driveway. Around here, just about anyone with a sloped driveway of any length will have some sand available partway up/down, if they're smart.

amwood, I USUALLY leave mine on for the winter, but occasionally I'll drop it off and put the FEL on to attack a buildup of snow. I'm lucky; I have a smooth concrete floor in my garage, so I drop the FEL and the blower onto one of those steel 4-wheel tire dollies.

It takes me only about 2 minutes (seriously!) to drop off the FEL, perhaps 4 minutes to connect. Blower takes about 4 minutes off and 6 minutes on, but really only because of the extra time to disconnect the electric chute controls. Disclaimer: that's with leaving the mid-PTO shaft and the front quick-coupler on; if you're not going over/into a low stone wall or something like that, that quick coupler can stay right there; it doesn't interfere with FEL operation.

 

[Pixguy]

No, I will leave it on for the winter. Your driveway looks like mine. Do you need chains, or do you leave the backhoe on for traction? I would prefer to leave the backhoe off. What do you do for fuel treatment in the winter, or do you run #1 diesel as recommended in the owner's manual? Thanks for the help.

First, I have a 400' paved driveway that's very steep and never intended to be a winter home so we leave for much of the winter. I also maintain about 1500' of the private gravel road that leads up to our drive and early snowfalls were an issue with the blower snagging stones and going through at least 5 shear pins each storm and because of the incline, I wasn't able to allow it to freeze and pack down the gravel area like others do. Two years ago I went to TSC and grabbed a 5' rear blade that I now use for dragging the snow and ice off the gravel and scrape the paved drive if it's just an inch or two of snow or ice mix.

I do have chains on the rears. I left the hoe in for the first season but it was too much of a counterweight and didn't allow for good steering traction so I built a rear ballast barrel which worked well for a few seasons.

I do garage my scut that's heated to 45° as well as diesel stabil treat my fuel.

I also added the rear bucket/supplies holder that helps me have sand as needed and adds weight to the blade.

Sand buckets.....fill 4 of them with sand/salt in Nov and resupply small 5gal. buckets when away from bigger supply kept at house. Then blow off drive in the Spring. Enjoy the summer and then repeat.

 

[irvingj]

Oh, yeah, the other questions:

1) I use the same stuff I put in my Jetta TDI: Stanadyne diesel additive. Diesel fuel around here is altered according to the season, so I just use what I get at the "off-road" pump locally.

2) I have turf tires, and --so far-- I've only needed chains once, after one of our freezing rain episodes.

3) I tried leaving the BH on for the first couple of winters -- it does help with traction-- but I took it off to:
a) regain my steering going uphill :shocked:
b) shorten the overall length of the unit for better maneuverability. :thumbsup: