Snow New Snowblower

[ScottW]

dodes, There is a subframe and quick hitch assembly that connect the blower to the tractor. Most people choose to leave the subframe and quick hitch connected to the blower, and take the whole thing off the tractor when you want to disconnect. That gives you normal ground clearance at your front end for doing other things and using your front loader, etc. If you can keep your snowblower inside on a hard floor, see the recent posts about using a dolly to make it real easy to maneuver for connecting to the tractor. I am a new owner too and I did my first connect to the blower outside on semi-rough ground. You have to position the tractor pretty exactly but it wasn't an ordeal or anything. It will get easier with time, and I anticipate doing the connection only once per year. Still, the dolly thing seems pretty nice, and I do have a garage stall available if I kick a car outside and keep the tractor warmer inside . . .

 

[dodes]

ScottW, thanks for the information. It sounds pretty straight forward. Now I'll just have to see if I can swing the extra cost.

 

[DEWFPO]

During the winter I always left the quick hitch on the tractor unless I needed the extra ground clearance but that was never an issue.

DEWFPO

 

[AMCS]

I take the thrower off the quick hitch when I remove it. I keep the thrower in the back of one of my garage bays on moving dollies from HF. I keep the quick hitch on a seperate dolly as its kind of heavy and I'm not as young as I used to be (hernia surgery both sides last June). By sticking the nose of the tractor into the garage it's so easy to roll everything up to the tractor and connect. The only lifting involved is the quick hitch to the frame.

 

[irvingj]

Ditto AMCS, ScottW and DEWFPO; I remove the blower, dropping it onto a dolly, but remove the quick-hitch assembly only if I need the clearance- it does not interfere with FEL operation.

I also put the quick-hitch on another dolly so it can be rolled out of the way when I do remove it.

Removing the blower but not the quick-hitch takes about 3 minutes; removing the quick-hitch (and the driveshaft) takes me about 7 minutes. Very easy, but the dollies help a lot, especially when re-attaching.