Pros/Cons of Front Mount Snowblower vs Rear Mount

[leonz]

You should see how well those Beilhack snow clearers remove snow from railroads at 22000+ tons per hour.

 

[gfreek]

I have a front mounted blower on my JD 2520, vinyl cab, glass windshield, rear scraper blade with sand bags for weight. I wish I could leave the backhoe on but the hoe frame blocks the PTO for the blower... I had a rear mount on my IH tractor, literally a pain in the neck, and snow in my face.. Front is the way to go.. IMO..

 

[smiley]

I set up Max to mount the blower on either front or back as in the photos . I found the front mount works great but we don't get those big snowfalls often enough to need the front blower and it is much faster to just use my plow truck with side wings if the snow is not over about a foot, so I just mount the blower on the back of the tractor and it's immediately available if we do get dumped on and the 9 ft blade is available for pushing over the banks on my large parking area (about 50 x 75) where the blower is not ideal to use. My driveway is only 350 ft and might think differently if it was as long as yours. The one photo is Max before the panels are removed and he gets his summer bushhog. View attachment 676908

good luck
Smiley

 

[pstahl]

I am using an 84" Inland twin auger blower that was originally a 3-point. I had it on an 84 JD2350 and I got tired of backing up. I built a hydraulic power pack for the back that employs a 1:5.51 speed increaser (surplus center) and a hydro-static pump. I am pushing up to 30 gpm at up to 3000 psi to a Char-lynn 6000 motor with the blower modified to mount on my loader. It's a much better setup and now it's on my 2011 JD5105M and needless to say nothing is better than blowing snow in a warm cab! If someone wants pictures and details on the setup I would be happy to provide them but finding a speed increaser would be a challenge as the ones surplus center are long gone.

 

[smiley]

I am using an 84" Inland twin auger blower that was originally a 3-point. I had it on an 84 JD2350 and I got tired of backing up. I built a hydraulic power pack for the back that employs a 1:5.51 speed increaser (surplus center) and a hydro-static pump. I am pushing up to 30 gpm at up to 3000 psi to a Char-lynn 6000 motor with the blower modified to mount on my loader. It's a much better setup and now it's on my 2011 JD5105M and needless to say nothing is better than blowing snow in a warm cab! If someone wants pictures and details on the setup I would be happy to provide them but finding a speed increaser would be a challenge as the ones surplus center are long gone.

I had thought about going the hydraulic route but found this reverser about 30 miles from where my niece lives up in Quebec for $100. The economics where were about 15 to in favor of the reverser even though there was more fabrication required. If interested, this is a link to how I did it. https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/187397-max-snow-beast-finished.html?highlight=

 

[Smalljobs]

For my needs, this is the best of both for different snow conditions, accumulation, etc. Having the ability to pile up snow 6-8' is convenient, too. By adding more functions and QD's, I can curl, dump, and angle the plow as well as control the blower chute rotation & angle.

 

[MiserableOldFart]

I have a rear blower but only about 1/4 mile to do, and I try my very best to get out there and plow with the rear blade early and often to prevent having to use it. Depending on how much snow you get, you might consider a blade - it's cheaper and much faster than a rear blower, but with my much smaller tractor, only good for 4-8" of snow to clear.
The only disadvantage to having a front blower that I can see, aside from the much steeper price, is you won't have your loader available to you. For that reason, I would shy away from the front blower if at all possible.
It's faster to go out and plow three or four times with the rear blade compared to doing it once with the rear blower.. And there's no getting blasted in the face when the wind changes..
Having the loader available allows moving snow that you can't blow, and also can paddle you out of situations where you get stuck.

 

[ManUpNawth]

I opted for keeping my front Bucket on, and going with a rear blower.
Main reason for liking the rear blower better, is because with the 3-Pt hitch, the blower floats - not only up/down but tilt as well. Something that I find essential for my driveway, parking area, and barn turn-around. I had a front blower originally, and while it floated up/down, it doesn't tilt, so the edges would dig in and do damage when the slope changed. No amount of skid-shoe adjustment got past that. Sitting sideways in the seat as I back up and around with the rear blower doesn't bother me much.
Now if there was a front mount that floated to follow slope and crown changes, I might reconsider. But I'd still miss having the front bucket to move some of the big piles around as the season progresses.

Now what I could REALLY use is a cab for the winter since there isn't a winter day that goes by here in the highlands of Maine when we don't have a wind blowing, and the resultant face and lap full of snow can get annoying sometimes.

 

[metalbender]

Annoying sometimes????????????? No snowblowing without a cab, period.

 

[RaydaKub]

My little BX and bucket has cleared a lot of snow for me over 9 years. About 2 years after getting it I bought a 5 foot rear blade. I bought horse mat to protect my pavement and stretched the reach to 6 feet. But 2 years ago, I had to carry snow down the street 75 feet because I couldn't reach any higher and had already jammed buckets full into the top of the piles and couldn't push them back anymore.
I invested in a 56" Bercomac 3pt. It has electric chute and deflector which is awesome because I have a soft cab and a crank model wouldn't work, and aux hydraulics would have been nice, but even more expensive. There is a front mount blower available, but my prospects for resale would have been extremely limited.
My take is that the loader can handle just about any snow you get. A blade can be way faster to clear any given snowstorm, especially the early nuisance snow, but the blower is far more efficient because you only need to handle it once.
BTW, most of the ATV/UTV blowers are built by Berco. For a small acreage and driveway measured in yards instead of miles, its a really nice unit.