Snow moving. Not as easy as I thought

[Stomper]

This is the first winter with my new tractor and I thought with the bucket and 3 point snow blower, moving snow around my yard was going to be a lot easier than with my quad. I thought wrong. I actually got out the quad and blade out to finish it off. Needless to say I am extremely disappointed. This was a 6 snow fall and it needed removing. The first few snows this year I just packed to get a good frozen base over the gravel driveway. So It was frustrating when the bucket would penetrate through the frozen layer and dig up the gravel underneath, even while in the float position. I tried adjusting the angle of the cutting edge but it either dug in or left to much snow. The rear mounted snow blower was a completely different ballgame. Let me just start of say that driving backwards with a bad back really sucks and is not fun at all. Not to mention even the slightest bit of wind completely covered me in snow. I had the skid pads adjusted fairly low and then adjusted my top link to give me the desired space between the blower cutting edge and the hard pack. There was a really fine line between to much space and not enough. I was either shooting rocks or leaving to much snow behind. I think that the blower would work better with deeper snow and paved driveway. We seldom get a bigger dump that 6 at a time. My quad blade does a much better job than my tractor. At least right now. I am thinking of making some skids for my bucket that are angled up at the front and back to help float it better if the cutting edge is not at the perfect angle. As far as the snow blower goes, nothing will fix the driving backwards other than converting it to a front mount unit but that痴 more work than what it痴 worth. Personally I think the ultimate set up would be a dozer type blade that can be angled via the third function, for clearing the snow and the bucket for removing the plow row when it gets to big. What experiences have you guys had to deal with this type of issues

 

[motownbrowne]

If you seldom get more than 6" at a time, a back blade would be a cheap snow tool to try out. That's what I use to do snow removal. Also, we don't know the total you get in a year, which makes some difference. The advantage of the blower is that it doesn't leave banks on the edges which will fill with drifted snow if you have enough snow around, and get wind. I'd suggest buying a used back blade. It doesn't need to be a nice heavy duty one, even a light duty one will move snow without any problems. You can use them either driving forward or backward. For amounts under 6" I pretty much always use mine angled off to the side, and driven forward. It's nice not having to look over your shoulder constantly like when you're driving backwards. A used one should be in the $300-500 range, and you can always sell it if you don't like it.

Edited to add: a subframe mounted front blade would be super awesome. That or a front blower, but both of those options require removing the loader, and they're both gonna be a few grand to purchase. The back blade is cheap to try, and if you want to get fancy, you could set it up to angle hydraulically. Still not as good, but a pretty capable setup for the money.

 

[mikeman1]

dont have them...but these may help.
Edge Tamer - Move Snow With Your Tractor Loader Bucket – R2 Manufacturing

 

[s219]

I really think it's somewhat of a myth that the front loader bucket in float is a good snow removal tool. Maybe better than nothing at all, but in my experience it's a poor way to clear snow. You will get slightly improved results if you put a pipe over the cutting edge, but the main trick is adjusting the bucket angle with curl so that the heel of the bucket slides on the snow and the front edge (pipe or not) scrapes 1-2" above the surface.

If you have a really big heavy bucket, it may simply have too much weight to be floating and you will have a hard time. My front bucket is heavy enough to back-drag crusher run gravel in float and get it spread smooth, so it's no wonder it's not real cooperative in snow.

For me, once I changed to a rear blade (also with pipe over the cutting edge), it was about a zillion times better than using the front bucket. Up to about 10", I can make a pass down each side of my driveway and I'm done. I normally don'y disturb the gravel at all.

 

[Threepoint]

How did you slit the pipe lengthwise?

 

[RNeumann]

This seems to come up every year. Float is fine for areas where the ground is frozen all winter. If you use the bucket get the edge tamers as referenced above. If the ground doesn’t stay frozen you are going to bury the bucket or whatever blade you have in the FEL float mode. In that case the blades that hinge and hang from a chain or similar is the ticket. The only down force is the weight of the blade.
Sounds like you don’t get enough snow to warrant the blower- but I may be wrong on that part??

 

[s219]

How did you slit the pipe lengthwise?

For my rear blade it just sits below the cutting edge and doesn't need a slit. You can use a plasma cutter to slit the pipe if you want to slip it over the cutting edge. Welding shop can do it if you don't have a plasma cutter. In earlier versions I used PVC pipe and slit that on a table saw, but it wore out too fast.

 

[radioman]

you need to pack down the snow so it turns into ice. the first few snow falls i would back drag leaving at least couple inches of snow on the ground. it will take a few sunny days to melt that snow into ice then freeze overnight. if the temps go above 30's.. chances are the ground is thawed out and you have to be careful again. seriously -- its going to take you a few winters to master the bucket alone. o just use my snowplow instead on my tractor. bucket is too narrow and doesnt really clean up fluffy stuff. if it the wet and heavy maybe the bucket is better choice.

 

[gary49]

I guess you're wanting the "good frozen base over the gravel" to keep the equipment from removing the gravel? A layer of ice is the last thing I'd want on my driveway, but the I live on the side of a mountain and my tractor is old and heavy and two wheel drive. You haven't lived unless you've had a tractor run away downhill on ice. I agree, though, that a back blade is worth a try. 6" should be no problem, I actually try to leave a little snow with gravel mixed in for traction and let the sun finish the job. I don't have anything on the blade to keep it from digging in. Practice and having a smooth driveway to start with helps.

 

[k0ua]

How did you slit the pipe lengthwise?

Mark with chalkline, and cut with handheld jigsaw with metal cutting blade. Make sure the stroke is short enough to not hit the bottom. Pry apart with a couple of screwdrivers if need be to get it slipped on the blade.

 

[Stomper]

Mikeman1: those are exactly what I was talking about. Thanks

Motownbrown: never thought of a back blade. It could be us d forward or backwards.

The ground stays frozen all winter around here. I live in the Canadian north country. Problem is I have a loose gravel driveway and if it isnt saturated from rain before it freezes it stays loose. I think I will explore a front and/ or back blade

 

[mikeman1]

by me my gravel driveway pretty much stays frozen from mid dec to end of march. this will be my first year with the tractor. i have a 7 ft rear blade as well with hydraulic angle and the tractor is 6ft wide so when i angle it will still cover most of the tires.

 

[RNeumann]

Mikeman1: those are exactly what I was talking about. Thanks

Motownbrown: never thought of a back blade. It could be us d forward or backwards.

The ground stays frozen all winter around here. I live in the Canadian north country. Problem is I have a loose gravel driveway and if it isnt saturated from rain before it freezes it stays loose. I think I will explore a front and/ or back blade

I’m not that far north- I’m in North Idaho- but I do have the gravel driveway. I am able to float my front blade with shoes once the ground freezes. Until then I have to use my box blade to pack things down. Between the box and the front blade I feel blessed. I can handle the snow in the winter and can keep the driveway in great shape when is summer. Plus the box rippers are great if I need to scrape the ice.
I’m up the side of a hill so I have plenty of places to get rid of the snow so I don’t need the blower.

 

[Looking4new]

I used my bucket to clear snow last winter and didn't have any problems with the teeth digging in. BUT I made sure the gravel was frozen before I even thought of using the bucket. I used the back blade to pack it down, first. My driveway is fairly flat so I don't have to worry about hills and suck.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Wow, you are way up north! Denare Beach - Wikipedia

I used a setup with just a loader bucket and rear blade to clear snow from a 900' driveway for 8 years. The rear blade was quite effective for 3-6" snows like you're describing, but most years they melted every 1-2 weeks so ridges didn't build up. In the 2013-14 winter there was no melting and tons of drifting, and by end of January my driveway was closing in. I ended up having to push snow with the loader bucket, which wasn't ideal as you've found out. Only good news was that my gravel drive was hard frozen by that point, so usually I had no issues of the bucket digging in. (Bad news was that I had to push snow up to 400' at times, to reach a turn or stop, because the height of driveway above surrounding land prevented me from pushing it off the sides at all!)

I think a rear blade would be OK depending on your snow drifting. A front blade would be more convenient and cost only a little more, might be worth a look. You could also consider a snow pusher instead of a front blade, depending on the size and shape of your driveway.

 

[Garandman]

It was frustrating when the bucket would penetrate through the frozen layer and dig up the gravel underneath, even while in the float position. I tried adjusting the angle of the cutting edge but it either dug in or left to much snow

Edge Tamers make all the difference.

Edge Tamer - Move Snow With Your Tractor Loader Bucket – R2 Manufacturing

 

[RjCorazza]

Get the loader bucket remotely level and the edge tamers mentioned avove will work very well. I bought a set last year for other loader tasks.
When my driveway was gravel I used a rear blade backwards, which works ok. My ultimate solution was 600 feet of pavement.

 

[blackd]

I've tried them all and you already know the best solution, a front snow blade. Build one. Buy one, but get a front blade for the tractor. It will move more snow than the ATV, and won't mess with your back (at least near as much), as hanging anything on the back. Keep the FEL handy to move any piles later as/if they build up enough to be problem.

 

[RoyJackson]

I've got to agree with Stomper (the OP) on this.
For the nuisance snows (6" or less), my Gator with an Eagle plow did better than the tractor and snow blower...took less time too.
I've had tractors long enough to know a bucket isn't the best method...but if it's the only thing you've got...that's what you use.

Wet snow...heavy enough to stop an ATV or UTV...or accumulations >6" or so...that's when a snow blower shines.

Unfortunately, I sold that Eagle plow a couple years ago and, if I go for another plow, it'll be loader mounted to replace the QA bucket. I keep an eye on CL for one...

 

[coralhead]

This is my blade setup.