Snow Attachments Rear blade for snow removal.

[Topkicker]

I moved to Indiana 4 months ago and have yet to spend a winter here. Would a FEL and a rear 3 point blade serve me well for snow removal on a paved drive?

 

[beenthere]

You can get by with that combination.
Go with it until you might look for something better. And that would only be if you feel like there is something better.
Many remove snow with the attachments you are asking about.

 

[wedge40]

Welcome back.
How long is your driveway? How big is the tractor? The paved driveway will help a lot. You did move to the snow belt of Indiana, so you should get lots of practice. After you find out how things work, you may think about chains if you have any slopes to deal with.

Wedge

 

[KU Gator]

We moved back to KS 3 years ago and for the 1st time to a house with a fairly long, 400+ ft drive which is gravel. I purchased a JD garden tractor from the previous home owner that came with a snow blade. Winter #1, that is what I used and frankly with chains, it didn't do that bad. Big pain though to remove the mower and put the blade on. By winter #2, I had the Kubota with FEL primarily for some other property we bought and had purchased a box blade to maintain the drive and other projects. Used it with the FEL and box blade for snow removal and fortunately we had a pretty light winter as the box blade worked but not that great. By last winter had a rear blade. That worked much better. It would clean the concrete in front of the house completely off. We had a heavier than normal snow this past winter with a lot of wind, so drifting back over was a problem, but I would call it an ok solution for this area. A rear blade is a lot less expensive for my tractor than a front blade or a snow blower and can be used for other purposes, but as beenthere implied, if you are in an area that gets a lot of snow, you may want to long term look for another solution.

If you use the rear blade and worry about the blade excessively wearing or damaging the concrete, you can try getting ABS plastic pipe (black pipe like PVC but doesn't shatter as easily in the cold). Cut a slot in it length wise and slip it over the edge of the blade so it will ride on the concrete instead of the sharp edge of your rear blade.

 

[Code54]

Should work just fine. If you have the loader already, a rear blade is cheap compared to a blower or front blade system and works fine. hardest part is having to turn around to see what is going on, shy of that they are very easy to use.
KU Gator makes a great point with the pipe on the blade to reduce wear on your driveway!

 

[rekees4300]

I moved to Indiana 4 months ago and have yet to spend a winter here. Would a FEL and a rear 3 point blade serve me well for snow removal on a paved drive?

Welcome fellow Hoosier. If you have a long drive you may want to invest in a snowblower. The FEL and blade will work. The blade will push the snow to the side of the drive but if it builds up and becomes packed you will need to use the FEL to make more room. If you have a long drive that can be a slow, cold process. And as the other posted said, a set of chains is recommended. They are necessary for ice.

 

[cspot]

You might want to look around and find an old snow plow from a truck and with a little welding and fabrication you can make it fit on your FEL. I made mine fit on the front of my McCormick. I bought the blade at an auction for $100 and it cost me $125 for the quick attach plate from EBAY to hook to the loader. With paint and a few misc I have a little less than $300 in it. I made mine permanently angled so I could get it closer to the tractor and then I use my box blade to pull snow from in front of the buildings. I had it so I could manually angle the front blade but it stuck out too far in front of the tractor for my liking. Rear blades work nice until you get alot of snow. The problem with them is that they aren't really made to push snow in that the blade is too short and the snow tends to build up and fall overtop of the blade. However they will work and alot of people use them with good success. The other problem with it being attached on the rear is that it is literally a pain in the neck to turn around and look at what you are doing.

 

[RoyJackson]

I moved to Indiana 4 months ago and have yet to spend a winter here. Would a FEL and a rear 3 point blade serve me well for snow removal on a paved drive?

When I was in Wisconsin last fall (Appleton area), I had to take do a supplier audit in Antigo (about 100 mile NNW of Appleton).
Seems like every truckstop, mini mall, gas station/convenience store on that trip had a smaller tractor (mostly old Fords like 8N's) with a rear blade hooked up.
Reckon if it works for them, a FEL and rear blade will work for you. Your M-F 1529 should be quite adequate for this task.

Personally, I used a same set up (FEL/blade) for about 6 years. I use the FEL more now (with a ballast box for traction). Since my drive is 120-150 feet long (and pretty level hard pack gravel), I could never see investing in any other implements. I still have the blade, if necessary to use it.

So, give the FEL/blade combo a try. If you determine it's not adequate, you can determine another method after the first winter.
One thing I do suggest is get out there for the first clean up after about 6"...no more then 6".
If your tractor has position control of some sort for your 3PH, keep the rear blade 1/2 inch of so above the surface or add the plastic pipe like KU Gator suggests.

 

[cspot]

When I was in Wisconsin last fall (Appleton area), I had to take do a supplier audit in Antigo (about 100 mile NNW of Appleton).
Seems like every truckstop, mini mall, gas station/convenience store on that trip had a smaller tractor (mostly old Fords like 8N's) with a rear blade hooked up.
Reckon if it works for them, a FEL and rear blade will work for you.

Personally, I used a same set up (FEL/blade) for about 6 years. I use the FEL more now (with a ballast box for traction). Since my drive is 120-150 feet long (and pretty level hard pack gravel), I could never see investing in any other implements. I still have the blade, if necessary to use it.

So, give the FEL/blade combo a try. If you determine it's not adequate, you can determine another method after the first winter.
One thing I do suggest is get out there for the first clean up after about 6"...no more then 6".
If your tractor has position control of some sort for your 3PH, keep the rear blade 1/2 inch of so above the surface.

Good point Roy about getting out their before you get a couple feet of snow. It is alot easier to move 6" of snow 4 times than it is to move 24" of snow one time. Another helpful hint is to move the first snows as far off the driveway as you can, so you have room to push as you get more snow.

 

[JCB]

I moved to Indiana 4 months ago and have yet to spend a winter here. Would a FEL and a rear 3 point blade serve me well for snow removal on a paved drive?

I used that combination for a couple years before investing in a front blower. I'm glad I still own the rear blade. It's a useful attachment and just about the cheapest option for moving snow. A rear blade will definitely get you by until you decide whether or not to invest in a blower or front blade.