Someone educate me - why would you plow snow with a rear blade?

[Egon]

Use of the rear blade for snow removal just may be dependent on the snow depth, snow weight, drift depth, room to put removed snow and the size of the tractor.

The length, width and gradient of the snow removal area also becomes a factor.

The operators physical ability to see to the rear should also come into play. Some of us older fellows get stiff and can't turn as well as we used to!

When all these factors taken into consideration what works very well for one situation may not work in another.

Ambient temperature will also affect traction!

 

[mrutkaus]

I was zipping around plowing 8 to 13 inches of heavy snow with my rear blade going forward last winter, plowed neighbor's drive, started to plow main (gravel) road on steep hill, got 1/3 of the way up, was disappointed witth my Kioti CK30HST, started to slip for first time that day, so went to top of hill and plowed down.

On way back home discovered I had never switched into 4WD!

You can get a nice rhythm up with the rear blade traveling as fast as is safe, the slow can fly off it just like a highway plow!

Mike

 

[acohen100]

Is price really an issue? Looking at the official Kubota MSRP lists a 54" front blade with manual tilt is about $350. Go to 60" and add hydraulics and you max out at about $1000.

Also, is a snowblower out of the question for a gravel driveway?

 

[Thomas]

Is a snowblower out of the question for a gravel driveway?

Lot of folks do use rear blower on gravel driveways,slow walk checking out the driveway might be good idea removing any large rocks etc.. before blowing season...replacing shear pin in snow can numb the fingers real qiuck...might have to doo little more spring cleaning tho.

Rear blade...can't add anymore that has been said.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

In the past 2 winters, we haven't had a snow accunulation of more than 2". How do I handle that? Let it melt. 3 years back, we had 36" of snow in 2 days. How did I handle that? Rear blade on biggest tractor. Entire clean-up episode...? 4 hours for 800' of drive, 2 hours for road out to main highway. So why would it make the first speck of sense to go out and spend ANOTHER $300....$500.....even $1000 to handle an event we get every 3 or 4 years? (36" snow was all-time record here. "average" deep snow is 6" to 10", and that's MAYBE every 10 years) Rear blade does the trick. No significant "difficulty", any more than spending a few hours out in cold weather would bring. A rear blade is handy the other 364 days of the year. I'm not simply looking for more reasons to spend money on a piece of un-needed equipment.

 

[PA hayseed]

I am buying a rear blade this year, trying to get one on Ebay before october. The reason I am, is because a snow blower for my tractor would cost over $1000 new, my FEL doesn't move snow worth squat, my current snowblower (even with the shoes maxed out in higth) throws gravel all over.

I saw a guy with a tractor about my size clear his driveway in about 1 hour with a rear blade. I stopped an talked to him, he swears by it for all the previously posted reasons listed.

Smallest rear blade I have seen is 5'. I can't imageine using a piece of equipment smaller than 5'. Especially in the winter, wind blowing, 30 degrees or colder out, and clearing a big drive without a cab. I get ALOT of wind on top of the mountain, and our wonderful PENNDOT people help the snow drifts close in my driveway.

 

[RoyJackson]

Most everybody here has discussed the primary reason...cost (and using an implement that isn't used too much otherwise).

My addition will be technique. I rig the blade at an angle (30 degrees) leave the blade a half inch above the ground and drive forward. As Egon wrote, looking behind you all the time is a pain. Pushing is also a bit stressful on the 3PH linkage (they're designed to pull more then push).
It works, but you do pack down some of the snow you're trying to plow. Since I've a gravel drive, I've never found this to be a problem.

So, plowing snow is a combination of plowing forward and reverse using the rear blade as well as some FEL use.

Using a rear blade leaves the FEL bucket available for moving piles and back dragging snow from the garage doors.

 

[Mike5252]

When the only tool you have is a hammer.. all your problems start looking like nails.

That is rich. Soundguy, that's the quote of the day.

 

[cp1969]

Yes, but you guys in Florida don't plow snow!



I have seen people use the backside of the back blade to move snow believing it does less damage to their dirt driveway.

That is true. I don't turn mine around when I'm pushing because once you leave the pavement, when pushing with the backside of the blade, it will just skim along the top of grass, gravel, etc, and not dig in--just the snow gets pushed.

My usual technique is to angle blade the snow off the drive, then push it with the backside of the blade further off into the yard to make room for the next snow.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Is price really an issue? Looking at the official Kubota MSRP lists a 54" front blade with manual tilt is about $350. Go to 60" and add hydraulics and you max out at about $1000.

If you get a lot of snow the $350 manual blade sounds like a great deal. Does that include all necessary mounting hardware, or is there a separate $500-1000 for a required mounting plate? What model Kubota is that for?