Need some advice for Kioti ck35 snow plowing.

[bobbyspaghetti]

So I just bought a newer kioti ck35 with cab and FEL the machine should weigh in around 4500 pounds. It has industrial tires on it that are not loaded and I have no rear weights. I use it to plow my drive way in the winter. I have only farted around with it for a few hours but find it does a lot of spinning and has no real pushing power duw to lack of traction. I am really leaning towards a snowblower as I plow a single lane gravel drive way that is probably over 500 feet as well as our parking area and a round about (all gravel.) Average annual snowfall is 122". The snow we get is usually quite fluffy powder type snow. The main drive is narrow and does not have a lot of room to pile snow due to a weird lot profile and trees.

I am wondering what I should purchase to help with snow plowing. I dont think a rear blade will work as there is not a lot of room to pile snow on side of drive way. Current bucket is 60" and is quite low capacity. I dont think filling tires would be good as I want to use it for finish mowing in summer. I think a rear blower would be the way to go as it would be nice to still have the FEL attached and it would be easy to blow snow into trees and not have to worry about snow piles. I am thinking a 3 point hitch pull type would be nice for the not having to look back but I don't think that would be the end of the world either. I do not have rear hydraulics (yet) and have a cab so shute manipulation will be an issue. I am guessing the advantage to rear facing blower is you dont drive over and pack down the snow with the tires.

I keep thinking chains might be a good option as well as our winters are long (6 months) and I could just install and remove once a year. As well I have no concrete or similar to worry about damaging. I have read that chains on the front axle can lead to problems but think it would be nice to have as tractor is four wheel drive and I picture it helping with steering. However I have no idea and do not want to wreck anything.

My wife does not want to buy a snow blower as she thinks the bucket is fine but I keep thinking I will need to add chains and some kind of rear weight to make the tractor adequate at FEL snow removal and perhaps the addition of a larger bucket.

I appologize for the length of the post just want to give all the facts and see what your thoughts our as I am new to tractors and want to make some informed decisions.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I cannot really help you out. What I can tell you though is that your tractor would be waaaaaaaaaay more tractor with all 4 tires filled. With winters being 1/2 the year long, I would want the best traction-handling aspects that I could get. When it comes time for mowing, take the loader off, that will more than make up the weight difference that the loaded tires would add. With as much snow as you get and lasting for so long, I wouldn't think that you would be able to get by very well without a snow-blower of some kind.

Get those rear remotes, you can never have enough rear remotes.

Hopefully someone with some "real" winter experience will come by and be able to help you out better than I.

 

[whistlepig]

If you have chains and a FEL there won't be any short comings there. Granted blades and snow blowers are great and much easier and faster to use. But there isn't anything that winter can thorough at me that can't be handled with a FEL and chains. It was and still is the best place to start for me.

 

[k0ua]

With 122 inches of snow anually.. I am thinking you need a blower. Chains will make all the difference in the world.. I ran chains on all 4 tires of my old Kubota B7500 for 8 years, and did not break anything. I am not in snow country like you, We get some snows sometimes, but rarely more than a foot. at a time..I can get away with using a bucket, but you can't. my 2 cents for what it is worth.

James K0UA

 

[samandmax]

I had the rear tires loaded and after ten minutes of moving heavy pallets around with the loader I knew I made the right choice. I mow with a 6 foot grooming mower with the fel removed. No tire ruts or any difference in the surface of the yard. With the amount of snow you get, a snowthrower would be the ticket.

 

[Deerherd]

I have a DK35 and a 2000' driveway, 300' that is paved at the house with the rest being gravel. This has started out as a really snowy season and I wouldn't want to try clearing the drive with only a fel bucket. The perfect ballast for your machine is a blower for sure! I also have a Horst blade and loaded tires and haven't needed chains, the only place I experience any slipping is on the steep part of the driveway that is paved, right next to the house. A little salt or sand takes care of that. The plow and blower were expensive but the amount of time and fuel savings made it a no-brainer for me. You also have an area similar to me that goes through the woods that is easy with a blower and a huge PITA with an FEL! IMHO a plow/blower combo with loaded tires is the best complete solution but a blower and loaded tires would be a minimum. By the way I only have an EX WIFE so it's much easier to get the things I need........

 

[kco]

I have a DK35 with loaded R4's and was surprised how poorly they performed on dense snow. I think you will be happy with how much rear chains will improve your tractor's winter capability. I also have a pull type snow blower and find it perfect for my situation. Driving through the snow before the blower hits it is no different than doing the same with a pull type blade. The blower gets the snow that was slightly packed down.

I had a rear blade before the pull type blower. I had to offset the blade and push in reverse to get the snow far enough off the driveway so it did not eventually get too narrow. The twisting caused back problems. So I solved this by operating the blade by only pulling it and then would do one pass down and up my driveway with my 27" gas snowblower to get the piles into the bush, leaving room for the next time.

I clear a neighbour's driveway but had to quit for a year because my back could not take the twisting with the rear blade operating in reverse. Another neighbour would do the light snows with his quad but eventually I had to use the tractor and blade in reverse to push the snow banks back.

With the pull type blower I'm again able to do her driveway in a fraction of the time it took with a blade.

Whether you use the bucket, a blade, or blower, for clearing snow I think chains will be a good investment, especially for your conditions with hard packed snow most of the winter.

 

[bobbyspaghetti]

So like I thought snow chains seem like a good idea regardless of what I plan in the future. The next question is, are there any recommendations for chains and should I do front and rear.

Also can someone explain the process for loading tires? Is it a liquid? What about freezing. I keep thinking loading the tires may be bad for the lawn mowing in the summer. Would a person load all four tires? Sorry for all the questions just trying to get caught up.

 

[k0ua]

So like I thought snow chains seem like a good idea regardless of what I plan in the future. The next question is, are there any recommendations for chains and should I do front and rear.

Also can someone explain the process for loading tires? Is it a liquid? What about freezing. I keep thinking loading the tires may be bad for the lawn mowing in the summer. Would a person load all four tires? Sorry for all the questions just trying to get caught up.

There are various things people put in tires to "load them" from simple water in regions that never freeze, to "beet juice" also known as Rimguard. The older product was to use a calcium chloride solution in water. This a a salt, and will eventually corrode the rims. A lot of people use a Methanol mixture (it is what is in mine) or if you want a safer product, Polyethylene Glycol. Also known as "RV antrifreeze) available at wal-mart and other automotive stores.. A simple fill valve available at tractor supply, gemplers, princess auto, and other automotive supply stores, for about $10 will allow you to adapt the schrader air valve to garden hose, along with a "burp valve" function to remove air as you fill the tire. I used a simple $6 drill pump from Home Depot, to pump in the liquid. There are many threads here to outline the procedure to fill the tires. I run loaded tires year around, and did not find it to affect the depressions in the ground much,.. Not saying that it may depress a little more in wet soil conditions, but it is going to make depressions in wet soil conditions either way. One other advantage of the loaded tires (75% fill) is that it lowers the center of gravity of the tractor somewhat, and helps side hill stability. I recommend doing it.

James K0UA

 

[k0ua]

I didn't go into the details of the reasons for using one or the other of the liquids, much, but I would have to "write a book", and there are dozens of threads about this topic already on this forum, you can read for days and decide for yourself.

James K0UA