SSQA Snow/dirt plow blades

[rScotty]

Does anyone use an SSQA Snow & Dirt plow blade on a larger utility tractor?

I was wondering about fitting one to our Kubota M59 to maintain an awkward sloped driveway that can turn icy in the winter.
The blade would have to tilt as well as angle, and probably require some sort of shoes or runners.

Any information or hints appreciated.

rScotty

 

[CH4Ohio]

There are lots of examples and pics in various threads showing SSQA snow plow setups. I have one on a 57 HP Kubota. It's a standard Meyer plow pinned to a SSQA plate and angled using 3rd function valve. Seems like that would fit the bill.

But it's NOT a DIRT blade. Not sure what a "snow/dirt blade" would be.

 

[leonz]

Does anyone use an SSQA Snow & Dirt plow blade on a larger utility tractor?

I was wondering about fitting one to our Kubota M59 to maintain an awkward sloped driveway that can turn icy in the winter.
The blade would have to tilt as well as angle, and probably require some sort of shoes or runners.

Any information or hints appreciated.

rScotty

The folks at good works tractors are having a closeout sale on HLA SSQA snow plow blades with manual angle adjustment but no tilt.
These snowplows have skid shoes and the hydraulic angle adjustment option can be purchased for extra cost.

SSQA 6 way dozer blades can start at almost $4,000.00

 

[rScotty]

There are lots of examples and pics in various threads showing SSQA snow plow setups. I have one on a 57 HP Kubota. It's a standard Meyer plow pinned to a SSQA plate and angled using 3rd function valve. Seems like that would fit the bill.

But it's NOT a DIRT blade. Not sure what a "snow/dirt blade" would be.

Not really looking for dual purpose. It will be used in the snow and maybe a bit on rough ice.
I have no plans to use our good tractor like a bulldozer in the dirt.
I just mentioned snow+dirt because the one I saw years ago was advertised that way.

What I'm wondering about is how well does it work? Does it need skids? What are the downsides? Can you see the edge? Part of what I need to do is work around bushes and trees, and scrape down to ice if the snow is compacted.

I don't see many tractors equipped with a SSQA blade and wondered why.

 

[CH4Ohio]

I have mine set up just like a truck mount. It works just as good as a truck plow would, with the advantage of not needing to maintain a separate truck or SUV for it to be mounted on. It's also super easy to attach or drop -- just drop the plate and detach the quick-couplers. It's important to mount it to that the A-frame hangs from a chain and doesn't let the plow carry the weight of your loader and tractor.

I don't use shoes on mine, but I have some. People have different opinions on those. I find that if I set the angle-of-attack low enough that mine doesn't really dig in MUCH. I still do push some gravel into the grass and have to clean it up in the spring.

The only downside is that it sticks out pretty far. You could get your self pushed sideways if you drove too fast and pushed into something big. I don't have problems but my terrain isn't as steep as what yours sounds like. You can't drive it miles away to help someone else get plowed out, but that's actually probably a "plus". The markers that stand up on the end of the blade make it easy to tell where you're at and I can see the snow roll out of the end of mine just by looking over the front tire.

It's easy to get up close to bushes etc. and drop the blade to back-drag or push on past them. I think you can see much better than when using the same plow on a truck.

In my opinion, the best setup is having a rear-mounted snowblower too. You can plow most of the time, but if it gets too deep or you run out of places to pile it, you can just turn around and make it disappear.

Whatever you do, don't get a snowplow that's solidly welded to the SSQA plate and doesn't float. I bought one like that from a guy and broke it the first day. You can't tell how much weight and downpressure you're putting on the plow. It needs to be setup just like a truck mounted plow -- pinned at the rear so it can float up and down and then you raise or lower with a chain attached near the front of the A-frame.

Hope this answers your questions. We've posted a lot of pics of different setups over the last few years. I'm sure you can find the threads.

 

[RjCorazza]

I plow with an HLA 2000 7' SSQA blade, and it works great. I do around 15-20 long residential drives in my immediate area.
I can see both sides of the blade from the cab, and it's on the heavy side at 535 lbs. It scrapes packed snow as good as any other blade will, plus I can put the tractor weight on it if necessary. It gets a little squirrelly when the front end weight is on the blade though... no traction / steering.

I run it 99% of the time with an UHMW Polyethylene edge and fabricated side wings.

 

[ruffdog]

It scrapes packed snow as good as any other blade will, plus I can put the tractor weight on it if necessary. It gets a little squirrelly when the front end weight is on the blade though... no traction / steering.

This is why some plows have the ability float independently of the loader. That way the loader adds weight to the front tires to aid in traction.

 

[chim]

I didn't invent the "underslung mount" but it does the trick. Here's info from mine back in early 2019:

SSQA Snow Plow

Although this is a "Build it Yourself" forum, I didn't do any of the welding on this project and the design was mostly based on builds by Paul Short and TractorNH. Our Weld Shop at work was pretty much out of things to do. With that opportunity, it made sense to let someone with a lot of...

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[leonz]

Not really looking for dual purpose. It will be used in the snow and maybe a bit on rough ice.
I have no plans to use our good tractor like a bulldozer in the dirt.
I just mentioned snow+dirt because the one I saw years ago was advertised that way.

What I'm wondering about is how well does it work? Does it need skids? What are the downsides? Can you see the edge? Part of what I need to do is work around bushes and trees, and scrape down to ice if the snow is compacted.

I don't see many tractors equipped with a SSQA blade and wondered why.

The reason you do not see many of them is because of the mounting system on a front end loader of a farm tractor; one small impact can cause a massive twisting/racking of the loader arms, where an under frame mount to the rear axle and engine cradle provide more structural strength for the underslung plow frame.

 

[RjCorazza]

The reason you do not see many of them is because of the mounting system on a front end loader of a farm tractor; one small impact can cause a massive twisting/racking of the loader arms, where an under frame mount to the rear axle and engine cradle provide more structural strength for the underslung plow frame.

There is SIGNIFICANTLY greater risk of twisting Loader arms while using a bucket and catching the corner on something.
A plow generally has a relief valve on the angle cylinder, and the blade or edge trips.

That said, for commercial or heavy duty use a frame mounted plow is certainly more durable and less prone to damage.