Wondered if anyone would share thoughts on running a pto snowblower on my 2040. Who has done it? Is the old girl geared slow enough? How many augers, width etc... Any input appreciated. Maple season almost upon us and I thought I would pick one up to clear paths in the fields to my lines...
JD 2040 running pto Snow blower
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beenthere
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No experience, but know people who have rear mounted snowblowers. They say they are not happy with making winding paths through the woods while driving backwards. Clearing a lot of snow not so bad. One neighbor disliked his rear mounted blower enough to change it for a front mounted blower as making the bends in his long winding driveway was too difficult to keep on track as the front wheels ended up in deep snow or over the edge into the ditch. Was much happier with the front mounted blower, in spite of the extra expense. The reason I like the front mounted 7' blade on my tractor.
See that your 2040 has reverse range 1 that is 1.7mph at 1500 rpm. Not sure if this is adequate rpm for rear snow blowers.
Think I would look for other options such as garden tractors with front mounted 4-5' blowers comparable to the expense of a rear mounted snow blower.
Practice backing down or up your trails without a rear mounted attachment to see how easy/hard it might be for you.
No experience, but know people who have rear mounted snowblowers. They say they are not happy with making winding paths through the woods while driving backwards. Clearing a lot of snow not so bad. One neighbor disliked his rear mounted blower enough to change it for a front mounted blower as making the bends in his long winding driveway was too difficult to keep on track as the front wheels ended up in deep snow or over the edge into the ditch. Was much happier with the front mounted blower, in spite of the extra expense. The reason I like the front mounted 7' blade on my tractor.
See that your 2040 has reverse range 1 that is 1.7mph at 1500 rpm. Not sure if this is adequate rpm for rear snow blowers.
Think I would look for other options such as garden tractors with front mounted 4-5' blowers comparable to the expense of a rear mounted snow blower.
Practice backing down or up your trails without a rear mounted attachment to see how easy/hard it might be for you.
RjCorazza
Elite Member
I briefly ran a manual transmission tractor / blower combination, and it was a pain (but doable). I'm not familiar with your machine, but without a very low couple of gears or creeper, you may be on the clutch a lot.
Most appreciative of the feedback. I read there can be issues as you've mentioned which has caused me to hesitate, and... reach out here. Definitely food for thought. Thank you
Funny how owning a tractor usually means owning another tractor... lol... I do not want to have to burn up my clutch to move a little or worse alot of snow. Thank you...
oldnslo
Super Member
How wide is your tractor? That usually determines the minimum width of the blower. My guess is you need a minimum of 6 foot and possibly 6 1/2 foot.
Another factor is type and depth of snow. Dry powder vs wet heavy snow are two totally different power requirements. In the woods shouldn’t drift to much so that helps on HP requirements also.
I have a 52 or 54” blower on my 2400H which has around 20 PTO HP but is also hydrostatic so tough to say how fast can go before running out of power.
Does the 2040 have live PTO or is it engaged with same clutch that makes the tractor move? If same clutch it can be very difficult to feather the travel clutch without stopping the PTO.
If you only have rear wheel drive I would not consider a front mount blower since puts all the weight on front axle so would need significant weight on the rear to move.
Maybe try backing simulating a path through your woods. Can you look over your shoulders and see the imaginary blower?
I used to put an 8 ft blower on our 5600 Ford for clearing a path to the other farm since cab tractor wouldn’t fit. The hump in the middle with shift levers would occasionally be in the way but it worked for me. Was around 1/4 mile driveway with half that through the woods.
Another factor is type and depth of snow. Dry powder vs wet heavy snow are two totally different power requirements. In the woods shouldn’t drift to much so that helps on HP requirements also.
I have a 52 or 54” blower on my 2400H which has around 20 PTO HP but is also hydrostatic so tough to say how fast can go before running out of power.
Does the 2040 have live PTO or is it engaged with same clutch that makes the tractor move? If same clutch it can be very difficult to feather the travel clutch without stopping the PTO.
If you only have rear wheel drive I would not consider a front mount blower since puts all the weight on front axle so would need significant weight on the rear to move.
Maybe try backing simulating a path through your woods. Can you look over your shoulders and see the imaginary blower?
I used to put an 8 ft blower on our 5600 Ford for clearing a path to the other farm since cab tractor wouldn’t fit. The hump in the middle with shift levers would occasionally be in the way but it worked for me. Was around 1/4 mile driveway with half that through the woods.
TCGUY
New member
I have a 45 hp NH..run a 6 ft rear blower......a cheap back up camera works well....if u have a cab I would try it!
Carl_NH
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Clearing fields with no stumps or rocks is OK and a 6' blower would be fine on your 2040 (64" wide) but the cost $2-3K for a used one is high and are you talking 1000's of feet or a mile or more of paths? If a 1000-2000' or so a walk behind blower would work.
Either way, blowers would not be good if you are in the woods. There are likely downed branches and other stuff under the snow waiting to jam up your blower and shear pins.
Either way, blowers would not be good if you are in the woods. There are likely downed branches and other stuff under the snow waiting to jam up your blower and shear pins.
Paul McILwain
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An old v style rear blower would work well as you are driving forward as long as the snow is not more than a foot or so deep so the tractor can go thru it
Farmer495
Veteran Member
2040 is 40 PTO HP and live PTO.
If you are making paths, you will always be taking full width. You'll need at least 6 foot wide if you can narrow tractor up, 6.5 foot (78") probably best.
If you are planning to go into the fields in tapping season to clear 2 feet of packed snow that has never been moved all winter, you will hate life in general trying to do that, but you can get the job done.
I've only run rear blowers on gear drive tractors. Pretty sure I can move more snow with 40 PTO HP utility & 78" rear blower than a shovel
If you are making paths, you will always be taking full width. You'll need at least 6 foot wide if you can narrow tractor up, 6.5 foot (78") probably best.
If you are planning to go into the fields in tapping season to clear 2 feet of packed snow that has never been moved all winter, you will hate life in general trying to do that, but you can get the job done.
I've only run rear blowers on gear drive tractors. Pretty sure I can move more snow with 40 PTO HP utility & 78" rear blower than a shovel