V blade for tractor or side by side?

[DarkHelmet]

I presently have a straight blade on my side by side and have been plowing with that for several years. Want to upgrade to a v plow because it will cut my plowing time down. We have about 1500 feet of driveway with an incline plus plowing around our barn. I've always struggled a little with traction on the side by side even with chains on the rear tires and weight in the bed and figured the tractor would have less of an issue. I have chains for my tractor too. If I get one for my tractor it would have to be a FEL mount because Mahindra doesn't make a v-plow that attaches to the snowblower mount (which I already have and use once winter gets into full swing).

I have a Mahindra 2538 HST Cab and the side by side has a cab and heat too so that's a wash.

My thoughts:
Tractor - Pros: better turning radius, more weight for better traction?, no installation required
Cons: may drive slower than the side by side, seat sucks and no suspension

Side by side - Pros: easier to dig out if it gets stuck, kids can ride with me, less hours on my tractor
Cons: traction, have to install it

Ideas and opinions are appreciated

 

[RNeumann]

I think it’s going to come down to weight- both the snow and the machine. Heavy snow = heavy machine.
In my area the side by sides kinda knock the snow down and flatten it a bit. The tractor can scrape down to the road. But in an area where they move snow with brooms I’d go for the side by side.
Bottom line- tractor will for sure do it all. Side by side might do it all......warmer and more comfortably

 

[Reb954]

Where you have the snowblower for the tractor I would think it would be best to put the V plow on the UTV. Use the UTV for the initial work and for the detail work once the ground is frozen. You will also have it for light snow storms where using the tractor isn't justified. For the traction issue, once the blade starts filling up with snow just bump up on the winch a bit to pull weight onto the front tires without lifting the blade off the ground.

I use an ATV with a 60" straight blade and a tractor with a FEL and snowblower. The ATV is used in the fall until the ground is frozen. After that I use the tractor for all major areas and the ATV for sidewalks and such and for light snow storms.

 

[msb1766]

Take a look at Boss snowplows they make atv and utv versions:
BOSS Snowplow | UTV ATV Equipment

 

[metalbender]

I have a seven ft hydraulic angle blade on the front, skid steer mount, and a seven ft blower on the back. Half mile drive to the highway. wouldn't consider a side by for snow pushing, even around the yard. The 1742 Massey cab tractor has all the bases covered. As has been mentioned, weight is paramount in snow removal, tractor with hst is very precise.

 

[FatTire]

We have a Gator (620i) with a manual angle V-plow, and an 8 ft v-plow for the Kubota. Even with the manual angle, the Gator is fast for plowing light snows, and early in the season it does not tear up driveways when they are still unfrozen. BUT, when the snow gets deep or heavy, it doesn't have near enough weight to handle it even with 500 lbs extra weight in the bed. Also we have a lot of rock, and the light UTV blades get bent and banged up pretty easily. Try buying replacement parts from John Deere to rebuild your blade assembly -- it will bust your budget in a hurry. So we like the Gator, but if we had to give up one tool for snow plowing we'd definitely give up the UTV and stick with the tractor.

 

[FatTire]

Let me know about those photos. The kubota photo thumbnail appears upside-down to me, but the photo opens OK on my computer.

 

[leonz]

Hello fattire,

The photo images are fine so no worries there. Has the smoke subsided in your part of gods country?


Is that a JD hydraulic power pack I see sticking out of the 2017-18 Colorado snow?


Leon

 

[FatTire]

Hello fattire,

The photo images are fine so no worries there. Has the smoke subsided in your part of gods country?


Is that a JD hydraulic power pack I see sticking out of the 2017-18 Colorado snow?


Leon

Hi Leon- We're good here now, no smoke and wet enough so that we can have campfires. That JD box is a weight box, but I wish it were a power pack. I bought a wood chipper from a guy and saw that sitting in his shop, unused, nothing in it. He said it was too small for his tractor and he'd sell it to me for $200 so I took it. Filled with concrete is still a bit too light for the L5740 but I can put the backhoe on if I need more ballast. (My rear tires are loaded.)

How about you, are gettting ready for winter?

 

[Fallon]

Let me know about those photos. The kubota photo thumbnail appears upside-down to me, but the photo opens OK on my computer.

That's an iPhone bug/issue that's been around a while. The good news is an upside down photo is still better than a thousand words.
How To Fix Camera App Upside Down Issue on iPhone in iOS 8

 

[FatTire]

That's an iPhone bug/issue that's been around a while. The good news is an upside down photo is still better than a thousand words.
How To Fix Camera App Upside Down Issue on iPhone in iOS 8

I did that post from my laptop running Windows 10, haven't had that issue before with it.

 

[DarkHelmet]

We have a Gator (620i) with a manual angle V-plow, and an 8 ft v-plow for the Kubota. Even with the manual angle, the Gator is fast for plowing light snows, and early in the season it does not tear up driveways when they are still unfrozen. BUT, when the snow gets deep or heavy, it doesn't have near enough weight to handle it even with 500 lbs extra weight in the bed. Also we have a lot of rock, and the light UTV blades get bent and banged up pretty easily. Try buying replacement parts from John Deere to rebuild your blade assembly -- it will bust your budget in a hurry. So we like the Gator, but if we had to give up one tool for snow plowing we'd definitely give up the UTV and stick with the tractor. View attachment 572155View attachment 572156

Do you feel like the v-plow for the FEL is too much for the tractor? Do you have to run some sort of counter weight?

 

[msb1766]

A counter weight or ballast box will make a huge difference with rear traction and loader work.
I made a simple box filled it with concrete with a 3 point draw bar and a top link embedded inside the concrete.
I made it the weight of just below what the 3 point tractor hitch of the tractor will lift.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Just my guess. Unless you have a Hydraulic Powered UTV, using one to push snow, might turn out to be the most expensive way possible. But you will only realize that later, when things quit working and she goes into the dealer.

 

[FatTire]

Do you feel like the v-plow for the FEL is too much for the tractor? Do you have to run some sort of counter weight?

That V-plow is heavy, close to 1100 lbs. Its ok but close to being too heavy for me. The bigger issue is learning to use an FEL mounted plow on dirt or gravel, it took me half a season to get good with it. I always have something on the back when the plow is on, either a ballast box, backhoe, or 3 pt. snow blower. The ballast box is the same weight of the blower at around 750 lbs, but the blower weight is quite a bit further back and it feels better with the blower back there. The thing about V-plows is that they are so versatile. I use scoop mode way more than I expected to when I purchased the plow.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I bought one for my Steiner. Paid too much for it at a municipal auction because it happened to have a tractor attached to it!

Not sure that having the scoop capability makes much difference on such a small blade.

 

[Rustyiron]

That V-plow is heavy, close to 1100 lbs. Its ok but close to being too heavy for me. The bigger issue is learning to use an FEL mounted plow on dirt or gravel, it took me half a season to get good with it. The thing about V-plows is that they are so versatile. I use scoop mode way more than I expected to when I purchased the plow.

If you ever were to put it on a frame mounting (tractor chassis) you'd wonder what took you so long.:thumbsup: I agree on the V plow. I never imagined how much it would out perform a straight blade before I got one. I had a similar surprise the first time I used a "pusher box", would have never believed how much snow they will carry.

 

[DarkHelmet]

Just my guess. Unless you have a Hydraulic Powered UTV, using one to push snow, might turn out to be the most expensive way possible. But you will only realize that later, when things quit working and she goes into the dealer.

Been plowing with my Polaris Ranger for 5 years already without too many issues other than traction. Just want to upgrade to a V-plow and not sure which machine to put it on.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Mostly, those tiny drivelines are not meant for such hard work, plus the snowmobile clutches.

Even plowing with a p/u will cost you.

 

[Reb954]

One of the main things with a belt drive machine is to have the clutch checked every couple years. The constant forward and reverse will wear them faster due to making a full cycle every few minutes. I ran one too long, ended up having to buy a new one due to it not being rebuildable.