Snowblower-Front or rear?

[KennedyDiesel]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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 .