A weighty subject - sno control

[zmansmac]

I have a B7500 that I set up a few years ago with a front blade, including power angle, attached to my loader arms. This set up works pretty well for me and I'm still amazed at the power this little tractor has. My only problem has been at the base of my driveway when I have to maneuver the plowed down little piles into big piles. I have turfs with front and rear chains and always plow in 4WD. But I also always have the blade in float and with only the normal weight of the front of the tractor I find myself sliding to one side or the other even with the blade relatively straight. I'm sure some additional weight on the front would really help this situation out but my question is how much weight should I shoot for? I'm thinking about making some kind of rectangular concrete weight that would attach to the brush guard that came with the loader.

 

[ronjhall]

Try not using float. Adjust weight on front tires to keep traction. When down to the final cleanup use float to clean down to drive surface.

 

[nhkabotab7800]

when i bought a back hoe recently it came with front weight that bolt right on to the front frame of the tractor...might be something to look into....looks nice and neat, out of the way.

 

[4shorts]

I've operated heavy equipment for years.Some of the largest stuff you'll ever see because I was involved in Iron Ore mining at the time and I've found with loaders the more weight you put on the bucket in down force the less control you have with steering.

The same is true for my little Kubota 4240. I'm not using fluid filled tires. I don't use chains and this week It's plowed about the heaviest snow it will ever have to plow and it did it with no problems at all. Yes It's in 4x4 but it never even slipped but even in float your going to find that your steering isn't responsive on a sharp turn at times.

When I'm plowing I take just enough weight off my fel to put as much weight on the front wheels and doing that combined with planning out the way I plow by plowing as straight as I can makes plowing with my little tractor a pile of fun and I enjoy it much more than plowing with my truck. In this case size doesn't matter. The more down pressure you put on your plow or bucket, the less steering control your going to have.

 

[StrangeRanger]

4shorts is right. As tempting as using float is for clearing snow, you'll find you have much better control if you don't float. I'm still learning to be an FEL jedi myself, but it's as folks on here say: "You have to learn to be an operator, not a user".
Last night I was clearing my neighbor-to-be's driveway b/c I wanted some seat time. We have a shared drive and where his drive meets my drive it comes down off a hill and meets at a nasty angel w/ steep culverts on both sides. I got lazy and tried to float it. All I did was make a bigger mess and scared the poo outta myself at one point b/c my steering control was basically non-existent when I needed it. So it took me a little longer to finesse the FEL, but I finally did a much better clearing job and had full steering control. Bonus!