I have a 625i used mainly for snow removal. Currently use an angled plow but more than 4inches is impossible to do. I have a 1000' driveway that is really steep at some parts. Do I really need to buy a 4 wheeler to get a snowblower attachment? Seems silly. What is the cheapest option for me to get a drive behind snow blower that can handle steep icy driveways?
Snow Attachments Why don't they make a snowblower attachment for gators?
- Thread starter adriand
- Start date
- Views: 16974
Jchonline
Elite Member
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2018
- Messages
- 3,089
- Location
- Red Feather Lakes, CO
- Tractor
- Kubota L6060, KX040-4, M7060, X1100C, M62(S)
Something has to power the blower. This is either hydraulics or PTO in most cases. The ATV powered blowers just have an engine behind the blower that powers it. They are about as expensive as a new ATV.
Do you have chains on the 625i? How does it bog down (tires spinning or engine cuts out, etc).
Do you have chains on the 625i? How does it bog down (tires spinning or engine cuts out, etc).
RKP in SB
New member
-------------------------------
I had a JD Gator 620i (very similar to your 625i, just an earlier version) and I never had any problem plowing, even up to 18" of wet, heavy snow. The plow on my old Gator was JD's "PowerTach" hydraulic plow. To answer your question, though, I did investigate blowers and the only thing that I found that would have worked was the Berco blowers -- and boy, those are not cheap!
Is your drive belt OK? How are your tires? I never bothered with chains...when I had my Gator in 4x4 there was plenty of traction, especially if I locked the differential.
Last edited:
My driveway is 1000' of all down hill. Going down is never an issue because gravity helps. But going back up the tires spin. The grade is 30° in the worst spot. I considered adding chains but don't want to ruin the driveway or garage where I park it. Driveway is asphalt, garage is cement.
The tires spin. Engine seems fine. But if it's cold or icy, or there is packed snow it is impossible to get back up. The driveway is all downhill from my garage. So once I plow the bottom I can't get back up easily.
RKP in SB
New member
----------------------------------
I never put chains on my Gator, but I did on my JD X739 and I did not like them. I bought a set of TerraGrips but never got a chance to use them when I dumped the X739 and bought my Kubota 1100C before this winter started.
One thing that really helped my Gator maintain traction was just to put a couple hundred pounds of bagged sand ("Tube Sand") in the bed.
RNeumann
Elite Member
Trip around on here. I’ve seen folks who power a blower with a small engine- it makes for a nice “self contained” blower that can be towed.
Wow that's unbelievable to me. You are even going uphill in the picture. Currently the bed is empty. Maybe I just need to add a bunch of weight. Or get new tires. The tires look fine to me but I don't know anything about the history of them. Maybe they suck. They have big deep treads though.
Industrial Toys
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2008
- Messages
- 17,407
- Location
- Ontario Canada
- Tractor
- Kubota R510 Wheel Loader + Cab and backhoe, JD 6200 Open Station, Cushman 6150, 4x4, ten foot 56 hp Kubota diesel hydraulic wing mower, Steiner 430 Diesel Max, Kawasaki Diesel Mule, JD 4x2 Electric Gator
There was one of those self powered blowers at my friends shop for a UTV. I'm sure there are various makes, but that one was apparently expensive and a piece of junk!
RKP in SB
New member
I had some sort of halfway decent ATV tires on my Gator, nothing special, but the weight in the bed really helped. I'd suggest putting enough weight in the bed to offset the weight of the plow. You have to figure that if you add 300 pounds to the front end, you're changing the weight distribution of the machine and will end up with a lower percentage of weight in the rear unless you offset it somehow. Good news is that "Tube Sand" is cheap (and comes in handy if you ever get stuck).
Jchonline
Elite Member
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2018
- Messages
- 3,089
- Location
- Red Feather Lakes, CO
- Tractor
- Kubota L6060, KX040-4, M7060, X1100C, M62(S)
Great advice. Softer rubber tires would always provide more grip (much the same as snow tires on cars/trucks). You can consider alternative tread types instead of chains. I know they make some cloth type for cars/trucks, maybe others. The other option is to add a few tire studs, but I bet that would tear up the drive some. I am watching this closely, as I expect to be using a UTV to plow in the years to come.
RKP in SB
New member
4get gto
Elite Member
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2010
- Messages
- 2,966
- Location
- N.E. Pa.
- Tractor
- Yanmar 147D with loader,Woods mow,n machine 6210 ,Sears st10,Roper rt 10
I would say if you're having problems pushing a plow it's really going to be bad trying to push a blower.. Try backing up with a HEAVY blower on front and see how that goes...?
DarkHelmet
Member
I had a Bercomac 66" Vantage snowblower on my Polaris Ranger and I hated it. I have essentially the same blower for my tractor now and I love it. The SxS version is powered by a gas engine, but the problem is that the one I had the power is transferred by a belt. That belt slips and eventually breaks due to the loads on it. If they improved the way the power is transferred then I'd say it's worth it, but otherwise try and find something PTO driven.
I also have a 1000' driveway with a hill and turn. The Ranger had trouble pushing the blower uphill due to traction even with chains. You just can't get enough weight behind the rear wheels to make it grab.
I also have a 1000' driveway with a hill and turn. The Ranger had trouble pushing the blower uphill due to traction even with chains. You just can't get enough weight behind the rear wheels to make it grab.
