Best implement for snow removal

[RoyJackson]

So Roy, you bought the front blade for the 855? Can you tell me about it, have you put it on yet? Does it use a winch for movement? Is it heavy...? I believe we both started out with a JD 670 and a rear blade. Thanks. Todd

I bought a used Eagle plow from a fellow TBNer. I actually got two plows...a standard straight plow (which can be angled) as well as the Vee plow (the Vee plow has three positions plus angling, btw).

Neither plow is especially heavy and had been mounted on an 825i. The previous owner used about 80 lbs in the Gator bed for traction. I haven't mounted it on my Gator yet. There was one broken weld that needs repair (used plow and the price was quite good, so a minor weld doesn't bother me a bit).
The Eagle plows do use the winch as it is fitted to the Gators. Not all do. I looked at a Viper plow, but I couldn't use the standard front receptacle winch mount (Viper sells a mount).
I'd read this before and the guy I bought the plow from agreed, it's best to remove the wire rope from the winch and use a strap. Winching the blade (not just the Eagle blades) puts a lot of wear and tear on the first 5 feet of the wire rope.

I think the plow will work fine, but I don't think I'd want to wait until there is 2' of wet heavy snow.

Yep, we both started with a 670 and rear blade. I miss that 670 sometimes...

 

[El Wood]

Thanks for all of the information! I should have mentioned that I'm in southeast Michigan where we don't get too much snow. Maybe a few 12" hits a year. Sometimes not even that.

My dealer said he would recommend this...




I said when I hit the lotto I would have him order me one

 

[Katahdin]

I hemmed and hawed over blower options and just decided to stick with blades because they are the most cost effective and in most cases, the quickest way to remove snow. I also have stiff neck issues and just thinking about backing up with a rear mounted blower for my 400 feet of driveway makes my neck hurt.

Last year I adapted my truck's Boss Plow blade to work with my Yanmar's loader, and used a box blade to pull snow in from the end of the driveway so I didn't need to stick my tractor out much on a bad curve in the road. This year I added a rear blade and will try using that on the rear instead of the box blade for pulling snow away from the road and buildings. I agree with a blade you need to plow with the storm, I usually don't let more then 8 inches accumulate before I go out to plow.

On the added costs of a front blade, keep in mind there is extra complexity involved for safety features like trip-actions and crossover relief valves for when that front plow hits an immovable object. When you hit an obstacle with that rear mounted plow you may end up bending or breaking metal.

 

[RoyJackson]

Thanks for all of the information! I should have mentioned that I'm in southeast Michigan where we don't get too much snow. Maybe a few 12" hits a year. Sometimes not even that.

My dealer said he would recommend this...


View attachment 341947

I said when I hit the lotto I would have him order me one

I described what I bought in post 21. The guy I bought the Eagle plow from replaced it with that BOSS plow. That's a $3200 piece of equipment! More then I'd be willing to pay...but he lives in Maine and it might be a worthwhile addition.
As I wrote in my first response to your thread...you don't need to buy something now. See how it goes for a season. Might well spend $5K on a blower that gets very little use...might determine that a rear blade does the job nicely.
BTW, I was in central Wisconsin a few years ago for a supplier audit. As I drove north from Milwaukee, I saw a lot of tractors with rear blades...no doubt used for snow removal.

 

[Piston]

That would do the trick :thumbsup:

I think Roy gave good advice, for the first year use your bucket and see how it goes, then decide from there. In my opinion, the absolute best all around setup, is a rear pull behind blower on the 3 point hitch, and the bucket up front. This way you can still blow the snow while driving and facing forward but don't lose the use of your loader.

Another advantage of the pull behind (inverted) blower is that if you have a tight driveway to snowblow, you can take the FEL off and the tractor/rear blower combo will be much more maneuverable than a front mount. Since you don't typically get over 2' of snow at once, I think this would be the best setup you could get for your tractor, along with a set of chains. However, it wouldn't be much cheaper than a front mount, if at all....just better

The rear blade and front end loader would also be a good combo. This is what I use, although I had a light weight blade before and didn't like how it would sometimes drift up and over packed snow. This year I upgraded to a 1,000lb rear blade so I won't have that problem anymore

My vote is for that decked out Deere side by side :thumbsup:

 

[oosik]

Hi El Wood,
The 12" hits can be dealt with using just about any of the implements suggested. What can become a problem is the frozen berm that will develop when you clear the driveway. And this frozen berm is only a problem if you are not able to plow new snowfall over/beyond it. I use a back blade to clear my mile long driveway. If a high berm (over 24" high) develops then I use a snowblower to remove these berms. A rear snowblower is slow but works great at berm removal. It is a PITA for me because I'm open station and after about two hours of this my neck DOES become stiff.
I use the backblade year round to move dirt, scrape, reverse it and push and just as counter weight for FEL use. I use the snowblower about once every ten years - thats about how often we get a lot of snow and it blows(drifts).
I find that vehicle weight/traction will have a large bearing on how much snow can be moved by which implement. If you keep up with the snow removal a simple back blade along with your FEL can be all you should need.

 

[94BULLITT]

My drive is just a bit longer and the best thing I ever did was take the money I would have spent on a nice front mounted blower and have an asphalt drive installed.

That was a good idea.

 

[RoyJackson]

Hi El Wood,
The 12" hits can be dealt with using just about any of the implements suggested. What can become a problem is the frozen berm that will develop when you clear the driveway.
I find that vehicle weight/traction will have a large bearing on how much snow can be moved by which implement. If you keep up with the snow removal a simple back blade along with your FEL can be all you should need.

Good points!
I always ensured the snow was pushed a reasonable distance off the drive. The downside of this may be putting gravel on one's lawn (Spring clean up task).

Since you brought up traction, it's time to bring up tire chains. If one is in a heavy snow area, tire chains can be a big help and should be considered. After I bought chains, I used the front wheel assist very little.

 

[oosik]

Wow!! I had chains (for all four wheels) for my previous tractor (Ford 1710) and the rear ones were so heavy I often just didn't install them and didn't plow and let the snow melt(I'm retired). I can just imagine how heavy and costly chains for my new Kubota would be. There is no question about chains - they give almost unlimited traction(I had v-bar) and on my little 1710 they made the ride something like a buckboard ride to h-ll. I have not and will not buy chains for the Kubota. I'm not in a situation where "getting out" the driveway for any reason is that important anymore. I just sit in the kitchen, have another cup of coffee and watch the snowfall accumulate on my little frozen lake.View attachment 341957

 

[GManBart]

Thanks for all of the information! I should have mentioned that I'm in southeast Michigan where we don't get too much snow. Maybe a few 12" hits a year. Sometimes not even that.

I'm in SE Michigan as well. I have a 7.5' plow for my truck, and only used it maybe two or three times last year, and those where when we expected more than we got. The rest of the time I used a 6' back blade on my 8N, and it worked fine. I'm going to order a 7' EA Extreme back blade to use on my MF and/or LS to save a little time. The only problem with the blade on the 8N was that it was a bit light...but it got the job done. My driveway is only 300' now, but I'm in the process of putting up an outbuilding, and the driveway will be extended another 200' or so when that's done. It sounds like you'd be fine with a blade as long as you don't let it get too deep before you make a pass.