Front snow blade, worried about tractor damage

[searcyfarms]

i will just say if you are worried about tearing up your tractor you probably shouldn't have one - if you don't have reason/logic/general common sense of how much you can push and the sense to realize how much slamming and ramming something will take and are getting runs at things that cause you to come to a screeching halt, something is going to break sooner or later. Stressing your machine will net you shorter life and $$$/repairs.

there is a lot of difference in hitting a tree stump than a pile of snow, there is a difference in wallowing through mud and driving over bounders, I'm not trying to be a jerk here but that are a lot of variables in snow blades and the apparatus in how they mount to the tractor/bucket/springloaded trip, where you are blading/grading, type of blade, angle, metal strength, plastic, type of plow etc...........i could go on and on, i would stick with conservative. I use my loader bucket, i push snow with it so i don't gouge gravel, leave a little skiff of snow on my gravel and don't fill my yard full, if i need to move lots snow i use my skid steer or bigger tractor, don't overuse what you have and tear it up. Ask me how i know ;-) The D10 is a great idea someone wrote as u wont likely tear it up and you can move the entire drive and tear out the road in one failed swoop. The bigger you get the more challenging it will be to use, push/navigate, I was pushing snow today.............new 2038R, wife comes out to see what i am doing i said HEY you would love doing this I can go cut firewood. Showed her how to set the bucket to not get gravel in it and BOOM I'm cutting firewood and on the skidsteer working logs. My wife loved it, she loves cutting the grass on it too...........you don't have to have am 8 foot snow blade, or 7 foot, we have a 150 yd drive and 80x125 drive area to clean and we had a fresh foot of heavy wet snow to move. Even moved out around log pile and log splitter. Just use it conservatively, and you wont have to worry.

 

[Ken Kegris]

You need a blade thats wide enough to clear the tire when angled, Also by having the plow on the tractor it shorten the length up quite a bit. I have a standard shift and a hydro works much better for using the bucket, so the direct attachment to the tractor seems like a better deal I have not used the bucket in years. The last that was used was at butchering time to lift a pig. Its 14 years old and like new.

 

[PILOON]

I'll add another caution.
When plowing with an angled blade you often will need to crab the front wheels to offset the effect of the loaded blade.
Crabbing can pay he11 with your front rims and the attachments. Torque those bolts often!
Also keep checking the tire pressure from time to time as that crabbing can easily de rim a tire if too soft.
I have known crabbing to drive debris into the rim seal edge and causing leaks in tubeless setups as well.

 

[Ken Kegris]

I never seemed to have that much of a problem I just raise the plow enough to put weight on the front end. We only get 12 inch snow fall here in central PA and I will plow during the storm so its not so bad we get 24 inches about every 10 years or so.

 

[Fallon]

Ya, with my current solid mount blade steering either works or it doesnt. If I'm plowing it's a fine line from going straight & steering working to steering not working at all. When that happens I just lift the plow a bit until I can steer again.