I have long had a Yanmar compact tractor, and I have regularly plowed driveways with it. About 18 months ago I bought a Bobcat skid steer, a 2008 model with 250 hours, that had only been used to plow the shared driveway that I now plow, so it's pretty much like new. Rear visibility in the skid steer is very poor but as my tractor doesn't have a cab I very much like the heated cab of the Bobcat. Also the Bobcat lighting is superior to the lights on anything I have ever owned or used. Most plowing here at 58 degrees N latitude is after dark. This winter I have so far plowed twice and the Fookooloo (or something like that) $25 rear view camera and 4.5 inch video screen has completely resolved the visibility shortcomings for me. I chose the small video because of limited cab space, and that turned out to be the right choice. Because of limited covered parking space if I was going to replace both the tractor and the skid steer I would buy one tractor with backhoe, FEL and snowblower, with a heated cab of course. However, the delivered cost of that tractor here would be all of $75,000, and incidentally that is 300 percent of what I have in both pieces of equipment I now own. I would still put a $25 rear view camera in it. BTW, if you fly you may have begun your flight instruction in a Cessna 150, and you will recall that at first you felt like you could see very little from that Cessna cabin. The skid steer is like that, and visibility is better in the skid steer; also, the skid steer travels much more slowly and you can stop and evaluate where you are.
Tractor rear PTO vs skidsteer snowblower
- Thread starter MinnesotaMorg
- Start date
grsthegreat
Super Star Member
i also have a front mount Quick Attach brand blower with rear powerpack. i absolutely love it. blows wet or dry snow, though have to make sure i dont stop on wet snow as it could clog up. thing i love about hydraulic blower is it doesnt stop when you stop. i had lots of issues with my old clutch run pto blower . but bestist thing is NO SHEAR PINS.
i do know that they use a skid steer with front mount blower in Yellowstone Nat Park. i watched it work, and its a work animal. they have major snow events. way more snow than i get.
i do know that they use a skid steer with front mount blower in Yellowstone Nat Park. i watched it work, and its a work animal. they have major snow events. way more snow than i get.
RichardStock
New member
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2022
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- Tractor
- agromatic
Interesting Im a Newbie to this having moved to Finland 2 yrs ago, last year we had a contractor do the snow work and I played with a 4’ blade on a ride on mower and surprised it worked ok in about 10” of snow, my driveway is about 600yards and then I have a larger yard area.
I bought a couple of skidsteers in auction in the spring and one has a 72” hyraulic turnable plow, so far we had a couple of storms and I have had to plow a few days i bolted a 3” pipe to the bottom of the blade which stopped it digging the gravel, but Im thinking a blower would be real useful, so I think I might have to make one, the skidsteer only 25hp so will probably need engine driven, whats the advice?
I bought a couple of skidsteers in auction in the spring and one has a 72” hyraulic turnable plow, so far we had a couple of storms and I have had to plow a few days i bolted a 3” pipe to the bottom of the blade which stopped it digging the gravel, but Im thinking a blower would be real useful, so I think I might have to make one, the skidsteer only 25hp so will probably need engine driven, whats the advice?
Rustyiron
Super Member
There's hardly any "attachment" that eats up horsepower faster than a blower!
Your machine is too small and rigging up an auxiliary engine to a blower hydraulically or mechanically would in my estimation would be too much for your machine.
Your machine is too small and rigging up an auxiliary engine to a blower hydraulically or mechanically would in my estimation would be too much for your machine.
leonz
Super Member
Good Morning Mr. Stock,
I want to help you and save you a great deal of work and aggravation.
Purchasing a RAMMY 155 professional model single stage snow blower for your skid steer or tractor from the local RAMMY dealer
will save you massive amounts of work and aggravation and it has a 2100 CC single cylinder Briggs & Stratton gas engine which will
provide you with 14 horsepower which is plenty of horsepower as the single stage snow blower is very efficient snow clearing attachment.
Having high horsepower in a snow thrower is money in the bank as it will always give you plenty of reserve torque and capacity to clear snow.
The Rammy Single stage snow thrower is a very simply designed snow thrower with V belt drive that can clear deep snow.
I want to help you and save you a great deal of work and aggravation.
Purchasing a RAMMY 155 professional model single stage snow blower for your skid steer or tractor from the local RAMMY dealer
will save you massive amounts of work and aggravation and it has a 2100 CC single cylinder Briggs & Stratton gas engine which will
provide you with 14 horsepower which is plenty of horsepower as the single stage snow blower is very efficient snow clearing attachment.
Having high horsepower in a snow thrower is money in the bank as it will always give you plenty of reserve torque and capacity to clear snow.
The Rammy Single stage snow thrower is a very simply designed snow thrower with V belt drive that can clear deep snow.
hayden
Veteran Member
What's the HP on each of your machines? I have an 84" hydraulically driven front mount blower on a 60hp tractor and it takes every drop of power the tractor has. In any depth over perhaps 6", I'm running really slow. I love the front mount vs rear PTO mount, so it's worth it, but don't underestimate the power required to blow snow. For a 96" blower I'd want 70-80hp, if not more. If you have less HP, I'd go for a narrower blower, or plan on moving very slowly.
What about traction? I would be nowhere without rear cleat chains, and steering is very difficult without front chains. I've gotten good at brake steering, but even that doesn't work so well. I really need front chains with the front blower. I have very little experience with skid steers, but the snow clearing I did with a wheeled skid steer had very poor traction. Tracks might be better, but I have pushed snow around with my rubber tracked excavators and traction is again challenged. In contrast, nothing will stop the tractor with the cleat chains. You could put studs or chains on your skid steer, but then I'd worry about road surface damage, and drive train stress.
What about traction? I would be nowhere without rear cleat chains, and steering is very difficult without front chains. I've gotten good at brake steering, but even that doesn't work so well. I really need front chains with the front blower. I have very little experience with skid steers, but the snow clearing I did with a wheeled skid steer had very poor traction. Tracks might be better, but I have pushed snow around with my rubber tracked excavators and traction is again challenged. In contrast, nothing will stop the tractor with the cleat chains. You could put studs or chains on your skid steer, but then I'd worry about road surface damage, and drive train stress.
grsthegreat
Super Star Member
well thats weird. i have an 84" blower on a 45HP tractor. ive blown 2' drifts with no issue. my pump is set up for my tractor HP, i wonder if yours is set up correctly.
hayden
Veteran Member
I think we have the exact same Erskin blower setup. And I think my tractor is closer to 50hp at the PTO, not 60hp. I'll get more experience with it this winter, and there is a possibility that my turbo wasn't working correctly last winter. What I know for sure is that the 84" hydraulic blower with PTO power pack puts a significantly higher load on the tractor than the 74" rear mount mechanical PTO unit I was using for the past 15 years. Some is the wider width and associated greater load, and some is power loss through the hydraulic drive.
dirttoys
Platinum Member
Get it for the machine with a heater, if they both have heaters, get it for the skid.
Best,
ed
Rustyiron
Super Member
I think I have 80-85 PTO hp
and a 96" conventional blower.
I could use another 25-30 hp and probably GRS's dry snow or a creeper gear.
