2520 Snowplow size?

[beenthere]

If me, I'd take a shot at 6.5 '

 

[kennyd]

So if i were to try a snow plow. How wide should I be looking for? Like 6 foot, or 6.5ft? I don't want to put a plow on it thats impossible to make the very first pass, but I also don't want a narrow one that makes the small snowfalls take forever to clean up.

A 6' foot blade is a perfect size for you 2520...like I already stated

 

[Deadman]

Were 6 foot plows popular, or is it going to be hard to find in that size? I know most trucks have 7,8,and 9 footers on them.

 

[JDGreenGrass]

I ran the 47" front blower on my 2320 and 2720 for years. It's the cat's meow! I did my 650+ driveway in about 20 minutes and that's with a clearing for turning around. Hardto beat a front blower, now you can get the 54" but they're not cheap.
Rob

Wow. That is a very efficient rig. 650' in 20 minutes.!!

Those are some awesome numbers right there.

 

[Rob-D]

Wow. That is a very efficient rig. 650' in 20 minutes.!!

Those are some awesome numbers right there.

When I first started it took me about 40 minutes but after doing it for about half a winter it was a simple task. Once the snow got to over a foot it took longer but not that much longer.

You're not concerned with where to pile snow just getting it off the driveway. An easier task in my view especially when winter starts to get a head of steam later in the year here.

 

[boughtaJD]

So if i were to try a snow plow. How wide should I be looking for? Like 6 foot, or 6.5ft? I don't want to put a plow on it thats impossible to make the very first pass, but I also don't want a narrow one that makes the small snowfalls take forever to clean up.

After reading through all the debate about fel/frame plows here on TBN I went with a fel plow because I need to switch from plow to bucket to forks too often on a daily basis to be detaching my whole loader.

I picked up a cheap Western 6.5ft from a guy down the road, sandblasted it, painted it up JD yellow, & welded a fel quick attach frame with the plow's A frame mounted back as far as I could go. I ran it last winter with some pretty big snows here in Michigan on my 2320 with loaded rears and boxblade (for weight + cleaning up close to the garage) - worked great - especially on my 800' asphalt driveway:thumbsup:

 

[Deadman]

Would you guys suggest the JD quick hitch mount, or have a shop fabricate one up custom? I'm liking the JD quick hitch on my X475, but the **** thing is pricey if I remember right. I guess if I did go the JD quick hitch route, then any other JD attachment would also fit! :thumbsup: :drink:

 

[TGF]

sb1164 its a 3 point blower, I can do a little under a quarter mile of drive in 30 mins. This includes a large three lane driveway and double wide outbuilding drive. Snow blower is the way to go if you can afford it, it faster than a blade, requires no chains and can saves wear and tear on the drive.

I will post a pic closer to snow season, I still have the rotary cutter on the tractor now.

 

[tomd999]

Hiya,

I have a 2520 with a 5' Curtis loader mount blade and a Meteor 5' PTO blower out back. I have a 500+ foot paved driveway on the side of a mountain that this setup does quite well.

They both have good and bad points but I wouldn't go with a wider blade if your loader mounting it. If you float the loader, the front of the tractor will climb as you load the blade with snow and then the tractor will track sideways because the front wheels are off the ground. (Yes steering with the brakes will work but you lose all momentum especially going uphill, I also added 3, 40# weights on the front frame loop, that helps a lot.) If you keep the blade an inch or 2 off the ground the tractor will track straight but then you end up with an ice pack.

The PTO blower is great for getting rid of a lot of snow but turning around to see, quite frankly gets old quick.

Would I go with a frame mounted blade or a front blower, most likely not at this point, the plow-blower "push-me/pull-you" is just too versatle, I don't have to swap things out, it goes out of the barn as a complete snow fighter.

My 2 cents,

Tom

Search on my name, I have posted pictures of it in other threads.

 

[Deadman]

Ya, the loader mount plow has its limitations. I know my loader when in "Float" immediately makes the tractor pick the front wheels up and it stops dead in its tracks. I'd do a frame mount for sure.

Thanks for the input!

 

[crashz]

I think your application would benefit using the blower, but since you have one on your 475 and access to a snow plow, maybe you can prove it out this winter.

My reasoning is this: We plowed an airport quite a few years ago, and when the banks were piled along the runways/taxiways, they seemed to drift in more often than when we blew the banks back with our blower (Sicard Jr.). When the snow bank profile is taller that the surrounding snow areas, the wind will cause them to drift even more by erroding the bank to the natural snow elevation. Just something to consider.

 

[Deadman]

ya, when i plow now, I plow snow-breaks. They are basically plowed paths across the open field upwind from my driveway, and they drift full instead of my driveway. Not saying the driveway never drifts, but just less.

 

[CinderSchnauzer]

I have a 60" power angle blade on my Honda 6522, which would weigh a bit less than your 2520. I suspect you could handle a 72" plow in many cases, at least until the snow gets wet & heavy. When the blade is angled it is actually less than 60". On a typical drive, I find three passes usually does a reasonable job. Once down the middle and then down each side. With the Honda / 60" as long as the snow is not over about 8" - 10" or too heavy it does a reasonable job and as I said another 12" width would probably still work well. My drive is not as long as yours, however when the parking area is added total cleared footage is probably equal to or greater than your 900' drive.

For my situation a front or rear blower would be an underutilized investment and not required 99% of the time. For deeper / heavier snow or just seat time I use the FEL bucket on the 3320. Ive been tempted to sell the Honda and buy a 84" FEL mount blade for the JD, but find it handy to have the Honda around for other things and sometime use the Dozer blade for gravel / dirt work.

The Honda QA bracket is similar to what I have seen on Kubota and is identical to that used on smaller MF. All that is really required is a plate on the tractor front approx 5" x 13" x 1/4" for mounting. At one point I was thinking of mounting the Honda blade on my 3320. The front weight bracket on the 3320 is a bit too small, however it would have been easy enough to fabricate a 5x13 plate to bolt on - to which the QA would then attach.

I mention this to illustrate you could possibly find a not-JD blade that could be easily mounted on your front weight bracket. When I was looking to purchase I measured the height of the front bracket on 2520's and the height would have been fine to mount the Honda blade.

 

[Deadman]

I'm really leaning towards buying the JD quick hitch, and then just putting a plow of some sort onto the JD Quick Hitch. Then I could also throw the Blower from my X475 on the 2520 if I ever decided to (not likely, but its an option thats worth having).

I think it would be much easier for my fab shop to weld up what ever is needed to make the snow plow fit onto my JD quick hitch. The FD quick hitch on my X475 works excellent, so I'm confident the one for the 2520 would be nice also. Angling this blade is a definite necessity to me, because I'll be plowing around buildings and all kinds of stuff.

I usually open up my driveway twice as wide as it needs to be on the first snow, then there is usually room for the following snowfalls.

 

[jcmseven]

Not meaning to "steal" or address another side issue during the post, but I need some feelings on snow chains for these tractors. I have a VERY steep driveway that itself is about 350' roughly long and now paved. I also plow a service road that is nearly one mile in length. I usually plow with my Ranger and before then my Gator, but if we have similar snowfall amounts to last year I would like to make my 2320 snow removal ready also. Don't laugh seeing I live in NC, I have thought about a snowblower for heavy snows. Last year I had drifts over three feet high alongside my drive for months. The last of our snow melted in early May!!! My problem is that none of the compacts I have owned from 2000 series to 4000 series machines do well in snow with R4's. In some cases they go OK but I cannot stop them coming down my drive, much less the other areas where I plow some of which are even more steep. Also, to me, one advantage of plowing with a slower tractor than a UTV is that the additional weight allows one to plow or blow more snow volume. One loses this when traction is not maximized. I have looked at chains, but really do not want to tear up my newly paved $27000 driveway the first winter (yep, that hurt). Are there any less damaging options that would give my tractor the bulldozing performance I want, or any specific chain or cable type that is less damaging to the pavement??? Thanks.

John M

P.S. The only John Deere machine I have ever used that could do well on my drive without chains was my 595 with HDAP tires. That machine was awesome in snow, as are my UTV's. What gives here??

 

[Deadman]

They do make like cable chains for cars, maybe those wouldn't be hard on the driveway.

I really fear my R4's on the snow also, because I did some logging with them the last few winters and they are basically useless in Snow. Honestly my 2210 with Bar style tires would pull as much or more than these R4's on this 2520.
Now add a ton of weight, and these so a little better, but they still don't impress me.

 

[beenthere]

Chains won't "tear" up your driveway. IMO. They may leave marks that are more like scratches where/when you spin the tires. But they won't tear any asphalt up, if that is your concern.

On my aphalt drive, most of the times (except for two or maybe three times) the snow conditions are cold enough that wet packed snow is not a problem in WI. Deep and drifted is a problem. Sometimes freezing rain will leave a layer of just ice. Chains are needed for the wet and deep snow, as well as for the ice. The rest of the time, weight on the R-4's works just fine. And the ride is much smoother as well.

Just my :2cents:

 

[Deadman]

My chains will dig up blacktop! :laughing: They are double links with V-Bars on every crossbar link, and with 1,000lbs in the ballast box, they took some serious chunks out of my dads driveway last winter! LOL If they didn't have the V-bars on them, they likely would not hurt the driveway.
These chains will rip anything up thats under the snow in the woods if you spin them! :laughing:

Just gotta go easy on driveway with chains, and they won't hurt it much, just scratches usually.

 

[Runner]

"Are there any less damaging options that would give my tractor the bulldozing performance I want, or any specific chain or cable type that is less damaging to the pavement??? Thanks."

An 800 lb weight box helps immensely! I was slip-sliding around last winter with a 2520 with just the 360 lbs of wheel weights, then put on the weight box and she straightenend right up.

Won't help if you're using a rear blade though.....

 

[JD755]

V-bars are not recommended for paved surfaces. Standard 2-link ladder chain would be recommended.

"V-bar are great on hills, ice and hard packed
conditions. The v-bar are also known as a wear bar,
since they significantly extend the life of the chains.
They are not recommended on pavement since they
can damage the surface it the tires begin to spin."

tractor tire chains for farm tractors