I wonder if I can make this work

[KennyG]

Why not just put in on like the truck mount it was designed to work with ? As it is, anything more than a few inches of snow will make your driveway look like a drunk plowed it because you can't get the tractor to go straight.

My loader control gives me raise/lower (power down is very important for me) and swing left and right. 4 bolts to the frame from some drop blocks and 4 hose connections.

I really like the looks of your setup. Do you have a picture of how you attached the A-frame to the tractor frame?

 

[zzvyb6]

I'll see if I can post some. Either I find them on the laptop (posted last year) or get some new ones. I have the so called 'pork chops' on the frame that were used to hold the mid-mower mounts. I used two hollow 2" x 4" hollow thin-wall beams set at a forward down angle from the chops to attachment points on the A-frame. I used two large (free) spherical rod ends bolted into the hollow beams to attach the A frame. The rod ends allow me to easily get the two bolts into the rod ends and the A frame. I usually have to do this about 2 hours into a major snow storm because I'm kinda lazy about it (You might guess how easy that is to put off).

I use a double acting cylinder to raise and push down the plow blade from the weight bar. The loader control has a float mode, but cracking ice takes down-force. I cut down the cylinder (tube and rod) just using a metal cutting blade in my table saw. I also used a rod end screwed into the cylinder rod so it has some rotary and lateral play in it. I used car brake hoses to the 1 way A frame cylinders up to the loader connectors. This works well because the Meyers cylinders are probably only rated for 1000 psi and my 1070 is a 2500 psi system. There is plenty of clearance for 6 JD suitcase weights (I need them even with 4wd) for plow up and swing. The swing is pretty fast. I can actually toss snow sideways with the angle control. Full left to full right in about 1 second.

I run the plow about an inch about pavement using the skids because I have a lot of gravel after the cement portion of the driveway. I added two more trip springs because I like to run fast and furious. When I do my whole 1 mile county road, I often outrun vehicles trying to follow me.

When its time to remove the plow, its 4 nuts (the pork chop bolts are welded in place so I don't loose them), a pin in the front cylinder and the hoses. I even smooth out the gravel in the spring with this setup. Its been bulletproof. No steering issues. I use left and right brakes to put a zero turn capability into the machine. Its a lot of fun. No sore neck, no bent parts, no steering fight, and just one pass each way on the driveway. Done. Sometimes the tractor isn't even warmed up. You need a snowsuit, too. The faster you go, the cold penetration is miserable.

 

[vulcancowboy]

Well, I just got back in from my first attempt at plowing snow with my new setup. We had about 3" of wet, heavy snow. The only "problem" I had was that, when angled, the plow edge doesn't want to sit flat on the driveway. I'm wondering if this is because I replace the kingpin that attaches the plow to the A frame because it seemed sloppy to me. Maybe that was by design? Any ideas?

 

[ovrszd]

Well, I just got back in from my first attempt at plowing snow with my new setup. We had about 3" of wet, heavy snow. The only "problem" I had was that, when angled, the plow edge doesn't want to sit flat on the driveway. I'm wondering if this is because I replace the kingpin that attaches the plow to the A frame because it seemed sloppy to me. Maybe that was by design? Any ideas?

I was reading thru this thread to get to the end, to discuss just what you described. By using an angled blade on the FEL it is CRITICAL that the bucket be tipped at such an angle to make the swivel pin on your blade perfectly straight up/down. Tipped back too much or forward too much creates the problem you are having. If you go back to your first post with pics, and look at the 5th pic, you'll see that when angled the leading edge of you blade is lower than the trailing edge. In that picture you have the FEL bucket tipped too far forward. I suggest you angle the blade and then hold it an inch or so off the ground. Get off the tractor and observe how it's sitting in comparison to the driveway. If the leading edge is low, tip the bucket back a pinch. If the leading edge is high, tip the bucket forward a pinch. When you've got a nice level blade observe your pucket tip indicator on the FEL (if you have one). Then every time you are using the snow blade you'll know how to set your bucket tip to get a smooth blade on the driveway.

Secondly, it's very important to build a snow blade setup so you lift it with chains or some other form that allows the blade to "float" along on the ground. If you build your bracketry solid and the blade comes to a high spot, it has to lift the entire FEL system to go over the hump. On a gravel roadbed your shoes will gouge into the gravel and you'll blade off material. The reverse affect happens when the tractor front tires reach the high spot. The blade is then lifted off the ground because it is forced to go up/down with the FEL.

Understand a snow blade sticking out in front of the FEL bucket a couple feet creates the worst possible setup for smooth work. Any vertical movement of the front or rear tires of the tractor creates a situation that is NOT GOOD. Ideally your blade should be between the front/rear tires like a road grader. But since we can't do that, it becomes MORE CRITICAL that the mount floats and that the swivel pin is held in a true vertical position all the time.

 

[vulcancowboy]

I do have chains to the top of the bucket that allow it to float. When a plow is mounted on a truck and is angled, there is a significant difference in the distance to the ground from one side of the blade compared to the other when the blade is lifted. Once the blade is lowered, both ends rest on the ground. So, where is that difference in height taken up? "Slop" in the kingpin connection?

 

[ovrszd]

I do have chains to the top of the bucket that allow it to float. When a plow is mounted on a truck and is angled, there is a significant difference in the distance to the ground from one side of the blade compared to the other when the blade is lifted. Once the blade is lowered, both ends rest on the ground. So, where is that difference in height taken up? "Slop" in the kingpin connection?

Nope. It's taken up by the fact that when the blade is sitting on the ground the swivel pin is vertical. When it's lifted the pin is tipped rearward, which creates the situation I described before. It's not important how the blade is carried. It's critically important how it rests on the ground. If not properly set, it creates the situation you complained about.

 

[vulcancowboy]

Nope. It's taken up by the fact that when the blade is sitting on the ground the swivel pin is vertical. When it's lifted the pin is tipped rearward, which creates the situation I described before. It's not important how the blade is carried. It's critically important how it rests on the ground. If not properly set, it creates the situation you complained about.

Hmmm, OK, at first light I'll try what you suggested and report back. Thanks for your advice!!

 

[Baby Grand]

I really like the looks of your setup. Do you have a picture of how you attached the A-frame to the tractor frame?

I was just admiring that, too!
It's close in, real tight to the front axle, so less yaw force when the blade is angled and less porpoising/washboarding than the more forward mounted plow rigs.

 

[DK35vince]

What advantages does a fixed (no angling) plow blade have over just using the FEL bucket?

The blade may be less likely to try to dig in, but other than that. None.

 

[Ole Orange]

Hmmm, OK, at first light I'll try what you suggested and report back. Thanks for your advice!!

I would like to chime in but Mine sits flat and it dosent matter how my bucket is?? I really do not know why but it sits flat floating or if I insert my down pressure bracket. Tomorrow in the 14 inches of wet snow I will let you know what I see and how it works.:thumbsup: