Snow SECRETS TO USING A SNOW BLADE

[Nature Girl]

Love the home brew ballast barrel (thinks that's a good name ) and it sure looks practical and like it meets the need in a multitude of ways. Have you offered them for sale on here?

I will have my tires filled too and the salesmen said I do not need more weight in the back. The loader comes in from Texas next week.

When do I need more weight in the back? I have a grapple and will clearing a ton of brush and trees. We haul logs from the woods for hand hewing beams and making log homes and I'm sure that the loader will be heavily used.

Here are a few images of the jobs ahead. Plenty of trails to create on the Southern hillside now covered in scrudge and trees. Want to add grapes too.

 

[Chilly807]

Or..

12. Rear Blade- Max cutting width- mm (in) 1829 (72)

Not sure why they derate the snow blade width, unless they consider the extra height to be a factor for load.

The 3 pt attachment width should be fairly standard within an inch or two as long as you stay with Cat. 1 implements. Cat. 2 may be wider. You have a Cat. 1 hitch, anyway.

You may want to keep an eye out for a log winch if you're doing any amount of log hauling. I hope your budget has less holes in it than mine, because it gets expensive in a hurry for most of us.

About the only new implements I've bought for the 3400 was the rotary cutter and the loader, all the rest have been used. Well used in some cases, but some basic fab and mechanical skills and a welder cured a host of ills.

I think you'll find loading the tires helps a lot for stability with the loader, especially with the extra volume in the R4's. Snow is really no challenge for lift capacity with the 3400/3700, but learn to carry the bucket as low as possible until you're ready to dump it, then be as level as possible side-to-side.

Gravel and soil is heavy, I've had to shake a bit off a full bucket before the loader would lift it. Even with loaded R1's in the back, they get light when traveling, especially downhill. Like the guys have said, if you're using the loader at all, especially up and downhill, leave it in 4wd. You only have actual brakes on the rear wheels while in 2wd, and if they're skimming the ground you have NO brakes. I've done that before, it's not good..

However, when in 4wd, the front and rear wheels are locked together through the driveshafts, so you have braking power available at all 4 wheels.

Sean

 

[k0ua]

Gravel and soil is heavy, I've had to shake a bit off a full bucket before the loader would lift it. Even with loaded R1's in the back, they get light when traveling, especially downhill. Like the guys have said, if you're using the loader at all, especially up and downhill, leave it in 4wd. You only have actual brakes on the rear wheels while in 2wd, and if they're skimming the ground you have NO brakes. I've done that before, it's not good..

Mine will lift a heaped bucket of Crusher run 0- 3/4 inch gravel but I highly recomend both loaded tires and a good ballast of some kind on the rear. You will feel so much less afraid. Been there and done that on the 2 wheel drive going down hill, with a full load on the old B7500 I used to have, with it in 2nd gear, the engine braking was too much for the load and the rear tires become unstuck and this was on PAVEMENT (with some winter gravel on top), of course no point touching the brakes as the rear wheels were sliding already. As I had straight road I just let it go until the tires caught again.

I made the ballast Barrel for this tractor (L3400) but it took some work with cutting and welding. I hadnt thought about trying to sell them.

James K0UA

 

[kattywumpus]

Hi Nature Girl,
Just a thought for the future if you move a lot of snow you may want to purchase a QA (Quick Attach) snow plow for your FEL. I started plowing snow with the same rear scraper blade you have, but about a month ago I purchase a QA snow plow from CID. What a different! I can move so much more snow and faster then with the rear blade. I find I don't need the bucket because I can push the snow up the piles with the QA snow plow. I would have love a 3-point hitch snow blower but their so expensive, even the used ones. The CID snow plow was much more in my budget. Here a video of the plow in use YouTube - CID 96" RollTop Snow Plow in Use. Keep in mind the plow I received is 38" high. Try moving that much snow in one pass with a rear scraper blade. I will still use the rear blade for other tasks.