What size snow plow?

[Jaybr]

I recently purchased a new place and have a gravel driveway approximately 1/3 mile long. It's not flat but the hills are not too steep either. I used to plow snow at the old place with a rear blade on a Kioti CK35, this driveway is longer and I now have a Yanmar YT3589 cab. I don't expect a ton of snow, but 8-10" snow a couple times a year is not uncommon. I'm looking at Landpride STB1584 and STB1596 plows with hydraulics, a local dealer has both in stock. The 96" is a leftover 2023 model so its discounted making the price difference negligible.

Which size would you recommend for this 59hp, 4500lb (+loaded tires) tractor?

I'm not interested in a snow blower or snow pusher, I want to run down the driveway and push most of the snow to the side. Given the driveway is gravel, leaving an inch or two on top is not a big deal to me.








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[oldnslo]

Would the 84” cover the width of your tractor when fully angled? I prefer the blade be at least 6” past wheels when angled so not driving on the snow that rolls back.

 

[Rockbadchild]

I have a similar tractor size and my plow is 90'', it is as big as I would want, bigger then that I would need snow chain on all tires because it just push the tractor to the side when the blade is angle.

 

[fishhead]

i would get the 8 footer, any reason why you wouldn't just want to get a rear blade which could also help with your driveway/ditch maintenance?

 

[Jaybr]

I have a land plane that I'll use for driveway maintenance, don't really have ditches. I prefer to push mainly because I don't like turning around to watch what the blade is doing.

I also have a 6' rear blade, box blade, rake, and rotary cutter but they where all purchased years ago for the Kioti and a little small for the new tractor. I can't see using the Kioti with the rear blade when I have a cab now.

 

[RjCorazza]

I run a 7' blade on my similar weight 40 HP tractor on a variety of paved driveways and no chains.
You didn't ask, but I will say that a rear blade may work better on gravel, particularly if your area doesn't support a frozen base of snow. Spinning a rear blade 180 degrees and back blading works very well on unfrozen gravel drives.

 

[zzvyb6]

The width you need is a foot beyond the edge of the driveway when the plow is angled at max (45deg?) and certainly much beyond the width of your wheels. This is in case you get multiple snow storms and you now need to push the berm further away from the edge. The key to snow maintenance on gravel is to have the gravel surface groomed, packed, and plow ready BEFORE the snow storms hit. Then your plow skids won't ride up & down in potholes and ridges, digging up the gravel. When the snow first hits, drive on it with a vehicle and make some frozen tracks that the plow skids ride on instead of digging in.

 

[5030]

I have a 10 foot repurposed county plow with power angle and I run front chains only on my 90 horse Kubota.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

Yanmar YT359 width = 70.6 inches

Cosine of a 30 degree angle =0.866

8' blade x 0.866 = 6.928' which equals approx 83" of coverage width @ 30° angle.

83" - 70.6" = aprrox. 12"--- for 6" of the blade on each side of the tractor width.

 

[M59]

I have a gravel driveway approximately 1/3 mile long. It's not flat but the hills are not too steep either. I now have a Yanmar YT3589 cab. I don't expect a ton of snow, but 8-10" snow a couple times a year is not uncommon. I'm looking at Landpride STB1584 and STB1596 plows with hydraulics.

Which size would you recommend for this 59hp, 4500lb (+loaded tires) tractor?

Couple comments from someone who used to plow snow in CT using an 8' plow ( 800 Lb ) on Ford F350 4x4 Super Duty ( 6000 Lb).

Plow width, when angled, and tractor width are important since you don't want to be running tractor wheels on one side in unplowed snow BUT the wider the plow the more likely the tractor front end will slide sideways when plowing heavy snow. I'm thinking VA gets a fair amount of heavy wet snow and a 4500 pound tractor isn't really that heavy when potentially pushing several tons of wet snow.

My two cents worth. Get the 84" plow and make two passes both going down hill on driveway since plowing uphill requires much more front end weight and traction. Make two passes pushing snow off to opposite sides of the driveway. Unless the plow is severely angled or your plow has wings some snow will always flow off the edge that is pointed forward. Making a second pass cleans up this material. Make sure you get shoes to keep the blade edge from digging into the gravel surface.

 

[Cycledude]

I have a rear 72 inch 3 point blower in like new condition but haven’t used it since buying a rear 9 foot Bison blade.
My driveway and yard are gravel, the 9 foot blade weighs 1,400+ pounds and is very easily reversible, it has been working excellent. If the surface isn’t frozen hard I plow with the blade reversed, once the surface gets well frozen I use the blade in the forward position.
I also have a 7 foot rear John Deere blade it probably doesn’t weigh half as much as the Bison blade.

 

[ruffdog]

I'm looking at Landpride STB1584 and STB1596 plows with hydraulics, a local dealer has both in stock. The 96" is a leftover 2023 model so its discounted making the price difference negligible.

Given the driveway is gravel, leaving an inch or two on top is not a big deal to me.

Those plows are not floating plows and there are plenty of threads describing the differences. Sure, you can float the FEL but the geometry is wrong. For a long driveway, especially a gravel one, I would definitely be buying a floater or modifying a non-floater.

Example of floating plow:
SSQA Snowplow - Dual Cylinder Hydraulic Angle Option - Free Shipping to USA

 

[oosik]

I have a mile long gravel driveway. Until the driveway freezes up - hard as concrete - I reverse my eight foot Rhino rear blade 180 degrees and clear snow this way. The Rhino is very heavy and usually clears all the snow - even in the reversed position. Reversed - the blade leaves the gravel in place.

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

I plow with a JDM minitruck, and a 72-inch blade. If you look left, it is my avatar. Brand new, almost thirty years ago, it had 27-hp, and it is less than that now. In the avatar picture, the bank of snow in front of the truck was all pushed and stacked to twice the height of the blade, with the tiny truck.

It pushes the 6-ft plow with no issues. If I buy a plow for my tiny tractor, which is a TYM T233, at 23-hp, I would buy a seven-foot blade.

 

[Jaybr]

been really busy and haven’t purchased a plow yet, and expecting a big snow storm tomorrow. I decided to take some of the advice given and picked up an 8’ rear blade today (bush hog BH70-08). Looks like a nice blade and was $2000 cheaper than the price I got on a Woods from another dealer. Have it mounted reversed and we’ll see how it works.View attachment IMG_0558.jpeg

 

[nybirdman]

Be very careful pushing with that set-up,no relief springs/trips ect.They are made to "pull".Very expensive things can break.

 

[Jaybr]

Be very careful pushing with that set-up,no relief springs/trips ect.They are made to "pull".Very expensive things can break.

Thanks, I have no intention of pushing with it.

 

[RjCorazza]

Be very careful pushing with that set-up,no relief springs/trips ect.They are made to "pull".Very expensive things can break.

Ain't that the truth!
Not from a blade, but I did $2000 worth of damage by snapping off a lower 3 point arm connection point on the tractor case.

 

[Carl_NH]

I use a 6' rear blade set at the most angled position (not reversed) and put in an offset via the sway bars so the right side of the blade extends a foot beyond the wheel and the left side covers the left wheel track.

Have a front blade now this year, but i still use the rear angled blade forward and reverse - especially on the lawn area from the barn 300' I push in reverse.

 

[jk96]

Just fyi if you do end up with one in the future I have an 84" quickattach brand plow and it covers my wheel width on my Kubota L6060 when angled.