Snow Attachments Best Choice for Snow removal

[TheBigO]

Hi all. I have a 400' sloped shale driveway, very bumpy. 4 options that i know of are the loader itself, a front blade, a blower or a plow. I like the idea of a plow due to the springs on it to handle the poor condition of the drive. I`m afraid of usind a blower because all of the rocks that might go thru it and they are a bit pricey. I do live south of the snowbelt but get my share of snow (lake effect). Any advice from others with snow removal tasks would be appreciated. thanks


steve

 

[PLOWER]

First of all what kind of tractor do you have? I think a loader is good and a rear blade. But a plow would be good to because you can see what your doing a little better.

 

[TheBigO]

oops sorry about that. looking at a 3010hst 4wd r4s maybe a 3410.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

If limited to one implement, I would choose the blower......adjustable shoes are available on most which should eliminate you stone problem plus many advantages like ability to deal with heavy/deep snow, no snow piles or banks (which not only cause space problems as snow accumulates - they also promote drifting), etc. I use a 3ph blower for > 3" and a back blade for <. I leave my loader on for pulling snow away from buildings/doors, etc. and building snowpiles and sled jumps for the kids. My driveway is 1800' long gravel plus a several building building-site. I look forward to snows - good fun - helps when you have the right tools!

 

[hayden]

From what I've read on this site I'd say rear blades are the most popular provided the snow's not too deep and there's a place to push the snow. Loaders are great for short runs and for moving big piles, but because they don't shed snow off to the side like a blade, or throw it like a thrower, they tend to fill up and back up, especially on long stretches. Blades are also surprisingly inexpensive. My landpride 7' blade was only $395 which was a pleasant surprise to me.

I personally use a 3PH blower for a 2500' road. It's essential because there is limited room to shove snow with a plow, so the throwing effect of the blower is essential to keeping the road passable. I like the 3PH because I can still use the loader to move big piles of snow. Working in reverse takes some getting used to, but I've developed a comfortable side saddle stance that works pretty well.

Blowers can be a real nusance if you pick up rocks. I was blowing out shear bolts every time I cleared the road for a while. I suggest you keep a stock of at least 6 bolts AND nuts in whatever sizes you might need (my blower has two, one for the drive shaft and one for the auger). You might also look into a slip clutch rather than the shear bolts. If I get around to it I'd like to do that for mine this year. A fall rock clearing party and setting the skid shoes for 2" clearance will help lots too.

 

[snowman]

Heyden..I use a front mount blower on a B7500; have only had
it for one season.

I have a gravel driveway and had alot of problems with rocks;
blow five feet and break a shearpin - a real pain.

It is better with the skid shoes, but the skid shoes always
work themselves loose, so the blower ends up on the ground
again.

As a quick fix last winter, I tried to wedge a piece of wood
between the show and the blower bottom so that the shoe
could not lower itself. However, the wood piece would also
work itself out after awhile.

My next idea is to wedge a metal pipe or bolt in there, then
clamp it on tight.

Just curious if you've had that problem with the shoes and if
so, how you fixed it.

 

[Mike_Dumond]

Well, living in northern Maine, we have lots of opportunities to experiment. What I've come up with, is a 6 1/2 ft snow blade attached to the bucket of my FEL. It's attached with chain tighteners, so it only takes a couple of minutes to put on or remove. Leaves me with the bucket, if I need it. Also works great for pushing tall banks back.

 

[Sailorcrew]

Mike, You're using a regular truck snow blade? Did you remove all of the mounting hardware normally used on a vehicle? Where did you mount the chain tighteners? I have bucket forks which attach with chains wrapped around the bucket but would not want to do that with the plow blade as I would be gouging the pavement. Where in Northern Maine? My in-laws live in Caswell, I grew up in Ellsworth, a ways south of you, David

 

[Mike_Dumond]

Dave, I have to go up to my ex's place this week and get the plow. When I do, I'll take some pictures of how I mount it to the bucket. Works real good up here. Up here is Fort Kent, by the way. Just a little further north than Ellsworth.

 

[hayden]

My skid shoes have loosened up before but not as often as it sounds like your's are. Mine also have predirlled holes and different heights rather than a slot so when they do come loose they don't drop down, just wobble around a bit.

You might try aircraft nuts (I've reverted to using them with my shear bolts), or loctite on the threads to keep them from coming loose

 

[beenthere]

A snowplow (truck-type) on the front using a quicktach (custom-built) works great on a JD4300. Keeps the plow close to the front of the tractor for control, not like you would get when out at the end of a FEL (not that they don't work pretty well). Easy to drop the plow and attach the FEL (5 minutes) to handle drifts or to pile up snow. A front blade works well as long as you have room to mow the snow back - I do this by lifting the plow blade about 6 inches and cutting the top off the pile and moving it back about 2 feet. Another pass will clean up the 6 inches left behind. When the snow melts and turns to an ice pack (warm weather or rain), chains are necessary. I have a gravel drive, and have no shoes on the blade. I will post a pic.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Very nice looking setup. Why not just use a JD plow though? Was this one used or just a whole lot cheaper?

 

[beenthere]

It was new, but just a whole lot better construction (built to take the punishment), and wider than the Deere blade - 84" instead of (I believe) 72". I used to have an old two-banger 420 JD, and had a 6 1/2 ft plow mounted on that, and have plowed a 650' drive for 30 years tht way. Other than wishing for a cab when it was -25, blowing, drifting snow, this combination is fast (as high a gear as you want to tolerate with the wind and snow blowing), easy, and most of the times FUN. I put caster wheels in the skid plate holes and a wheeled dolly under it when removed, and roll it off into a corner of my shed. Even use it for leveling gravel and dirt all year around. Easier to control than the rear 3pt blade. To attach to the 4300, I bought the belly mower mounting plates for this tractor, and the quicktach I made hooks into these plates, swings up and is held by two bolts through the front weight bar. Then attach three hoses to the dual SCV, and away we go. The plow was not altered, and could be hooked to a standard truck mount by pulling two pins and taking the chain off.

 

[deepsnow]

Longer, sloping, bumpy, narrower, gravel drive. I start the season with the back blade. Deals with any ruts and loose gravel from autumn rains. Problem is eventually no place to push the snow and still have at least a 10' wide drive. For the 1st couple years I survived without a blower. Just spent couple extra hours after heavier (>12") snowfalls cutting back the snowbanks and piling snow with the FEL. Snowblower makes snow removal quick & easy. Adjustment of the blower shoes and pitch deals with the irregularities of the drive.

 

[LBrown59]

These 2 work very well for me.

 

[bp fick]

I have to do a lot of snow pushing around here, of course. In fact, it is coming down right now and they are calling for another 6" tonight.

I have not invested money in a blower and won't be. I have an acre on both side of the drive to push it, pretty much, as far as I like.:laughing:

If you have no shoulders, there isn't much else that will work beside the blower and cost is just the cost. Glad it's working for you.

 

[doxford jim]

I have used a JD450 with a dozer blade attached to an outside frame, tractor with large snow bucket, tractor with rear blade and regular bucket and tractor with TPH snow blower and regular FEL bucket.. All these on around 600 yds of gravel driveway.

The snow blower is by far the best and throws the snow some thirty feet away from the drive - keeps driveway neat and wide. The FEL can be used for clean up if needed.

I bought the snow blower used - an older one, and have done a bit of work on it, but nothing major yet. The only draw back I see is the amount of fuel I use to blow snow - keeping the engine RPM up to around 2000, so the blower works properly. Even then I use the 720 PTO rpm option (540/720) as it throws snow the best. I use about 1 gallon of diesel an hour whilst blowing snow - I don't know what a gap engine would do. That is with a 55hp Jinma.

Jim

 

[rbargeron]

The first 13 posts in this thread were written in 2001 !!!! (another time-warp from moving threads to the new forum)

Now that it's almost 10 years later maybe we should just ask TheBigO what he ever did about snow removal and how he's liking it ?

 

[Don87]

The first 13 posts in this thread were written in 2001 !!!! (another time-warp from moving threads to the new forum)

Now that it's almost 10 years later maybe we should just ask TheBigO what he ever did about snow removal and how he's liking it ?

I hated seeing this thread come up.

I think I held the record for reviving old threads after I accidently dredged up a 7 year old one.:laughing:

Now I'm no longer in first place:shocked:

 

[Johnbro]

for years I used a rear blade on my L2250, then push off to the side wtih the FEL.

Hated using the blade--first of all, it's a POS Rankin--too light, wouldn't dig down if there was a bit of ice on the road. Second, it just pushes the snow into a big wad between the blade the the rear wheels. when it gets too big you can't get the blade up over it, so you have to back up over the pile...can be a problem even with 4WD. At least the blade would angle, but the wet snow we get here wouldn't usually push to the side.

On a gravel road (ours is paved up the first little bit from the highway, then gravel after that--it's a private road, 2 lanes wide, with houses on both sides) the blade will push a lot of gravel off into the ditch. Not good.

This year we got into the landscape maintenance/snow & ice removal business. So we have a truck with a V plow. On gravel I just elevate it a couple of inches off the float position, on pavement it let it float. works great...