Snow Attachments Another FEL Attached Snow Plow Project

[Kubota Tee]

The "handles" are actually hose/fitting guards. The hoses are routed from the cylinders through the guards up to the power pack on the lift frame. The guards would hit the bottom of the lift frame, in some cases the bumper, limiting the lift height of the A-frame. Without the guards, fittings would easily be broken.
Tom

Tom,

Thanks for the clarification. Hopefully I won't have this problem with the FEL adaptation. Looking over the hose setup that 4SHORTS did, I don't think I will miss the guards.

 

[Kubota Tee]

Well, here it is! I am pretty happy with how it turned out with the exception of 2 things.

1. The "Kubota Orange" paint that was used does not match my tractor. I can't completely blame the guy who sandblasted and painted it because I am pretty sure he thought he was using the correct "Kubota Orange", which I think was the old orange. The newer orange has a lot more red in it.

2. The hydraulic hoses are currently positioned underneath the A-Frame which means they could easily get snagged on something if I am not really careful. I tried putting them on the top, but it was too tight with the cross tube on the FEL arm. I am thinking through the use of some 90 degree fittings or maybe having new holes drilled through the cylinder ends to rotate them 90 degrees which will put the openings on the sides instead of the top or bottom.

Here are the before and after pictures.

 

[Kubota Tee]

Here are some additional pictures from some different angles.

Notice the hydraulic lines under the A-Frame. They are somewhat protected by the skid shoes, but they still make me nervous.

 

[Kubota Tee]

The hydraulics worked perfectly! I was a little worried about getting the hoses on the correct ports to ensure left toggle = left angle and right toggle = right angle. Guess I had a 50/50 chance and I was right on the first try!

Still have plenty of clearance even when angled all the way to the left or right - see pics below.

Weatherman is calling for snow over the next 2 days and I am excited to give it a go in the white stuff!

 

[Kubota Tee]

The mailman delivered my decal kit today - just had to get them on and shoot a few more pics! I think it really makes it look like a final product!

 

[kennyd]

The mailman delivered my decal kit today - just had to get them on and shoot a few more pics! I think it really makes it look like a final product!

Nice Job Thomas:thumbsup:

 

[4shorts]

Wow great job Thomas! Get yourself a couple of blade guides and get those lines on top of the cylinders and you got it made. You might be able just to remove the rear bolt on the cylinders and rotate it 180 degrees and the lines will be on top.
You did it buddy. You've accomplished what you set out to do. Congrats! :thumbsup:

 

[Dead Horse]

Decals!!!!!!!!!!! woof, son, you are a perfectionist!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On the other hand, I used my catch as catch can, use whatcha have, ugly rig today and it works just fine.

Get them hoses up off the ground. when plowing you NEVER know what you are going to hit......... hanging down like that they are BEGGING to get snagged on something.

 

[dstig1]

You might be able just to remove the rear bolt on the cylinders and rotate it 180 degrees and the lines will be on top.

I was just about to post the same thing. No reason you shouldn't be able to rotate the cylinder 180deg after you remove the rear pivot bolt. There is no way something as simple as this uses a keyed cylinder. For some odd reason that doesn't work, you can flip the whole cyl unit, or swap them one side for the other, but they should spin just fine.

Nice work!:thumbsup:

 

[Kubota Tee]

Nice Job Thomas:thumbsup:

Thanks! I appreciate the note.

 

[Kubota Tee]

Wow great job Thomas! Get yourself a couple of blade guides and get those lines on top of the cylinders and you got it made. You might be able just to remove the rear bolt on the cylinders and rotate it 180 degrees and the lines will be on top.
You did it buddy. You've accomplished what you set out to do. Congrats! :thumbsup:

Paul,

Thanks for your kind words! I am going out today to pick up the blade guides and get them installed. The snow is falling, so I should be able to test it out later today!

 

[Kubota Tee]

I was just about to post the same thing. No reason you shouldn't be able to rotate the cylinder 180deg after you remove the rear pivot bolt. There is no way something as simple as this uses a keyed cylinder. For some odd reason that doesn't work, you can flip the whole cyl unit, or swap them one side for the other, but they should spin just fine.

Nice work!:thumbsup:

Thanks!

You are correct, the cylinders are not keyed, so I can switch them if I need to. I am re-examining the space I have available by simply rotating them 180 degrees. The main concern I have is when I take the plow on and off that I could easily catch the hydraulic fittings with the cross member tube on the FEL arms - ideally I will get them drilled out and rotate them only 90 degrees.

 

[Gizmo2]

The mailman delivered my decal kit today - just had to get them on and shoot a few more pics! I think it really makes it look like a final product!

It does and a very meticulous job you've done here. Let it SNOW!

 

[tommaple]

Kubota Tee,

Very nice job, it looks brand new.

Before drilling the cylinders you might want to get different ninety degree fittings. The fittings you have are more like "sweeps", they extend quite a bit above (or below) the cylinders. The standard Meyer fitting is a tighter ninety degree fitting that sits closer to the cylinder and will provide more clearance.

They don't have to be the Meyer elbows, I'm sure there are other similarly dimensioned elbows available.

One more thing, you might consider not using the middle trip spring. This model moldboard was sold for years with only two trip springs. Yours is an add-on. Three springs are mostly needed for commercial plowing with a 4x4 truck at higher speeds than your tractor will produce. Two springs will work for most users and will put less stress on your loader arms. If you find the moldboard trips too easily, then you can re-install the third spring. Be sure to install the eye bolts at ninety degrees to the moldboard, this puts less strain on the spring eye.

Again, very nice job.

Tom

 

[Kubota Tee]

Kubota Tee,

Very nice job, it looks brand new.

Before drilling the cylinders you might want to get different ninety degree fittings. The fittings you have are more like "sweeps", they extend quite a bit above (or below) the cylinders. The standard Meyer fitting is a tighter ninety degree fitting that sits closer to the cylinder and will provide more clearance.

They don't have to be the Meyer elbows, I'm sure there are other similarly dimensioned elbows available.

I have found a good source locally for fittings, will visit them on Monday to see if they have some 90 degree swivels or something else that might be better suited. Thanks for the input.

One more thing, you might consider not using the middle trip spring. This model moldboard was sold for years with only two trip springs. Yours is an add-on. Three springs are mostly needed for commercial plowing with a 4x4 truck at higher speeds than your tractor will produce. Two springs will work for most users and will put less stress on your loader arms. If you find the moldboard trips too easily, then you can re-install the third spring. Be sure to install the eye bolts at ninety degrees to the moldboard, this puts less strain on the spring eye.

Again, very nice job.

Tom

Thanks of your kind words on my project - I also appreciate all your input along the way. I like your idea about the trip springs - can always add the 3rd one back on if it doesn't work out. I'll give it a try!

 

[4shorts]

Hey Thomas how do you like the new blade? Have you tried it yet. I'm about to post a new thread about a custom item I just fabricated for mine. It would look really cool on yours Should have it up by Saturday. Happy tractoring buddy. :thumbsup:

 

[Kubota Tee]

Hey Thomas how do you like the new blade? Have you tried it yet. I'm about to post a new thread about a custom item I just fabricated for mine. It would look really cool on yours Should have it up by Saturday. Happy tractoring buddy. :thumbsup:

Paul,

The snow has been a little slow in coming this winter, but we are finally getting the snow we are famous for here in West Michigan - they call it 'lake effect snow' from the effect of Lake Michigan.:cloud9:

The plow blade has been working great!:thumbsup: The only thing I am looking to add is a rubber snow guard at the top of the blade to keep the snow from coming over the top of the blade. I'm keeping my eye open for some used or discarded conveyor belt material to re-purpose.

Now, what's this new custom fabricated item for your beast and did you make two of them? Let me know if you need my shipping address!! :laughing:

I'll keep my eye out this weekend!

Take care,

 

[foggy1111]

2. QA Mounting - seems like there are 2 schools of thought here. 1-utilize the existing truck mounts and modify your QA plate to accept them so that the plow can move back and forth between truck and tractor or 2-cut off the portion of the A-Frame with the truck tabs and weld it directly to the QA plate. I will be going with the 2nd option since I don't have a plow truck AND this will allow me to move the plow closer to the FEL arms for reducing the load on the FEL arms.


The above issue (taken from the OP's first post) has me wondering. I want to understand the end result before proceeding with a plan for mounting my Meyer 7' plow to my 300cx loader.

If I understand correctly, both Kubtoa Tee and 4 Shorts mount the snowplow's A-frame solidly to the fabricated QD frame. These installations then must require using the float feature found on the loader for the plow to follow the ground contours. Right?

 

[Kubota Tee]

If I understand correctly, both Kubtoa Tee and 4 Shorts mount the snowplow's A-frame solidly to the fabricated QD frame. These installations then must require using the float feature found on the loader for the plow to follow the ground contours. Right?

Foggy1111,

You are absolutely correct!:thumbsup: This past winter was my first season with the plow conversion and it worked great! I pretty much copied 4 shorts idea (can't go wrong with any of his plans!) The float position is the ideal way to go and with the ability to angle the blade side by side as well as forward and back, you can really customize your setting!

I know 4 Shorts has been plowing with his for a few more seasons, but everything I read indicates that he is really happy as well!

Good luck with your project!