Snow pusher

[goblism]

I am curious what people's thoughts are on different styles of snow pushers. I have ~4000 sq ft of concrete pad in front of the house as well as a 250'x12' driveway to clear. Ihave a massey 1760m tractor. Looking into different options such as a standard metal snow pusher and a track based pusher. Mostly looking for the best option for light snows (0-5") and have a 6' blower for anything heavier/cleaning up where the snow will be pushed when it gets piled up.

Mostly looking to avoid roughing up the driveway which is why a track based pusher has caught my eye as it would be rubber contact on the driveway. Price on each style isn't too far off but looks like a pull back is easier to add on a metal pusher style to clean up around buildings.

I have also considered a front blade but don't have 3rd function (yet anyway) and think a pusher would likely handle the 3-5" snows a lot better than a blade.

 

[George2615]

I got a pusher when I bought my tractor. (was part of the deal) Pushers work great on parking lots or anyplace where a straight line push is needed. I added a pull back blade to get up close and it worked great. However, once the pusher gets full of snow it makes turning very hard even with chains on all 4 tires. You can get a rubber blade instead of steel for the pusher though a steel edge doesn't really do any damage to blacktop or concrete. We used a 16' pusher at work for clearing lots but on a much heavier machine. I used mine for one season then sold it. My driveway had too many curves plus it was a gravel drive.
The next summer I built a quick attach plow out of an old 7 1/2' truck plow and have used that since. I ran hoses from one of my rear remotes to the front to angle the blade.

 

[farmeratheart]

For plowing the size area you have a snow pusher would be ideal. However, your tractor at 60hp should easily push a 8’ or even 10’ blade. Equipped with a rubber edge or poly edge it wouldn’t mar the surface and would make quick work of 5” snows.

 

[farmeratheart]

I have been accused of overthinking my snow removal equipment for this location. My solution is a 6.5’ plow adapted the jd quick attach loader on my 2520 tractor. A strip of rubber horsestall mat (tsc) and hydraulics off the loader remotes for power angle completed the project. Your tractor should handle a lot more plow! Good luck.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

I am curious what people's thoughts are on different styles of snow pushers. I have ~4000 sq ft of concrete pad in front of the house as well as a 250'x12' driveway to clear. Ihave a massey 1760m tractor. Looking into different options such as a standard metal snow pusher and a track based pusher. Mostly looking for the best option for light snows (0-5") and have a 6' blower for anything heavier/cleaning up where the snow will be pushed when it gets piled up.

Mostly looking to avoid roughing up the driveway which is why a track based pusher has caught my eye as it would be rubber contact on the driveway. Price on each style isn't too far off but looks like a pull back is easier to add on a metal pusher style to clean up around buildings.

I have also considered a front blade but don't have 3rd function (yet anyway) and think a pusher would likely handle the 3-5" snows a lot better than a blade.

My NX6010 (about the same size as yours) tractor would struggle to push a 10' pusher plow because of a lack of weight/traction, but I'm not on concrete and I have hills and more snow up where I'm at. DirtMonkey Stan, a fellow Minnesotan is a big fan of the Arctic pusher plows because the sides pivot allowing good clearing on curbs, low wear on the wings regardless of the plow's angle of attack.

Metalpless VS Arctic! Head to head snowplowing SHOWDOWN 4 k video - YouTube

 

[chim]

That's a nice-sized tractor. I never used a real pusher, but did add side plates to a bucket. It didn't make a big difference.

One of our equipment vendors I rent from at work doesn't have any wheeled skidsteers available all Winter. Snow removal crews take them all and refuse to lease tracked equipment. Makes me think they have experience guiding that decision.

I've used a blower for a few years and it's a lot of fun. The downside for me was using the blower on parking lots. The lots are too wide to toss the snow all the way off. Re-blowing the snow (especially more than once) is really a pain.

Last year I bought a larger tractor and fitted it with an 8' Fisher power blade on a QA plate. It's the "underslung" approach that Gordon Gould and TractorNH used. Love it.

 

[not2old]

I've never used anything other than a bucket on a tractor. What does a pusher do better?

 

[George2615]

I've never used anything other than a bucket on a tractor. What does a pusher do better?

In general, a pusher is wider and taller than a bucket allowing you to move more snow faster.

 

[fatjay]

It contains the snow with the walls on the side so it doesn't spill out of the sides.

 

[snymat68]

Pushers also don't have bottoms, so you don't have to dump out the snow. You just lift the thing and move on.
Also, some have a back-drag option that allows you to curl the pusher forward 90° and pull the snow toward you while still gathering it in the pusher.