Best attachment for snow

[Michael_Porter]

I drove a 3720 today. I was very impressed with the emission quality and how quiet it seemed. I had never tried a twin-touch eHydro before and I liked how precisely and easily I could control small movements back and forth. I definitely want this tractor.

I'm wondering what attachment is best for snow? I have a 1/4 mile, uneven, gravel driveway plus a parking area to keep clear. I live in southeast Iowa where the snow is unpredictable in volume. It's often light, but can drift and be heavy. I do plan to get a FEL.

Consider that I already have a Kawasaki Mule with a front blade. I don't know how well it works because I've only had it a year and last winter had very little snow to test it by.

 

[jcmseven]

Micheal,

This topic has been debated extensively in posts from last winter. Your basic options for the 3720 are: a bucket/rear blade combination; a dedicated front snow blade, made by JD or another manufacturer; or, a boom mounted front blade for the loader. I live in NC, and where we live (3800 feet) we do see a fair amount of snow. Although we do not get the large amounts of other areas of the country, we have enough here to merit having an efficient snow removal tool. I have a 3720 also, and I am responsible for my drive (about four hundred feet, gravel) and for about 1/2 mile of finished side road that is non state-maintained. To me, the dedicated front blade is out. It is a very expensive option that requires storage space and has limited versatility. I have a front bucket and a rear blade (72") that I use for grading. I used it twice last year for lighter snow, and that combo did pretty well. The ticket, though, for true efficient snow removal is the boom mounted front blade, made either by John Deere or by an allied company (such as Curtis). I have a 72" inch JD blade. It literally takes five minutes to click off the bucket and click on the front blade, and it will cut snow removal time in half, or more, and does a great job. There are adjustable shoes on the blade to prevent gouging the gravel. One can also pony up to the hydraulic angling for about three hundred additional dollars. If this is an option, I recommend having the tractor plumbed for this option at the time of purchase which can save some money later. This combination also will work for light duty grading of gravel or dirt, and I am in the process of selling my rear blade due to the front blade's ease of use for this purpose. I bought the JD blade because I liked to stay factory, but some posters have had good luck with Curtis brand. The advantage of the Curtis is the blade is a bit taller and perhaps some cheaper, but this is at some detriment to ease of mounting. I also understand there are some mild attachment fabrications that need to be done. I think this set-up would out-perform the Mule. With a mid frame tractor, I would not go wider than six feet on the blade, especially if you would use it for other grading at times, but they do make a seven footer for the loader also. This seems to be (by far) the most-efficient combination of the ones I have tried.


John M

 

[Egon]

Perhaps just go with the loader and a rear blade. The loader lets you pile snow in tight areas and the rear blade should handle light snow.

You can also use the blade for maintaining the bumpy gravel driveway in the summer.

Egon

 

[ronjhall]

I have a Curtis 6'6" snow blade mounted on my <font color="orange">Kubota </font> B2910. Its size is closer to the 3120. It handled 2' drifted snow with no problems. Here is a link to some pictures posted on TBN. Click Here

 

[Bob_Skurka]

I tend to agree with Egon. Given what you said about snow volume, the FEL and rear grader blade combination are probably going to suit your needs pretty well. The FEL can deal with your drifts.

Up to about 10" a grader blade will do the job without much help from the FEL. Up to 6" it does the job easily. In heavier/wet snows over 4" my preference is to spin the blade backwards and set it at an angle; driving in reverse the blade simply pushes the snow to the side and off the drive.

In lighter snow I find it is easier to have the grader blade facing forward, but still set at an angle.

When the snow is slushy or there is ice crust, pulling the grader blade can have the tractor slipping one way while the grader blade tries to push it the other way. So under those conditions, pushing in reverse is easier.

I guess it all boils down to the fact that a grader blade is great for snow, but you have to adjust your techniques for your snow conditions. Make sure you buy a grader blade that you can spin around 360-degrees WHILE MOUNTED ON YOUR TRACTOR!!!! Some brands do not do this. A well designed grader blade will allow you to spin the blade all the way around while mounted. Wider blades will be set farther back from the tractor. Depending on the size/quality of the grader blade, you can expect to pay $250 to $450 for a typical grader blade, I suspect you'll use a 6' to 7' blade.

A rear mount 3pt snow blower will likely cost you $1600 to $2400. Many brands are available.

A front mount snow blower will be a proprietary mount and will come from John Deere, not sure the price, but I would guess $3000 to $3500.

 

[ronjhall]

Bob
Base price for the front 59" snow blower is $3,300 plus another $1400 for mount. If tractor does not have additional remotes that has to be added also. : Kind of pricey. But a nice attachment.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Ron, I personally think paying for a front mount snow blower is a matter of need versus want. If I lived in a HEAVY snow area, I would cough up the money for a front mount blower. They are just so darn expensive. But for a heavy snow area, they are more comfortable, easier and faster to use than any other method.

(now I do have a front mount blower on my little Cub Cadet and that blower was more expensive than the 3pt blower I own and it is easy to use, but I "retired" that tractor to the lighter duty use at my office).

By the way, your Curtis blade set up is one of best set ups I've seen, but as you custom built it may be beyond the abilities & grasp of most of us here on TBN.

 

[sassafraspete]

Such a refreshing topic, to talk about snow after having 6 straight days of 90+ degree heat with humidity to kill a guy. I started with bucket and back blade, turning the blade around and going backwards....and using the bucket to manage the larger snow piles. I think I started dreaming about snowblowers , but decided they were not justified where I live...( however a freak 2' snow we had last yr got me thinking about them again. ) Anyhow, I got concerned about going backwards down my steep drive and hills around my house. I bought a Fel mounted blade made by a local Indiana company in Shelbyville, Indiana... called Kasco. Since I have a lesser know brand tractor.... (kukje - branson) , my dealer had the kasco people make a set of quick mounts to fit the branson fel. It is a nice piece of equipment, and has hydraulics to change the angle. I didn't have my tractor plumbed for front hydraulics...so I just use the curl circuit of my FEL. The drawback using the curl circuit , is that the angle of the blade...top to bottom remains fixed.... but overall it works for me. The blade is very heavy, especially mounted out on the end of your FEL. You will need counter weight on the back. Mine has skid shoes. Even with those, I have a hard time on my gravel drive not pushing out some gravel...eg the shoes will dig into any soft gravel and make small ditches. I have been thinking about trying wheels...someday. It really does a fine job on the county road (blacktop). I can use both my back blade and the front blade at the same time...pushing a large portion of snow with the front blade, and letting the back blade clean the spoils. As for the gravel drive...after the drive gets frozen in real well, the issue with digging into the gravel goes away.

If I were you... I would first try using just the rear blade and your bucket for awhile and see how that works for you. This is the cheapest option. You can always use the rear blade for other things like Egon mentioned. You may find these work perfectly well. The fel mounted blade is going to run you 4-6 times the cost of a rear blade , so you can afford to test the rear blade out for awhile.

I don't know if you are in the flat part of Iowa, or hilly. If you have hills, you may want to look into front tire chains. These work well for me on my 4wd tractor. I don't do much slipping, and helps me control my steering. I am including a picture of my rig...and my counter weight just happened to be a bush hog (I wasn't really mowing snow... just took delivery of both implements when this picture was shot).

Ok... I think this topic cooled me down about 10 degrees.

sassafraspete

 

[RalphVa]

I kept my Gravely with its 48" snow blade and snow blower. Used it once this winter after finding out my JD 4010 with FEL was so much easier to use. I just put it on float and push with it level. When it fills, I turn to the side and dump it.

Unless you regularly get heavy snows, you shouldn't need anything else but your FEL on the JD plus your mule. Just use the mule for heavier stuff that would require dumping the FEL a lot and the FEL for light stuff. The FEL is good for getting rid of stuff up around buildings where push space gets limited for a plow.

If you don't have something compact to use as counterweight for the FEL, a back blade is probably a good choice that can also be used as a snow plow (if you don't mind running the tractor backwards).

Ralph

 

[sassafraspete]

One other comment.... if you get that rear blade....think about getting a longer one so you don't have to crowd the side ditches with your wheels. I have a 6 foot blade....would like to have a 7ft blade . Just a thought.