Snow b7800 - FEL worth it for snow?

[ByronBob]

Somewhere on here I have a few pictures of my driveway cleared with the FEL. I do 3x the area you do and although it's slower it does the job.

 

[surfran]

A FEL is one of the most useful tools you can own for a tractor. You can use it to move dirt, move rock, move mulch, move anything you would have used a wheelbarrel for in the past but more because now you will actually do it as you have the right tool.

You can dig (although limited) with a FEL (recommend a toothbar for this in addition to hte FEL), you can lift items with a FEL (i.e. you just brought home something from a store and its too heavy to handle by hand....use the FEL with proper chains, straps etc. (and of course the Clevis hooks welded on the bucket).

You can do many more projects for the lovely misses than you could in the past as you will have the right tool (i.e. flower beds, landscaping projects etc.).

You can back drag dirt to level out impressions in your yard, you can maintain your driveway during both the Winter with snow as well as the Summer with washout maintenance (if gravel or dirt of course).

Lastly, your back will thank you for years to come!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Now as for the back blade, it will work faster for snow removal as long as you take care of it before it gets too deep. It will also be very helpful for maintaining a drive in the Summer maintenance time. It will also provide decent rear ballast for your FEL.

So bottom line is get the FEL for sure, pick up a cheap (few hundred bucks) light duty back blade from TSC or similar place and have the best for both worlds.


When I bought my BX I was looking for a power angle front blade not a FEL. Several dealers said to get the FEL as I could use it for many more things and it was only a $400 difference. I am very glad I listened as my FEL gets much more use than a blade would have and I wouldn't be without it.

Hope that gives you some ideas of the uses and value of the FEL. It turns your tractor into more than just a lawn mower /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Good luck with your decision.

One last bit of advice, if your financing, get all of the pieces you want now as it is much harder to go out and spend several hundred more dollars for an implement when your already making a payment than it is to come up with a few more bucks a month. Also harder to convince the wife.....

 

[KubotaSteve]

I used my B7800 FEL to plow snow and my drive way is about 220 feet plus the parking area. I've went through snow a foot deep the entire length of my driveway with R-4 tires (I have chains but have never put them on). I've plowed with it the past two years and never really had a problem, but I don't go all the way down to the stone as it will dig and make a mess.

 

[kingoflawns]

We work our kubota long hours in the new england winter storms. We use the fel, blower and front blade (all kubotas) i would buy the front blade over a rear blade for sure!

 

[riptides]

I used my B7800 with a FEL (teeth) and Rear Blade. The blade actually does 95 percent of the work. The FEL pushed deep snow out of the way, piles it high, and higher. The teeth (tooth bar) help with breaking up the high banked ice deposits and the blocked in driveway when the VDOT people come by.

My machine has filled rear tires, and I do not use chains. It worked - very well, and I had no complaints.

-Mike Z. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[BrettW]

Don't know what snow is but my 7800 is great on wet gravel!

 

[nasdaqsam]

An FEL or a back blade will work. It really becomes an issue of time versus expense. If you have a lot of time both are great options. It also depends on the amount of snow to be moved per storm. Personally, I love to play with the tractor, nothing better than good old seat time. However, I do not have the time most of the days to go out and play before my wife and I have to be to work so the only option for me was a snow blower. Fast, easy and I can place the snow where I want with out having to move it two or three times. YMMV.

Good Luck

 

[eph]

This is the rig to go with.

 

[kingoflawns]

That set up is a very bad idea I M O. You hit an unseen obstruction and bend the loader arms, or worse, the loader will never be the same. put a kubota 2019 power angle front blade on the machine ( front subframe) and you will be way better off!

 

[eph]

- Not sure where you are coming from on "bending loader arms". I am plowing my own driveway, and at walking speed. Using either the front or the rear blade the whole tractor is likely to kick sideways if I hit a bank or obstruction - the entire rig is pretty light.

In my view this is a great set-up - a huge improvement over having just the bucket out front.

- The front blade makes it possible to plow moving forward - a huge improvement over looking back over your shoulder.
- you can use the blade to stack snow, just like a bucket.
- the front blade is heavier than the bucket, so when it is lifted up you have much better traction for using the rear blade.

- I haven't used the Kubota front blade, so I can't comment on it. I did not like the idea of having to change over the entire rig each season.

At any rate - I love my set-up and am not worried about bending my loader.

Eph.