Snowblower-Front or rear?

KennedyDiesel · Feb 21, 2008

Looking to add a snowblower to my 3720. I have occasional need to clear paths (poop trails) in pasture etc. The loader can only do so much. A Vee plow would help, but I'm thinking a blower would be best. The front mount would be best, but I would like to keep the loader on as I use it a lot. A rear mount is highly effective, but I don't know how much my neck can take, and the rear mount drive fwd ones aren't really built for running through drifts of 2-3'.

I haven't looked into what a skid steer unit costs or how much hydraulic flow it takes, but that is definitely a consideration as i have the skid steer attach on my loader...

RWEST · Feb 21, 2008

I have a rear mounted blower on my 955. I like the arrangement, although the ol' neck does get a bit tired after a few hours, but, still, having that loader bucket on the front is a nice thing. If we were owls, it'd be a piece of cake.

Both my brothers went to front mount blowers on their 755's, citing neck issues.

turbo36 · Feb 21, 2008

If you have short straight pulls the the rear blower isn't so bad but if you have a lot of turns then it really is a "pain in the neck".
It's amazing how much damage the bucket can do when you swing the tractor while backing up and forget it's there.
I have the 59" front blower on my tractor and really like it ( the heated cab and stereo help) The tractor has so much power you can "push" snow with the blower and the Rpm's hardly drop.

JCB · Feb 21, 2008

KD,

I've been using a front blower on a 2210 most of the winter here in southern Wisconsin, and as you know we've been getting hammered. Having been a loader with rear blade guy for a couple years, I can testify that the front blower is much much better.

I don't have the HP with the 2210 to go as fast as I could with the rear blade, but the blower still does a better, quicker job. One pass and the snow is just gone, you never have to move it again. You don't get the piles you get with a loader, and you don't have to spend the time that it takes to move snow with a loader.

The front mount blower is awesome, but it does have some disadvantages.

1. Swithcing between blower and loader is a PITA. It still only takes 5 minutes, but you've got pto shafts, hoses and pins. It's not something you do just for fun.

2. Like the loader, the blower blocks the headlights, so at night you get a real good view of the blower and not much else.

3. Maintenance. When you've got your gloves off because you've just run over the dog's chain you realize that the chain wouldn't have gotten knotted up in a plow blade.

4. Occasionally you will get covered in snow and cold!

Even with those considerations, the blower is still the best way to go. I've got about a 600 ft driveway. It takes about 4 passes going slow or fast depending on the accumulation, plus misc. cleanup I wouldn't want to do the driveway going backwards. If you've got long straight runs, go with a front blower. If you're moving snow in smaller areas (like cleanup) where you can reposition you're neck and back more often, then I think the rear blower is a pretty good compromise.

Joe

Dutch445 · Feb 21, 2008

KD,
I don't think you will find many Skid Steer Hydraulic units
that will run off your tractor hydraulics.
There is a company, MB BROOM that is making a hydraulic
unit for loader mount, and it uses a PTO pump and separate
hydraulic system (tank on 3ph), but I am not so sure this
is an economical way to go. I believe that setup would run
close to $10K by the time it was all said and done.

You could put the 47 blower on the front of your 455 if you
wanted I suppose. They work very well. run about $3K.

If you want more info on the MB BRoom unit, let me know
and I can get you some pictures of one that was installed at
one of our remote locations.

KennedyDiesel · Feb 21, 2008

I guess I should have been more clear on a couple of things. The 45 has a 47" blower, I just don't use it because it's such a small machine.

I have a Prince 21gpm PTO pump and may do the skid steer blower thing on the loader for easy on/off. Just need to build a reservoir for my Imatch.

This year I went to a Boss 9'2" XT on my truck so I am inside, warm, and done quickly. It's just the pasture thing that gets me and possibly mega-drifts that I can't buck through safely with the plow.

One other neat thing is no shear pins! I'd bet a guy could probably tune the auger speed also...

Skid Steer Attachments - Erskine Attachments, Inc.

jdl · Feb 21, 2008

KennedyDiesel said:
and the rear mount drive fwd ones aren't really built for running through drifts of 2-3'...

I routinely run through drifts like that with my rear mount with no trouble, I just slow down a little and let it chew it's way through.

thewizard · Feb 21, 2008

kd, it is always recommended that the reservoir be located near the hydraulic motors on the implement for cooling purposes. So putting the resevoir on the Imatch is not recommended. I would find an area in which it can be bolted and easily removed low on the frame.

bx24 · Feb 21, 2008

I am sure The Wizard brings up a good point, but I have to believe in the winter time (below 32 degrees) using a larger return hose, this would not be too big of a concern

(but I am wrong on lots of things!)

hideaway44 · Feb 21, 2008

I run a 72" Puma rear mount snowblower on my JD 3320. I have about 600' of driveway to move snow from, all but 100' is paved, the rest is 1 1/2" crushed stone. We are having a winter here in Maine this year with snow fall now over 100"

in my area. In addition we have had several recent storms with 8" to 10" of snow then rain

. Two areas of my driveway, one at the entrance, the other at the left of my garage routinely need banks pushed back. Since mid Janaury the banks are high enough that every strom I need to push the snow back, especially at the entrance of the driveway as was are at the end of the road and the plow really piles it up. I my case I would have to drop the blower everytime we had snow to put the loader on. It is really nice just to swing the tractor around and push the snow, or back up and blow. Plus, when you get that extermely heavy snow that is total satuated with water, the loader can be a real help. Right now I have banks at over 10' were I have pushed the snow out of the way with the loader.

As I see it, the decision is based on your particular need. If you can easily handle all snow removal with a blower, go with the front mount. If a loader is a part of your removal sitiuation, go with the rear mount. Backing up isn't a big deal for me, I am use to it. With either front or rear, you will still need to back up, just turning around more with the rear mount. The PUMA is one tough blower, and has handled everything that has been thrown at it. By the way, another 5 to 8" is coming tomorrow. Will need to get things ready. Good luck with your decision. Either way is far better than the alternative of shoveling or a walk behind blower

.

KennedyDiesel · Feb 21, 2008

thewizard said:
kd, it is always recommended that the reservoir be located near the hydraulic motors on the implement for cooling purposes. So putting the resevoir on the Imatch is not recommended. I would find an area in which it can be bolted and easily removed low on the frame.

That doesn't seem to make sense to me. It should not matter where the reservoir is located, but maybe close to the pump for minimum suction line length.

I'm going to look at teh 3ph units too as maybe for the limited use I'd get from it this would be fine.

smfcpacfp · Feb 21, 2008

I have the front blower on my rig and it is great, but I don't need the FEL in the winter, plus I have to spend a fair amount of time snow blowing. It is a bit of a hassle to change to the FEL. I would get the rear blower if it just an occasional thing.

andmfg · Feb 21, 2008

My neighbor has a front mounted blower and the rear blade. In my opinion the disadvantages of this arrangement far outweigh any advantages. His biggest complaint is the half day required to hookup or remove the front mounted blower. The next problem is the fact that the rear blade has no downforce which is needed to remove compacted snow. The last problem is the loss of the FEL to move snow or drag the snow back on to the path to be blown away. I have a 4410 with the Lorenz 60 inch rear blower and a front end loader. In the winter I put on a Curtis fiberglas sunroof which has clear vinyl attached to both sides and the back. The bottom edge of the vinyl has a pouch into which a 3/8" long chain is placed to stabilize it. This partial enclosure and the hydraulic operated shoot on the blower takes care of 95% of the snow that can be blown back at the operator. It is almost as good as a cab which would be problem for me in the summer mowing around all my trees.

turbo36 · Feb 22, 2008

andmfg said:
My neighbor has a front mounted blower and the rear blade. In my opinion the disadvantages of this arrangement far outweigh any advantages. His biggest complaint is the half day required to hookup or remove the front mounted blower. The next problem is the fact that the rear blade has no down force which is needed to remove compacted snow. The last problem is the loss of the FEL to move snow or drag the snow back on to the path to be blown away. I have a 4410 with the Lorenz 60 inch rear blower and a front end loader. In the winter I put on a Curtis fiberglas sunroof which has clear vinyl attached to both sides and the back. The bottom edge of the vinyl has a pouch into which a 3/8" long chain is placed to stabilize it. This partial enclosure and the hydraulic operated shoot on the blower takes care of 95% of the snow that can be blown back at the operator. It is almost as good as a cab which would be problem for me in the summer mowing around all my trees.

I have used the front blower/rear plow set up for 14 years and found it to be faster then my neighbor's set up with the rear blower/ front loader. I can switch out the blower to the loader in 15-20 minutes and have never had a problem getting enough down force on the rear blade ( I did make a bracket to add suitcase weights but have never needed them).
Back when I was snowcross racing I used my 955 with front blower to build a track in the side yard that had an 8' high table top jump, I had no problem cutting the 4-5' banks and throwing the snow 40'. No need for a loader in my opinion.

dsb5610 · Feb 22, 2008

KennedyDiesel,

I use a skid steer style blower on a Toolcat (18gpm @ 3000psi). I have a 66" Bobcat unit. These blowers are usually more expensive but work very well. Assuming your hydraulics lines from the pump would allow it you can operate the blower at any loader height. Raise the blower in the air to blow back snow banks. For the pasture runs I would raise the blower enough to miss any frozen manure patties.

Switching between the blower and other attachments only takes a minute or two and is very easy to do. I switch back and forth regularly.

Good luck,
dsb

KennedyDiesel · Feb 22, 2008

Thanks guys

On teh subject or rear blade down pressure, doesn't the front hitch allow down pressure on the blower/blade like the hitches on the Garden tractors? This scrapes very well on my 455, but again it's a bit small for my liking.

turbo36 · Feb 22, 2008

KennedyDiesel said:
Thanks guys

On teh subject or rear blade down pressure, doesn't the front hitch allow down pressure on the blower/blade like the hitches on the Garden tractors? This scrapes very well on my 455, but again it's a bit small for my liking.

Yes, you can float the blower or use down force. If you use too much down force you can lift the front wheels off the ground.