blade on lawn tractor

[brettliddicoat]

i was wondering what people think of putting a blade on a lawn tractor i am not shure if it would do a lot of good it is a craftsman with 18.5 hp engine 2 wheel drive as most lawn tractors are just wondering before i waste a bunch of money


thanks guys and gals

 

[joe48]

I wouldn't waste the money unless your pushing light materials only.
Here's my personal experience; my new neighbor tried to use his Craftsman with blade to move/spread some old hard packed dirt piles about 10 yds each. I watched this with a great deal of amusement as he tried to bulldoze the dirt, NG.
Next he put on his tire chains, same results, NG.
Next he started adding weight to get traction, he really was quite creative in finding ways to hang concrete blocks on the tractor. Well this was much more successful but the blade frame started to bend and then he burned up the clutch belt, end of project.
Thats when I took my 35+ yr old 7hp Allis Chalmers(same as Simplicity) over with my blade ,no weights or chains. Took about 1/2 hr per pile and 1 six pack. Job done!!! New friend. Good afternoons work.
Point is the machine needs to be built heavy enough to begin with to tackle work like that. That old Allis is all steel and cast iron, only sheet metal is the hood and seat pan and weighs about 750 lbs w/o add ons.

 

[brettliddicoat]

i only planned on using it for snow no dirt moving lawn tractors are not for dirt i would atleast want a sub compact utility i have operated dozers before and know the stress of pushing dirt all to well

brett

 

[DreaminGreen]

I've got an 18hp 15yr old hydro Craftsman GT (bought new)with a snow blower and blade for the front and a rear blade on a sleave hitch rear wheel weight and chains. If you have a choice go with a snow blower. Imo the machines arent really heavy enough in the front too handle an angled blade full (even half full) of snow it just slides to the side. If your plowing with the blade straight the machine (in my case) is lacking torque(single speed hydro). With the blower its really pretty good with all types of snow. If you've got a gear drive tractor with good low gearing and maybe put chains or ice screws in/on the front tires maybe it would be resonable and if you aveage a lot of snow and clear a large area (more than a 100 ft drive way 10 ft wide) I'd try for something else. Hope I am some help.

 

[skidoo]

If you get a lot of snow, there may be times where you get the urge to use momentum to get some bigger piles to move a little. I did that with a 12.5HP Craftsman. It worked for me, and after more hours than desired, got the job done. But, it didn't take long to crack the frame... With the bigger tractors I now have, it is easy to move the snow...

 

[Gittyup]

Get a heavier tractor first.

 

[LBrown59]

I wouldn't waste the money unless your pushing light materials only.
Here's my personal experience; my new neighbor tried to use his Craftsman with blade to move/spread some old hard packed dirt piles about 10 yds each. I watched this with a great deal of amusement as he tried to bulldoze the dirt, NG.
Next he put on his tire chains, same results, NG.
Next he started adding weight to get traction, he really was quite creative in finding ways to hang concrete blocks on the tractor. Well this was much more successful but the blade frame started to bend and then he burned up the clutch belt, end of project.
Thats when I took my 35+ yr old 7hp Allis Chalmers(same as Simplicity) over with my blade ,no weights or chains. Took about 1/2 hr per pile and 1 six pack. Job done!!! New friend. Good afternoons work.
Point is the machine needs to be built heavy enough to begin with to tackle work like that. That old Allis is all steel and cast iron, only sheet metal is the hood and seat pan and weighs about 750 lbs w/o add ons.

I've done a lot of that kind of stuff in the last 42 years with my old 1966 Bolens 850 garden tractor.

 

[RobS]

My first snow-pusher was my grand-dads' Wheelhorse circa 1966. Had a front blade, chains and a few bricks under the seat. It worked fine in lighter snows but struggled in heavier/deeper stuff. Was fun though. At the same time, a neighbor had a garden tractor with more heft. He did pretty well with that thing.

Before the CUT, I had (still have) a Craftsman lawn tractor with front blower. Chains and a five gallon pail of concrete on the back and it still spun in heavier snow. Of course, my CUT spins a lot too but I have a lot more blade than either of the previous.

I just noticed you are in WI. I would say if you only have a little snow to deal with, go for it but you get quite a bit don't you? If so, you may be disappointed.

 

[brettliddicoat]

well this year we have had the most snow ever and that was before the 10 inches or so we got today

my brother does a lot of small in town driveways and also has a smaller blower he uses i was just thinking to save him some time in the lighter snows it would be good

brett

 

[OhioSUPERSPORT]

I have a 2003 Craftsman GT5000. GT is supposed to be a heavier duty Garden Tractor. 25 HP Kohler with hydro drive. They sell 2 blades, or they did back then. I bought the heavy duty one.

I have chains but never got wheel weights. Everytime I needed them they were sold out. When there's no snow I forget about getting them. I have a tube of sand strapped on the back. I've plowed more snow so far this year than any other year I've been here. Yesterday I finally got wheel weights.

My gravel drive is over 200 feet. The only problem I've had was low traction sometimes but that is taken care of now. As long as you have chains and weights I see no problem plowing snow.

A couple years ago I let it get deep over the weekend because I didn't feel like plowing. It froze over on the top. It was like ice. Without wheel weights I couldn't get enough traction to break the solid top and push the deeper snow. I lifted the blade and plowed the top off then lowered it and finished it off. Took twice as long but I got it cleared. I don't know if the weights would have made a difference or not.