Snow pusher

[Thomas]

No doubt about it snow pusher are handy,I like trips springs tho for the protecting loader arms.

 

[snymat68]

They make snow pushers with trip-able edges.

 

[Thomas]

They make snow pushers with trip-able edges.

:thumbsup:

 

[goblism]

I will probably give a front blade a try as a local guy has a converted truck blade with a SSQA plate for the right price.

I didn't put much though into the snow pusher being difficult on a curved driveway. My driveway doesn't have a major curve but enough that a 4-5" snow might accumulate and create some minor difficulties with steering. I do think a snow pusher would be really nice for a the 60ish ft square area near the garages. Might simply get a skidloader track and make a pusher next summer to experiment with.

 

[Timmer92]

We just upgraded our tractor and we added a hydraulic snow blade. The ability to tilt the blade left and right is a game changer. I don't know how we lived without it!

 

[goblism]

How concerned is everyone with torquing the loader arms? I met with the guy on the converted truck blade and he was worried about possible loader arm damage, he was fine with making the sale but talked about a couple of guys he knew that bent the loader arms (and more damage) due to loaders generally not being built to handle side pressure. Needless to say I put the purchase on hold for now.

I would think this concern would be less with a blade that is closer given that there would be less leverage compared to a blade that would stick 3-4+ feet past the quick attach plate.

 

[arrow]

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

and you're not waiting for the bucket to curl to dump the snow already in there. You're just lifting the boom which you need to do anyway no matter what you use.

 

[arrow]

How concerned is everyone with torquing the loader arms? I met with the guy on the converted truck blade and he was worried about possible loader arm damage, he was fine with making the sale but talked about a couple of guys he knew that bent the loader arms (and more damage) due to loaders generally not being built to handle side pressure. Needless to say I put the purchase on hold for now.

I would think this concern would be less with a blade that is closer given that there would be less leverage compared to a blade that would stick 3-4+ feet past the quick attach plate.

You are correct but there is still side torque on a loader arm with a tilted blade on it. There are guys that can break a 6x6 i-beam if given the chance so as usual, it's about common sense. I have a gravel landing and use a pusher type attachment. I like it a lot. In your case, i would not hesitate getting a pusher 7'-8' wide.

 

[not2old]

The oem bucket on my GC2610 is 4' wide. I made my own for plowing snow. It is 6' wide and about 8" taller. Right now, I'd have no place to push the snow if I could't pile it.

 

[Hilbilly]

Every tool has it's place. I have a regular bucket, large capacity snow bucket, 8' snow plow with hydraulic angle, rear blade and 2 rear mount snow blowers. I don't have a snow pusher but made some wings for my plow to contain the snow on longer pushes. This made a huge difference when trying to contain snow for a longer push. What I discovered is that the there are a few major differences between pushing snow and carrying it. A large capacity bucket is great to move snow from one location to another for longer distances and for moving it from one stockpile to another location. But for moving snow shorter distances, for me that is about 150', my modified plow with wings is WAY better for the following reasons; 1) when I push the snow into a pile, I can pile it much higher because I don't have to curl the bucket down to get the snow to fall out of the bucket (my guess is that is about a 4' elevation difference, 2) I don't have to curl the pusher down to unload the snow, I simply push into the pile and back up. This saves a lot of time! and 3) pushing snow into a pile compacts it as it is pushed, instead of end dumping the snow, which leaves it uncompacted. This is also huge because you use less storage space for the same amount of snow.

Here are some pics from the last week showing the piles of snow around my house and outbuildings. The driveway is a whole different animal, requiring different methods. The piles are over 10' high and compacted. When I used the high capacity snow bucket, I immediately noticed that I couldn't pile the snow as high and my storage areas were filling up too fast.