Best Snowplow for Tractor?

[5030]

Whatever fits... I use a repurposed County plow that is 10 feet wide on a SSQA mount bit then it takes a pretty stout tractor to handle it. Power angle too. I believe it's an older Meyer with wheels on the plow end instead of skid shoes. Has to weigh at least 1000 pounds. Paid 500 for it at a county garage auction.

 

[5030]

What brand of snow blower do you have on your mule?

You could never handle my 10 footer. Not enough grunt.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

Whatever fits... I use a repurposed County plow that is 10 feet wide on a SSQA mount bit then it takes a pretty stout tractor to handle it. Power angle too. I believe it's an older Meyer with wheels on the plow end instead of skid shoes. Has to weigh at least 1000 pounds. Paid 500 for it at a county garage auction.

Nice job of putting that together. A little large for my tractor, plus pushing snow drifts uphill doesn't always work with my 7' plow. I run out of traction before I run out of power, then I turn around and blow it away.

 

[5030]

I run chains.

 

[5030]

Never plowed this year. Colder than heck but little to no snow. Blower and plow are in the big barn. Like you I have a blower on the back (Lucknow) 2 stage. Both the plow and the blower are hard on diesel.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

Never plowed this year. Colder than heck but little to no snow. Blower and plow are in the big barn. Like you I have a blower on the back (Lucknow) 2 stage. Both the plow and the blower are hard on diesel.

I have a small 100 gallon tank for my tractor diesel. I filled it in August and figured I might get through most of the winter. Had to fill it again in December. Last year I was using and old Ford 1715 with a loader bucket, a back blade and a box blade no snow blower and I think I used 20 gallons of diesel all winter. This winter bigger tractor, blower and blade and a lot more snowy and drifting days and my second tank is about half gone. however, this winter I am warm when clearing snow.

 

[WinterDeere]

Never plowed this year. Colder than heck but little to no snow. Blower and plow are in the big barn. Like you I have a blower on the back (Lucknow) 2 stage. Both the plow and the blower are hard on diesel.

Interesting you still run both, your tractor looks like it could push some snow. Do you really get much use out of the blower?

I actually sold my 3-point blower a year or two after I upgraded to the JD 3033R with loader-mounted plow. The plow is just so much faster than the blower, and doesn't cover me in snow (no cab). The machine seems to have all the traction and power required to push 1 - 2 feet of snow, likely more for that once per decade we get over 2 feet in a single storm. If we ever get too much, the loader-mounted plow lets me push a foot off the top before coming back to finish on a second pass.

For me, the issue was storage. The blower took up half a parking space, and I don't like leaving anything outdoors to rust.

 

[5030]

Interesting you still run both, your tractor looks like it could push some snow. Do you really get much use out of the blower?

I actually sold my 3-point blower a year or two after I upgraded to the JD 3033R with loader-mounted plow. The plow is just so much faster than the blower, and doesn't cover me in snow (no cab). The machine seems to have all the traction and power required to push 1 - 2 feet of snow, likely more for that once per decade we get over 2 feet in a single storm. If we ever get too much, the loader-mounted plow lets me push a foot off the top before coming back to finish on a second pass.

For me, the issue was storage. The blower took up half a parking space, and I don't like leaving anything outdoors to rust.

No storage issues here, everything stays inside the big barn. Out here when it snows, the wind blows and it drifts, sometimes 4 feet high and even higher so the blower gets used, just not this year. No snow, just cold.

I'm good with that, saves diesel.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

Interesting you still run both, your tractor looks like it could push some snow. Do you really get much use out of the blower?

I actually sold my 3-point blower a year or two after I upgraded to the JD 3033R with loader-mounted plow. The plow is just so much faster than the blower, and doesn't cover me in snow (no cab). The machine seems to have all the traction and power required to push 1 - 2 feet of snow, likely more for that once per decade we get over 2 feet in a single storm. If we ever get too much, the loader-mounted plow lets me push a foot off the top before coming back to finish on a second pass.

For me, the issue was storage. The blower took up half a parking space, and I don't like leaving anything outdoors to rust.

For me it was a matter of storage also, not of the snow blower, but all the snow I've gotten. The snow here doesn't melt away much during the winter months so that the snow I plowed at first becomes snow ridges along each side of my driveway and then my driveway gets narrower with each snowfall. When it gets too narrow, I have to use the tractor bucket to push it back as far as I can which can be tedious and cold over a half mile run of driveway. My snowblower makes the snow go away, never to bother me again. This is a dry climate, so rust isn't as much a problem as UV damage to paint and plastic. I'll park it someplace out of the sun outdoors in the offseason.

 

[RidgeHiker]

I have a Braber plow. Sold by a number of dealers in my area and they all said they have not had problems with ones sold. A less expensive brand. $2440 for 84". Weights 470 lbs. Heavy duty built. Braber is in British Columbia.

 

[Woodstock Walt]

A few pics of my snow plow setup. It's pretty simple, an 8' Fisher straight blade (pickup truck plow) attached to a Titan SSQA-to-3PH conversion plate. I installed Cat 1 pins in the plows' a-frame where it previously attached to the headgear, then attached the lift chain to the top link attachment point. W.R. Long 3rd Function valve powers the angle cylinders.

To use it I'll leave the loader arms at a set height and use the curl function to raise/lower the blade, being sure to leave slack in the chain when the blade is lowered, allowing it to float independently of the FEL.

 

[chim]

Walt, same plow but different mount. Used Gordon's "underslung" approach and the factory 3rd function lines on trhe loader turn it.

 

[TractorTYMe]

I use a TMG DB86 (86'') on my FEL. People might not think it's the best solution, but I work it pretty darn well. I use my blade the most since I rarely engage the snowblower (Not enough snow) and we get mostly wet snow anymore. I understand an underslung setup might be superior in saving the danger of bending the FEL.........a plow mounted right on a front 3 point is just superior overall. But they don't appear commonly available in the US.

 

[chim]

The two benefits of the underslung mount are:

1. The plow doesn't act like a rudder when angled. The only time it pushes the Kubota sideways is when it hits an immovable pile.

2. It reduces the overall length of the setup by feet.

 

[Gordon Gould]

The two benefits of the underslung mount are:

1. The plow doesn't act like a rudder when angled. The only time it pushes the Kubota sideways is when it hits an immovable pile.

2. It reduces the overall length of the setup by feet.

3. Floats like a truck plow but you can get down pressure when you want it by dumping the SSQA plate.

gg

 

[Woodstock Walt]

Walt, same plow but different mount. Used Gordon's "underslung" approach and the factory 3rd function lines on trhe loader turn it.

The two benefits of the underslung mount are:

1. The plow doesn't act like a rudder when angled. The only time it pushes the Kubota sideways is when it hits an immovable pile.

2. It reduces the overall length of the setup by feet.

3. Floats like a truck plow but you can get down pressure when you want it by dumping the SSQA plate.


gg

Wow, I guess I had never seen your setup before, Gordon. I like that a lot, looks like a good solution to every issue I've had with my plow setup, which are:
-Long overall length
-Plow pushes the tractor sideways when winging wet snow
-Lack of down pressure

Thanks for sharing, looks like I have some fabrication to do this offseason because I really like that, well thought out.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Wow, I guess I had never seen your setup before, Gordon. I like that a lot, looks like a good solution to every issue I've had with my plow setup, which are:
-Long overall length
-Plow pushes the tractor sideways when winging wet snow
-Lack of down pressure

Thanks for sharing, looks like I have some fabrication to do this offseason because I really like that, well thought out.

Thank you Walt - but I can't take credit for the idea. It is just my rendition of the idea

Wow, I guess I had never seen your setup before, Gordon. I like that a lot, looks like a good solution to every issue I've had with my plow setup, which are:
-Long overall length
-Plow pushes the tractor sideways when winging wet snow
-Lack of down pressure

Thanks for sharing, looks like I have some fabrication to do this offseason because I really like that, well thought out.

Thankyou Walt - but I can't take any credit for the idea. The plow is just my rendition of the idea that I saw posted here on TBN by TractoNH. It is a little more complicated to build though. And while operating it is best to have a way to set/check your plow frame for flatness or level with the road surface from the seat. Like any plow if the plow frame is not flat the corners of the cutting edge will dig in when you angle. I use my bucket level indicator to set the SSQA plate angle and a FEL height indicator stuck on with magnets, Chims genius idea, to set the frame height. I need these because I do a lot of stacking snow and need to be able to get set level again before plowing an other stretch.

gg

 

[Loaderator]

I have an older tractor and loader with a limited budget. I'm big into DIY for obvious reasons. I modified a box blade to fit my quick tatch modified 47 loader. The back blade offered unexpected benefits that I mostly appreciated after I started using it. In float it is less agressive when it's tipped back on the rear cutting edge and more agressive (on ice and hard packed snow) when tipped forward on the front cutting edge. In a worst case situation I can use the scarifier teeth to tear up the really serious ice buildups (with obvious cautions and limits). Beats the snot out of the buckets and the snow blower I actually quit using in favor of this. It's drawback was the width (5'6 on a tractor that is just over 6') but with chains on the tractor it never really was all that problematic. The teeth are especially effective when the piles need to be moved/pushed somewhere else. I am currently running a JD 444J wheel loader for a landscaping firm, and sometimes I wish had a slightly heavier equivalent on it when I'm moving old piles that are impeding traffic flows.
I designed the conversion mount to be easily removed by pulling the two lower arm pins so if needed I could put it back on the 3 point. I'm looking at finding a wider one at some future time and if my design is as versatle as I think, I can put the larger blade on the frame and not have to refabricate anything.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Welcome to TBN Loaderator. That's a neat idea for all the reasons you mentioned

gg

 

[Oaktree]

A few pics of my snow plow setup. It's pretty simple, an 8' Fisher straight blade (pickup truck plow) attached to a Titan SSQA-to-3PH conversion plate. I installed Cat 1 pins in the plows' a-frame where it previously attached to the headgear, then attached the lift chain to the top link attachment point. W.R. Long 3rd Function valve powers the angle cylinders.

It would seem to me that this could put quite a strain on the loader arms with the plow so far out in front, not to mention difficulty maneuvering in tight places.