Snow Attachments Survey - plowing snow with a rear blade

[Anonymous Poster]

<font color=blue>...the weight of the HD unit makes it one diggin' sum-o-gum. ...</font color=blue>

Yes sir..ree Bob!

I'm on my way to Quality Farm & Country now for some plow shares, shins, and landsides... different kind of plow of course.../w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[bky]

what part of ky you from?

 

[keeney]

Snowman,

RE : Snowmobile helmet when blowing snow.

If you are too warm already and fogging your glasses, the snowmobile helmet will just be that much warmer and will likely fog up as well. They are designed to work where there is some airflow. I doubt you will be travelling at speeds of 20 to 100+ mph!

I wear a baseball cap and sunglasses usually when blowing snow. The cap comes in handy to turn and duck my face under when I make a stupid mistake and blow the snow in a direction that the wind carries back into my face. The trick is to NOT overdress so that your face stays a bit cooler.

- Rick

 

[Devildog]

This is what I have,

-BRB 60 Befco
-B7500 Kubota
-200' of gravel Driveway
-Skid shoes for winter
-Box Blade used for landscaping

Jim


2001 B7500 HST 302 Fel R4 Tires.
Semper Fidelis

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Hello,

Tractor: 1996 B2150 HST 4X4 310hours
Blade: RB1572 Landpride
I bought the tractor and blade in 1998 when I moved to my present house. My driveway is 1200' gravel/crushed concrete. The first year we had a lot of snow! It would take me 3 hours twice/week to push the snow piles back with a FEL so I could even use the blade. This when on for a month.
The next year I purchased a 54" 2 stage snowblower. I added custom skid shoes to keep it 1" off the gravel. Now I only use the blade periodically to scrape away the snow left by the blower. I welded 4" square steel tubing (one on each end) to the back of the blade and drilled a 1" hole in each to accept the commercial round snowplow skid shoes (about $45 for pair). The shoes help a lot once the ground is frozen, otherwise the shoes still dig into the gravel.

 

[MikePA]

Several years ago, as a step up from shoveling the snow, I got a front blade for my beloved Work Horse GT16 garden tractor. When I bought the blade, I asked the dealer if I should get a blade or a snowblower attachment. Their advice, "We don't get that much snow around here. Get the blade." Quite an honest opinion given the price difference. Well, the first or second winter I had it I was on a business trip to Palm Beach, FL. Before leaving, I got the tractor and blade all ready and I instructed the wife to be sure and push the snow well off the driveway in my absence. We got a huge snow storm and sub zero temps. It was so cold brown/blackouts were feared. I arrived back home at the airport and had to shovel my truck out of the airport parking lot. Fortunately, I had brought boots as well as a snow shovel in the truck. I arrived home to find every square inch of lawn around our driveway filled with snow my wife had plowed. What a saint! For the next winter, I bought a walk behind snowblower and haven't used the blade since. What did I learn with my brief experience using a blade to plow snow?

1. You have to have a place to push the snow...all the snow from every snow fall. Granted, some may melt between snowfalls...but what if it doesn't?
2. You should not push the snow across the street to the berm on the other side of the road. Why? The snow you push there gets nice and hard and when the snow plow drivers hit it when they're clearing the berms they don't like it, or you, very much. I know because one of them, kindly but firmly, told me this.
3. While this isn't a problem for 'real' tractors it was for my little Work Horse with no down pressure. If the snow has a chance to sit, melt and condense, the blade and the tractor just ride right up on top of the snow rendering it impossible to plow it. This also happens with my snow blower (tracked) if I let the snow sit too long. I usually get the driveway at the house cleared right away, but sometimes the snow can sit for a day or two at the barn.

This winter I will use the FEL on my tractor just to get seat time, but if any substantial snow is called for, I will get out the snowblower.