Snowthrowers (again).

[fredhargis]

This will be my first winter with the tractor (2920) and 3PH thrower I bought. As I look at the thrower and think of the aspect of driving my 500 foot drive backwards, I'm trying to think ahead of what I might have done different. I'm also wondering about the thrower itself (Kubota). The shoes look awfully small, I'm worried they might not hold the thrower up off teh gravel enough to keep from throwing rocks through the neighbors window (or breaking a shear pin). They aren't very tall either, leading to the same or other problems. Should I have a new set made tahat are somewhat taller and maybe slightly longer/wider? Any other tips? BTW, I went with the 3PH unit because I may need to also use the FEL. We don't get a lot of snow around here, but I do get hellish drifts...last year some of them were 5' deep and I would cut through about a 10'-12" length of them. I was using a Bobcat 743 then and had no trouble, but I sold it to change to the 2920. Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[leonz]

Kubota snow blower saga begins;

This will be my first winter with the tractor
(2920) and 3PH thrower I bought. As I look at the thrower and think of the aspect of driving my 500 foot drive backwards, I'm trying to think ahead of what I might have done different. I'm also wondering about the thrower itself (Kubota). The shoes look awfully small, I'm worried they might not hold the thrower up off teh gravel enough to keep from throwing rocks through the neighbors window (or breaking a shear pin). They aren't very tall either, leading to the same or other problems. Should I have a new set made tahat are somewhat taller and maybe slightly longer/wider? Any other tips? BTW, I went with the 3PH unit because I may need to also use the FEL. We don't get a lot of snow around here, but I do get hellish drifts...last year some of them were 5' deep and I would cut through about a 10'-12" length of them. I was using a Bobcat 743 then and had no trouble, but I sold it to change to the 2920. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Good morning,


You have time to pop off the shoes and have larger ones made for yout snow blower.


I would do 3 things if it were me;


1. visit the JC Whitney Auto Parts & Auto Accessories - Car, Truck, Jeep, Motorcycle, VW, RV & ATV - Aftermarket Parts & Accessories home page
2. order a suicide knob/wheel spinner for your tractors steering wheel
2. purchase one of the thier $79.00 wireless back up cameras to save on neck strain (licence plate mount camera) attach it to the ROPS to give you a good field of view.

This one has a suction cup mount-they have units that can be mounted with screws and brackets etc.

You will probably need to cover the monitor with a ziplock bag while operating the snow blower.

 

[rekees4300]

Any other tips?

I'm in the same boat as you except my gravel driveway is 900'. Ordered a Frontier rear blower 3 weeks ago and waiting for delivery. Anyway it has adjustable slide plates and I'm hoping they will raise the blower enough to avoid most of the gravel. Been thinking about installing caster wheels if the plate adjustment is inadequate. There are a few threads here at TBN with pics of blower/caster projects members have done.

 

[leonz]

snow blower etc.

I'm in the same boat as you except my gravel driveway is 900'. Ordered a Frontier rear blower 3 weeks ago and waiting for delivery. Anyway it has adjustable slide plates and I'm hoping they will raise the blower enough to avoid most of the gravel. Been thinking about installing caster wheels if the plate adjustment is inadequate. There are a few threads here at TBN with pics of blower/caster projects members have done.

A few thoughts about your snowblower;

you should visit the www.mcmastercarr.com web page and look at wheel casters and also visit the Cyclone Rake home page to see the heavy dual pneumatic casters and buy a pair to mount on the snow blower using angle iron bolted to the shell of the auger.

yuo should use short fine threaded grade 8 bolts to to secure the angle iron to the blower body and fine thread nylock nuts and flat washers.




the bigger issue is the top link of the snowblower, you will be running the blower in the "float" position most of the time and you will want to follow the contour of the roadway If the blower has a slotted connection link you wil be able to clean easier and the pneumatic casters from cyclone rake will help with that a huge amounting turning reducing skid wear and housing wear.

 

[rekees4300]

leonz thanks for the info. Not sure what you mean by "slotted connection link". My tractor's top link is the basic manual screw type. What blower cleaning is needed?

Here are 2 caster examples I found here at TBN.

 

[Kanook]

Mypersonal experience has been that after the first few snowfalls that a frozen base builds up on the laneway and the pads are no longer necessary. Mind you, if you reside in an area that gets snow but the milder climate doesn't allow the base to form then those casters could prove benificial. A hydraulicly operated chute rotator is a definite plus on those back up blowers.

 

[flyingcow]

Driveway 650ft, been snowblowing it for yrs. For me, only way to do it.

 

[fredhargis]

Those pics of the wheels look like a really good approach. The Cyclone Rake wheels are fairly expensive, but if they can be made to fit (width) I'd bet they would be a good bet. I like the idea bout the rear view camera as well, but I did add a steering knob after reading some opinions about them in another thread.

 

[bitseeker]

The left picture is my caster design. Our winter temperatures do not freeze the ground hard to the surface most days. The shoes were not effective and the gravel was beating up the blower housing. The casters solved that problem.

Driveway is now paved.

 

[leonz]

leonz thanks for the info. Not sure what you mean by "slotted connection link". My tractor's top link is the basic manual screw type. What blower cleaning is needed?

Here are 2 caster examples I found here at TBN.

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Edit:
Fred please check the Mcmaster catalog too as I think this is where they came from- but all you need is some time at a welding shop to weld the angle iron together and attach it to the blower housing with the nuts and bolts.

If the blower has a flat housing it wil be easy to install too.



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Your blower may not have one but:

It is slot machine cut below the top pin reciever on the mounted implement where the top link and pin is placed instead of the rigid top point.

You unthread the top link to attach the top link to the upper rigid mount
or slightly below it where the slotted or drag link is located.


Which is what is on most flail mowers and brush hogs to allow the mower to follow the ground contour easily.