Snow Attachments Need snow removal advice

[Elevation 8200]

I love the Homemade heated cab idea, looks sharp, good job.

I've already over extended my self getting the 30hp, after
reading all the post, that was #1 to me. I'm in the Rockies, very
little flat ground here, and trees/rocks, the smaller tractor makes
it useful for many other activities. The L-series just to big.
Snowblowers make life so easy, are winter snow storms usually
1-3ft deep, but powdery. Blowers love it. It's the deep wet snow
that clog-up the impeller shoot, even with lubrication.

Neighbors have loaders, mostly old worn-out and held together with
much ingenuity. They’re chained but get stuck (2wd), better than nothing.

Why does no one use drift bars? Do they not work on tractors? Have
never seen a tractor blower work, except pictures on your this web
site and none had those extensions.

 

[Racer71]

Go for the snow blower. It's the up and away effect vs the burm you get. You can get a narrow blower with 2 augars to handle the taller drifts.

 

[SkunkWerX]

Why does no one use drift bars? Do they not work on tractors? Have
never seen a tractor blower work, except pictures on your this web
site and none had those extensions.

I don't knowthe answer, but I do know a couple sticks of mild steel is going to cost only a little bit of money, and I'd guess the blower will have plenty of sideplate area to mount some home-made drift bars, to see how they work.

 

[Rara Avis]

I would think a 3 pt snowblower on rear and the FEL on the front; you will be able to tackle most snows. If that setup does not work; sit by the fire and enjoy the view!

Ditto...

 

[Elevation 8200]

Thanks for all the suggestions, I guess I'll start looking at snowblowers.

It's great to have a place like this to go for ideas & information.

 

[WayneB]

I use a 3pt snowblower and leave the bucket on to move snow around that I cannot get with the blower.

I looked at the front mounted blowers but did not want to give up my FEL. The dealer tried to convince me that it was a simple disconnect to switch between the FEL and blower, but I just wasn't up to doing that on a cold snowy day. No patience for working in the cold with frozen iron!

As for blowing in reverse I have done it for a good period of time and it really isn't that big of a deal. My driveway is around 1000 feet down hill with a couple of curves. Going backwards really is not that bad in low gear I can turn sideways in the seat and watch where I am going. Be prepared to have snow blowing into your face from time to time. I use my snowmobile helmet with a heated visor to keep the snow off. Works fine and keeps the head warm too.

 

[schmism]

IMHO thats blower only teritory (rear mounted are easyest)

 

[jpm]

don't forget chains.last year i did and when i needed them it was to late

 

[karman 4564]

forget the loader idea,it's way to much snow......by january you'll be out of room,..then what.

go with the frt mounted blower because with the rear mounted blower you'll get a stiff neck and back.with the right blower,you can blow snow 50' back from the driveway.

I live in northwest pa. on the lake effect side of lake erie,and we get alot of snow in a hurry[maybe not as much as some of you].but it's not uncommon to get 2 feet overnight and i don't want to play with the loader at 6am just so i can get out of the driveway to get to the saltmine[work].

LIKE EVERYONE ELSE I THOUGHT I COULD USE THE LOADER TO KEEP THE DRIVEWAY CLEAR,THAT LASTED 1 SEASON THEN I BOUGHT THE FRONT MOUNTED BLOWER,IT'S FASTER AND DOES A BETTER JOB.NOW I DO ALL MY NEIGHBORS DRIVEWAYS.
"JUST ANOTHER REASON TO USE THE BIG GREEN DIESEL POWERPLANT."

 

[dqdave1]

They do make rear blowers that are forward pulling.

 

[3238dpw]

Jmarotz, Hey what kind of machine is that . That thing looks cool. I would love to see more pics of it.

 

[skidsteer.ca]

Erskine makes front mount and rear pull blowers for tractors.
Snow Blower - Front Mount - Erskine Attachments, Inc.

How much hyd flow do you have? a hyd drive blower on you fel might be the answer.
I love that setup on my skidsteer, casts snow 40' I can reach 10' in the air if need be. I want to try that blower on our NH tn75 this winter as it has 17 gpm to run it, about the same as the skidsteer.

I don't think a rear pull would work with the depth of snow you get, but I to agree that backing up bites. Not sure how high the front mount lifts, maybe 4' but you must remove fel. Blower mounted to fel would work the best if you have the flow. and easy to replace it with bucket if need be.
Ken

 

[bota7800]

The B7800 has 9.5 gpm hydraulic but 3.4 of that is for powersteering. That leaves only 6.4 gpm available. Also, I don't know where the HST demand fits in.
I vote for the blower if you can find one within the B7800 hydraulic limitations (or a PTO unit as that works).

I use the loader and a back blade. It works OK on the normal storms we have down at 5200 ft, but it was severely challenged last year when we got bigger dumps. I usually angle the backblade to push the snow off to the sides. With so much snow I had to stop frequently to use the loader because the blade would get full. Several times I had to move the berms away from the drive to make room for more snow.

With the blade and loader system you cannot wait for the storm to finish. You have to move snow at about 1 foot depth to move it comfortably. That made it fun when we would come back from weekends in the mountains and have 2 ft or more waiting for us.

 

[jmarotz]

Scott,
The tractor is a Versite 276 Bi-directional rated at 100 pto hp. Can use 3 point on either end and by swiveling the seat and console you can face forward either direction. New Holland bought out the Versitle Bi-Directional line in about 1992 and is now called the TV 145.

The snow blower is John Deere but I can't remember the model number, it is 9 feet wide and about 4 feet to the top of the top auger.
By rasing the 3 point up about 4 feet and take a bit of the snow and backing up and lower the 3 point you could clear 8 foot difts with no problem.
I lived on a county road but their 6x6 rod grader with a V wedge could never make it though certain places on my road and would have to wait for me to open it up.

Someone mentioned getting a pull behind forward facing snowblower, all I can say is don't get one. In the past I demoed one for a 40 hp tractor and one for a 250 hp tractor, if the snow was wet a Kubota BX could move more than even the monster one because of packing the snow with the wheels ahead of the blower or just plugging the chute and augers.
Jeff

 

[putt_putt_green]

1st, I'm jealous of the snow.

2nd, does anyone use mirrors for running a rear snow blower? It would save from having to turn around the whole time.

 

[RockyMnt1]

I live at 8500 ft north of Woodland Park and have been there for about 23 years. I have had my tractor since just after the Hyman fire (2001, I think), so I have been thru a few blizzards with it.

I have a B2410 with a FEL and 6ft rear blade. That seems to do just fine for me. The biggest problem during the largest blizzards is finding a place to put the snow. That only is a problem for the really wet snow. The dry stuff, I can just push/pile anywhere.

I haven't been snowed in for more than a day since I got the tractor and we had some pretty good snow falls. While a snow blower would be nice at times, the investment just doesn generate the ROI for me.

The only additional thing that I would like is a rear blade with off set capability.

 

[jjmarotz]

Nice looking place jmarotz . Get the snowblower only. I have had to pile my snow with the loader and VERY quickly ran out of room to put it. This year I will have the blower on my JD 3203.

 

[Killer_B]

Forget a snowblower. Get a snowmobile and let 'er pile up!

 

[jjmarotz]

Finally figured out how to post pics. Love this site. I have gotten a lot of ideas from you guys. Thanks a lot.

 

[skidsteer.ca]

Someone mentioned getting a pull behind forward facing snowblower, all I can say is don't get one. In the past I demoed one for a 40 hp tractor and one for a 250 hp tractor, if the snow was wet a Kubota BX could move more than even the monster one because of packing the snow with the wheels ahead of the blower or just plugging the chute and augers.
Jeff[/QUOTE]
If your snow more resembles slush then snow, then no don't get a pull behind. But in our dry snow they work well. Also not highly recommended for you folks in the mountains with snowfalls of several feet.
But they do work well in dry snow and are alot nicer to operate.

A skidsteer blower on your fel if you have the flow, or run it off a pto pump would be great. Or a front mount pto blower, if you don't require your fel on the tractor.
I'm jealous of all that snow too
Ken