Truck snow plow to Tractor SSQA Conversion

[LouNY]

When my gravel/dirt driveway is not froze it is usually soft enough that the standard shoes don't hold the blade up, the shoes actually cut right into the driveway.
I either back blade with the snow plows or I use my 3 pt backblade and turn it so it runs backward to try and push the snow without scrapping gravel off.
Once its frozen hard I run without shoes and let the blade scrap clean.

 

[sdboers]

Thanks for the reply. So much easier to ask people with the actual experience than go by trial and error. The internet has made me a much smarter man through others... I will keep the back blade and return the shoes. Thanks!

 

[LouNY]

When my gravel/dirt driveway is not froze it is usually soft enough that the standard shoes don't hold the blade up, the shoes actually cut right into the driveway.
I either back blade with the snow plows or I use my 3 pt backblade and turn it so it runs backward to try and push the snow without scrapping gravel off.
Once its frozen hard I run without shoes and let the blade scrap clean.

Just a quick note,
When I say back blading I am not using a back drag blade on my plow, I am using my main blade backwards so the angle of the blade is not digging in..
but is sliding over the driveway.

 

[sdboers]

Got it - thanks - that makes sense. The most important messages I got from your first reply were - 1) When the driveway is soft, the shoes don't do anything, blade still digs. 2) When the driveway is frozen, the shoes don't do anything, blade rides fine without them. Therefore - ditch the shoes and keep the back blade!

I still have the blower on the back of the tractor, and I have the hydraulic top link. At the start of the season, I simply tilt the blower upwards so it rides up more. Once everything is frozen, I tilt it to dig in more. Periodically I'd need to scrape the laneway with the bucket to get rid of some buildup.

I'm adding the blade this year since I snagged one so cheap ($150). Last year we got a lot of small snow falls that were a pain to do with the blower - backing all the way down the laneway and back again - but would be super quick work with a blade on the front. Best of both worlds now.

Sean.

 

[TractorNH]

Feel free to steal any ideas you want from my build if they're useful to you.

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/401291-snow-plow-build-finished-underslung.html

 

[KubotainNH]

Looks good. I don't have shoes for my gravel driveway either. It sometimes digs in here and there but not usually in the driveway section. I would prefer the backblade over the shoes. It's a bit rough until things are frozen with a nice layer of packed down snow. Having a blade is great for speed and pushing banks out.

 

[sdboers]

Thanks! I think that is one of the threads I came across in my research. Always happy to learn from others!

 

[sdboers]

Hey Folks - Happy Thanksgiving from Canada (yeah - we're not on the same timeline...)

Back to report some more progress on the plow. Completion in fact with the exception of hydraulics and painting...

So today's tasks were:

Weld the rear holders for the hydraulics on:


Weld the d-ring on where the chain will lift the plow:


Attach the top crossbar where the plow\plate will pivot, and weld a support from the bottom for when back-blading:


Weld on the grab hooks, pin it together, and chain it up. The chain is one of my spare tow chains for now - I'll purchase a more appropriate length later:


Right - that all seems to look ok - time to try it out on the tractor:


I don't have the parts to hook up the hydraulics at the moment ($$!) - so after purging the air from the cylinders, I simply connected them to each other. I'm able to easily manually pivot the blade when it's in the air. If I don't get to the hydraulics this year - I'm simply going to put a ball valve between the two cylinders. Open it to pivot - close it to lock in place.

Thanks to everyone for all of your help. Your assistance was appreciated (not to mention needed!)

Sean.

 

[sdboers]

For anyone interested - total build cost was about $600 including the plow.

(edited: $400 was a typo...)

Sean.

 

[LouNY]

Looks good and usable, I would cleanup the angles and brackets off the face of the plow,
maybe even fresh paint to slick up the face so the snow will slid off it easier.
Nice to get a functional blade for a moderate cost.