Snowblower Three point rear snowblower? Good, Bad?

[iplumb]

Looking at picking up a Woods 60 three point snowblower That has never been used. It s a great deal. But I’ve never used a three point snow blower. Any input? Do you like yours?

 

[RoyJackson]

Looking at picking up a Woods 60” three point snowblower that’s never been used. It s a great deal. But I’ve never used a three point snow blower. Any input? Do you like yours?

I had a Woods 74" 3PH blower for a few years...worked great (I haven't seen a Woods product that didn't work great, actually), so if you can get it at a good price, and it's wide enough for your tractor, I'd go for it.
The only reason I sold mine was I bought a cab tractor and needed hydraulic chute rotation. My initial thought was to add hydraulics (since the tractor has rear remotes) to the Woods blower, but I found a gently used Frontier (Deere) with hydraulics already installed.
If I hadn't bought a cab tractor, I'd still have the Woods snow blower.
Implements like this sell fast, if reasonably priced...so, if you want it, don't wait too long.

 

[SkeeterFood]

Only one I've had was a JD 7 1/2' mounted on a JD 4010. It did OK, but couldn't get as close to earth as I wanted. Was also slow. However, would flat-out throw the snow!

I have since sold the 4010 and now use a Dodge 1/2-ton 4x4 with Western plow. I'll never go back! Driveway is about 1/2 mile and anything BUT smooth! Just put myself a turf bar on the blade and it cleans things up real good without tearing up the turf.

The Dodge also uses a LOT less fuel than the tractor did.

 

[Budweiser John]

I used a rear blower for years and yes, they move a lot of snow. Only having one tractor, even with having all my implements on Dolly’s, swapping stuff around is still time consuming and constantly looking backward while operating the blower is a pain in the neck.
I’ve disconnected using the blower in lieu of a 7’ SSQA blade with hydraulic Angeling. The blade actually cuts 30 minutes off my actual snow removal time and takes less than 5 minutes to merry up to the tractor.
A snow blower on an open station tractor ain’t fun.
B. John

 

[atsah]

Yes I like mine, I bought a 54inch Blizzard for my SCUT two years ago. (I have a soft cab) I tried a rear blade and didn't like it for moving snow. The blower moves a lot of snow quickly and I have no more massive snow banks in my yard. Blower on one end and a loader and bucket on the other end is the way to move move IMO..

 

[check]

Yes I like mine, I bought a 54inch Blizzard for my SCUT two years ago. (I have a soft cab) I tried a rear blade and didn't like it for moving snow. The blower moves a lot of snow quickly and I have no more massive snow banks in my yard. Blower on one end and a loader and bucket on the other end is the way to move move IMO..

Me too. And yes, looking back Kim get to be a bit of a pain in the neck, but there are some good discussions on TBN about rear cameras that you can get.

Mine is on my Kubota BX 25, and it will go through 2 feet of snow easily. Come to think of it, I have never run out of power in all the time that I’ve owned it.

 

[atsah]

I fabricated a small electric motor to turn the chute, it's on a momentary switch, works great just have to keep grease on the gears and I use deicer before I use it so the motor doesn't strain..

 

[KennyG]

I like the way mine works, but without my soft cab and backup camera, it wouldn't be much fun. Since I built a front snow blade, I don't use it unless we get a foot or so of snow. The snowplow is much faster.

 

[oosik]

For 25 years I had a 3-point snow blower. The brand was - "The Blue Machine". I needed it on my mile long gravel driveway - the berms that would form from my using the rear blade to clear snow would get so high I could not go fast enough down the driveway to cast the snow over the berm.

So - about three or four time a winter - here comes the tractor - me - the snow blower. Worked just great. Compared to most any other method - going in reverse - blowing snow with a 3-point blower - SLOW BUSINESS.

The only bad part - it took considerably longer to clear the yard, driveway and mailbox area with the blower AND - BIG AND - going in reverse - looking backwards for the three and a half hours it took always meant sore neck and shoulders.

Now I have a bigger tractor and rear blade and I can clear any berms with just the rear blade.

 

[rekees4300]

Looking at picking up a Woods 60 three point snowblower That has never been used. It s a great deal. But I致e never used a three point snow blower. Any input? Do you like yours?

A snowblower makes sense in Michigan. It's the proper tool for deep snow. I have a Frontier and like it. Woods has a good reputation. A great deal on one of those would be icing on the cake.

 

[AndyMA]

3 Point hitch snow blowers work great. I used them for years on 1/4 mile long hilly driveways. Went to front mount on a small Deere as constantly backing up going down steep hill became a pain
Andy

 

[RoyJackson]

In my experience, you can snow blow pretty quick, if you have driveway markers to border your drive. When I'm away from the house/garage, I normally run in low range, 2nd or 3rd gear.
As far as snow blowing in reverse, setting in the seat at an angle reduces the amount of rotating your head...this reduces the "pain in the neck" aspect, considerably.

There is a caveat using a snow blower though. If you have a cab tractor, sooner or later the rear window will be covered with snow. I don't have a rear wiper, so I'll need to stop occasionally to clean the rear window. If you have an open station tractor, sooner or later you'll be covered with snow.
Ski googles help a lot...tinted, glare reducing ski googles help a lot during the day...much better then sun glasses. This is true with a cab or an open station.

There are real issues when it comes to a front blower...with a caveat. Most front blowers require a mid-PTO...most are designed for a particular brand (and sometimes a particular model). So, if you sell or trade your tractor, there's a good chance you'll have to replace the snow blower. Another thing is front blowers are pretty expensive compared to a 3PH blower.
The caveat is one can buy a hydraulic powered front blower (hydraulics run off a 3PH PTO powered hydraulic power supply). These blowers usually have adapters for most loader brands. Of course, you're looking at about $15 grand for one of these.

I used the bucket on occasion, but this year I bought a front blade (snow blower on the 3PH) for those lighter (6-8 inches or less)...best of both worlds.
The front blade is a manual angle since I only have one rear remote (used for the snow blower chute rotation). Next year, I'll probably add front hydraulics to the blade...we'll see how help it does this winter...

 

[George2615]

I use a 7 1/2' QA plow to clear snow till about the end of February. By then I usually have some pretty good snow piles and then use a Lorenz 7' double auger 3 pt. blower to clear the piles.
If your driveway is gravel make sure your blower has adjustable height shoes to keep the cutting edge from digging up the gravel.

 

[RickB]

I had one for several years. I only used it when snow was DEEP. They are slow, don稚 leave banks at the edge of driveways and parking areas and have a place in high snowfall areas. But not for every storm, at least for me.

 

[HillStreet]

I have a WoodMaxx 60 inch rear blower and I like it fine. It does not have skid “shoes”, it has skid “plates”. The area of the plates makes it drag a lot on pavement so the tractor has to overcome it. It is not a big deal but it may wear pretty quick but so far its not a problem. Oh, it has a manual chute rotation and I don’t have a cab. I do wear a warm hat and ski goggles les so I don’t even feel the snow actually.
Oh, about looking in reverse: I look rearward to cut the edges, the rest I can just wing it because you can judge by the edge of the cut you just made.

 

[robertm]

Blowers are good depending on where you live. I live in N. Illinois and bought a rear Kubota blower. After four years of it collecting dust and only tried ONE time on 1" of snow, I sold it and bought a front blade for this year. If I lived in an area where decent amounts of snow was a sure thing every year, I'd have one, but certainly with a cab. The one time I used it, I got covered. Remember... you can't always blow downwind.

 

[mikester]

Looking at picking up a Woods 60 three point snowblower That has never been used. It s a great deal. But I致e never used a three point snow blower. Any input? Do you like yours?

If you get a lot of snow a blower is the best way to go. Less snow banks = less drifts to deal with.

A rear mount blower can be a pain in the neck especially if you have a small machine and not enough HP to throw deep cuts or wet snow. No cab lets you enjoy eating the snow while blowing it.

I suggest making sure the blower is wider than your tractor wheels and that it's a 2-stage blower with fan.

 

[mbohuntr]

Another point, I had a Puma 64" on a 26hp tractor. Loved it. Replaced tractor with a 33hp, replaced blower with a LMS, broke tons of shear pins.. I was putting them on finger tight. A friend recommended wrench tight and viola! No more broken pins...

We get tons of deep snow, I use the FEL to cut the banks where needed, and clean around doorways. The blower never leaves high banks and we get 200"-300" per year.. Some years we get little, one year we got 11' in a little over a week!

A friend gets more than us, and he fought with his front mount blower all season because of the deep snow.. couldn't lift it high enough for his banks. I dig in with the FEL, dump it, then blow it over the 10' banks

 

[TractorNH]

I looked at a used Woods snowblower but for what the owner was asking for it I could buy a brand new WoodMaxx with hydraulic chute rotation and deflector so that's what I did. Having seen both the Woods and the WoodMaxx I can say the WoodMax is a heavier and better built unit. The steel is thicker and it is more reinforced than the Woods.

 

[oosik]

In all the years - 27 - that I had the blower, I always wished we would get a great, fantastic snow storm so I could really use the blower. We never did and the deepest I ever saw with the blower was around 30" - barely a challenge.