Any suggestions on how to use FEL float on hills

[1st Tractor]

Sorry for a dumb question but my Max 26 HST with FEL is my 1st tractor. I live in snow country and was attempting to clear my hilly gravel driveway from our 1st snow of the year using the FEL. I placed the loader into it's float mode but still ended up scooping up lots of gravel. I realize I probably just need to practice more, but any suggestions as to how to operate a FEL in the float mode on hilly terrain without destroying the ground would be greatly appreciated by this 1st time user. Thanks!

 

[saxnbees]

I don't have a lot of FEL experience so I have similar issues. You might want to consider a set of Edge Tamers. They simply clamp onto your bucket and provide feet near the corners. You can also have a third in the middle of the bucket if you feel you need it for the crown of your driveway. The downside is that you will not clean down to the gravel and have about 1/2 inch of snow left. That 1/2 inch will pack down and protect the gravel even more. I used the edge tamers on my door yard last year and had almost zero damage to the grass. Compared to prior years where a pickup with snow plow had been used, it was like night and day.

R2 Manufacturing - Home Of The Edge Tamer

 

[4570Man]

Float doesn’t work good for forward travel. First problem is the arms are too heavy and still dig in. Second problem is when the pushing gets tough the tractor will try to ride over the loader. Skid shoes are probably what you need.

 

[DerbyRunner]

I believe our operators only use float mode in reverse.

 

[seville009]

If you want to use float going forward, you’ll have to tilt the bucket up a bit so that the lip of the bucket won’t dig in as much.

This will also cause the bucket to float on deeper heavier snow, but you can just feather the lip a bit if that happens

 

[RNeumann]

The edge tamers will make you a pro. But between now and then it’s all in the curl. As you travel up and down hill you need to be adjusting curl slightly - this adjusts the depth or aggressiveness of the cut. It sounds like the ground isn’t frozen- anything you can do to get on it when things are frozen will help- early in the day, don’t let a bunch of snow build up before you plow, leave an inch or two on the driveway etc. Especially with a bucket it’s far easier when you have a layer of frozen ground. Obviously this is tough in areas that don’t stay frozen.

 

[DK35vince]

Float doesn’t work good for forward travel. First problem is the arms are too heavy and still dig in. Second problem is when the pushing gets tough the tractor will try to ride over the loader.

+1
I never use the loader in float when plowing.
Digs in and can't steer.

 

[GMIslander]

Float works pretty good when back dragging but as stated above float is sketchy at best going forward and requires a lot of attention. I have used my bucket for snow plowing for six years but finally today found a good buy on a used one of these. 219 HLA SB284 | Nova International. Probably won't snow again this winter but if it does I'll share the experience of bucket vs plow with my DK45. Maybe it will snow it is Canada.

 

[1st Tractor]

+1
I never use the loader in float when plowing.
Digs in and can't steer.

Yes that's exactly what is happening to me. Loader digs in and lifts front tires off the ground. Not fun when pushing the snow down hill.
Thanks for all the suggestions. Think I'll try it without the float engaged and feather the bucket up and down as needed on my hills. Still early in the season so I'll probably get lots of time to practice.

 

[duffer]

I've got over 1000 hours on mine, and probably 400 hrs are using the bucket. I've tried everything.
Here are my suggestions that you might want to consider:
*Only use float mode in reverse to put a minor leveling finish to your work
*To move large amounts of snow, gravel, sand, etc, curl the bucket all the way back, lower it to just above ground level, and use it like a bulldozer. For extreme amounts of material, you may need to raise the bucket several inches and make several passes. (4WD of course)
*When material gets too large to move, cut the pile down using normal bucket procedures.