Snow Attachments Best Choice for Snow removal

[beenthere]

A snowplow (truck-type) on the front using a quicktach (custom-built) works great on a JD4300. Keeps the plow close to the front of the tractor for control, not like you would get when out at the end of a FEL (not that they don't work pretty well). Easy to drop the plow and attach the FEL (5 minutes) to handle drifts or to pile up snow. A front blade works well as long as you have room to mow the snow back - I do this by lifting the plow blade about 6 inches and cutting the top off the pile and moving it back about 2 feet. Another pass will clean up the 6 inches left behind. When the snow melts and turns to an ice pack (warm weather or rain), chains are necessary. I have a gravel drive, and have no shoes on the blade. I will post a pic.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Very nice looking setup. Why not just use a JD plow though? Was this one used or just a whole lot cheaper?

 

[beenthere]

It was new, but just a whole lot better construction (built to take the punishment), and wider than the Deere blade - 84" instead of (I believe) 72". I used to have an old two-banger 420 JD, and had a 6 1/2 ft plow mounted on that, and have plowed a 650' drive for 30 years tht way. Other than wishing for a cab when it was -25, blowing, drifting snow, this combination is fast (as high a gear as you want to tolerate with the wind and snow blowing), easy, and most of the times FUN. I put caster wheels in the skid plate holes and a wheeled dolly under it when removed, and roll it off into a corner of my shed. Even use it for leveling gravel and dirt all year around. Easier to control than the rear 3pt blade. To attach to the 4300, I bought the belly mower mounting plates for this tractor, and the quicktach I made hooks into these plates, swings up and is held by two bolts through the front weight bar. Then attach three hoses to the dual SCV, and away we go. The plow was not altered, and could be hooked to a standard truck mount by pulling two pins and taking the chain off.

 

[deepsnow]

Longer, sloping, bumpy, narrower, gravel drive. I start the season with the back blade. Deals with any ruts and loose gravel from autumn rains. Problem is eventually no place to push the snow and still have at least a 10' wide drive. For the 1st couple years I survived without a blower. Just spent couple extra hours after heavier (>12") snowfalls cutting back the snowbanks and piling snow with the FEL. Snowblower makes snow removal quick & easy. Adjustment of the blower shoes and pitch deals with the irregularities of the drive.

 

[LBrown59]

These 2 work very well for me.

 

[bp fick]

I have to do a lot of snow pushing around here, of course. In fact, it is coming down right now and they are calling for another 6" tonight.

I have not invested money in a blower and won't be. I have an acre on both side of the drive to push it, pretty much, as far as I like.:laughing:

If you have no shoulders, there isn't much else that will work beside the blower and cost is just the cost. Glad it's working for you.

 

[doxford jim]

I have used a JD450 with a dozer blade attached to an outside frame, tractor with large snow bucket, tractor with rear blade and regular bucket and tractor with TPH snow blower and regular FEL bucket.. All these on around 600 yds of gravel driveway.

The snow blower is by far the best and throws the snow some thirty feet away from the drive - keeps driveway neat and wide. The FEL can be used for clean up if needed.

I bought the snow blower used - an older one, and have done a bit of work on it, but nothing major yet. The only draw back I see is the amount of fuel I use to blow snow - keeping the engine RPM up to around 2000, so the blower works properly. Even then I use the 720 PTO rpm option (540/720) as it throws snow the best. I use about 1 gallon of diesel an hour whilst blowing snow - I don't know what a gap engine would do. That is with a 55hp Jinma.

Jim

 

[rbargeron]

The first 13 posts in this thread were written in 2001 !!!! (another time-warp from moving threads to the new forum)

Now that it's almost 10 years later maybe we should just ask TheBigO what he ever did about snow removal and how he's liking it ?

 

[Don87]

The first 13 posts in this thread were written in 2001 !!!! (another time-warp from moving threads to the new forum)

Now that it's almost 10 years later maybe we should just ask TheBigO what he ever did about snow removal and how he's liking it ?

I hated seeing this thread come up.

I think I held the record for reviving old threads after I accidently dredged up a 7 year old one.:laughing:

Now I'm no longer in first place:shocked:

 

[Johnbro]

for years I used a rear blade on my L2250, then push off to the side wtih the FEL.

Hated using the blade--first of all, it's a POS Rankin--too light, wouldn't dig down if there was a bit of ice on the road. Second, it just pushes the snow into a big wad between the blade the the rear wheels. when it gets too big you can't get the blade up over it, so you have to back up over the pile...can be a problem even with 4WD. At least the blade would angle, but the wet snow we get here wouldn't usually push to the side.

On a gravel road (ours is paved up the first little bit from the highway, then gravel after that--it's a private road, 2 lanes wide, with houses on both sides) the blade will push a lot of gravel off into the ditch. Not good.

This year we got into the landscape maintenance/snow & ice removal business. So we have a truck with a V plow. On gravel I just elevate it a couple of inches off the float position, on pavement it let it float. works great...