Best Snowplow for Tractor?

[Sierraau]

you guys are a great resource and I thought I would put it out there.... has anyone compared skid steer-mounted snowplows for FELS? As far as a particular design is best a rolling the snow off the blade? I have a WR Long plow (as that is the brand my local dealer sells) and I am not too impressed. That being said my neighbor who owned the tractor before me, actually bent the driver's side of the plow using it as a bulldozer blade. I'd like to find a plow that is higher than 18" and is best designed to "throw snow" higher than 18" at a decent plowing speed of roughly 5-10mph. I am running a DK50C Kioti. Exploring my options.

 

[zzvyb6]

The speed you toss the snow is proportional to the angle you set the blade in the top view. Mine is a former truck plow that has been frame mounted and now is on a JD Hook & Pin QA loader mount. The frame mount is best for tight spaces but the drawback is the time it takes to mount it (usually the night before a major snow storm). The frame mount also had downforce so I could break up ice and snow drifts in both directions.

When I had a gravel driveway (800' of it) my technique was to use mushroom type skid shoes set about 1/2 inch down to keep the steel scraper blade from pushing the stone off to the side. Before the snow season started, I would 'plow' the driveway stone flat so that I got a nice smooth roadway in both directions.

I added a thick rubber strip to mine instead of the scraper blade after I went from gravel to concrete. The QA mount now benefited from a Summit electric 3rd function momentary diverter valve to get a change in angle/direction.

I have 4wd and loaded R4 tires and have never had a traction or steering problem. Now, the plow is raised using a chain instead of a hard link, but the downforce could be improve with added weights on the plow.

My single stalk loader control valve has a lockout pin so I set the arm height and get plow 'up & down' with the lateral curl direction with the angle button mounted on the side of the stalk.
I was concerned that the added distance from blade to front wheels would make it harder to steer and push the tractor around when at high angles, but this has not turned out to be a problem at all. Besides, I can spin the whole rig completely around using the separate left & right brake pedals.
I also apply a silicon spray to the blade face which keeps any density of snow from accumulating. Meanwhile, if the road commission is not around (like on a non-school day) I can do my road in high gear at whatever angle seems to work out. A lesser angle gives my neighbors a wider path to follow me with !!!.

 

[leonz]

The Hiniker skid steer Versaplow is an option in 8 or 10 foot widths .

wwwk.hiniker.com/support/literature/

www.hiniker.com/steer-plows/versaplows-4000series/

Holt Ag Solutions in Yuba City, Ca. is the closest dealer to you.

1-530-755-3363

 

[Thomas]

Around my area lot tractor owners with plow use Fisher HD plow for many years.

 

[Hay Dude]

I run an 8’ Artic on my smaller tractor. Has skid steer QA mount plate. Has worked well and made me money for many years.

I just sold this tractor. Still have the Arctic 8’-6” plow. Love the plastic moldboard and galvanized frame.
Buyer is allowing me to keep tractor until snowplowing season is over (mid march). I will probably go to a front 3 point mounted snow plow to pull the plow in closer to the tractor. The loader mount does have some advantages (being able to stack snow higher).


Below: I just set up one of my larger farm tractors with a front 3 point snowplow. Its a Western Heavyweight 10’. It makes the tractor feel more like a truck because plow is closer to front of tractor and the visibility is increased.

 

[Hay Dude]

Don’t get me started on Delks snowplows.
Europeans are very lucky to have them and I want one!

 

[Keweenaw County Yooper]

This heavy duty 8'-6" heavy duty Western Truck plow works perfect for me.

 

[Gordon Gould]

I would want one that floats along the road surface with just it's own weight like a truck plow setup. Having to use the loader float is often a problem of too much weight. Some setups you can go either way and that is good when you need more pressure.

gg

 

[Hay Dude]

They should all float, whether it’s a loader or a front 3 point. At least mine do….

Being able to have down pressure is great for packed/driven over snow. Customers appreciate the cleaner job.

If the loader makes the plow too heavy for you you could install a plastic cutting edge.

 

[bdhsfz6]

My first FEL plow was an old 8' Western blade off a wrecked pickup. I welded the A frame to an SSQA plate and used the 3rd function valve to control the angle cylinders. Rugged to be sure but the blade wasn't quite high enough to bank snow the way I wanted. I solved the problem by adding a deflector which folds up when the blade is loaded with snow and raises the effective height by 3 or 4".

I used it for many years until I traded the tractor. I now use an 8' Land Pride plow with the same type deflector.

 

[WinterDeere]

They should all float, whether it’s a loader or a front 3 point. At least mine do….

Being able to have down pressure is great for packed/driven over snow. Customers appreciate the cleaner job.

If the loader makes the plow too heavy for you you could install a plastic cutting edge.

There was another thread a few weeks back, where people were advising me to add a float to my curl mechanism, to resolve some of my headaches with a loader-mounted plow. The theory is that floating the curl puts about the right amount of weight on the cutting edge, versus floating the whole loader, which is almost always too much.

I just realized that with a simple swap of the hydraulic lines between loader and tractor (60 second job), I could have the standard float control on my curl cylinders. It might be something else to wrap my head around "curl" being lift and "lift" now being curl, but that might be manageable if it's only ever done when mounting the snow plow.

Like hopping into a right-hand drive car, it's not that hard to get used to driving on the left side of the road, once your brain associates the two. It's when you try to drive a left-driver American car on a UK road system that your brain really trips over itself.

 

[leonz]

The curl function is actually referred to as the retract function in a hydraulic circuit but as long as the machine works.......

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

you guys are a great resource and I thought I would put it out there.... has anyone compared skid steer-mounted snowplows for FELS? As far as a particular design is best a rolling the snow off the blade? I have a WR Long plow (as that is the brand my local dealer sells) and I am not too impressed. That being said my neighbor who owned the tractor before me, actually bent the driver's side of the plow using it as a bulldozer blade. I'd like to find a plow that is higher than 18" and is best designed to "throw snow" higher than 18" at a decent plowing speed of roughly 5-10mph. I am running a DK50C Kioti. Exploring my options.

I bought one off Ebay, I think the brand was a Bendall and sold by a company out of Minnesota. I paid $2850 delivered. I an happy with it, it rolls the snow pretty good. I've plowed drifts as tall as the plow, which is 24" x 84" and I have never had snow rollover the top of it. I made a You Tube video of me using it on some hard drifts.

I have no complaints about it except for a crappy weld on a t-bar on an adjusting nut on one skid shoe. It's hydraulic angle and with the temps I had when I did the video, I was glad I did not have to exit the cab to change the angle. It is Chinesium but the welds have been good so far. I've probably put 30+ hours on it in the last few months.

 

[Hay Dude]

The Arctic skid steer plow comes with a thick plastic moldboard, a galvanized frame, a crossover relief valve and a snow foil. No significant rust after 10 years and protected hydraulics. It is a trip edge plow.

 

[mikester]

Made in Canada where all your snow comes from

HLA Snow | Home

For the last 20 years HLA Snow has been committed to providing our customers with innovative equipment. With a comprehensive line up of snow and ice management tools HLA Snow has the right blade, bucket, or spreader for your team.

hlasnow.com

HLA stuff tends to be built well

 

[Hay Dude]

Made in Canada where all your snow comes from

HLA Snow | Home

For the last 20 years HLA Snow has been committed to providing our customers with innovative equipment. With a comprehensive line up of snow and ice management tools HLA Snow has the right blade, bucket, or spreader for your team.

hlasnow.com

HLA stuff tends to be build well

Yep, gotta love anything made for snow from Canada!
I really want this Arctic plow, perfect for the Ram, but don’t want to plow with the Ram. Its bad-ass!

I’m surprised Arctic didnt sell better in the states. Best designed plow I’ve ever seen, until Deleks.

I have an HLA log grapple and a set of HLA hay forks.

 

[RjCorazza]

I also like HLA stuff. I plow with an HLA 2000 ssqa blade, and it's very well made.
I also like my Luck now blower (Canadian), but they are extremely difficult to get parts for here in the states. Getting the parts necessary to add hydraulics and a cutting edge was a real hassle.

I looked into Arctic some years ago, and couldn't find a remotely close dealer. They have an interesting setup with the easily removable plow wings for cuts, plus Paul Short of Specialty Repairs swears by them.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Good video 3 horse

gg

 

[leonz]

I bought one off Ebay, I think the brand was a Bendall and sold by a company out of Minnesota. I paid $2850 delivered. I an happy with it, it rolls the snow pretty good. I've plowed drifts as tall as the plow, which is 24" x 84" and I have never had snow rollover the top of it. I made a You Tube video of me using it on some hard drifts.

I have no complaints about it except for a crappy weld on a t-bar on an adjusting nut on one skid shoe. It's hydraulic angle and with the temps I had when I did the video, I was glad I did not have to exit the cab to change the angle. It is Chinesium but the welds have been good so far. I've probably put 30+ hours on it in the last few months.

Hello 3 Horse Ranch,

What brand of snow blower do you have on your mule and how old is it??
If you have a lower gear to use in your mule that will reduce the amount
of snow that build up in front of it.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

We got it from Titan Attachments last spring when they were clearing them out. It's a 72" about 4 inches wider than the tractor. We got it at the right time, they were selling the same unit this winter for almost double what we paid for it. Ours was about $2500 delivered, they were selling this winter for $4200 plus tax. It will gobble up anything I can throw, including chunky refrozen snow.
Edit: The tractor is an HST and I use low range and a light foot but that snow was densely packed wind driven stuff. Also, since I am approaching 72 my body doesn't always appreciate being turned around so I give it a few minutes rest occasionally. On lesser amounts of fresh snow, I plow both sides toward the middle and drive backwards using my mirrors. Then the snow is gone never to be messed with again.