I much prefer a rear blade to a blower, but I have plenty of room to stack snow. For folks with limited space, a blower makes more sense. The front bucket/rear blade combo works for any amount or type of snow. Blowers clog with some types of snow, and shear pins.
Thoughts on moving snow with a 35hp CUT
- Thread starter ncoonen
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I have an old and very heavy rear blade that I use for grading the drive but haven't been tempted to try it on snow. None of the areas I clear are paved or flat so it would take a steady hand on the tiller to get the snow without scraping up the drive surface. It is heavy but not as heavy or as compact as my concrete ballast block. I have looked into snow blowers but IMO it would be too expensive and complex for the occasional big snow. If I had one of those today I could be hero clearing driveways for my neighbors. People are getting pretty frantic to get out.
My wife and I went to town today and the main road from our property to the county highway was exactly one Jeep wide in many spots. The following picture is a traffic jam we can upon; they eventually pulled over so we could pass.
My wife and I went to town today and the main road from our property to the county highway was exactly one Jeep wide in many spots. The following picture is a traffic jam we can upon; they eventually pulled over so we could pass.
MoKelly
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Since my original post I have spent some time digging out drifted driveways for two neighbors. One of the neighbors has an F350 with chained AT tires and a Meyers 7' plow. He got about 20' in the wet drifted snow and pushed up such a pile of snow that he could not move any further. One i dug out a 6'-7' slot down the center of the drive, he was able to move through and push back the edges and clean things up nicely. This convinced me that the most useful and upgrade to replace my 66" bucket would be a bigger bucket; either 72" or 78". A more user friendly and easily adjustable back blade would help with grooming after most of the snow is gone. The issue I have with carrying the blade while clearing snow is maneuverability. The combined length of the rig gets pretty cumbersome. If I were going to making a business out of clearing snow for others around my neighborhood a 3-point snow blower might make sense but I don't want that.
Thanks everyone for your comments and ideas. It's been very helpful.
...ned.
Thanks everyone for your comments and ideas. It's been very helpful.
...ned.
That's a beautiful picture. Yes, there is still a lot of snow in the ground and some roads in my area are still pretty narrow. We might get 5" more snow out of a front moving through tonight but it all helps for drought relief. We had to evacuate twice last summer/fall due to nearby wildfires so no one with any sense is complaining about building up the high elevation snowpack.
I am rethinking my snowblower options after doing some more research. My Kioti CK3510H is rated at 30 PTO hp and is 63" wide overall with R4 tires. Would a 60" snowblower (Woodmaxx SB-60, for example) be too narrow? The SB-72 is only $100 more but would be a tight fit in my Versatube shelter. The PTO hp rating of my tractor is adequate for either model: SB-60 needs 18hp; SB-72 needs 25hp.
I think I answered my own question in the process of creating this post but would still be glad to hear input from anyone who uses a PTO powered 3-point snowblower in a rural setting.
Thanks...ned.
I am rethinking my snowblower options after doing some more research. My Kioti CK3510H is rated at 30 PTO hp and is 63" wide overall with R4 tires. Would a 60" snowblower (Woodmaxx SB-60, for example) be too narrow? The SB-72 is only $100 more but would be a tight fit in my Versatube shelter. The PTO hp rating of my tractor is adequate for either model: SB-60 needs 18hp; SB-72 needs 25hp.
I think I answered my own question in the process of creating this post but would still be glad to hear input from anyone who uses a PTO powered 3-point snowblower in a rural setting.
Thanks...ned.
Thomas
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Check the blower see if 4" wings could be added.
Captain Dirty
Platinum Member
You definitely do not want the snowblower narrower than your tractor. The path a tractor with attachments (like a snowblower) takes through a curve is wider than the tractor so the SB should be at least some inches wider (mine is 6" wider, 3" each side). The hassle of shoehorning the 72" blower into your shelter is probable very little less than shoehorning the 60" + 4" + 4" = 68" (2" each side) smaller blower with wings, and the 72" blower eliminates the trouble of fabricating or purchasing and then fitting the wings.
SylvainG
Platinum Member
Plus, if it's like me, emergency vehicles require at least a 10 feet wide road so this means more than one in/out pass to create that 10 feet opening.