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