Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Snow Plowing with Kubota 72" plow on B3000 Cab (B3030)

[amg280]

Thats weird. i test drove an Lxxxx tractor before buying my Kioti and i dont remember the cab being noisy at all. Must be the difference between the b series and the l series.

My dk45 is nice and quiet inside...cept for my radio

I believe the L series is held to a higher standard. But you will pay the price for a similarly equipped unit.

I think all these little 'annoyances' can be taken care of by the owner with a little patience and time (two things I dont have). Sometimes I get some clear NAPA brand silicone and spray the lever slides and around the plastic guides on both sides. That seems to work good. But there is one noise coming from the floor, sounds directly inside the console under the steering column. I think its hydraulic based, because it makes it throughout RPM range (changes pitch) and when your completely stationary. Ive tried everything to find what it was. Nothing. The original B3000 I test drove did the same thing. I thought it was just a fluke. The kubota mechanic looked at it, heard it, and acknowledged it. His answer: "turn up the radio".

Andy

 

[mazy]

This is my first time on and I am enjoying the Q & A to help me better understand my own tractor. I have a Kubota L5740 which is a 59 HP with a quick attach loader. My family has recently moved to a new home with a longer driveway and I am contemplating buying a snow plow. At our old house we had a shorter driveway that was no problem for the bucket to move snow out of the way, but I am thinking a plow will be better for longer driveway in terms of saving time. I am looking for advice on whether to get a frame mount plow and remove the loader during snow season or whether to just get a quick attach plow and use the loader. I am reading and hearing about the possibility of bending the loader arms using the quick attach plow, but am also someone who takes care of his equipment and uses it carefully. Do I really need to worry about bending the loader arms??? Is there any way that I can stabilize the arms so that they function more like a skid steer and can absorb more force? Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[srs]

I find it strange that you have to have the ac compressor on in heat mode to keep the windows from fogging. They fog up quick. I keep in on fresh air mode too. Dont know why they fog up so easy. I do notice when its really cold, the ac compressor doesnt kick on at all. Hope the windows dont fog then. Like Roy said, we get some pretty nasty and frequent heavy snows here. Going out every few hours isnt a bad idea during a storm.

Andy, I usually keep the rear flip out windows open to help with the window fogging, also put the a/c on (heat mode) to keep the windows fog free. And like Roy said going out frequently to move the snow is a great idea. Being in a cabbed tractor you don't have to worry about freezing your butt off either.

Should I get my rear tires loaded? I wanted to avoid this since this will be doing mowing duty in the summer, quite a bit, unless my father plants some crops this spring.

I have turf tires which I feel are great in the snow. They are filled and they work for me. I also have a belly mower.

I do believe if I get rear chains, I might need a spacer kit. Tolerances are pretty tight back there.

I'm positive you will need spacers for the rear as the clearance for chains is not there. There was a discussion on TBN regarding cable chains being used without spacers but it never went very far.

Im looking forward with snow removal this year with a cab. I froze my ***** off last year

Freezing your *** off is a thing of the past!

One last thing in this already overly long post, has any of you with a B cab tractor noticed how squeeky and noisy they are? The hydraulic whine is ear peircing and the plastic on the left and right that house the levers, holy crap im about to just remove them. Actually, I was going to remove them and put some felt where they come into contact with the metal frame, then tighten them back down. Does anyone know if the plastic sheething on the valve levers (under the handle) is supposed to come off, or stay? Thats a significant point of noise as well. Maybe im nit-picking, I will be warm at least. But for the price I expected slightly more. Like all the switch gear....they arent back lit in the dark. But if you take a switch out, they have little bulbs in them and extra pins for it. seems like Kubota took a shortcut there.

My 3030 is a great tractor as I'm sure yours is but the transmission whine is the biggest complaint about this machine, mine included. It's worse when mowing too. According to Neil Messick, who is part of a large Kubota dealership in PA stated the new B3350 is much quieter. Unfortunately the new 3350 will have the Tier IV engine with all the emission BS added. They will be out in the spring of 2013 so time will tell how much quieter they are. Maybe we can see how they "insulated" the 3350 to see if it helps anyone who has the 3030/3000. As far as the squeaky plastic I ended up putting black electrical tape on the bottom of the plastic where it meets the metal. Squeak disappeared.

I have a hard rubber squeegee that I got used from a contact at a county roads facility they had used and were going to discard. No worry about scraping the driveway but doesn't cut real hard icy stuff as it usually just floats over it. But overall works great. Good luck. Stanley

 

[srs]

Thats weird. i test drove an Lxxxx tractor before buying my Kioti and i dont remember the cab being noisy at all. Must be the difference between the b series and the l series.

My dk45 is nice and quiet inside...cept for my radio

grsthegreat, the L series tractor is SUBSTANTIALLY quieter then the B series. Nice and QUIET does not apply to the B!

 

[RFB]

Mazy,

I plow snow extensively in a wide range of terrain and snow conditions. I started with an L5030HSTC and now use an L5740HSTC.

I operate a 90" power angle Curtis FEL snow blade, and on the back either a "Big Rhino" 84" rear blade, or an 84" Loftness snowblower.

All tires are "H" chained, the rears are loaded with Bio-Tire and I also have wheel weights attached.

1. Ensure that your front blade is a "trip" style system, and if you opt for the hydraulic power angle (third function circuit) ensure that the blade hydro system has a dedicated relief valve.

2. It is not a bulldozer; ensure that you know what and where you are plowing. Fast can become very slow if you must repair damage. Smooth and careful is fast.

3. Push as far back as possible at the beginning of your season; one can quickly exhaust the area for further snow placement.

4. FEL blades work very well for high stacking snow.

5. Delaware is not know for very much snow, so I doubt if you would be even close to taxing the capabilities of the 5740/LA854FEL.

6. In 7 years with this configuration I cannot think that I would change anything and have sustained zero damage.

 

[High Compression]

RFB hit the nail on the head! L5740 does a fine job. I use a 9' angle plow or an 8' snow pusher (depending on the lot and conditions) with my L5740 and have had no problems. I loved my B3030 for getting in tight spots. It had the 60" angle blade on the sub-frame. Even my BX2660 was quite impressive with it's 60" angle blade on the sub-frame. One time it pushed through a drift as tall as it's hood. :thumbsup:
As far as cabs are concerned, the B3030 cab was warm, but not tight at all, very noisy compared to my L5740. The B3000 is supposed to be a little tighter cab and I hear there is a new 2013 B3050,(I think is going to be the designation)or B50 series anyway. It is supposed to have a whole new cab design that is as good as the L.

 

[mazy]

Thanks for the feedback. Your right in that we don't get tons of snow here, but there are usually a couple bigger storms each winter that may drop 10 to 12 inches that need to be cleared. We recently moved and have a longer driveway at our new house. At the old house just using the 72 in. bucket was sufficient to clear a relatively short driveway and an area by a garage and barn. The new driveway is about 500 feet and its close to 14 feet wide. We just had a light snow this past weekend...3 inches or so and even at that small accumulation, it took a bit of time to clear the whole thing with the bucket. Parts of the driveway are shaded and uphill so it's important to clear it early before vehicle traffic packs the snow hard. I talked to dealers of by Myers and Boss plows and thinking of going with Boss 90 inch. The dealer mentioned that the 8ft plow tended to give compact tractor operators a little trouble with it's width as well as weight and that the 90 inch was just a little easier to habdle and maneuver. Not having to remove the loader to use a frame mount plow is important to me as I seem to be regularly interchanging the loader and pallet forks all year long depending on various projects. I tend to be mindful of the capabilities of the machine when I do use it, so have no intention of trying to use the plow to move dirt and anything but snow. I am guessing that some of the posts regarding bent loader arms are from operators who attempted to use the tractor like a bull-dozer!

 

[mazy]

P.S. Judging by the picture of your L5740, it looks like you are using a 9 foot plow? How does that handle?