FEL plow vs. rear blade for 1 mile of infrequent chipseal road snow removal

[Chris In Gallupville]

This is an easy one for me…..definitely go with the front plow. Easy on, easy off when you need to bucket or grapple something else. To the concerns that plowing is too much work, nonsense. Set the plow to float and sharpen the angle if it’s really tough stuff. You can easily do small patches, push, then lift (creates snow banks which are a pain but you do what you gotta do) and do it all again. Here in upstate NY we can get some butt-kicking snow and I put the plow on front with the blower on the back. I move snow no matter what direction my tractor is moving. Snow blower keeps the obnoxious huge snow banks to a minimum, too. I had a back blade which I used for a few years before the blower came on…push with the front blade, then scrape the driveway cleaner with the back blade but with the blower/plow combo, the back blade is not necessary nor is it particularly helpful. Good luck,

 

[jthaxter]

I live at the end of a 1 mile private road, which is chip sealed. We get anywhere between 0-3 "problematic" storms per year, usually between 4-12" of snow at a time. This doesn't seem like a lot, but it's a nightmare every time. The road has some steep parts and camber to it, with deep ditches on the side, and folks with lesser vehicles or lesser judgement always get stuck. Sometimes very stuck. After a day, the snow turns into ice and then everyone gets stuck for days and days until it melts.

Last year was particularly bad, and I used my loader bucket to clear out the worst sections of the road where people were getting stuck. This was very time consuming, and not the right tool for the job. I had to scoop it up one bucket at a time and dump it over the edge of the road. I was unable to push it anywhere, because it all clumps together and often freezes onto the inside of the bucket. It would take me all day to do the whole road.

I'd like to set my L2501 up to be able to clear these occasional storms, and I'm torn between:

• 7' rear blade with adjustable angle. Replace metal cutting edge with polyurethane strip. Let the "tilt" link on the 3 point hitch float, either by removing the link entirely or adding hydraulic top/tilt and floating the tilt valve, so that it can follow the contour of the road. Easy to find a rear blade used for $500.
• 7' quick attach snowplow attachment for front end loader, with either hydraulic or manual angle adjustment (I do have the 3rd function hydraulics). Hard to find used around here, would likely buy new.

The rear blade is definitely a cheaper option, and I get to keep my loader bucket or grapple attached for other tasks. I'm worried though that by not having my backhoe or chipper on the rear of the tractor (both at least 1200lbs) I'll be losing a lot of ballast/traction. The rear blade also doesn't have the springs of a snow plow, to give it relief if I hit an obstacle. There aren't many potential obstacles on the road, but these things happen. I'm also a little skeptical of how well the tractor will steer when pushing snow with the loader. The front end of this tractor is not particularly heavy, and I've noticed that when I'm pushing things around with the loader (stumps, piles of dirt, big rocks) it doesn't steer very well. It seems like the loader has too much leverage on the tractor, being so far out in front of the steering axle.


Thoughts? Similar experience? Any input is appreciated.

I sling a frame-mounted plow under the bucket with a chain up to the bucket for raising/lowering. The plow angle cylinders are driven from the quick-connect fittings for the bucket curl. Works great, has for years, and is a lot more efficient than a rear-mounted plow. By no means consider a plow attached to the bucket or to the loader arms - that is a recipe for ruin.

 

[Cdash]

Option 3 - Front mounted (not loader mounted) blade would be my suggestion.
I maintained a gravel private road 1/2 mile long for 10 years (in Michigan), so I have some experience at this.i have a JD 4100 (which I know is a small tractor for the job, but it's what I had/have).

5' Rear blade, which I had already, was my first tool. In anything but powder, it wants to push the back of the tractor out and gets really difficult. You can drive backwards and it does better, but that sucks.

Front loader mounted homemade 5' plow (without bucket on , and used the blade from my rear blade and had skid shoes ) - worked better than back blade, but would push the front of the tractor out in any more than 3" to 4" of heavy snow. Plus, the amount of movement, flex, etc. in the loader arms concerned me. I didn't want to do that long term.

I then made a homemade front mount blade (used the blade from the rear blade again, with with hydraulic lift and angle). This is the best snow pusher I have. Have pushed heavy 8" snows and it does good. It will push the front sideways at times, but if it's that bad, I can lift the blade and inch or two, and it tracks straight. I couldn't control the front loader blade that precisely while plowing. I can also plow at a faster speed, which throws the snow better instead of leaving a tall windrow that boxes you in for the rest of the winter. The front mount keeps the blade closer to the tractor which gives a lot less leverage to push the tractor around.

Given what you describe, you are going to want something that you can angle. If you have steeper hills, you are very likely going to need to plow down hill. You'll want to angle in opposite directions when you do this (push half the road right, half of it left), hydraulic angle will make this easy). If you have steep ditches, you'll also want something that controls best (front mounted). I ended up in the ditch with my loader mounted plow. I was pushing the last pass of stubborn snow that was shoving the front of the tractor and I was steering into it. Then I hit a spot that wasn't stubborn and it went right into the ditch. The control I have with the front mounted blade had never lead to that.

Front mounted blade would be my recommendation. Good luck with whatever you decide!!

 

[Darrellq]

Rear blade 100%. You'll just destroy your FEL doing that much "plowing" with it. They are pretty good at lifting things, okay at pushing things, but horrible with any lateral forces.

Hate to be ignorant, but what's a "FEL?"

 

[Pixguy]

I've used a rear blade on gravel road and pave driveway for years in conjunction with front blower. Rear blade w/ poly blade with fel (front end loader) is a great option imo. Studded tires on cars will be what you need to go over any ice without frear as well.

 

[LouNY]

Hate to be ignorant, but what's a "FEL?"

Front End Loader

 

[mikennh]

Stay as far away as possible from the loader arms plow. I bent the loader arms on a 3 series John Deere when I hit something solid buried under the snow when plowing at an angle. Never again.

 

[Hermio]

I live at the end of a 1 mile private road, which is chip sealed. We get anywhere between 0-3 "problematic" storms per year, usually between 4-12" of snow at a time. This doesn't seem like a lot, but it's a nightmare every time. The road has some steep parts and camber to it, with deep ditches on the side, and folks with lesser vehicles or lesser judgement always get stuck. Sometimes very stuck. After a day, the snow turns into ice and then everyone gets stuck for days and days until it melts.

Last year was particularly bad, and I used my loader bucket to clear out the worst sections of the road where people were getting stuck. This was very time consuming, and not the right tool for the job. I had to scoop it up one bucket at a time and dump it over the edge of the road. I was unable to push it anywhere, because it all clumps together and often freezes onto the inside of the bucket. It would take me all day to do the whole road.

I'd like to set my L2501 up to be able to clear these occasional storms, and I'm torn between:

• 7' rear blade with adjustable angle. Replace metal cutting edge with polyurethane strip. Let the "tilt" link on the 3 point hitch float, either by removing the link entirely or adding hydraulic top/tilt and floating the tilt valve, so that it can follow the contour of the road. Easy to find a rear blade used for $500.
• 7' quick attach snowplow attachment for front end loader, with either hydraulic or manual angle adjustment (I do have the 3rd function hydraulics). Hard to find used around here, would likely buy new.

The rear blade is definitely a cheaper option, and I get to keep my loader bucket or grapple attached for other tasks. I'm worried though that by not having my backhoe or chipper on the rear of the tractor (both at least 1200lbs) I'll be losing a lot of ballast/traction. The rear blade also doesn't have the springs of a snow plow, to give it relief if I hit an obstacle. There aren't many potential obstacles on the road, but these things happen. I'm also a little skeptical of how well the tractor will steer when pushing snow with the loader. The front end of this tractor is not particularly heavy, and I've noticed that when I'm pushing things around with the loader (stumps, piles of dirt, big rocks) it doesn't steer very well. It seems like the loader has too much leverage on the tractor, being so far out in front of the steering axle.


Thoughts? Similar experience? Any input is appreciated.

I have used both methods. The rear blade is cheap but if you drive forward with it in heavy snow the snow will build up in front of the blade and run into your rear wheels, losing traction. If you drive backwards, it plows better but the risk of damage is greater and in my case, iot gave me a sore neck to try to look behind myself for a long time. I have used a front plow with both a clamp-on attachment to a loader bucket and an actual blade directly mounted to the loader frame. I do not recommend the clamp-on designs, as that puts the blade way out in front of the tractor, making steering all but impossible. I presently have an 8' blade on a Mahindra 5035 HST, and it does very well. The loader frame on it seems pretty bulletproof. I actually bent the plow blade when I hit a tree stump but it did not harm the loader frame. But some loader frames are not that rugged. Use your judgement. I prefer the front blade setup I have now. However, I am thinking a 7' blade may be a bit much for an L2501. My 5035 is a mucch heavier tractor, so the 8' blade does not make it work too hard.

 

[acethunder]

Heavy wet snow will push you sideways if pushing from the front. If put a blade in the back you may as well put on a snow blower. Works the best and if you get up to 12” you’ll never push it properly. Also a snow blower will throw the 10-15’ out of your way

 

[TCGUY]

have plow on FEL...works great....but if have more than 4-5 inches of snow will use my rear mount blower....we get tons of snow and i dont want to bend my FEL by pushing too much weight

 

[Popgadget]

My vote is for the front blade. I put a 96” hydraulic angle with urethane edge on my L6060. I’ve got about 1500’ of smooth pavement to the road plus parking around the house. Chains are helpful, but rarely needed if I keep it under a foot at a time. I do put the ballast box with about 1000lbs on the 3PT.

 

[Fields_mj]

If you haven't plowed snow before, know that you need some ground speed (at least 8mph has been my experience) to make a snow plow work. If you don't have enough speed, you still push the snow, but the plow can't lift it off the ground. That's fine in a drive way or small parking lot, but not for clearing a road or large area. For larger areas, the curve of the plow needs to lift/role the snow over and toss it to the side. The plow needs to be moving with some speed to make that happen. If you hit something solid at that speed with a FEL mounted plow, it's going to get expensive.

Also know that you're really going to need tire chains to get much traction out of your tractor if there's ANY kind of ice under the snow.

 

[Popgadget]

My vote is for the front blade. I put a 96” hydraulic angle with urethane edge on my L6060. I’ve got about 1500’ of smooth pavement to the road plus parking around the house. Chains are helpful, but rarely needed if I keep it under a foot at a time. I do put the ballast box with about 1000lbs on the 3PT.

 

[wallymortar]

Definitely a rear blade of no more than 7' for a Kubota 2501, especially if it has industrial tires and you don't have chains. The problem with a FEL blade on a tractor, especially one as small as a 2501 is not rear wheel traction but frontend weight and traction when pushing a blade full of snow. Once you fill the blade, unless you can maintain a speed sufficient to keep snow rolling off the blade, it will be next to impossible to maintain directional control and the snow load will simply push the frontend sideways. Kubota L-series small wheels don't help either. I have plowed snow on similar and worse driveways for years and always go back to the rear blade. My driveways are mostly limestone except for one that is a 1/4 mile of old broken asphalt with a severe crown. Several years ago, I bought a 4x4 John Deere 5045E with ag tires and a 72" skid loader-style FEL with 3rd function controls, i.e. can be articulated hydraulically. The JD 5045E is considered a "utility tractor", larger than a compact-series, and has much larger tires (8.3x24 front; 13.2x28 rear) than any L-series Kubota and a snow load simply pushes the front end sideways. It's also very difficult to control depth of an FEL plow on uneven terrain and you will end up tearing up your road, especially if you have any crown in it and with the steep sections. I have a tracked Kubota skid loader (SVL75-2) and have since started using the FEL on it when I have significant snows but even with the extra stability control of the skid loader, the FEL is problematic for plowing uneven driveways. For a small, compact tractor such as an L2501, a rear blade gives you traction control, directional control, speed control and depth control necessary to plow the type of road you have.

 

[deezler]

Ah, it must be fall! Snowplow discussions are taking off again here. Love it.

OP, I think you will be fine with either a front OR a rear blade. For 3 snow events per year? Don't sweat it. And if it is below freezing before the snow flies (not guaranteed, obviously) you should be able to just drop a rear blade and go. No need to constantly crane your neck around, just calibrate for where the outer blade edge is, and rip. Chip seal should stay in place well, if it is frozen up first. Even my loose gravel plows well with a rear blade when its cold.

 

[LouNY]

OK, we are seeing lots of opinions here;

From the OP's original post,

I live at the end of a 1 mile private road, which is chip sealed. We get anywhere between 0-3 "problematic" storms per year, usually between 4-12" of snow at a time.

The road has some steep parts and camber to it, with deep ditches on the side, and folks with lesser vehicles or lesser judgement always get stuck. Sometimes very stuck. After a day, the snow turns into ice and then everyone gets stuck for days and days until it melts.

I'd like to set my L2501 up to be able to clear these occasional storms, and I'm torn between:

• 7' rear blade with adjustable angle. Replace metal cutting edge with polyurethane strip. Let the "tilt" link on the 3 point hitch float, either by removing the link entirely or adding hydraulic top/tilt and floating the tilt valve, so that it can follow the contour of the road. Easy to find a rear blade used for $500.
• 7' quick attach snowplow attachment for front end loader, with either hydraulic or manual angle adjustment (I do have the 3rd function hydraulics). Hard to find used around here, would likely buy new.

The rear blade is definitely a cheaper option, and I get to keep my loader bucket or grapple attached for other tasks. I'm worried though that by not having my backhoe or chipper on the rear of the tractor (both at least 1200lbs) I'll be losing a lot of ballast/traction. The rear blade also doesn't have the springs of a snow plow, to give it relief if I hit an obstacle. There aren't many potential obstacles on the road, but these things happen. I'm also a little skeptical of how well the tractor will steer when pushing snow with the loader. The front end of this tractor is not particularly heavy, and I've noticed that when I'm pushing things around with the loader (stumps, piles of dirt, big rocks) it doesn't steer very well. It seems like the loader has too much leverage on the tractor, being so far out in front of the steering axle.

My thoughts for what it's worth;
one mile long, lets assume 20 ft wide, to allow 2 way traffic.

For all of you calling for snow blowers, lets think about it for a minute.
The OP's tractor has 19 HP at the pto.
How fast can you travel while blowing snow?
My tractor with considerably more pto hp travels about 1 mph in low reverse,
with an 8 ft blower it will take at least 3 passes to open up a road,
likely 4 passes to get it all cleaned up. So thats at least 4 hours with my large blower and tractor.

If the OP uses a 6 ft blower he will need at least 4 passes more likely 5 or 6 at what speed?
Maybe 1/2 mph with only 19 hp to work with, so it's up to 10-12 hours with a blower.

A 6 ft blade on his FEL at a reasonable speed with his HP pushing snow of say 5 mph and 4 passes
(a bare minimum considering spill off the end of the blade) now we are under an hour. So call it 2 for good measure.

A 7 foot rear blade with hydraulic angle will be about the same time frame.
I have very seldom had any issue with the rear blade not scrapping my tire packed snow
clean.

A front blade either frame mounted or loader mounted will likely have a spring trip which will help protect
the tractor.
A rear blade in my experience while not having a spring trip doesn't have much harm potential especially while driving forward, I know when mine hits large rocks or similar obstructions the blade will bounce over them.

With and 8-12" wet snow fall you will need chains especially on any "steep" spots. Also as far as chains go being on a hard surface and wanting to maintain a decent speed the Euro studded chains such as the Aquiline Talons or OFA or TRYGG studded chains are the only style to consider, excellent traction and a smooth ride.
Also any steep portions should be plowed downhill only, it is much faster and in my mind much easier on your equipment, even if you dead head back up the steep sections to plow or blow downhill you will accomplish much more faster.

With all this said to this point, to maintain a mile of road a plow truck is a much more practical method unless you want to get an 80+ Hp tractor and equipment to work with it. A heated truck cab with wipers and defroster will be much nicer and faster as well as being able to plow in speeds which will cast the snow a decent distance.

Good Luck

 

[bozdmax]

The difficulty with answering this question is that there are at least a dozen 'types' of snow, and each comes in varying amounts. I have a 23HP JD 2210 and we typically get 100+ inches/ year in this part of NY - the Canadian part.

I have a rear blower and a rear blade and use both (at different times )
I have the FEL bucket (quick release) and a straight blade for it that I had fabricated from some steel. And I use both depending...

For ice (and we get plenty) I added FEL mounts (get from JD dealer) to a box blade and I can use that to chip pretty thick ice with the scarifiers OR I can remove the scarifiers and use it as a snow-pusher going forward or a scraper in reverse.

With light powder, I try to plow or blow every 4 -6 inches. but sometimes you wake up to 18" and higher in the drifts. Last Christmas it drifted to 5'. I have had better days.

Things NOT mentioned by others: if snow is sticking to my bucket or blades or blower, I clean them off and spray down with diesel fuel. It helps most of the time... for a while.

I also clear the local widow's drive and the road in-between us if the snow-plow has not made it through the area yet. Her drive is paved and the Sun will take care of pretty quickly if I will do my part.

One more thing (OK, 2 more)... with enough deep stuff, I use a herringbone pattern to get things off the side (23 HP, see above!). AND always leave room for the next snowstorm. And the next snowstorm. And the next snowstorm, ad nauseum... up until Mother's Day. this is where the blower shines.

What I need is a nice heated cab for $1000!

John B

PS - Oh yes, AND bought a rear-mount broadcast spreader for sand/light gravel.

PPS - keep shear pins on hand.

 

[deezler]

ANyone suggesting an expensive snowblower is completely missing the point here. OP said "3 events of 3-12" each". So barely anything. Just get a used rear blade and scrape it off. If it's a 10+" snow, get out there half way through it and stay ahead of it. Done.

 

[BadgerCheese]

I live at the end of a 1 mile private road, which is chip sealed. We get anywhere between 0-3 "problematic" storms per year, usually between 4-12" of snow at a time. This doesn't seem like a lot, but it's a nightmare every time. The road has some steep parts and camber to it, with deep ditches on the side, and folks with lesser vehicles or lesser judgement always get stuck. Sometimes very stuck. After a day, the snow turns into ice and then everyone gets stuck for days and days until it melts.

Last year was particularly bad, and I used my loader bucket to clear out the worst sections of the road where people were getting stuck. This was very time consuming, and not the right tool for the job. I had to scoop it up one bucket at a time and dump it over the edge of the road. I was unable to push it anywhere, because it all clumps together and often freezes onto the inside of the bucket. It would take me all day to do the whole road.

I'd like to set my L2501 up to be able to clear these occasional storms, and I'm torn between:

• 7' rear blade with adjustable angle. Replace metal cutting edge with polyurethane strip. Let the "tilt" link on the 3 point hitch float, either by removing the link entirely or adding hydraulic top/tilt and floating the tilt valve, so that it can follow the contour of the road. Easy to find a rear blade used for $500.
• 7' quick attach snowplow attachment for front end loader, with either hydraulic or manual angle adjustment (I do have the 3rd function hydraulics). Hard to find used around here, would likely buy new.

The rear blade is definitely a cheaper option, and I get to keep my loader bucket or grapple attached for other tasks. I'm worried though that by not having my backhoe or chipper on the rear of the tractor (both at least 1200lbs) I'll be losing a lot of ballast/traction. The rear blade also doesn't have the springs of a snow plow, to give it relief if I hit an obstacle. There aren't many potential obstacles on the road, but these things happen. I'm also a little skeptical of how well the tractor will steer when pushing snow with the loader. The front end of this tractor is not particularly heavy, and I've noticed that when I'm pushing things around with the loader (stumps, piles of dirt, big rocks) it doesn't steer very well. It seems like the loader has too much leverage on the tractor, being so far out in front of the steering axle.


Thoughts? Similar experience? Any input is appreciated.

Here in the great white north we get between 2-250" of snow a season. Christmas eve was a 24" blizzard on its own. My neighbors both have pickup's with plows on them and push the snow leaving and coming back (our road is 1/2 mile long to the blacktop), but you can't push 2' of snow with a truck.

I have a LS XR4046 and run a Frontier 72" pto driven snow thrower on the back. I have a hydraulic upper link so I can tilt it back early in the year so as to not throw gravel from the road into the woods, and then tilt it forward to cut more aggressively after a snow mat is formed. It takes awhile to remove 2' of snow, but it moves along pretty well at 8-14".

You did not mention it in your post, but traction is a big deal regardless of how much snow. My rear tires are filled and I run 10mm square link chains on the back (they weigh 74lbs each) and 3/8" diamond studded chains on the front tires. They keep you moving and should you start drifting into a ditch, they can back you out without using the FEL to lever you backwards. BTW, I'll fill the bucket in my FEL with snow to add a bit of weight to the front.

Finally, it's easier to go forwards than backwards, so the plow might be the better option depending on your flexibility and how long you want to look backwards. I put front and rear cameras on my unit this summer so I can take a break from twisting backward a 1/2 mile out and 1/2 mile back. You feel it after awhile!

 

[BadgerCheese]

ANyone suggesting an expensive snowblower is completely missing the point here. OP said "3 events of 3-12" each". So barely anything. Just get a used rear blade and scrape it off. If it's a 10+" snow, get out there half way through it and stay ahead of it. Done.

The only issue with the back blade is there's no skids to keep you from scraping your road into the woods. Maybe a modification?