Steep snow performance of Toolcat 5600?

   / Steep snow performance of Toolcat 5600?
  • Thread Starter
#11  
So far so good, but the snow thus far has been light, fluffy, and no deeper than ~15".

The real test comes when the snow is wet, settled, and re-frozen.

I'm using 2-link square-link chains, a QuickAttach (Erskine) 2420 73" high-flow blower, and 10 buckets of sand in the bed.

Much thanks to @DEWFPO for suggesting buckets of sand instead of bags, and holding them in-place by setting them on a stall mat.

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   / Steep snow performance of Toolcat 5600? #12  
It looks like you have the 29x12.5-15 turfs on it...what brand chains and maybe part number? Does it still ride fairly smooth with the chains? If the pails of sand are not FULL, it would still be 500-700 lbs of weight?
 
   / Steep snow performance of Toolcat 5600?
  • Thread Starter
#13  
Yes, you're correct that I'm running the 29x12.5-15 turf tires on it.

The chains were custom-made based on the tape-measure measurements of the tires by a chain builder who partners with a local tire shop.

I initially bought Aquiline studded chains (that supposedly fit the turf tires), but the crossbars were too long, and I had to return them.

The ride with the chains on is smooth as long as I'm on snow :)
It's a bumpy ride on dry ground, and they leave track-like marks in gravel, but that isn't an issue with this job site.

The traction thus far has been great.
I'm able to blow snow going down, up, and across the hills.
I was pleasantly surprised I was able to blow ~12" of (fluffy) snow while going up a steep driveway.

That being said, it hasn't been icy yet, just compacted cold snow.
Once it gets icy, I may wish I'd gone with studded chains.
 
   / Steep snow performance of Toolcat 5600?
  • Thread Starter
#14  
I did get it stuck once so far when I dropped a tire off the road into deep snow.

The snow was too deep to back out, but I was able to self-extract by driving forward, down into the deep snow and blowing my way back up to the road.

I did install an electric winch on the receiver hitch as a backup plan, since I'm working alone in a remote area.
 
   / Steep snow performance of Toolcat 5600?
  • Thread Starter
#16  
@ruffdog re. the weight of sand, I estimate it to be 600 - 700 lbs.

The buckets are filled up to ~2-3" shy of the bucket rim.

I didn't weigh them, but I filled a few of the buckets by cutting open one 60 lb bag of sand per bucket (the others were filled from a sand pile).
 
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   / Steep snow performance of Toolcat 5600?
  • Thread Starter
#17  
   / Steep snow performance of Toolcat 5600? #18  
@ruffdog these look interesting, but I'm guessing they won't work with my chains on.

Do you think they'd work with my chains (which have cross-bars every 2 links, so most of the ground contact is chain rather than tire)?

I'm thinking my chains will just destroy the plastic traction board?
The traction boards are a tough plastic but chains would focus the pressure quite a bit. I think your chains would be every bit as good as the boards.
 
   / Steep snow performance of Toolcat 5600?
  • Thread Starter
#19  
I finally got the Toolcat and Quickattach 2420 high-flow blower into tougher conditions.

Our cabin community received over 4’ of snow, then it rained, then it froze, and a week later we got up to start moving snow. By the time we started working it, it was 2’ - 3’ of densely packed snow with an ice layer on the ground.

Some of the snow was so dense it hurt to kick the face of the banks.

The machine handled it great.

It was slow going, especially the first pass, which had to be a full width bite. For the first pass, we had to raise the blower up, take off the first layer, move ahead until the front tires started to get buried, back up, lower the blower, then take another pass. Sometimes 2 passes, sometimes more.

Once the first pass was cut, it went a lot faster because we could take full-height bites limited to the width the machine could handle.

The plows on pickups and UTVs were rendered useless by this storm. People couldn’t get their UTVs 5’ out of their garage.

The blower does not have shear pins, and instead uses hydraulic bypass valves on the auger and the fan. I just back off when the bypass triggers, and it starts blowing again. I tripped the bypass many times until I learned to back off just before it trips. Even then, I'd sometimes overdo it and trip the bypass, but it doesn't really matter. I can't imagine doing this job with a blower that uses shear pins.

The chute only clogged a couple times working at 30-32 degrees F, but it clogged a number of times when working warmer snow at 38-40 degrees F. We also learned to back off at the right time to keep it from clogging.

As for traction, the 2-link square-link chains on all 4 wheels worked well. For most of the job, I had all the traction I needed. Part of the job requires blowing going uphill, and the chains handled it fine. It's of course slower going up, but sometimes there's no choice.

My only traction problem was side-hilling on ice. The chains don't have bite at 90 degrees to the direction of travel. If I were to do it again, I'd get chains with crossbars that run in both directions (like the hexagonal chains used on loaders/tractors), or get v-bar studded chains.

Crab steer was handy working close to drop-offs or clearing uphill-side banks on curved corners. It keeps the Toolcat's wheels in the cleared area while the blower chews into the banks. I didn't use it a lot, but it saved me a lot of trouble in the cases where I did use it.

We didn't get the Toolcat stuck at all during this job, but I was *really* glad to have the winch on the back just in case. We're working alone, usually at night, in a remote area.

I finished off by removing a pile of previously blown snow that was ~6' high, eating away at it a little at a time from the top down.

Great machine.

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   / Steep snow performance of Toolcat 5600? #20  
Quickattach says they discuss your specific situation so they can match the hydraulics to your machine. So, what hydraulic motor displacement did you end up with? (eg: 6.1, 7.9, 9.8)
 

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