Snow SECRETS TO USING A SNOW BLADE

[Nature Girl]

I'm so excited! I pleaded with my Kubota dealership to deliver my L3700SU 4wd HST in the ice storm yesterday and my wonderful salesman Kevin, did it. The newer model FEL is not in yet from Texas and my tires lack the fluid, but I wanted to play and work in the snow.

I bought a 6' blade that I drug off the back of my truck with my new tractor yippee. But it took me embarrassingly 2 1/2 hours to attempt to install the bloody thing in the dark sleeting night with a head lamp strapped to my forehead.

Woke up this morning with a refreshed view and in three moves had it on. I think that tractors are designed for burley men who huff, lift and shove things magically into place while we women look on and cheer with glee. Surely if I observed this installation once it would have been easier. Even the Everything Attachment videos are for those who have a little sense about the doo dads on the back that have names I am learning. I was asking the 3 pt hitch to do it all since I upgraded it to the supposedly easy version (my first tractor and first experience with a 3 pt set up). The pin provided by Kubota was too short and also it seems that the swing arms are alarmingly CLOSE to the back tires. I only have about an inch clearance on both sides is that right?

So hopefully it is mostly attached. I pushed some brush piles just to see what would happen and they moved I was thrilled. (Bermuda) is waiting for me under the 16 x 20 lean to we installed on the barn last week.

Love to know the top things an experienced snow mover would tell a rookie. We will soon have 8-10 here in Missouri. We have a nice blanket of sleet and the doves, cardinals, juncos, purple finch, etc. are confirming it is coming!

I do not have any weight on the front end is that a challenge?
I had to put a smaller pin in the top that is not clasped but goes all the way through the hole - will that be a problem?
Should I try to readjust the swing arms to be closer and thus give the tires more room?

The drive around my farm is blacktop and slopes down hill.

Thank you so much for your expert advise, it is great to know there is a wealth of information at the click of a mouse.

Nature Girl

 

[Birdhunter1]

Three tips
#1 it is easier to plow snow going down hill than uphill
#2 angle the blade to roll it all to one side, then turn around at the end of your driveway and come back rolling it to the other
#3 put on a fresh pot of coffee before you start so there is some that is hot when you are done

 

[the6shooter]

Yes the lynch pins are important once you install the implement on the lower links, and top link. If not all your work was in vane.

Yes the snow is comming it just left oklahoma and left 10 inches here.
david

 

[Marveltone]

Invest in a set of tire chains. They will have an unbelievable impact on your available traction and ability to push snow.

Joe

 

[Nature Girl]

Great ideas, sounds like a great plan Joe. Thanks.

 

[nybirdman]

Start out in Low range,engage the four-wheel drive,angle your blade to the max(pick up first).If you can send a picture of your hook-up.What type of tires?Hard to believe you 3pt. is that close(unless you have turf tires).Plow down hill .Good luck

 

[CHDinCT]

Can't tell from your description of how close the lower 3 point hitch arms are to the tires if you tightened them down to prevent side to side movement. You should have turnbuckles or telescoping adjustable check bars to take the sway out of your lower arms. Make sure they're tight or they could contact your tires.

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

Your lift arms are too close to the tires. With the blade angled it will want to push the lift arms to side. You could easily tear up a tire. Read you operators manual to find out how to adjust the lift arms. Read it throughly and it you don't under stand parts of it ask us questions. It will save you a lot of time and trouble.
Bill

 

[kebo]

Welcome to TBN!

For the time being, you can use the smaller sized pin, you just need to get the correct size pin the next time you are near a store (TSC near you?) that sells them.

As for the weight, you are fine for now with just having a blade on the back of it. However, extra weight will help provide traction (as in loading the tires with liquid ballast) should you find yourself spinning the rear tires a lot. As mentioned, chains will help improve traction as well.

Really though, once you add the FEL (loader) on it you WILL NEED extra weight in the back before you start picking up a bucket full of snow or other material (gravel/rock/dirt/etc). However, you can use a heavy attachment such as a bush hog for rear ballast in the meantime. Talk with your dealer about ballast when you get the loader installed, he can give you some good advice in that regards.

The good news though is you can use the tractor as is, and as you learn more about it and all the different ways of doing the same work, you can decide what methods and attachments will work best for you. Just be careful and wear that seatbelt!

 

[Nature Girl]

Yes, we have a TSC fairly close so I will get more pins of many lengths to have on hand. Interestingly the manual says only wear your seatbelt if the ROPS are up, thought that was strange. I also look forward to finding something in addition to the R-4 filled -4 tires to help with the loader since I know I will be doing lots of brush and log handling. I guess you can tell if it's too heavy if you start doing wheelies eh?

 

[wvpolekat]

Yes, we have a TSC fairly close so I will get more pins of many lengths to have on hand. Interestingly the manual says only wear your seatbelt if the ROPS are up, thought that was strange.

Otherwise, you are gonna get squished. Seatbelt is only helpful is there is something to keep the tractor off you.

 

[Nature Girl]

Forgot my sync cord to connect camera to the computer to show the set up. Instead of turn buckles to adjust the lifting rods I have arms with adjustable pin holes and multiple positions. The link below is on Tractorsbynet and shows the same side arms but different end attachments. R-4 Tires (unfilled till my FEL comes in). And I will RTM too! EEK it would not be good to mess up my beautiful new tires! I also see in the manual that there is a reason and use for that bungie cord that seemed a little random.


http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...hl=en&biw=1208&bih=509&tbs=isch:1&um=1&itbs=1

 

[nybirdman]

Those are called Pat's quick hitch,you won't have those.I can't understand how you lower links are so close to your tires.The lowers(one is fixed the other is adjustable) have a pin that allows swing(left ,right) and if you have the extenders on the end of the lowers ,they are adjustable about 3inches out.The top link is a threaded rod,adjustable for length.
On the lowers,after attaching to the rear blade,there is a pin that controls swing(left&right) replace this pin(ON a chain),this limits left&right movement.Adjust top link by loosening the nut on the threaded rod and adjust to length,tighten nut.

 

[kebo]

Yes, we have a TSC fairly close so I will get more pins of many lengths to have on hand. Interestingly the manual says only wear your seatbelt if the ROPS are up, thought that was strange. I also look forward to finding something in addition to the R-4 filled -4 tires to help with the loader since I know I will be doing lots of brush and log handling. I guess you can tell if it's too heavy if you start doing wheelies eh?

Wheelies are bad!! Don't do them, unless you are participating in a tractor pull lol!!! If you don't have enough weight on the rear, and you pick up something really heavy with the bucket and the rear half of the tractor comes up off the ground, not only is that dangerous, it also puts all the weight on the front axle and front tires which is not good either.

Always good to have extra pins on hand. They can grow legs and disappear in the brush pretty easily. Some people spray them bright orange which helps to find a lost pin.

 

[Nature Girl]

Thanks NYbirdman, I don't have the extenders, just the side arms with the chains that swing side to side, but my guess is they can also extend OUT and I probably should have done that BEFORE I spent 400 years setting it up. Is there a magic way to take the darn thing off and start over or should this adjustment be done while the blade in attached? I will see if I can take a picture in the morning from my phone and send it.

The easy attach system was installed by the dealer so I guessed it would be from Kubota, but maybe not.

 

[Chilly807]

In general, once you have the blade connected to the lower lift arms and the top link hooked up, raise the blade off the ground a couple inches. Now, with the tractor shut off, push the blade from side to side. It shouldn't move more than about an inch or two either way. If it does, shorten the side links equally until the blade is centered behind the tractor and there isn't much sway either way.

A rear blade can be a pig to hook up, I try to store mine on a couple of pieces of plank to hold it off the ground and level, level being the big thing. If it isn't level side to side, one pin is going to be lower than the other. I usually have to wrestle with it a little to line everything up.

To set the top link length, the main beam of the blade should be level with the blade just touching the ground as in the pictures. This is best done on a garage floor or somewhere that is level to begin with. If the blade is level side to side and fore and aft, the tips of the blade won't dig in too much when you angle the blade.

Without chains or loaded tires, the blade will want to swing the tractor around as you plow with the blade angled. I'd suggest taking several passes, removing about 4-6 inches of DEPTH each time.

The loader or snowblower is the best weapon for deep snow, but a rear blade works well on moderate stuff. You do need to get the right length pin for the top link, otherwise it'll fall out in the first ten minutes. Take the old one with you, to compare both length and diameter. It should be 3/4 inch diameter, but there's no guarantee it is.

While you're at TSC, stock up on 7/16 lynch pins, that's the most common size for CAT 1 hitches. Some use 3/8, but not many. You should have enough for all your implements, plus a couple of spares. I leave mine in place when I park an implement, then it's there when I go to hook up.

The hitch pins with the handles are worth their weight in gold, they give you some extra grip and leverage when things aren't perfectly lined up.

No seatbelt with the ROPS down, you want to get away from the tractor if it rolls in that condition. In all truth though, unless you're working somewhere that has limited overhead clearance, the ROPS should be up and locked, and your seatbelt ON. Snow clearing is particularly dangerous for rollovers, since ditches and other hazards are harder to see, you're often working from memory as to exactly where they are.

I always put the ROPS up when working the tractor, and the seatbelt goes on too in some situations. With hydraulic angle on the rear blade, I really have no excuse not to use the belt, since I rarely leave the operator's seat.

Sean

 

[Argosy]

Check to see if you can't move the rear tires out some. It will give you clearance for the lower arms and make the tractor more stable, especially with a loader.

 

[k0ua]

Check to see if you can't move the rear tires out some. It will give you clearance for the lower arms and make the tractor more stable, especially with a loader.

I don't think she will be able to adjust the rear tires on the L3700 with R4 tires/wheels. they are non adjustable, wheel spacers would be the only way I know of. My turn buckles come pretty close to the tires also with some implements, within 1 inch on some. Just make sure the turn buckles/sliding bars are adjusted tight and even like Chilly807 said, so they dont flop over and hit the treads.

James K0UA

 

[mwb]

A seven foot blade would probably have been a better choice for that machine.

 

[sandman2234]

Widening the wheelbase width isn't always as easy to figure out (and to do) as it is to suggest it, so if that needs doing, don't hesitate to ask.
David from jax